From bestselling author L.J. Shen, comes a new, standalone, contemporary romance. On special sale for only 99 cents for a LIMITED TIME.“Best book of the year” – Angie’s Dreamy Reads.“Best book I HAVE EVER READ” – Bookalicious Blog Babe.They call him The Mute for a reason.Hard, cold and calculated, he rarely speaks.When he does, it’s with disdain.When he does, his words aren’t meant for me.When he … does, his words aren’t meant for me.
When he does, my stomach flips and my world tilts on its axis.
He is thirty-three.
I am eighteen.
He’s a single dad and my father’s business partner.
I’m just a kid to him and his enemy’s daughter.
He’s emotionally unavailable.
And I am…feeling. Feeling things I shouldn’t feel for him.
Trent Rexroth is going to break my heart. The writing isn’t just on the wall, it’s inked on my soul.
And yet, I can’t stay away.
A scandal is the last thing my family needs. But a scandal is what we’re going to give them.
And oh, what beautiful chaos it will be.
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L.J. Shen never disappoints when it comes to the HotHoles and this book is no different. Trent is an antisocial, unreachable single father when his world is flipped upside down by an 18 year old woman (can’t really call her a girl) who, by all appearances, has everything but really doesn’t have anything.
Trent was a hothole that I had been looking forward to some time, after finding out that he was going to fall for his enemy’s daughter my intrigue increased. Edie was nothing like what I expected her to be, especially to take down the illusive Mute, but she was so much more. Absolutely beautiful (inside and out) and selfless to a fault. It was a privilege to not only watch their love grow, but to also see the adoration and dedication that Trent has to his daughter.
Once again, thank you L.J. Shen for taking the time to craft such a beautiful story.
This is one of the best books I’ve read this year!
Scandalous is the third book in the Sinner of Saint series, and as much as I loved the others this one has to be my favourite.
Once I started I couldn’t put it down, it was just so good.
I loved Trent and Edie. Loved their story. You watch their love grow as you turn every page.
So good to see all the guys together. The banter between them all.
I loved Luna she is such the cutest kid.
Yet another Alpha HotHole to scream over is here !! Trent Rexroth is coming and wait for it …..he’s a master of baddassery and assholery.
The Mute . He rarely talks and when he does, he spews disdain and contempt.
He works hard and FHH is better for him . A loyal and trusted friend to Vicious, Dean & Jamie.
And then he meets Edie Van Der Zee, daughter of a sworn enemy / partner -Jordan Van Der Zee. They are virtually at logger heads and Edie became s a pawn in their vile games.
Jordan owned half of downtown Todos Santos— the other half belonging to Baron Spencer— and had recently announced he was considering running for mayor.
She’s 18, impressionable and committed to her family. Her tiny shoulders carrying excess burden of her mother, Theo, Luna and all the time trying to find her passion, her place in the world . A beautiful tiny soul struggling in the volatile tides of this cruel ocean, that is her life. Her first love is surfing and riding the waves, ocean calls to her and she finds peace in unruly waves and angry tides.
“You’re trying to hold the entire universe on your shoulders and sprint with it to the nearest safe haven. You can’t. It’s too heavy. You’ll collapse. Ever tried to see what’ll happen if you let go?”
Leigh has written Trent with love and big heart , he’s an asshole but not a monster. He’s Ruthless, Cold , but full of heart.
Thrust with the excess baggage himself and learning to cope with it, he funds a kindred soul in Edie . But the gaping age chasm makes it uncomfortable and conflicting, yet the magnetic pull is formidable and very powerfull
I gravitated toward him like he was the sun. A beautiful pleasure conceived by nature that could very well kill you if you got too close. He looked at me like I was the moon. Pale and lonely and so far away.
The fact that Trent is aware of the conspiracies surrounding him and the threat of looming war on the horizon, he still is helpless against his heart. The irony isn’t lost on him at all. But if you think he’ll quietly roll over and die, you’ve underestimated the HotHole. Hes just getting warmed up !!!
