NOW A TOP TWENTY AMAZON BESTSELLERRosieThey say that life is a beautiful lie and death a painful truth. They’re right.No one has ever made me feel more alive than the guy who serves as a constant reminder that my clock is ticking.He is my forbidden, shiny apple.The striking fallacy to my blunt, raw, truth.He is also my sister’s ex-boyfriend.One thing you should know before you judge me;I saw him … thing you should know before you judge me;
I saw him first. I craved him first. I loved him first.
Eleven years later, he waltzed into my life, demanding a second chance.
Dean Cole wants to be my bronze horseman. My white knight has finally arrived. Hopefully, he isn’t too late.
Dean
They say the brightest stars burn out the fastest. They’re right.
She sets my mind on fire.
All smart mouth, snarky attitude and a huge heart.
In a world where everything is dull, she shines like Sirius.
Eleven years ago, fate tore us apart.
This time, I dare it to try.
Getting to her is a battlefield, but man, that’s why they call me Ruckus.
Rosie LeBlanc is about to find out how hard I can fight.
And conquering her will be the sweetest victory.
Ruckus is a complete standalone and a part of the Sinners of Saint series
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I liked the first book in this series, Vicious, and liked the second one even more. But, I LOVED Ruckus! L.J. Shen ripped my heart out and put it back together again before the end. I won’t lie, there were even times that throwing my kindle crossed my mind, but pressing forward made allowing my kindle to live worth it.
Dean and Rosie’s love was a long time coming and Rosie really made Dean prove that he was in it for the long haul, but he excelled and surpassed expectations. His devotion to the woman he loves is enough to make anyone swoon.
Reading Rosie’s story really makes you appreciate life and your loved ones and ensures that you don’t take the small things for granted. Personally, I will cherish those around me more, which tells me that this book did its job.
Ruckus was beautifully written and wonderful to experience, thank you L.J. Shen.
Yanno that Butterflies-in-tummy feeling, when you meet THE love of your life.
Yup! I had it twice !
Vicious and now Ruckus – Dean ‘Ruckus’ Cole, Manwhore Galore.
Sex On Legs, humps anything with two pretty legs in a skirt, has one night stands, menages and is on party Carousel of a life.
BUT he’s empty inside, trying to fill a hole left in him from when he was a baby. He has unconditional, over abundant love from his family , and brotherhood from his friends.
Once a HotHole…always a HotHole, is the motto !
But don’t be quick to label them frivolous or irresponsible.
“Easier to box people into something concrete, ya know?”
The airhead. The stoner. The party-loving manslut. Ruckus.
Rosie LeBlanc….the proverbial Jacob’s Rachel . The elusive, forbidden fruit he can’t taste, and what’s forbidden is always the most desired. Its a dangerous, witty, clever game of cat and mouse they play. Like poles of magnets repelling each other , yet the magnetic field of passion doesn’t let them stray far from one another.
Love felt like dipping each other in gasoline and burning together. Love felt like dancing with madness in the dark, watching all of its bright lights. Love felt like gasping for air when your lungs were already full.
It’s a seriously hot story.
It’s dramatic
It’s funny
It’s poignant
The most vocal opinion about the story , before it was even released is the Emila connection.
So many people being biased against the fact that Dean was once Millie’s boyfriend.
Trust me, so does EVERYBODY else in the story !!!!!
He was my sister’s ex-boyfriend and my first love.
Hell, they had no place being in the same sentence together.
That didn’t make them any less true.
But the fact is they dated when they were high-schoolers…i mean come on !
Anyway, I had NO problem with it…NONE whatsoever.
The story had me so engrossed, and the twists and the secret that poor Dean has been carrying around like a boulder on his chest….My secret was like my dick— big and long and certainly uncomfortable if you weren’t ready for it.
The writing is even better than vicious ( I Did Not Just Say THAT Out loud!!!)
What have you done to me Leigh……. I keep falling in love with every new man you create like a HotHole Slut!
She writes like a man . It’s not easy getting into male POV, but Leigh writes like a true asshole alpha , fantastic banter, very , very smart writing.
