“Mother. Of. All. Angst. This book is not for the faint of heart. It is rip-your-hair-out frustrating and full of depth and emotion.” – Lana, DG Romance.From #1 Amazon Bestseller L.J. Shen comes a new, emotional standalone about first love, second chances, and overcoming breathtaking losses at a young age.Vaughn Spencer. They call him an angry god. To me, he is nothing but a heartless prince. His …
To me, he is nothing but a heartless prince.
His parents rule this town, its police, every citizen and boutique on Main Street.
All I own is a nice, juicy grudge against him for that time he almost killed me.
Between hooking up with a different girl every weekend, breaking hearts, noses and rules, Vaughn also finds the time to bully little ole’ me.
I fight back, tooth and nail, never expecting him to chase me across the ocean after we graduate high school.
But here he is, living with me in a dark, looming castle on the outskirts of London.
A fellow intern. A prodigal sculptor. A bloody genius.
They say this place is haunted, and it is.
Carlisle Castle hides two of our most awful secrets.
Vaughn thinks he can kill the ghosts of his past, but what he doesn’t know? It’s my heart he’s slaying.
Angry God is a stand-alone, DARK High School Romance. It deals with sensitive subjects some may find triggering.
★★★★★
“Buckle up and enjoy the ride, because you’re not coming out the same way you went in. A top 2020 read hands down.” Helena Hunting, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author
★★★★★
“Heartbreakingly beautiful, awe-inspiring, and gut-wrenching, Angry God is a unique masterpiece that will leave you gasping for air and crying for more. LJ Shen is in a league of her own and this book and series will forever leave a mark on your soul.” Rachel Brookes, Bestselling author
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***After much thought, I feel obligated to give a trigger warning. If you have any triggers at all then this book is not for you. LJ Shen has many other amazing books to choose from. Although I truly feel that the trigger was handled with careful and precise words.***
“A fellow intern. A prodigal sculptor. A bloody genius.”
LJ Shen once again floored me with a beautifully written story that is haunting, heartbreaking and poetic. Angry God will take you on the darkest journey that has yet to be told in the All Saints High series. This is Vaughn’s story. He is known for many things. An outrageously talented artist but also a very angry one. Fury often pours out of him. It is no secret that there is a reason why Vaughn is so angry. He exhibits so much underlying emotion and pent up anger.
“There was no mistaking the energy Vaughn Spencer brought into a room, because it sucked up everything else like a Hoover.”
Lenora Astalis aka Lenny is also an artist. She has a small history with Vaughn. Their story is told between past and present. Both have had tragedies in their lives, and are dealing with extremely emotional issues. Their lives weave together, not necessarily by choice.
“Nothing scared me anymore. Not even an angry god.”
The buildup is a slow and steady climb. As the story progresses, you think that you have an idea of what happened to Vaughn. But the culmination, the revelation, slams into you like a tsunami destroying every bit of your heart and sucking it out to sea.
What a story! Angry God is book #3 of the All Saints High series. A spinoff or second generation of the Sinners of Saint series. Each of the three books in the series are completely different. It can absolutely be read without first reading any of the Sinners of Saints – Vicious, Defy, Ruckus, Scandalous or Bane.
There are not many cameos in Angry God. But the epilogue was amazing! I don’t want it to end! I want to know what happens next! And thank you once again to paying homage to The Smiths ~ Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me.
“No one could take my pain away. No one.”
5 angry stars
#AuthorL.J.Shen #AngryGod #MustRead #Sexy #VaughnAndLenny #Nextgeneration #AllSaintsHigh #AlphaMale #StrongFemale #Love #DarkRomance #Enemies-to-lovers #Romance #A-holeMale
This was the most anticipated book from the All Saints High for me. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Vaughn Spencer. He intrigued me since these kids became teenagers. Just something about him caught my attention and I just couldn’t wait to read his story.
