Two households, unlike in dignity, in the City of Angels is where we lay our scene…London Sinclair was the boy my mother warned me about for as long as I can remember. His name alone has brought my family nothing but shame and suffering, so it’s no surprise we’ve been sworn enemies since the first moment we met.With his bedroom eyes and cocky smile, he has all the girls under his spell. I have … his spell. I have one more year of school left, and then I’m home free because I’m guarding a secret, one I’m ashamed to keep.
The boy who is completely off-limits is the one who drives me, Holland Brooks, wild. I want London, and I think…he wants me, too.
Some may compare it to a Shakespearian tragedy, as our surnames have fated our future, but when a single night changes my life forever, I can’t leave the City of Angels fast enough.
Ten years later, I have atoned for my sins and return to Los Angeles a changed woman. I’ve come home to get married. But the moment London walks back into my life, one thing is clear. Ten years can’t undo that night—that single, sinful night when I gave into temptation—because I want to do it again.
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I really loved this book! This is a must read and I hope we don’t have to wait long for another book!!!
After I read the prologue I was instantly hooked.
In the beginning we are introduced to London and Holland’s parents and how their friendship developed and how things changed as they got older.
The characters are relatable and you instantly have a connection with them.
London has always been mean and has given Holland a hard time at school and she just can’t wait to get school over with.
She moved away and comes back home before getting married. Can she get over the past and move on or will being home bring back emotions she can’t understand.
I guarantee you will not be disappointed in this heartfelt loving story.
Five poisonous stars! From the very first page, you won’t be able to put it down!
Absinthe of the Heart by Monica James is a stunning and all-consuming book that will leave you craving more. It has the right amount of all the things that I love in a good book: intensity, originality, passion, a well developed story and wonderful characters. It has all the required and desirable elements, qualities and characteristics; as good as it is possible to be. All my senses were aroused and my heart was warmed in the best way possible!
Monica James penned an absolute and complete masterpiece. Her writing is flawlessly smart and full of energy. Honestly I can say that this is her best work! She took the enemies-to-lovers romance to a new high level. It had all the swoon. All the sexy. All the intensity. And just the most amazingly second chance romance.
The pacing is fast. The plot is exceptional. It is a modern re-tale of Romeo and Juliet with a angsty touch of love and lust! From the very first page, you won’t be able to put it down! Absinthe of the Heart is also packed with things every reader loves: angst, tension, a super hot a**hole alpha male, and a strong centered heroine.
London Sinclair-Arrington is a cocky, arrogant and ultimate bad boy whose all parents warn their little girls about. He is SIN, TROUBLE & DANGER: A beast that never will be tamed. From the beginning I knew that I’d fall for him. He is too intense and so hot. However he has one weakness and it’s called Holland. She is his nemesis and his soulmate. She is a forbidden girl although being with her means chaos.
Holland Brooks-Ferris is my favourite type of heroine. She is clever and strong. She doesn’t need to be saved. She learnt to protect herself thanks to London; her nemesis and worst nightmare.
London and Holland are meant to hate each other guts because both are paying the sins of their parents. However the attraction is deeper than anything they have felt before. That feeling made them real. Is it possible to love with the same intensity to the one you hate the most?
What I love the most about this book was Monica’s brilliant writing.There is not doubt that Monica is a literary genius. Her male characters are cocky, possessive and arrogant but with a soft spot for their women. And her heroines are feisty and they don’t suffer the damsel in distress complex.
I can’t wait to read the conclusion of London and Holland’s story. I am sure is going to be epic. Grab your copy right now! There won’t be any regrets and I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do.
I had a massive book funk the week I tried to start reading this book. It took me several tries to get into and I know it’s not the books fault. I’m so sad this epic book was affected by my funk and it ruined my reading experience.
“What was done could never be undone, and what they’d all done would never be forgotten…or forgiven, for generations to come.”
I have watched every version of Romeo & Juliet movies. I will read any book that has the same premise because I love Shakespeare and that is one of my favorite plays by him. I am also very particular when someone uses this theme in their story. It has to be done right and pay homage to Shakespeare and not insult him. This was done right in every way and I am so glad I read it.
“…My only love sprung from my only hate.”
London and Holland have a spark from the very beginning even though they are enemies. The love/hate line is thin here. The angst, drama, and suspense all make this story one I couldn’t put down after I worked through my funk. I am so anxious to get my hands on the next book. Monica did a phenomenal job.
Absinthe of the Heart by Monica James is the first book in her latest series, Sins of the Heart . An enemies to lovers story for the ages – this book was powerful and angst-filled and unputdownable! London & Holland’s story blew me away! Told mostly from Holland’s POV and spanning from the high school days of high school to forward ten years into the consequences of a lifelong rivalry between their families and secrets that have caused so much damage in their lives.
This is my first book by Monica James and it will NOT be my last – I was absolutely floored with the story and the next book needs to be here, STAT! Enjoy!
“London Sinclair didn’t just break my heart; he fucking set it on fire and threw the ashes to the wind. I loved him, and in return, he danced on my grave.”
Oh Monica, you are going to kill me one day!
This modern take on Romeo and Juliet is amazing. The chemistry between London and Holland is off the charts. I could not put this book down and was hooked from the first page!
The flow of the book was great. I loved that we had a lot of detail into what happened between London and Holland’s parents versus just getting little flashbacks here and there. It provided such a good start to the story and progressing through the years until we hit present day.
The love, the hate, the angst, the drama, the emotions. Its everything you could ask for in a story and more!
The suspense, the drama and the ending. I am still trying to pick my jaw up off the floor from that cliffhanger!
I can’t wait for book 2!
“We’re meant to hate one another, be feuding enemies for all time-but how can you hate something that you love most in this world?”