I laughed a lot, cried a LOT, cursed a lot…
But like K.Bromberg once wrote it’s better to feel the pain, cause hurting is feeling, and feeling is living. Isn’t it better to be alive ?
What makes you feel alive? Lusting after someone. So badly your center aches, your eyesight is blurry and your morals are thrown out the window.
It’s a lovely story of hope, lust, red hot , panty melting sex, brotherhood, and family.
And the foremost emotion is LOVE !
It’s there right in front of your eyes. No escaping it. No denying it !!
I loved it..LOVED it…FLOVED it !!!
My tummy fluttered, my heart thumped, “my wet folds were moist ” and emotions overflowed and a gigantic lump stuck in my throat, eyes watering , nose burning…tears
The secondary characters are there in the background. Etched very nicely. Eli Cole was the most endearing to me. Vicious, Millie, Trent, Jamie are all there , providing support and camaraderie.
5 HotHole Stars
Holding on for a happily ever after
O M G I had no idea that Ruckus would absolutely destroy me. But it did and I thank L.J. Shen for writing a book that touched my heart, took my breath away (yes I held it through most of the epilogue and if you’ve read the book you’ll know why) and made me hug those closest to me that little tighter. Rosie and Dean’s story was everything I wanted it to be and more. Dean has always been the HotHole I had a soft spot for. The guy who tried his best to protect his high school girlfriend – Rosie’s sister Emilia – from one of this best friends and fellow HotHole Vicious but who ended up getting hurt along the way….in more ways than one we discover.
“He was my sister’s ex-boyfriend and my first love. These two facts should never be connected. Hell, they had no place being in the same sentence together. That didn’t make them any less true.”
This book had absolutely everything I love in a romance and some things I love and didn’t even anticipate. There’s a massive secret that totally floored me when it was revealed – I did not guess it at all which made the reveal that much more awesome – and then that secret got even more explosive and I just read with my face like this There is Rosie and her illness – Cystic Fibrosis – which I have a personal connection with and is something that was really really hard to read about but I’m so very glad L.J. explored it and helped to normalise it. There is Dean himself who is so much more than the stoner, alcoholic he is portrayed to be and I loved him so much for that.
This book made me laugh. It brought tears to my eyes. It hit me right in the heart and reminded me of some truths that I have to face every day but I’m so thankful that I get to face them every day when so many people can’t or don’t. This book means so much to me personally and I hope that when I get to meet L.J. in at a signing next year I can tell her in person just how much because it’s not everyday you read a book that connects with you like Ruckus has with me. I wish I could put into better, more eloquent words how much I love this book, how much I love Dean and Rosie but I can’t! Just know that this book will blow you away and maybe it won’t have the impact on you that it has on me, but I hope it’ll be one you won’t forget in a hurry.
nicandbooks
Amazon/Goodreads
LJ Shen did it again. She made me fall in love with another Hothole. OMG….Ruckus was amazing. This emotional page-turner grabbed me and held me hostage until the very end. The storyline was gripping, with some twists and turns I did not see coming. This book was a roller-coaster of emotions, I laughed, cried, was angry and at times in total shock and disbelief.
Dean and Rosie by themselves were complex and LJ Shen did an excellent job with character development. However together they were magical. Their chemistry was instantaneous from way back in high school and we were given flash-backs to the past to fully cement in our minds exactly how strong their connection really was.
I loved Dean’s charisma and charm I loved Rosie’s strength in wanting to be independent. However the devotion Dean showered on her when they finally got together was intense and made me love him even more. The novel weaves between each of their individual stories and then their stories together as a couple all merging to form a touching masterpiece. Of course we got to see all of the Hotholes in this book and best of all we were left with an epilogue giving us a brief glimpse of the future.
In true LJ Shen style, Ruckus was so much more than expected and you will love it from beginning to end. This was an excellent read.
I can’t even begin to describe how amazing this book is!! Dean is my favorite hothole…..hands down. I honestly didn’t like him in the first book….but after reading his & Rosie’s story – I’m done for. Seeing the connection that they had from the beginning (that we didn’t know about)….ugh, they were just too perfect for each other. This book had my emotions all over the place – towards the end, I had tears in my eyes. I truly think everyone should read this book – I’m pretty sure I will be reading it multiple times ’cause it’s just that awesome!