You’re my Delilah, Edie, and I’m your Samson. You want to ruin me, destroy me, strip me of my power, and betray me. I should stay away from you, but I want you too fucking much. And when it’s all over, when all that’s left of us is sweaty flesh and shattered minds and torn hearts, you will remember me as the man who made you cry, and I’ll remember you as the girl I had to break to stay afloat.”
I need to mention here that Bane plays a very safe place for her to decompress at some very stress full times in Edie’s life, I wish there was more of that equation. When he says – I Told you so , it damn near brought me to tears !!
I loved that MY vicious revisits. Maybe he was looking for me !!
I loved their brotherhood, their loyalty
I loved the poor overburdened Edie and the conflicted Heart of Trent , trying to make sense if it all
He’s a sexy brooding alpha from the Sexy brain of Leigh . She seems to have copyrighted the Sexy as sin and savage as Vikings alpha heroes, who steal our hearts and set our collective panties on fire.
Here the seahorses kissed the tide !!!
4.5 Luna-tic stars
Slow to start but what an explosive ending!!
Scandalous is the last book about the four HotHoles of Todos Santos – thankfully L.J. Shen is also giving us Bane’s story this May – and Trent Rexroth, the Mute, was the HotHole that intrigued me but didn’t really hold my interest in the earlier books. But in this book, he was definitely given a chance to show his true colours, his true nature – both the good and the bad – and his true feelings for one Edie Van der Zee. Edie is the daughter of Jordan Van der Zee, the man who had bought out 49% of the HotHoles company with the idea being that the guys could start to settle down with their new families… this guy, however, ends up being a lot more trouble than he was ever worth.
I’ll admit that this book didn’t grip me like Vicious’ and Dean’s books and it took me a while to really get into it. I liked Trent, I liked Edie … but they really took the whole “enemies” part of “enemies to lovers” quite seriously and so I didn’t warm up to them straightaway. But their story is certainly a captivating one and the twists and unexpected surprises that came towards the end more than made up for the slow start. These two characters were definitely true to themselves throughout the whole book – even through to the epilogue – and I definitely appreciated that there wasn’t a personality transplant for either of them… that there love was genuine, their relationship based on understanding of each other and, most of all, a “we don’t care what others thing” attitude to the world which always shone through.
I can’t review Scandalous without mentioning Trent’s beautiful daughter Luna. She has quite a few issues and yet the love she has for her dad – and vice-versa – is so genuine that I couldn’t help but fall in love with them both. And the budding relationship between Luna and Edie is also so lovely to watch happen – for us as readers and even for Trent.
And finally, I got to meet the title character for the final book in the Sinners of Saints series – Bane. I’m so glad we get his book because this man – who, as Vicious so kindly said is the “made in China” version of the himself – clearly is going to have one hell of a story to tell.
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Trent Rexroth is a Hothole. He is The Mute. He is a single dad. He is a millionaire. He is a lot of things…
SCANDALOUS is every broken girl’s dream. A quiet jerk who destroys your world one naughty look at a time. A beautiful little girl who steals your heart. A broken young woman with too much baggage.
Everyone is afraid of something. The “scandalous” relationship in this book is hot and heavy. The naughty stuff dreams are made of.
But everyone has a breaking point…
I love the Hotholes. I love each one in his own way. I love Trent’s no f@©ks to give attitude. I love his strength even with his overwhelming self doubt. I love the way he loves his daughter. He won’t replace Vicious in my naughty dreams but I loved learning more about him. I love knowing what makes the silent giant tick.
To all those out there harboring a Hothole crush or two (or four), know that Trent will not disappoint you. Also it seems there might even be a younger generation…
Reviewed for Sweet Spot Sisterhood
I loved this! I am in love with Trent
I was very much looking forward to this story and It was everything I thought it would be.
Sexy, Fun, Hot, Swoon worthy, Effortless.
I loved the way the 2 characters challenged each other but also the way they trusted without really having a choice.