Vaughn and Lenora surely understood each other and the understanding they had bloomed into something more. They were truly made for each other. For each book I’ve read in this series starting from the Todos Santos (book 1) I just knew that with each book I read I would fall in love all over again with this author’s writing. Her books are flawless, they speak to you and tug your heart with the topics and themes that these books encounter.
I don’t think I could ever forget this amazing and precious series. Now that it’s over I have no clue what we’ll be getting next, but I can’t wait to see what more this author has in store for us.
This was an emotionally gripping story that just blows my mind!! My heart is utterly and completely shattered! I am absolutely slayed and stunned speechless. Vaughn’s story is dark and his journey is fraught with pain and soul deep torment. Lenora has her own dark past, but is she the missing piece to Vaughn’s puzzle? It is bittersweet that the series is coming to an end. I can’t wait to see what she has in store for her readers next!
Wow!!! What a way to wrap up this series! I loved all the words and I am so so sad the series is over. I have become so attached to these characters throughout the series that I’m having a very hard time saying good bye.
The first half of this book had me rolling with laughter. The jabs Vaughn, Lenora and their friends take at each other are really something else. Leigh Shen creates so many amazing one liners I felt like I was highlighting something on every page so I could remember the quotes forever! The second half of the book is equally amazing but in a much more dramatic nature as compared to the humor in the first half.
Angry God is all about Vaughn, and we finally got to find out his love interest. Lenora Astalis is the perfect match for Vaughn. They don’t have a pretty path to love that’s for sure. Sometimes the messy paths build the strongest relationships though.
Vaughn had some event in his past that set his whole life down an angry journey. I spent most of the book speculating what exactly this event could be. Lenora knows all about this big secret and has kept it to herself for years. She shows up at his high school years after the event and he worries she could ruin everything for him. He wants revenge against the person who wronged him and the main question remains, will he get it and how. Will he have to stand on his own or will Daddy Vicious save him from this horrible experience? When all the secrets are revealed the end result is both heartbreaking and beautiful for Vaughn and Lenora.
My only wish is that Shen decides to continue this series because I just don’t want say good-bye.
I want to say that I deserve all the pain and misery and sadness this read has brought up. That I asked for this, begged even, to be utterly wrecked I barely know myself.
But I firmly stand against the victim-blaming culture.
Sooo, I’d rather blame the author.
I blame L. J. Shen.
For all the hurt.
For the tragedy my poor heart unearthed between the pages
Last but not the least, I blame her for this otherwordly read; just the very best bully romance to ever grace my kindle. And this is saying A LOT because I have a very toxic relationship with bully romance. Whatever ungodly fixation I have, always been searching for the reason, this. Is. It.
This is that read.
For so long, ever since I discovered the notion behind school boys pulling the braids/pigtails of little girls, my younger self (and still now my present self) felt indignant and deeply disturbed. Should I just invalidate my six feet deep-rooted issues just because a boy didn’t know how to express himself? Should I dismiss how destroyed my self-esteem was just because the boy/s actually liked me anyway.
On one hand, I appreciate all the amazing authors who did their poetic justice against such misogynistic concepts and other toxic elements in romancelandia. But I admit, every bully romance I decide to delve into, I can’t help but lose myself and some hope for myself about pursuing closure from all of this.
But Angry God felt like it was fleshed out for me for this reason. And I currently feel so self-centered enough to claim it for myself.
JesusfuckingChrist. I am whipped.
Of course, Vaughn is so far from those boys we might as well name a whole new species for himself. Same with Lenny. I can only be as strong and smart and brave as her pinky.
But, I consider myself immensely clarified and educated. I get it. I do.
My list of the main reasons why bully romance worked in their circumstances:
1) Lenny. She is definitely one of the best young heroines there is in the romance community. She starts out as a sheep, all ladylike and meek. (FYI There is absolutely no wrong with being meek as a lamb. Truth be told, I find myself very fond of soft-hearted heroines.) But she has to fortify her walls, strengthen up to survive the tragedy that is her mom. And Vaughn. She has handled Vaughn like how an equal would. She has done us women proud whenever she stood up for herself. I salivate whenever she knocks down a peg or two out of those Todos Santos royalties. Whatever Vaughn and the rest of Todos Santos dishes out, she gives back ten times stronger.