Dean “Ruckus” Cole. We met him in Vicious, one of the four “Hotholes.” Hot, rich, privileged, successful, egomaniac yet lost and vulnerable. This is his story. It grabbed my heart and tore it up!
Rosie LeBlanc. Beautiful, challenging and full of life – except she isn’t. Fighting cystic fibrosis on a daily basis.
“I had an illness.
Sometimes I conquered it.
Sometimes it conquered me.
Everyone’s favorite Rose was wilting….”
Once upon a time she came face to face with Dean Cole. Taunting and challenging him until they were interrupted by her sister and fate took over. Fast forward ten years. The challenge and taunting has not dimmed….
“It’s not my fault you fell in love with a dying girl.”
“It’s not my fault you made it fucking impossible not to.”
Dean & Rosie’s story will make you laugh, cry and then cry some more! The feels are everywhere as is the emotions. At times I wanted to choke Dean and cocoon Rosie! Dean hides his emotions deep down inside – locked away. Rosie will not let her illness define her. Somedays she wins and somedays she loses. But that never deters her determination to live life to its fullest. I just loved their story. And I loved Dean’s nickname for Rosie – Baby LeBlanc! L.J. Shen really knows how to rip your heart out and then piece it back together. Only the pieces aren’t all quite in the same place as before….
To author L.J. Shen: Awesome series! Thanks for the Epilogue!!!!!
5 stars!
Going into this book I knew it was going to be different to LJ Shens previous books and I was equal parts nervous and excited, with no idea if I was going to get the ending I wanted. Could LJ make me fall for a man who had a relationship with the sister of the woman he loves? Yes! Yes she can! And she did! I think too many people were focusing on that part (myself included) and just didn’t think it was possible but Rosie and Deans stories, background and history are told in a way that made me rethink how I assumed I was going to feel. This story was so much more than I was expecting.
Rosie is a brilliant character. She’s stronger than people give her credit for. She’s independent, stubborn, sassy, funny, and real. She has her own personality that shines through the pages and made me love her. She’s loyal to her sister, sometimes too loyal, even when it’s at the cost of her happiness.
Dean aka Ruckus was a complete surprise for me. I was expecting to hate him but there’s more to him than meets the eye and the more I knew about him, the harder I fell. He’s been a bit of a man whore (slight understatement there), he dated her sister and he’s a hot hole. So by rights I should have hated him but he won me over fairly quickly. He hides behind a smile and knowing that made me desperate to dig in and really get to know him.
There is a massive wtf moment in this book. It had me chewing my nails and flipping the pages like a madwoman to see what happened next. There’s also an unexpected twist that I didn’t see coming. At all. Not even a little. It came from nowhere and I loved it.
I’ve come to expect certain things from LJ Shens books. I expect an a**hole man that I sometimes love to hate and hate to love. I expect the characters to have their own personality and to make me fall in love with them. I expect to feel, whether it’s sadness, anger or happiness. I expect a story that once I start, I can’t put down. I expect to swoon multiple times while reading, and I expect to highlight like I’ve never highlighted before. I expect twists and surprises and Leigh took my expectations and stomped all over them. This book is everything!!! Her characters have an added depth in this book. They are so unbelievably easy to connect with. You’re going to feel when you read Rosie and Deans story. It’s emotional, it’s frustrating at times and it had me completely addicted.
Love me some Dean! Loved this book! Dean and Rosie were sooo perfect from each other. I am a little out of practice with the slow burn books so there were times I was beyond frustrated, but once Rosie let Dean in and Dean decided to stop being an a#%, I fell in love. I loved this much better then Vicious as Dean did have reasons and redeamable characteristics. Rosie was different then I expected from what I learned about her in the first story and I was pleasantly surprised. I still have issues with getting trough the first half of this author’s stories, but the second half always make up for it. I am excited for book three!
I see Dean in a whole new light now especially when it comes to Rosie, this man is on a mission to get close to his ex’s baby sister and nothing will stand in his way. Rosie has complications that will affect her the rest of her life but Dean refuses to let that stand in either of their ways. There were so many moments that I went from feeling one end of emotions to another sharing in what was going on. As we go further into the story we learn that it’s not just Rosie that’s fighting a battle but Dean has one himself. I’m hooked on this series and these Hotholes. This is a standalone but you’re going to want to hear from all the boys, I will guarantee you that. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.