OMG! The chemistry…enough said.
I’m not usually into “bad boy” romances; in fact, I write mostly about the good guys (yes, they do exist!). BUT…LJ Shen does bad boys in such a good way. Especially Trent. Oh. Dear. Lord. Trent… He is arrogant, damaged, snarky, and sexy AF. There is something about his character that just pulls you in and makes you root for him and Edie. I think because Edie, too, has her issues, it makes the pair so dysfunctional they make sense. And you just want to see them happy. And the sex scenes. Worth every page read. Hot, hot, hot. Loved the ending as well. Unexpected yet believable. HEA that makes you cheer. What’s not to love?
After reading Ruckus, I was definitely eager to see what L.J. Shen had in store for us with Trent. And what she created with Scandalous was way better and amazing than anything I could have even thought of. She truly created a captivating and mesmerizing story for Trent & Edie, and I was sucked in from the beginning. I loved the push and pull between them, as you knew even though they disliked one another…..that underneath all that pent up aggression and animosity, was a raging inferno of passion that was just waiting to be explored. The age factor didn’t even bother me in the slightest, as Edie was eighteen. I saw the characters as two people who on the outside appeared to have it all, yet were completely misunderstood and judged based on preconceived notions….and they truly didn’t care what the rest of the world thought of them. I loved how Edie was with Luna, and I had tears in my eyes many times when they would interact. Knowing how hard it had been for Trent with his daughter, I think he couldn’t deny that Edie was someone who needed to be a part of their lives.
This book definitely took me on a roller-coaster ride of emotions…..and I’m pretty sure I gasped in shock quite a few times. I also laughed, cried, yelled……there really was everything you wanted in this book. It truly was one fantastic story….and I hope this isn’t the end of our beloved HotHoles. The Sinners of Saint series is truly fantastic, and even though I know most people love Vicious (I’ve been partial to Dean since Ruckus)…….I think she saved the best for last!
I’ve been eagerly awaiting Trent’s story and even though it didn’t blow me away it was still an enjoyable read.I felt like the story dragged in certain areas but once it picked up it was good. I had a hard time connecting with Edie at first and felt like she was a “rebel without a cause” but as the story progressed my feelings changed 100%. At the young age of 18 she has been through so much and it really tugged at my heartstrings when we got her backstory.
Trent aka The Mute is another one with a lot of baggage as he is the only biracial one of the hot holes and had to endure racism. I do applaud the author for making this character biracial but I disliked the fact that he grew up poor, had to superglue his sneakers together. As a person of color we aren’t all poor and from the ghetto. Despite that minor issue I did like the dynamic between Trent and Edie. The age gap didn’t bother me as Edie seem to mature for her age as the story progressed.
As far and Edie and Trent as a couple I didn’t feel their connection. They had off the charts sexual chemistry but the love story was missing for me and I would have liked more development in that area. I enjoyed catching up with the rest of the gang as well. There were certain plot twist I wasn’t expecting at all. I’m sad to see this series come to an end as I loved the hot holes and their wives. Hopefully the author will provide us with a novella in the future.
I’ve been hooked on these #Hotholes from the beginning with Defy and to hear Trent and Edie’s story all I can say is WOW! They call him the mute of the group but when this man speaks he says exactly how he feels. We’re given a bit of mystery as to what Edie’s father has planned throughout the entire story and I like that I’m kept guessing what it could be all while we see the side of Trent I wouldn’t of guessed he had. He’s an incredible father with all the care and protection he gives his daughter. I’m practically brought to tears with some moments shared between Edie and her, they’re truly precious moments. Although she is young, Edie’s character grows and develops into a strong heroine that I love. Great series and I would recommend you grab each one even though they can be read as standalones. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.
Super hot sexy. Loved it. Omg. Magnificent read.
*****spoilers****
Wow is hard to even try to put words when something is really amazing and this good.. i want to write about every little detail that’s how much I like the book …
So far it is the best book I’ve read this year… not only I haven’t had this excitement for a book to come out in a long time but the writing the story everything it was worth the waiting….