I feel the Come-to-Jesus moment when she confronts Arabella. When she mends her ties with her dad. When she waits for Vaughn to rebuild himself. Utterly precious, this girl. There is no doubt whatsoever that she herself only perfectly complements Vaughn.
2) L. J. Shen’s writing style. If I’m to take out little but seemingly big-deal, specific moments out of this read and out of their context, I can never reconcile the bullying to the romance. But the author provides bigger pictures to those little details which kind of, cancels out the bad. No, not exactly canceling as if to say it never happened. More like, in the grand schemes of things, a better perspective comes out.
Not to toot the proverbial horn but L. J. Shen’s way (in coming to terms with all that angst in romance) is so far the best way.
3) Vaughn. Seriously, is there some kind of a hero farm in California where the author grows his kind? Vaughn…I don’t even know where to start. I am making this review right after the read, on the spot, for fear that I miss the essentials, ala strike the iron when it’s hot, but jfc I’m currently running empty and stupid at the moment.
It feels so difficult to say how bad he is, esp now that I have finished this read and unveiled the gut-clenching tragedy behind his hatred. To people. To this unfair, unfair world. I can’t. Consider me still shaken. I’m just going to say how befitting the title ‘Angry God’ is to him. He’s not exactly a bully in the traditional sense. He’s rightfully so angry the way Mother Nature is after its humans’ maltreatment. /proceeds to sew my mouth shut.
Again, no, it doesn’t make any of his actions right. Yes, he’s entitled for the cold fury running his veins and the general hatred for everyone. Still doesn’t make any of his actions (esp to Lenny) right. Though, now I know better. I secondhand suffer for him and for everyone else who has gone through that.
4) Much needed support from friends and family. To have those people, the kind similar to those who stood behind Vaughn and Lenny, I really want that for everyone else.
Sidenote: It used to fascinate me what would someone as untouchable as Vic do if he was brought down to his knees…and of fucking course, this kind of thing def would. But I’m very much more content to be left wondering, to never know, in exchange to never having him go through this. No one should have to feel like that for their loved one. No one. My heart goes out to every Baron and Emilia and Vaughn in the world.
Very humbling indeed.
Now, someone send me to ER because this book hangover will definitely kill me.
After reading Pretty Reckless and seeing Vaughan’s character, I was really excited to get his book. I didn’t think anything could top Knight’s book, but I was completely wrong. While Knight’s story broke me, Vaughan left my heart completely shattered.
Vaughan wasn’t what I expected at all, there was so many twists to this story that I didn’t see coming, so many parts that left me shattered with tears in my eyes.
Lenora was a match made in heavan for Vaughan, she’s absoutley perferct for him and I thought she was the good girl that Vaughan needed but she wasn’t what I expected at all. She stood up to Vaughan and didn’t take his shit.
I loved everything about this book from start to finish. Beginning to end. First word to last word. LJ pulls you into the story and keeps you hooked, keeps you wanting more and more. And even now after finishing the book I want more of Vaughan and Lenora’s story!
Perfectly imperfect beautiful disaster and positively amazing.
My writing skills are no where near adequate enough to ever do this book justice, but I will give it my best shot. I honestly don’t think I have read a book until this one, where I have found it hard to review. Not because I didn’t love it, but because it was so freaking good. I’m struggling with finding the right words to say without ruining the book for anyone who hasn’t had the chance to read it. So with that being said I’m going to keep this review short and sweet.
Vaughn Spencer is a force to be reckoned with. His back story is devastatingly heartbreaking and truly explains a lot about why he is they way he is. Fighting your demons all alone and not letting anyone help you is tough. Lenora Astalis is a perfect balance for Vaughn. Sassy, loyal, and caring. She also has a bit of a darker side to her but then again who doesn’t right? Their love story is perfectly imperfect. A beautiful disaster. There is just something purely amazing about how strong willed these two are. Never backing down, and even when it didn’t seem like it always there to catch the other if they should fall.