I recommend Ruckus and the rest of Sinners of Saint series you will not be disappointed. Dean and Rosie’s story is down right emotional and absolutely fantastic, definitely my favorite in this series.
If i thought Vicious was great, Ruckus was AMAZING!! i never thought for a second Dean was this amazing character and man, in Ruckus you can understand more about him, in fact you will understand everything about him, he is funny, sexy and determined, he is in love with Rose.. and he will not stop until he gets what he wants… in this book you can read the story of Dean and Rose..you also can see how their love started, how their feelings grew with time and how they were in love even before millie was in a relationship with Dean… i love that in this story you can also get to laugh with the text Dean and Rose send to each other.. he is just too cocky lol he just thinks he is the kind of the world.. i also i love the part where you can see how Vicious has a heart .. after all you can see he really love Dean and no matter what he will do whatever he has to see him happy with the love of his life…i can go on and on on how much i love this book, this series and also how much i love L.JShen Writing (and is only my third book i read from her and i’am already a fan) if you want to read a good series with great characters, where you laugh, cry and scream at the same time .. sinners of saint is your series… i love Dean and Vicious too <3
i can't wait for Scandalous Trent story i bet he is going after Van Der Zee's daughter ...
I Knew that I was going to love this book but I didn’t know how much I was going to love it! L.J. Shen did such a fantastic Amazing Wonderful Truly Perfect job writing this book. L.J Shen is Magical! This book took me by surprise! If You have read Vicious then you know how Dean dated Emilia (Rosie’s Sister). I wasn’t sure how that was going to turn out But Leigh did an amazing job with this accept of the story it was great.
Rosie knows she shouldn’t want Dean”Ruckus” Cole. For one shes dying, Two he dated her sister in high school, three he is Dean “Ruckus”Cole. All those reason do not seem to matter. She can’t help but to love him. She loved him before he started to date her sister and she loved him far after they broke up. Now living in the same apartment building with him and seeing him everyday is bringing all those feelings back. She knows she shouldn’t have them. Then they go back home together and everything changes. He is there for her when she needs someone. He doesn’t treat her likes she broken and she just can’t resists him anymore. She loved him all those years ago and those feelings are coming back.
Dean Cole is Hot as Fuck and he knows it. He is rich and a ladies man but the only woman he wants is Rosie. He feel for here years ago and seeing her again brings back all of those feelings. He just needs to get here to love him again. He has things in his life that no one knows about. He is more than just some womanizing, stoner, jerk. He is deep and loving and caring and he is trying to show Rosie this other side of him. Once he gets her he will never let her go.
I Love this book so much! L.J Shen has my heart with this book. Dean and Rosie’s Love story is one of a kind and I am so in love with them. This book just gave me all the feels. You All need to read this book! I Officially LOVE Dean Cole!! Oh My Gosh this book you guys is Amazing! I Have no words except that I Love this book!
“It took him fourteen years, but in the end, Jacob won Rachel fair and square. Rachel might not have been blessed by God. Leah was. But here was the thing. Rachel didn’t need to be blessed. She was loved. And unlike justice and life, love is fair. What’s more? Eventually, love was enough. Eventually, it was everything.”
So, this is the story I’ve been WAITING for. I saw it coming, I knew it was coming, but I didn’t know it would turn out like this. Both Rosie and Dean were characters I’ve been watching since the beginning of this series. I was kind of in love with Dean myself, if we’re being honest, and hoped he jumped right out of the book and into my arms
These two, though, truly made my heart flutter. These two never gave into each other, until giving in was all they could do. The push and pull between them (although it frustrated the heck out of me) was a great example of how two strong individuals can use that strength for each other. I have to say, that I was a little frustrated with Rosie. Although I completely empathized with her sickness issues, I felt like she often played the martyr–sacrificing herself for the greater good. Rosie, no matter my frustrations, did have a beautiful heart. And her parents…. *insert angry growl here* don’t even get me started!!