When I first met Trent I didn’t know much about him because like his nickname says he was always a mute in some kind of way.. but the more I got to know him while reading vicious and ruckus the more I like him but now here in scandalous wow just wow
He is definitely someone that even if he is broken his brokenness make him shine amazingly.. his personality has both sides cocky and also a bastard and somehow arrogant when he wants to be, but also you can see how beautiful he is when he is around Luna .. . i love how much he fought not to really get involve with Edie, how much he fought thinking it was the right thing to do, when he was denying himself of love… he is amazing with Luna, his daughter. we can see how much he love her, how he will do anything to protect her from everybody including her spineless b of a mother…
Edie is also a broken soul trying to find her way in life out of her father shadow who is a big time A.. not only she has to work hard and steal and do things she regrets to be able to help to keep her brother in a special facility, but also she has to endure the constant harassment of her father and taking care of her mother who spends most of the time in another planet with her system full of drugs…like Trent says “thanks for that Jordi”
Edie, a true mermaid soul..
What I love about the story is that we can see how the relationship between Edie and Trent took shape slowly and we saw how at first the try to hate eache other, make eache others life miserable without succeeding..
I love also how we can see more about the other hot holes,Vicious is always the one who steals the show with just a few words.. he strikes when the least expected lol
I like how there’re a few twists that you don’t see them coming.. yea the last part is going to shock you!!!
There was a part that I wanted to kick Mel, when she was trying to set Trent with her friends and also her two cents about Val?
the love between Edie and Trent was beautiful, there was a moment where Leigh describes how their hands look intertwined, the beautiful contrast of their skin and how his hands where bigger than her slender teenage hands.. it was a scene that really made me feel the love between them..
I love the series, I love scandalous, I love Trent and Edie.. i love the way L.J Shen writes, her unique style is one of a kind..
I hope we get too see more of the series with All the hot holes daughters and sons…
I like the fact knight was already showing interest in Luna!!!
Definitely sinners of saint has become one of my favorites of all time
This book was Amazing! L.J. Shen did a wonderful job with this one! I love Trent and Edie their story is so interesting and hot and so so good. This book is everything I Love it so much!! This was hate to love in its truest form. Trent and Edie are addicting once you start you will not want to put it down. I am re-reading it as I am writing this that’s how much I love it. The build up and sexual tension in this book was of the charts fantastic! I was so excited to get to read about Trent I really liked him at the end of “Ruckus” and by the end of “Scandalous” I am in LOVE with him. I freaking love Edie to! She is so freaking cool and such a bad-ass. This book is so Good, so Wonderful, so freaking Fantastic.
Trent hates Edie’ s Dad and will do anything to spite him and get him out of his company. So when Jordan Van Der Zee brings in his daughter to work for them Trent immediately says no. He does not want Edie anywhere near him for two reason. One she is Jordan’s daughter and two He can’t stop wanting her even if he knows he shouldn’t. Then he sees Edie with his daughter Luna and Luna actually took a liking to Edie and was more open then she has ever been. So he decided to keep her around. He would do anything for his daughter and if having Edie around makes her happy then he will deal with it. He knows he should steer clear of her but he can’t. Not only is she good for his daughter, she is to irresistible to him. He wants her bad even though he knows she is out to get him and she is only eighteen he wants her, and he always gets what he wants.
“Teenager or not, you’re about to do a lot of grown-up stuff with me.”
Edie hates Her dad. She would do anything to be ride of him but he is a necessary evil in her life. When her father makes her work at his company she can’t say no even though she really wants to. She has to be around Trent Rexroth everyday. He is a broody asshole who infuriates her but sets her body on fire at the same time. The only good thing about being close to him is his daughter Luna. She is quiet but so wonderful and Edie loves spending time with her. Then her father instructs her to help him take Trent down. She doesn’t want to but she knows that helping Jordan take down Trent is the only way for her to be happy and get away form Jordan. She has to get close to Trent to get what her father needs. Only getting close to Trent isn’t the problem falling for him is. She can’t deny how her body reacts when he’s near. She wants him and He wants her. She can have a little fun while still trying to get him. The more time she spends with Trent and Luna the worse she feels about helping Jordan but she has to do it to be free.