I truly cannot put into word how fantastic this book is. Be prepared to be wrecked. L.J. Shen truly out did herself with this one. I was a rollercoaster of emotions throughout their whole journey. Probably looking crazy ugly crying at my kindle. Like I said before there are no words to do this book justice. I give it all the stars. Not just five but every single star there is. The only problem I had with the book was that it ended. I need more. I highly recommend Angry God to every. It is a must read. Thank you L.J. Shen for such an amazing book.
ANGSTY, CRUEL, TRAGIC, TOUCHING, HEARTWARMING, PASSIONATE AND BEAUTIFULLY EPIC!!
Angry God was one of the best books I’ve ever read! Anyone who reads this book will leave with the feeling of having their heart ripped out then sewn perfectly back together again!
At the start of the book you have this over whelming compassion for Lennie and feel for her because she’s trying so hard to be tough and fierce, all the while knowing she’s deeply hurt. All she’s trying to do is get through school and please her father.
In comes Vaughn. A mean, angsty, cruel, broken and damaged 18 yr old who has been through hell. He has so many walls up you think no one would ever be able to break a single brick.
The relationship between Vaughn and Lennie is so intense I just cringed through most of the book. The emotional rollercoaster this book took me on was one I wanted to get off of immediately but also one I never want to end. The twists, angst, secrets, lies, so many enemies, heartwrenching love, stolen glances, tragic pasts and the passion made this book one I will always remember and deeply treasure. LJ Shen has written a book that will touch so many souls including mine. I felt this book and will carry it with me always. Thank you LJ for this beautifully written book. It was phenomenal!!!
4.5 STARS!
“Our love was so much more than love. It stripped us of pride and anger and hate and insecurities. We were bare and beautiful and pure when we were together.”
For me, Angry God didn’t disappoint. It was absolutely maddening at times—SO MADDENING—and some of Vaughn’s actions were questionable. However, he isn’t a typical guy, and his story was gritty and utterly heartbreaking. It covered some tough subject matter. Subject matter that took me by surprise. But, when past events begin to be uncovered and he finally lets someone close to him in the form of Lenora Astalis, we get to see growth in the unraveling of him. The moments of vulnerability is what I enjoyed most.
And Lenora just so happens to be my favorite heroine from this generation of Todos Santos. Her fight, unwillingness to buckle, and loyal heart made her admirable. She was the perfect girl to take Vaughn, his past, and hard exterior on. I loved her!
Angry God turned out to be a lot darker than I was expecting. Actually, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed it. It was nothing less than what I would expect for Baron “Vicious” Spencer’s son! Which by the way, I absolutely LOVED the small POVs we were given from him and Emilia!
I’m closing this review out by saying: I personally don’t mention events or situations from books in my reviews. I just can’t bring myself to possibly spoil something for a reader. However, if you have triggers, I would definitely advise in reading reviews or messaging someone who has read this book before picking it up.
Wow! This book was so good! I hated Vaughn in the beginning, but that didn’t last long. I fell apart when I finally caught the hint of where we were going. The scenes of him as a child ripped my heart out. I loved that Lenora got him to peak around and step out from behind his walls.
Another angsty read from LJ Shen. I really enjoyed that the main character, Vaughn, is the son of Baron and Emilia, characters from another story. Years ago, Lenora saw something she shouldn’t have and she’s been keeping Vaughn’s secret for years. Senior year in high school finds Lenora and Vaughn back at the same school. He’s tormenting her and and they are both vying for the same prestigious art internship. Lots of angst in this one–Shen really pushes the envelope.
WOW WOW WOW!! LJ Shen starts 2020 with a bang!!
Vaughn and Lenora owned music heart from the first few pages and to say that I did not want their story to end is an understatement. The author delivers the last book in a series that is undeniably one of the best I have ever read, with characters that are unforgettable.