Dean … well, he is an awful jerk sent right from heaven. I know that’s a contradiction, but the man he became was totally what I love to read about. (Although he could’ve done without whoring himself out onto any girl who winked.) I think that he is a direct reflection of his struggles, and for that I believe he became quite admirable. Not to mention that he totally stayed true (only in his heart, not with his … anything else) to Rosie, and once he got her, he kept her.
‘”Say goodbye to this shirt, and anything else another man who isn’t your dad ever gave you. Am I clear?” “You’re awfully possessive,” I complained, glaring at him through sleepy eyes like he was my sun, the moon, and everything worth seeing in the constellation. “That’s because you’re awfully mine.” “And what on Earth would make you think that? The fact that we slept together?” I pretended to laugh, but there was nothing funny about this statement. Or what we just did. “Nah,” he said, his hand moving to the left side of my chest. He placed it over my heart, and squeezed one time. “This thing right here? It beats for me. You know it. I know it. Keep lying, Rosie. I’ll milk the truth out of you. One way or the other.”‘
I swear I highlighted half of this book. How she wove together the thoughts and feelings of these two … wowza! I couldn’t believe the eloquence with which so many facets of their relationship was explained. I’ve never been able to find an exact phrase, or a word, to match up with a feeling, and it was like this was done almost effortlessly. Not to mention the actions that proved their love, although sometimes didn’t seem to shine through, eventually glowed bright.
“I don’t like you. I love you. Even that’s an understatement. I live for you. I breathe for you. I will die for you. It. Has. Always. Been. You. Ever since I saw your sorry self for the first time on that threshold and you poked me in the chest like I was a toy.”
*Swoon* I could go on for days, but I think you get that I loved it. I didn’t start this series loving it, just saying, but as I delved deeper into these characters … well, you can see for yourself.
“Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming” – 15th Century originally sung Cologne, Germany
“Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming
From tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming
As men of old have sung.
It came, a flower bright,
Amid the cold of winter
When half-gone was the night.” 15th Century originally sung Cologne,Germany
“Because the birdsong might be pretty , But it’s not for you they sing , And if you think my winter is too cold , You don’t deserve my spring.” Erin Hanson – epigraph,”Ruckus”
Every book in this series, Sinners of Saint, was written with artistic intention. The reader is not only simply entertained with the devastating “alpha-lishous” men and their exploits ; but also enlightened with artistic explorations of ideas pertaining to the meaning in life itself. Ms. Shen sets a beautiful, strong but wilting flower, Rosie opposite a seemingly carefree, constant partying, “sexual god” of a protagonist. “Seriously, the man was so outrageously hot, he was probably outlawed in ultra-religious countries.” – Rosie
Their chemistry was undeniable from the first. Yet, the fact that he previously dated her sister and she described to Rosie that Dean (Ruckus) took her virginity left a searing mark on Rosie’s psyche for ten years.
The reader commiserates with Rosie who in many ways feels cheated. She was cheated out of her one true love. She is after all expected to die an early death from Cystic Fibrosis. So much of her life involves the necessary rituals she performs and precautions she must take to manage her condition. She cannot have a normal relationship with her parents who naturally always worry about her. She cannot have children. Despite the illness, she is a lovely pixie of woman with a tremendous capacity for love and passion. She just can’t afford to waste it.
Dean,”Ruckus” Cole is a privileged wealthy man who has demons and secrets he just cannot seem to shake. He is irrepressible and irresponsible. He has been given everything and he has every “thing”. He is ruin where Rosie needs life. Yet, despite all of what he is and is not, Rosie needs him to stop her own wilting. In the end, Rosie needs him to really live.
After a decade of denial, Rosie and Dean come together. He tries to stop his self-ruin with drugs and alcohol but still he is broken and there is a secret in his past that needs to come forward. He needs to face it and accept his new reality. His conflicts are conflicts which nearly cause irreparable harm…very nearly are his complete undoing.
This writer employs a deft hand in portraying the emotions and drama of a woman who needs to be so focused on her own illness and even preoccupied with her early death. That the answers to Dean’s brokenness were complex and he stumbled badly along the way made him all the more real to the reader. Their sizzling erotic encounters brought the reader inside, and intimately close with these compelling characters. Simply, all the “feels”!