“If you want to be strong–be.“
God I Love Trent so much! He is such an asshole but I love him. I love Trent and Edie so much they are so amazing. This is a book that I will read over and over again. Trent and Edie’s love story is so much more than just an ordinary love story. The forbidden is always sexy. I can’t even describe how amazing this book is. Honestly all I can say is that this is a MUST READ!! Leigh did an Amazing Job with this book! I Highly Recommend “Scandalous” and it will be one of my favorites for a long time!
“My girl, my obsession, my Tide.”
It’s been said that you should watch out for the quiet ones. L.J. Shen gives us all the reasons that is true in Scandalous, the final book in the Sinners of Saint series. A phenomenal read filled with angst and forbidden love. This one truly lives up to its title.
“I should warn you, Edie. I’m not the prince in this fairy tale. I’m the villain. The poisonous apple, the flame-breathing monster.”
Trent Rexroth. He doesn’t talk much, but when he does watch out. He is quiet and lives only for his work and his daughter, Luna. When his partner’s daughter starts an internship, he plans to use her to his advantage.
“I always enjoyed the broken in the fairy tales better. The apple always looked shinier because I knew it could destroy me.”
Edie Van Der Zee. Barely eighteen, she shoulders more than she should. The secrets she carries weigh her down and they are going to break her. But not before he does. Trent is going to be her downfall, she knows it, and plans to relish in every glorious moment of the descent.
“You’re my Delilah, Edie, and I’m your Samson. You want to ruin me, destroy me, strip me of my power, and betray me. I should stay away from you, but I want you too f***ing much. And when it’s all over, when all that’s left of us is sweaty flesh and shattered minds and torn hearts, you will remember me as the man who made you cry, and I’ll remember you as the girl I had to break to stay afloat.”
Trent, lord why do I love that he is such a jerk?! He is the quiet confident man that you just cannot seem to stay away from. He is private, brooding and so damn sexy it should be illegal. I love that his daughter always comes first. Even when he is basically at war with his partner for the company, he still puts her first. That simple fact brings his hotness level up by about a thousand in my book!
Edie is mature for her age. She is strong and resilient in the face of everything that is thrown at her. She is young but she is not naïve. She knows how things work, how people will use you, but she still has hope and she clings to it, searching for her fairytale ending.
“And I will never love anyone else the way I do you, because it’s not about my age. It’s about my heart.”
Another hothole has found love and Leigh has given us another masterpiece. I am in awe of the way she manages to give us her heart and soul in words. It is only fair that her writing and characters took a piece of mine in return. I am a firm believer in love is love, regardless of race, age, or sexual orientation. So to read a book that surpasses the norm and pushes the limits of what is acceptable always gives me a thrill and makes my heart soar. Thank you so much Leigh for giving me your words and allowing me to get to know and love your characters. I will be watching for what you put out next, I am positive it will be just as magnificent. FIVE quiet and brooding stars.
