What a start to 2019 and this stunning book releases on January 9th. You are not going to want to miss this one.
You can add it to your TBR here: http://bit.ly/2F8O1wd
Book Description:
They say your first kiss should be earned.
Mine was stolen by a devil in a masquerade mask under the black Chicago sky.
They say the vows you take on your wedding day are sacred.
Mine were broken before we left church.
They say your heart only beats for one man.
Mine split and bled for two rivals who fought for it until the bitter end.
I was promised to Angelo Bandini, the heir to one of the most powerful families in the Chicago Outfit.
Then taken by Senator Wolfe Keaton, who held my father’s sins over his head to force me into marriage.
They say that all great love stories have a happy ending.
I, Francesca Rossi, found myself erasing and rewriting mine until the very last chapter.
One kiss.
Two men.
Three lives.
Entwined together.
And somewhere between these two men, I had to find my forever.
Our Review:
Reviewed by Donna ~ 5 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***
“You said I taste like a villain, but you taste like the victim.”
So, my first book of 2019 was a winner, winner chicken dinner and after a three-month romance book funk was just the book the doctor, in this case, LJ Shen ordered. No one writes an alphahole like LJ Shen, and the author pulls out all the stops with Senator Wolfe Keaton. There is something for everyone in this book, from the mob to arranged marriages, to younger woman/older man and one of the best virginal brides I have ever read. Everything about this book was delicious, so much so I pulled my first all-nighter in a very long time. Starting this book in bed was definitely a bad idea because once I started, I devoured it, couldn’t put it down and saw a little light peak through the curtains before I’d even had an ounce of sleep.
“Try not to fall in love with me.”
Francesca Rossi is the only child of a mobster, heir apparent and a woman that has wanted for nothing. Francesca has been groomed by her parents, and the only thing on her parent's mind is a kept woman and trophy wife. Sent to boarding school for the best education she is now back, and her appearance on the social scene has got men's heads turning. However, Francesca’s head has only been turned by one man and one man only, Angelo Bandini, her childhood best friend. Francesca is not your typical heroine, although she is young, she is independent, fierce, protective, loyal, brave, fearless and a romantic at heart. I absolutely adored her. The life she had dreamt of her whole life was taken away in a heartbeat, and she took it on the chin and made the best of a bad situation while keeping her integrity and her backbone.
“My heart has room for him, he just needs to claim it.”
Senator Wolfe Keaton will melt your hearts although in the first instance you’ll want to rip his out. Wolfe is a force to be reckoned with, hell-bent on revenge and yet the proverbial white knight. Wolfe uses his political career and connections to rid the state of those that have caused him the most harm and continue to do so to others. The way he goes about it isn’t necessarily legal and morally unethical but it gets the job the done and that is always his end goal, but his heart is in the right place, you just have to dig deep to find it. Wolfe keeps his emotions to himself, his heart is nowhere near his sleeve, but you see little glimpses. The more and more Francesca batters his emotional fortress, you can see the moat he has built around himself slowly begin to dry up.
“I had a control issue. I lacked it. She had all of it.”
When these two first meet at a social gathering, the tension is palpable. Each have made their minds up about the other based on first impressions, assumptions and generalisations and neither of them are correct. Hate would be a tad strong, but not far from it. Leigh Shen though nails that character building, the character connection is on point and that gradual change from hate, to lust to love was an incredibly delectable journey. I shed quite a few tears, my heart was in my mouth many times, I screamed at my kindle, came close to throwing it a few times, but the more I read, the more I fell down the rabbit hole and didn’t want to leave these characters alone. I lived and breathed their story, and when that final page was turned, I was exhausted but had the biggest smile from ear to ear. Emotionally spent, but totally in love with two characters that stole my heart.
“No love is fully requited. No love is equal. No love is fair. There is always one side that loves more. And you better not be that side—because it suffers.”
Another fantastic read from LJ Shen. I cannot wait to see what comes next and what a fantastic start to the year.
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