#1 In the entire Kindle StoreFrom USA Today Bestselling author L.J. Shen comes a new, fun, steamy standalone about a notorious playboy and the nerdy girl who brings him to his knees.Boston’s debauched elite is going up in flames, and it’s the Fitzpatrick family that set it on fire.ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀI didn’t mean to star in a sex tape, okay?It was just one of those unexplainable things. Like Stonehenge, … just one of those unexplainable things.
Like Stonehenge, Police Academy 2, and morning glory clouds.
It just happened.
Now, my ball-busting father is sentencing me to six months of celibacy, sobriety, and morbid boredom under the roof of Boston’s nerdiest girl alive, Sailor Brennan.
The virginal archer is supposed to babysit my ass while I learn to take my place in Royal Pipelines, my family’s oil company.
Little does she know, that’s not the only pipe I’ll be laying…
Sailor
I didn’t want this gig, okay?
But the deal was too sweet to walk away from.
I needed the public endorsement; Hunter needed a nanny.
Besides, what’s six months in the grand scheme of things?
It’s not like I’m in danger of falling in love with the appallingly gorgeous, charismatic gazillionaire who happens to be one of Boston’s most eligible bachelors.
No. I will remain immune to Hunter Fitzpatrick’s charm.
Even at the cost of losing everything I have.
Even at the cost of burning down his kingdom.
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This new series starts off with a bang! It’s a sweet and funny, enemies-to-lovers and L.J. brings all the SWOON!
This book and new series is literally like finding the pot of gold at the end of an enormous and glorious rainbow! Leigh Shen delivers an addicting, uplifting and captivating frenemies to lovers story featuring Hunter Fitzpatrick and Sailor Brennan!! This beautifully written and refreshingly honest and raw story takes a look at finding out who you truly are, what you are willing to fight for, who you can honestly trust and where your loyalties truly lie. As you read, you’ll teeter back on forth on who is truly the hunter and the prey and how sometimes not everything may be as it seems.
I absolutely love that this new series focuses on the bonds and friendship of four strong and independent women – the Boston Belles! Most romance is truly focused on the alpha heroes but I must say the Leigh Shen writes some of the most amazing heroines in romance! And we are all in for a magnificent treat as we explore this new Boston world and these lovely ladies lively spirits! They have formed a true bond that envelops you in warmth and as one beautiful woman states “loyalty is thicker than blood…we’re a team now. A pack. The Boston Belles.” And I think we’re all in for a hell of a ride!
Our first Boston Belle is none other than the daughter of Troy and Sparrow Brennan. Now some of us know this couple deeply from Shen’s previous book and it’s amazing to re-visit this couple and get a glimpse of their future! But it’s not necessary to read beforehand but I’ll say I highly suggest it to get the full affect of Troy Brennan! Sailor is truly a perfect blend of their personalities! She seems to be a planner, has great instincts and amazing at executing what she sets out to do just like her father but she has the tenacity and fire that her mother has as well as an authentic and genuine soul! People often see her as a quiet and docile dork at first glimpse but they would be surprised to find out who she truly is! Feisty and loyal with sides of vulnerability and devotion to the good in life – we get a look into the heart and soul of a beautiful wallflower finding herself and dealing with her insecurities while blossoming and flourishing with hope and love!
Hunter Fitzpatrick honestly took time to grow on me! He’s an oddly distinct hero that is very different from your typical romance hero. He’s the quintessential and stereotypical California dude bro obsessed with sexual conquests with crazy vocabulary and slang words and I totally questioned his morals. But as the story unfolds, we find there are many layers to the man and he keeps up a facade due to his past. He’s honestly a lonely soul who has never had a constant in his life so he’s hidden his true self from the world and became a charming chameleon who relies on humor and surface interactions. As life throws him a curveball the size of a small spitfire woman, you get to watch the many layers unfold as he finds out what true loyalty, commitment and the love and friendship of a woman mean to him. A look at a beautiful soul that even he didn’t know he possessed! And by the end, I totally am rooting for him to get the girl and find hope and true happiness!
I absolutely am enthralled to find out more about the secondary characters and Shen has delivered an enticing world leaving me intrigued and invested! I hope to see more of Sailor and Hunter in the rest of the series as well as learn more about the Brennans’, Fitzpatricks’ and the Penrose sisters!
Shen delivers an explosive and angsty read filled with dirty talk, devious innuendos and steamy sensuality that will leave you breathlessly turning the pages to find out more about this enchanting and captivating couple! Don’t wait – read it now and find your new obsession!
An amazing read, the story pulled me in and I didn’t want to put it down but I had to go to sleep and finish the next day. Sibling rivalry, questionable parenting, a rebellious son and some scheming thrown into the mix. I enjoyed every single page, love the witty banter between the two main characters. The HEA was great.