“‘I should warn you, Edie, I’m not the prince in this fairy tale. I’m the villain. The poisonous apple, the flame-breathing monster.” “Good. I always enjoyed the broken in the fairy tales better. The apple always looked shinier because I knew it could destroy me. The villain was just damaged and misunderstood, and the monster …” I leaned on my tiptoes, biting the tip of his ear, just barely reaching his impossible height. “I always kept the door to my closet a little ajar as a kid to make sure it could come out in case it wanted to play.”‘
Trent has always intrigued me. He was involved with the Hotholes, for sure, but he always seemed to be the one with a goal that existed outside the existence the other boys were forging for themselves. As I was introduced to grown-up Trent, woooooo! *heart eyes* His little girl *swoons* Geesh, I was hooked at the exact moment her Mom left (Total, absolute witch of a woman!). If you’ve read my review for Ruckus, you’ll note I said that I was totally in love with Dean. And I am. Buuuuuut, I happen to ALSO be in love with Trent
This story had a lot of facets to it. There were so many angles where things were happening, that with each page turn it seemed to tangle the web even more. There were times I wasn’t sure she was even going to be able to wrap up the story because there were just so many loose ends! I enjoyed seeing a little intrigue amongst all the love story, and was pleased to see that this Hothole was a little darker. He truly did allow himself to become the villain in many ways, and this thrilled me! I don’t like to get too dark (at least not often), but if a character is broken they are soooo much better to me.
Edie, also, wasn’t what I was expecting. Because she was younger, I did get a little annoyed at her several times. If I’m being honest, though, this is simply a tribute to writing an accurate character, as teenagers coming into adulthood are quite often acting EXACTLY as Edie did. Granted, there’s a little more than meets the eye with her, but she is definitely still her age and needed to showcase that. I thought it was well done, especially with the age gap between the two.
Luna & Theo stole the largest chunk of my heart, though. I can’t begin to tell you how much I love seeing characters like this in stories. When authors address real issues and real struggles, but incorporate them into a story that provides hope … man, I’m taken EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I think the story was truly woven through these two, and without them I’m not sure that I’d have really loved Trent & Edie’s coming together in the way I did.
If you haven’t read this series, it comes highly recommended. Although I had a rough start with the first book, the others were AMAZING reads for me.
OK, so I normally don’t read taboo stories even though Edie is of age, she’s still freshly 18 years old. Regardless of that fact, there were so many great reviews recommending this book and I decided to give it a try. Even though this is the fourth book from the Sinners of Saint series, this was my first read from not only this series but this author as well.
As I began to dive into this book, I kept my mind open and I was pleasantly surprised. It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Even though Edie is still a teenager, she is a full-fledged adult. A child who had to grow up fast to be there and take care of the two people that she loves the most in her life, her emotionally absent mom and her brother, Theodore. Just reading this book, there’s nothing childish coming off of Edie besides her snarkiness to the one man that completely gets under her skin. L.J. does a phenomenal job with keeping me pulled into the story with her flawless writing.
First of all, I was completely enthralled with Edie and Trent. They’re like water and oil, but hot damn the tension between these two is off the charts.
Edie is such a strong character and you’ll fall in love with her instantly. She has so much of her heart to give and she’s completely loyal to her mother and brother. Despite being stuck on the wrong side with her a-hole of a father and the ever arrogant Trent, she does her best to stay afloat among it all. There was a lot that she chose to keep to herself and that’s where her protective instincts came about. But it wasn’t until Trent, things started to change for her.
Trent, Trent, Trent … where do I even begin? The rough, arrogant, protective, yet sexy of a man that is Trent. But the one thing that I love about Trent is how he is towards his daughter, it’s the softer side of him. I just love when kiddos are involved in the story especially when it’s a single father. As hard and tough a man can be, I’m such a fan of seeing them be nurturing towards their kid. Granted he’s still trying to figure out the ropes of fatherhood especially with a daughter who doesn’t speak much verbally … but she seriously says SO MUCH.
There’s a lot to love about Scandalous and it sure did surprise the hell out of me. Edie and Trent are opposites, both flawed in their own ways, but they come together perfectly. You’ll be drawn in the entire time. And it’s easily added to my #RSFave.
(Can be read as a standalone)
I’m in the minority. Scandalous was just a decent read for me and my least favorite in the series.
I loved how Trent was a sexy single dad that had his own issues. I just had a problem with the chemistry between the characters. Of course, there were lots of steamy moments, but the story didn’t stand out to me. The lines were a bit too cheesy, and I couldn’t get into it.