Move over Romeo and Juliet, here comes Sin (London) and Holland!! These two were MADE to hate each other for things that happened with their parents, but even with the hysterical banter between these two, you easily figure out the attraction trumps what they’ve been told. Sin’s sheer magnetism from the pages had me glued, he was like stop-in-your-tracks intense and I was transfixed every time he popped up in a scene, he’s just (insert hot adjective here).
“Epic looks combined with a rebellious attitude make London Sinclair the ultimate bad boy every girl wants to subdue. But little do they know, he’s one beast that will never be tamed.”
My poor kindle needed to be wrapped in bubble wrap for as many times as I gripped it, wanting to throw it clear across the room as I was reading. My heart ripped to shreds at the misunderstandings, the pigheadedness, the rivalries, the deception, the heartbreak, and the crushing misunderstandings that kept these two at arms length for so much longer than even I anticipated. Legit tears every time they were pulled apart!!
“This is us. We don’t make excuses for what we want because we want it all.”
This book explores different decades, different generations, skipping back and forth layering the story and I became so invested that I began yelling at them as I was reading…In a perfect world, they would be unstoppable, love of a lifetime type couple, but as you near the end of the book, you realize that some times things just don’t always work out as easily as that…I cannot wait for more on this couple as the ending had my jaw dropped and my heart crushed!! A fabulous read full of every kind of feel imaginable!!
“You are my home. Always and forever.”
~~~Erika, Book Haven Book Blog
I love Romeo and Juliet. I’ve read the book, I’ve seen all the versions – as far as I know – of movies. So when I read this synopsis, the fact of having a forbidden vibe already caught my attention. The book takes the basis of Shakespeare’s story by placing two families who can not stand each other. But make no mistake. The course of the story has much more drama and surprises. Monica James loves to make our heart race, huh? And what a roller coaster that was!!! There’s a lot going on and looks like is not over yet.
When I started to read, I found it strange that I didn’t know the names of the characters because in the synopsis it was different. I thought maybe the author has changed? Until I reach the part where everything made sense. I loved that it didn’t just mention what had happened. But it told how everything happened in the past to let us know the reason for the hatred between the families. A mistake affecting the lives not only of the people involved, but of their children as well. I loved that strategy. I was super excited to read.
In ABSINTHE OF THE HEART, the line between love and hate is pretty thin. The family of London and Holland have a history and they both carry this grudge with them. But is that right? This care disguised as a motive, the desire disguised as hatred, is what sets this story on fire. They don’t even have to touch the other to get us to feel the fire, I mean, tension between them.
From the first page to the last. I couldn’t put it down. My intention was to read slowly, very slowly. But you tell me how do you do that with a book by this author? I certainly can’t!!
Monica James’s books are like the ones I love: that makes you tense, stuck in the story, full of drama and a love you feel overflowing the pages. I love it very much. I loved ABSINTHE OF THE HEART a lot. I recommend it and I want book two SOON. Like today!. Now. Lol. Do not make me wait, Monica!!!!!! Aaaaaaah !!!!!!!
I loved reading Absinthe of the Heart! If you love angst driven books then this is the book for you.
I fell in love with Absinthe of the Heart and is the first book in the Sins of Yesterday series! If you love angst in your books you should love this book! I read in Monica James bio that she loves “writing honest, heartfelt and turbulent stories”. You get all 3 of these with Absinthe of the Heart.
Do you believe in history repeating itself? This is London Sinclair and Holland Brooks story. Their mothers were the best of friends until one fateful moment and then they become enemies.
While growing up it seems like London is always mean to Holland when he is secretly longing for her. They have a love/hate relationship. I won’t say any more but, like I said earlier I love their story.
I can’t wait for the next book! I hope it isn’t long until it comes out! I need more of their story!!!!
Absinthe of the Heart is the first book in the Sins of the Heart series (or duet?) I am not sure…yet. Either way, Monica James has once again given us an epic story that I will never forget. If you follow my reviews then you might know that I don’t read many blurbs before I dive in. If I love the author’s work then I like to go in head first. Once again. I did that with this book and I loved that I did. I don’t want to spoil anything so I will try to make this short.
London and Holland were born to hate each other. They knew it the day they met in kindergarten. It was just how it was going to be. Their story started before they were even born. Over the years, London has been nothing but an asshole. An asshole with a cocky smirk that she both hated and loved. Along with her parents, he made her who she was. A strong, determined woman who would never back down. He called her a princess but she wasn’t a damsel in distress. She was a badass who loved to take him down a peg or two while also lusting for him. She hated how much she cared. She hated how he made her feel. Confused. Hot. Special. Used.
Ten years later and he still made her feel that way. Only now, they were grown up. She was home to get married. To move on. Only The City of Angels had other plans for her first. She is back where it all started and now it was time for answers. Answers to questions she didn’t even realize she had. Answers to past ones. Answers she needed to move on completely. Will they ruin her or give her clarity?
I absolutely loved this book! I was addicted from the very start until the very last word. I felt for all the characters in the story. More than others of course. London and Holland’s story is complex, beautiful, heartbreaking, sinful, fun, and everything in between. It gave me all the feels. I wanted to scream, cry, swoon, and laugh.
Overall…It’s a book I will never forget! The writing is phenomenal. The story is engaging. The characters are beautifully flawed. I really loved it all even when I wanted to slap someone.
P.S That ending…
Quotes:
“This is only the beginning.” Touché.
Unable to stop myself, I stand on tippy-toes and deadpan him. “Bring it.”
“You’re the cause of my chaos, but when I’m with you…nothing has felt more real.”
“Oh, and by the way…I don’t think I’m special…I know I am. I’m Holland Brooks-Ferris…and I’m fucking fabulous.”