This book just wasn’t for me. I tried to find some redeeming quality in Hunter and not matter what it just wasn’t there. He was disgusting. And Sailor was just sad, how could you so easily be with someone so disgusting. I really wanted to enjoy it but just not good all around for my taste.
Wonderful read with a lovely HEA
Enjoyed it mostly, but something’s missing
An angsty, heartfelt, witty and mischievously endearing enemies to lovers romance. I enjoyed every single moment of this charming story.
The most unlikeable characters I’ve read about lately. He’s a spoiled brat and she a delusional Pollyanna.
Everything by LJ Shen is bomb!
TITLE: The Hunter
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
AUTHOR: L. J. Shen
TROPE: Enemies-to-Lovers
TYPE: Series (Boston Belles Book 1)
MY RATING: / 5
I really enjoyed this book as well as the banter and chemistry between Hunter and Sailor. How could you not fall in love with Hunter the Playboy with a funny sense of humour and caring side? True Hunter is a man-whore of epic proportions, but if you hang in there he will worm his was into your heart with his charm. Sailor is a feisty redhead obsessed with structure and rules who is striving to make it onto the Olympic archery team.
I was so disappointed with this book, I am an LJ fan, and tend to like her bullies and jerks who end up redeeming themselves, however I don’t feel like Hunter did that. He was a jerk, and remained that way. Not only that but to be honest I was kind of disgusted with a lot of passages in this book, there were things that I didn’t feel I needed to read, I get that we needed to know that Hunter was t biggest of the biggest Man-ho’s out there, I mean this guy beat out Dean! and that is saying something. But he was not only disgusting, he was callous in my mind. Then when he was having a relationship with Sailor he didn’t seem all into it like she was, his thoughts were not conducive to hers, the whole time he was thinking of when he was going to get other woman (saying it the clean way) not Hunter’s way. So in the end when he is doing the groveling, I didn’t feel it or believe it. one whole star was because Vicious appeared
rcvd and ARC at no cost to author (netgalley) voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions.
I loved this story but really did feel as I hadn’t read any others in this “world” I was having to try to catch up and guess who people were a little. I definitely feel you would get more out of it if you read the other stories with interlinked characters (I honestly don’t know where to start though as they aren’t a linked series on Amazon!)
Hunter is a delightfully woman hungry cad with no concept of the real world and living his life in direct contradiction to his families wishes for a lot of reasons that come out in fun/emotional/frustrating ways through the story. His journey from where he starts (it’s a mess!!) to where he ends up is tortuous at times but engaging.
Sailor is the girl who knows what she wants and has pin point focus on it to the detriment of everything and everyone else around her.
Opposites in every way the tension, passion and angst that comes with this relationship makes it a great read.
If you like insultingly vulgar male leads, you’ll love Hunter
There’s no question that this author has a talent for wordcraft, but I do wish she’d expand her repertoire just a bit, maybe try to write a male lead who doesn’t have to be a complete alphahole all the time, every time.
If you’ve read any of her previous books, then you already know Hunter. And Sailor, for that matter. These two aren’t so very different than Troy and Sparrow, Sailor’s parents. But this is their story, and if you forget you’ve ever read any of her other books, this one might feel fresh and original.
Hunter is a very young man, not yet independent of his parents, who playacts at being a celebrity playboy because he thinks that’s his pre-assigned role in life. Until he messes up so horribly that his father arranges for him to enter a unique kind of rehab under the supervision of Sailor, who has her own reasons for taking on the role of babysitter as well as her own dramas to contend with. They both have complex family dynamics to work through, though these are rather stereotypical situations for the those in the ultra-rich set.
Still, most of this story is about Hunter’s personal growth from spoiled rich kid to responsible young man, and this author’s writing style certainly builds a drama-filled narrative that gradually leads to an awakening followed by a genuinely happy HEA.
If this is your first book by this author and you love irredeemable bad boys, I guarantee you’ll love it. If you’ve read her books before and like to know what you’re going to get, grab this one and enjoy. If you’ve been hoping to see something new from this author, keep hoping, but she’s not there yet. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
Hilarious, heart-squishing romance…
Sailor and Hunter were sizzle-y perfection! Brought together to keep Hunter out of trouble, the friction was immediate and sparked chemistry, angst, anger and everything in between! Hunter was mad. And frustrated. And… hurt? Most of all he was angry, and he’d been that way for a long time. His latest escapade was something he couldn’t wriggle out of – at least from family consequences anyway. He grudgingly accepted Sailor in his life but that, shockingly for both of them, morphed into so much more…
Oh did I love these characters and their story! Hunter, on the surface, was a flighty man-whore. And he SO was but he was also a lot more. Capable of deep feelings and empathy, there was a lot to learn and like about him. Sailor was a great female lead, a great character, full stop. Warm, funny, focused, she hid a lot insecurity behind her quiet façade…
Little did they know how much the other was going to help them not sort out their problems but also become their most ardent champions. And, man, did I love how it all unfolded. Every flirty text, cheeky comment, and heated scene – in other words, every minute of it…
It’s only the start of the series and my heart is beyond happy there will be lots more to come!