My favorite part of the book was seeing my delicious Vicious. I can’t get enough of him. The next book is about Bane, Edie’s best friend. I’m really intrigued and added the book in my list to read.
The man who filled my heart with music with his silence.” – Edie
“Everything about her felt ripe . She was alluring , more than just physically . Like an old song with a sweet memory stapled to it . Or like a first . First beer . First joint . First kiss . I knew she was going to haunt me to my grave if I didn’t do something about it — and would do worse to me if I acted on it.” – Trent
It’s true, you know, about… “the first time”. I simply cannot get over the wild feelings I had with this my first ever read of L.J. Shen!!! I keep searching the memory banks in my head for the appropriate superlatives about the sheer beauty, subtle and overt themes; oh, and the words, the glory in this author’s words. I would be terribly remiss if I did not mention the stunning, realistic erotic scenes so masterfully crafted that breathing while reading became a real effort. The stunning surprise of the actual touch after the interminable teasing…delicious teasing.
This was a love affair wrapped in a mystery unfolding along a plot line that did not allow me to stop reading. I was bereft when I had to stop and join the real world. I was infected with a happy fever reading this enthralling novel. Trent is actually the first of the “Hotholes” I have met. His description of Afro-Nordic features, “grey-blue eyes that looked like moonstones”, his gorgeous build…and…that he was “Cruel in his silence and punishing in his confidence.” The writer’s picture of him was very clear. Trent also known as the “Mute” was devastatingly alpha-sexy. He was so very troubled over his little daughter’s seeming inability to speak or desire not to communicate with him. This situation was devastating to this strong, silent. albeit socially damaged, successful man.
The story is not without the loveliest of heroines, Edie. She is a petite beautiful sprite carrying a heavy load on her shoulders. She is intuitively wise and responsible beyond her years. She bears the emotional scars of an all-around dysfunctional family. That she needs to use her imperfect “dark knight made of coarse material” to save her loved ones even to the point of her knight…Trent’s, destruction creates an intense, seemingly impossible unresolvable tension in the story.
That Trent is aware of the intentions of Edie, yet still succumbs to her despite of it…has this tension pulling and tugging in different directions on the emotions of the reader…a pull and tug that is both painful and pleasurable.
The story illuminates the idea that damage to one’s personae can come from both familial dysfunction and a general dysfunction that occurs in society where there is the distinction of class…primarily because one has money and the outward symbols of that money…and the effect of society in valuing the moneyed class by those who always had, those who recently acquired wealth and even those who do not have. Ironically, even those without money see their own value as less than those who have money. The quote in the beginning of and the themes from “The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy echoing in this book add a richness to the read. The book by Roy dealt with castes and social class based on skin color and forbidden love in India and its deleterious effects on the human psyche and soul along with so many other themes.
I was so enamored with the writing of this author that I made certain to have all three of the previous books in this series queued up and ready to read. I was completely comfortable beginning with this book and I do believe any reader would say the same. The author is thrilling for the lover of meaningful, deliciously sexy, even decadent, but not overly so, romance. It was difficult to stop reading her books and make time to write this review. However, my heart was bursting and I simply had to tell you of the sheer delight there is to be had in reading the writing of this author. This delight is but one click away.
After I’d finished Ruckus, Dean was hands down my favorite HotHole, until I devoured Scandalous. Holy F***ing amaz-a-balls! Trent chewed me up and spit me out and I loved every freakin’ second of it. I love me an angsty, depraved, love-hate relationship between the H and h. And, the pot was sweetened by revealing Trent as a single dad raising little Luna. Well, stick a fork in me I’m done! *swoons*
I also loved Edie who was tough as nails on the outside but just wants to be….”Instead, I closed my eyes and imagined that his voice was a wave. I rode it all the way to a smile.”
L. J. Shen, you’ve done it again! Now, I’m depressed and I have no clue what I’m going to read next. Nothing, will Ever compare to Scandalous!
Loved, loved this book, fantastic story line and I just love Trent and Edie, so hot together. Will be reading more L.J. Shen.