Angry God is a straight up powerful read, managing to be bitterly funny , profoundly tragic and raw, as well as giving us great insight into art and music.
That’s just if you take it at face value.
It’s more than that.
It’s an impressive story, capturing the spirits of Vaughn and his muse, in gripping prose, telling a compelling and wholly unique tale.
LJ Shen is a master at explaining how the human mind is what we as flawed insecure human beings wrestle with the most. Vaughn is his worse enemy , he is the definition of anti hero but for me he is the hero of a generation- he is my perfectly imperfect hero.
Anna Karenna once said “monster don’t hide under our bed , they live inside our head”.
Vaughn and his muse are tormented by their own thoughts and how they interpret circumstances differently.
Daddy Vicious and Emilia OMG OMG
Angry God is in its own league in the literary world. I don’t think masterpieces are flawless… art pieces are not perfect … it’s the eye, the soul, the awe that make it perfect to the eye. Angry God is unique in the purest sense of the word-one of a kind.
What a heartbreaking story. I was waiting for Vaughn for sooo long. Finally I got to read his story. He is mean and vindictive, but as you are reading it gets all revealed why he is the way he is. There are some hard topics in the book. But these things really happen, if we want to acknowledge them or not. LJ Shen didn’t dissapoint with this one.
Vaughn also shows us his beautiful side. Yes, there is his softer side. He is amazing.
Lenora is the girl that doesn’t bow to him. She is strong and confident, even though not always so sure in herself. She stood up to him, and that made her different. I liked her very much. She had a hard time growing up without her mother.
I also loved the chapters with Vicious and Emelia input. They are amazing.
Story is everything and so much more. I am in love with Vaughn. You have to read it!
Now, at last, we get Vaughn’s story. We have watched him in the previous All Saints books (Pretty Reckless and Broken Knight), getting glimpses of his loyalty and brokenness. We’ve seen him and Lenora hate each other, but it’s a hatred suffused with … something.
LJ Shen takes us back to Vaughn and Lenora’s senior year of high school and into their first year together at Carlisle Prep, a prestigious art school in England. They claim they hate each other, although it’s more of a “hate that I want you” kind of hate. You know–and they know–that they will find their way to each other. Given that this is an LJ Shen book, though, you also know that how they find their way to each other will be tortured and fraught with every emotion Shen can throw at you.
Vaughn isn’t an easy guy to like, largely because he absolutely does not care if you like him or not, but like him I did. Of all the All Saints heroes, I like him best, in fact. I like how he loves, and I like how he shows his love. Vaughn is the guy you want on your side because he is unwavering. I even like his vengeance because it isn’t cruel. It’s necessary, at least for him.
As for Lenora, she’s easy to love. She invites it, even as she tries to convince herself that she doesn’t need it. One of the things I particularly enjoyed about this book is seeing her sister Poppy through a different lens. Those two support each other, and I appreciate that Shen shows us a sisterhood without pettiness.
The sexy times are amazing. Vaughn has a secret or two that make those scenes more emotionally powerful, even the one that has the, uh, Moment in it. (For the record, Vaughn, I applaud you and your intrepid devotion to satisfying your woman.)
I hope this isn’t the last in the series, although Shen’s note at the end implies that is the case. I’d love to keep hanging out with these people. The way she weaves in her Sinners of Saint characters, though, makes me hope that I haven’t seen the last of Vaughn Spencer.
I was wired in messy-ass knots. Made out of metal cords instead of veins. An empty black box instead of a heart. A laser-focused vision to detect weaknesses instead of pupils.
Good God!
Brilliant storytelling and unforgettable characters. I don’t know how Leigh does it, but she has written something so original, I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of feelings I would have! It took me by surprise and consumed every inch of my soul. Vaughn and Lenora are so different, so themselves, so unique, so beautiful! Addictive!
In awe, as always!
If I could give this book more than 5* I would, it would be like 100*.