*I happily reviewed this story
**Thank you to NetGalley
The Hunter by L.J. Shen is An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance. This is the story of Hunter and Sailor Brennan.
Hunter is a man whore who took it to far when he was video taped with a bunch of women. Now he has to commit to being sober and not messing around with women. This is how he meets Sailor who has been assigned to baby set him to keep him on the road to right. Enjoyed
This is my first book by this author and, I will admit, it took me a little while to get into it. Hunter was a man-ho of epic proportions! I felt I always needed the sanitizer whenever he appeared. But as Sailor got him to open up, I fell in love with his sensitive, loving, but potty mouth, nature. While I admired Sailor’s dedication to her sport, I had a difficult time understanding how both sets of parents would feel that Sailor acting as a babysitter to Hunter was going to work out. After all, Sailor wasn’t even in Hunter’s radar at the time. Why would he care about having an almost-virgin, hyper focused, oblivious-to-him girl looking over his shoulder? While I didn’t totally buy into the love connection, I loved reading about both characters’ emotional development. I am really curious as to who will be Cillian’s love match!
I received a free copy from Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.
So I’m not a fan of prejudice and judging entire groups of people for things like “being rich” or the like. Judgmental people just ruin books for me. Unconscious bias like leeriness/not trusting/fear because of a bad experience is okay, but literally hating everyone who’s rich and being rude and condescending is NOT attractive.
So that kinda ruined this one for me.
Hunter has made some extremely questionable life choices and now has to have a live-in babysitter to help keep him in line in the form of Sailor, the daughter of Sparrow and Troy Brennan, from the author’s book Sparrow. He also has to work at his family business while attanding college and remain sober and celibate and out of trouble if he wants to receive his inheritance. Sailor is an archer, training to go to the Olympics, and Hunter’s family is helping her with exposure if she goes along with the deal to help Hunter for six months.
Hunter’s character in the beginning of the book was extremely unlikeable and off-putting. There was very little redeeming about his character at all, but I think his character showed tremendous growth throughout the course of the book and I very much appreciated that. He worked very hard to help his family’s business and protect it from harm, and he clearly cared for Sailor over time.
I liked how well Sailor and Hunter worked togther, almost like a team and partners. They saw and appreciated each other for what really mattered. I think the book was well written, and while I definitely didn’t like Hunter’s character in the beginning, I can understand how the author maybe chose to write his character the way she did in order to ultimately show growth and change, at least I am choosing to think that way.
This is the second book I read from this author. The first one was the Villain and I really enjoyed her style.
Hunter is a playboy. A sexy, beautiful, dangerous, young playboy who was the star of an involuntary sex tape. Now his family is demanding him to behave or he is going to be disinherited.
Sailor is a professional archer and she wants to go to the Olympics. Hunter’s father promised her sponsorship in exchange for her to be his son’s nanny for six months. No girls, no alcohol, no sex.
Even though, sex is the only thing she is capable of thinking around him. Who’s going to be the prey and who’s going to be the hunter?
I really enjoyed these two. They are great, deep characters. Sailor was really interesting: she could be fragile and insecure in one moment and super hard in the next one, and Hunter was so much more than a pretty face. The chemistry between them is off the chart, but the relationship is also emotional and meaningful. That bond! Their friendship! And the sex! SIGH.
The book is well written and engaging. Maybe a bit too long because at some point it felt a bit reiterative. But I enjoyed it a lot.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This is the first book by L.J. Shen that I have read….and let me tell you, it blew me away! She knows just how to make you hate someone…then like them a little, then hate them again, and then fall completely in love with them! Hunter was the typical asshole womanizer that reminded me of an ex of mine…and I immediately hated him. But oh my goodness, I just had all the feels while reading this. I cheered for Sailor, wanted Hunter to be a better person, and wanted each of them to find their true selves. The hottttt moments were just that….so freaking HOTTTTTT. Whew. I needed a glass of ice water to cool myself down after reading each one. I felt just about every emotion while reading this book. I cannot wait to read the other books in the Boston Belles series, as well as every other book she’s written/will write! Definitely give this book a chance!