I might also add that there were some breathtakingly beautiful descriptions of nature, in keeping with the “blooming” of Rosie-bug. Dean’s preoccupation with astronomy literally “hung the stars” for Rosie as well.
Ultimately and in the end, our Ruckus finds his beautiful flower in the winter, our Rosie, and breathes life into her so she blooms beautifully and in unexpected ways. This is enough story about love for the ages. It is all about redeeming love. All of it!
Love this book!
When you are expecting the release of a new book from your favourite author, time goes like a snail. It can be defined as a “sweet torture”. That’s exactly what I felt while waiting for the release of Ruckus, the second book of the Sinners of Saint Series. Those who are already obsessed with the 4 Hot Holes will understand and will share my feeling.
This book is about the third Hot Hole. Dean Cole, the chaos and anarchy himself, a cocky privileged who tough he deserve all and owned nothing. From outside he can be hard as a rock but inside him, he is a lost boy who longs to be loved. I personally can describe him as a double-faced man because he shows a sweet façade to hide his wounded soul. He seems strong but he is not. His hard exterior has helped him to live hidden in his vices. He is a perfect bad boy, isn’t he?
Dean will experience his own Bible tale. Being attracted to the Le Blanc sisters. One is his past and the other is his future. Rosie will be the only one who is capable to put him in his place without a second thought.
“Rosie LeBlanc was the only woman in my life who wouldn’t give me the time of the day, and certainly didn’t know that ironically, Rosie LeBlanc was the only woman whose time I wanted”.
Rosie is a sick woman who, despite of her disease, seeks and longs her independence. Baby LeBlanc is much more. She is a fighter but a stubborn. Satirically, she sent Dean to her sister’s arms because of her health issues. She sacrificed herself.
“Since I had friends and a social life and she had nothing –precisely because of that decision. So, I let her have them both. Dean’s body and Vicious’s heart”.
It’s delightful to watch the push and pull between Rosie and Dean. They are mean to be together. The tension between both characters creates sparks like fireworks despite of Dean’s darkness. He has demons that will tempt Rosie. The chemistry between them is dangerous.
“I don’t want to make you forget. I want to make you remember. And I’m about to, Rosie.” He breathed hard against my skin. “I’m about to rewrite the pages of our fucking history, baby.”
“We both collided and exploded like two lonely stars somewhere in the dark atmosphere.”
This book is the one you shall not miss. It’s told from both-sides. The changes from past to present are smooth and let us see more in order to understand the context and characters. The plot is awesome. You will find more things about the other Hot Holes’s life.
L.J. Shen out did herself. She has ruined me with her men characters. First, it was Vicious Baron Spencer; second, it was Jamie Defy and now it is all about Dean Ruckus Cole. How does she do it? I really don’t know but she is a really talented author. Ladies prepare your heart for an emotional read. This book has far exceeded my expectations. I cried and laughed. I felt myself immersed in the story. I couldn’t put it down until I finished it.
Can be read as a standalone.
Ruckus can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend reading at least Vicious before opening this baby up.
The story is about Dean and Rosie. They’ve always had chemistry since high school, but the timing was always wrong. He didn’t want to date Rosie’s sister, but he was pushed into the relationship. And he also agreed to date her so that he could protect her sister from Vicious.
Although he was dating the wrong sister, his head and heart was always focused on Rosie. But she had her own reasons why they could never be together.
There’s a lot of pain and bitterness throughout the book because life just hasn’t been fair for either of them. And sometimes I wanted to just slap the characters to just listen!
But…. I’m going to be honest…. I had a hard time getting through the first half of the book. It might of been because Dean and Vicious are just so similar… it’s hard not to compare them. (Vicious has my heart by the way *cough*)
And there were also some moments I felt uncomfortable when Dean had his eyes on Rosie when he was with her sister.
Overall, the story was solid with some great twists! Once I reached the halfway point, I started to really get into the storyline. Some tears were even shed. Unfortunately, I was slightly disappointed by the ending… but I still enjoyed the ride.
The next book will be about Trent, and I can’t wait to read about the sexy single dad!