From the very beginning I knew that Vaughn was deep, dark and that something had happened to him. As the story unfolded I could glimpse little snippets of what had happened, but when the truth came out I was absolutely furious on his behalf. The chemistry between Vaughn and Lenora was sizzling and I loved that she pushed back when he bullied her,showing that she was a match for him.
As the story went on and Vaughn began to show more emotion than he had ever done before I knew that he would get his HEA.
This book had me going through every emotion and had me unable to stop reading until the end.
BRILLIANT
So So many Feelings for this Read. I loved every Single one of these characters Brilliantly written from the first words to the last!! I’m so InLove with this World I just can’t get enough! Definitely your next 5 star Read..
This book was a long time coming for me, basically since I read “The End” in Vicious. And I’m still over the moon that I literally just read my baby Vicious!!
Angry God is an exceptional, emotional ride through some of the best obstacles Shen could throw a readers way.
Vaughn literally is the epitome of an Angry God. He is soo complicated, so misunderstood. So dark, so broody. So LIFE!!!
Shen, once again left me emotional and with the biggest book hangover ever!!!
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I have been anxiously waiting for this book to release since I first found out it was coming. I didn’t get lucky enough to receive an ARC, but that didn’t stop me from downloading it the day it released. I didn’t get to it right away because my reading list was already crazy by that time.
I had just finished another book that literally left me in shambles so I figured why not finish the job and dive into what I already knew would kick me down even further than I already was. I am seriously surprised I am alive today. That book + this book = I should be dead.
Angry God. I can’t even formulate the words to even begin to describe what this book did to me. I’ve devoured the rest of these books, and this one was no different. I literally couldn’t put it down. And once I finished it, I put my kindle down… and I left it. And I haven’t touched it since.
There is a beauty in the raw way that Leigh writes. A raw, emotionally driven, harsh beauty that is not easily accomplished. She literally takes your heart out of your chest, tramples it, throws it in a garbage disposal, and watches it bleed before putting it back together in your chest again, hoping like heck it still works. My heart obviously still works, but the emotional trauma that this book did to me will probably stay with me forever.
All the books in the series destroyed me in one way or another… Angry God destroyed me in ALL the ways. This dark bully romance is intense in a way that I haven’t felt in a long while.
Vaughn is the bad boy you want to love. You want to put him back together. You want him to heal and love and be loved. Leigh didn’t hold back on him and even though it tore me apart, it was pivotal for HIS story. I can’t even begin to describe Lenore. She is dark and gritty, reveling in her own grief. Together, they are just flames burning brighter and brighter.
I am obsessed with them. With this book. With the dark writing. The emotional rollercoaster is so much more than just a dark bully romance, it’s a journey. This journey will tear you apart, piece by piece. It will make you question yourself and your sanity. But it will be worth every single second you spend on it.
Five stars for this breathtakingly written emotionally stunting romance that will take you on the ride of your life. Enjoy the ride, feel it, embrace it… it’s worth it.
Oh my word, L.J. Shen destroyed me with Angry God! There aren’t enough words to describe this incredible, rollercoaster of a ride story. It’s angsty, it’s emotional, it’s unforgettable. I don’t think there’s any possible way for you to prepare for Vaughn Spencer’s story—it’s incredibly raw and powerful and will break your heart into a million pieces. While Angry God is a standalone story, a HIGHLY recommend that you read the first 2 books, Pretty Reckless and Broken Knight as you’ll get all of the backstories on most of the characters. Besides, you do NOT want to miss those stories!
Known for her angsty reads, Shen goes for broke with Angry God. She doesn’t hold back and that’s what makes this book cut so deep. The characters are all incredibly well fleshed out and will resonate on another level with readers. You’ll experience every emotion imaginable and once you’ve read the very last page you’ll feel like you’ve been put through the wringer but soothed with a beautiful ending. Since I refuse to give away any spoilers whatsoever, just know that this book will damage you in all of the best ways and your heart will bleed throughout but in the end you’ll feel contentment and healing. Don’t miss this incredible story….it truly deserves ALL THE STARS!