“Instantly Have You Addicted” – Oprah Magazine#1 Contemporary Romance#1 New Adult Romance#2 Most sold book on Amazon#2 Most sold Fiction book on Washington PostTop 2 book in the entire Amazon Kindle store“My absolute favorite L.J. Shen to date. Indulgent and addictive.” – USA Today Bestselling author RS Grey“This book will ruin you for all other books in 2019” – Bestselling author BB Easton From … will ruin you for all other books in 2019” – Bestselling author BB Easton
From USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author L.J. Shen comes an enemies-to-lovers romance with a twist…
They say your first kiss should be earned.
Mine was stolen by a devil in a masquerade mask under the black Chicago sky.
They say the vows you take on your wedding day are sacred.
Mine were broken before we left church.
They say your heart only beats for one man.
Mine split and bled for two rivals who fought for it until the bitter end.
I was promised to Angelo Bandini, the heir to one of the most powerful families in the Chicago Outfit.
Then taken by Senator Wolfe Keaton, who held my father’s sins over his head to force me into marriage.
They say that all great love stories have a happy ending.
I, Francesca Rossi, found myself erasing and rewriting mine until the very last chapter.
One kiss.
Two men.
Three lives.
Entwined together.
And somewhere between these two men, I had to find my forever.
more
I really enjoyed this book
I am a rusty barbwire, twisted together, knotted into a ball of fear.
With characters that leap off the page, THE KISS THIEF was a fast-moving, slow-burn romance packed full of sexual tension and passion!
Francesca Rossi is royalty. Mafia royalty, yet a princess all the same. She went to the finest boarding school and was groomed to be respectful and honorable. She’s reluctantly accepted her role in her family, but at age 19, she’s willingly accepted the expectation to marry Angelo Bandini, the boy she’s loved her most of her life. Their union will secure their family’s position in The Outfit. Francesa’s father, Arthur Rossi was the head of The Outfit. He held very high expectations for his daughter and rarely saw her anything other than a pawn to advance or keep him at the top.
I was born into a gilded cage. It was spacious, but locked, nonetheless.
Senator Wolf Keaton is a man set on revenge. He is determined to destroy Arthur Rossi and The Outfit, piece by piece. It is when he finally sets eyes on the gorgeous Francesca Rossi, that his plans truly take fruition. Marrying Francesca would not only make him the husband of the sole heir to The Outfit, but doing so will steal Arthur Rossi’s only child. This power move will prove to bring Keaton more joy than he ever thought possible.
He was not my playmate. He was my monster.
This book had most things I love in a story:
1) An alpha male hero with a chip on his shoulder and a tortured soul. One who’s out for revenge, and can’t find it himself to be nice to anyone, let alone the woman whom he has chosen to be his wife.
2) A strong-willed, slightly naïve heroine, who not only has the kind of beauty that keeps men talking about her, but has one hell of a backbone too. When you combine characters with these traits and throw them into an arranged marriage, sparks are bound to fly.
But the kicker?
3) Mafia books are my catnip. But because I love them, I have high expectations for them and am often disappointed. While the focus was about a senator intent on bringing down the mafia and not necessarily focused solely on a mafia storyline, I loved it all the same!
I get it. I totally get why L.J. Shen’s fans love her writing. I understand now. This is the second book by this author I’ve read and I wasn’t blown away by the first. But I kept reading my friend’s reviews for each release and read their glowing words on Twitter and Facebook, and I thought, “Hmmm … this must be a case of ‘It’s not you, it’s me.’” But I was assured by a few friends that THIS book would not disappoint, and it was a must read. So I waited for a free moment in my schedule and decided I would try to read an hour before bed each night. BAHAHA, yeah, that didn’t happen! Instead, I was up until 1 am most nights and read on my lunch break a few days. Four days later, I finished this incredibly well-written book that I believed has lived up to the hype!
A modern-day fairytale romance to last the ages. I absolutely loved THE KISS THIEF!
I had been dying to read this book for all the good reviews, and the book doesn’t disappoint. It is a revenge to love story of a sheltered teenage girl who gets caught up between a family feud. I liked Francesca’s character; her innocence shines but her endurance of all she suffered at the hand of Wolfe hints at the strong young woman she is going to be. She took everything that was thrown to her in stride and it broke my heart when her illusion about her family-especially her father-was shattered. Although she saw and went through so much at such a young age, she wasn’t disillusioned, and I loved the fact that her heart was big enough to forgive and move on.
Wolfe was a harder character to love. It is true that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Wolfe’s age has set him in his ways, and Ms Shen was able to contrast perfectly the malleable quality age has. Wolfe already had a perception of the Rossi girl, but Francesca charged her perception every time she learned something new for the better.
The only small, tiny, insignificant issue I had with the story was that to me it didn’t portrait a love triangle. Francesca’s “love” for Angelo came off as more like an infatuation that a deep love developed over years. And I felt that the scene near the end between Wolfe and her father would have had a greater impact if he was in front of her imploring his love.
But this is a highly entertaining read, with angst (teared up twice), heart and a connection that is heartwarming for the soul. I would totally recommend this.
Another book that i loved. Francesca and Wolfe turn out to be one of the best couples from this author.
Full review on my blog: https://kingdomofromancenovels.blogspot.com/2019/01/l-j-shen-kiss-thief-blogturne.html
*ARC was kindly provided by the author and Candi Kane PR in exchange for an honest review.*
This book… It’s the best to start 2019 with The Kiss Thief. OMG, I can’t even tell you how freaking fantastic it is.
I smiled so much.
I cried so much.
IT IS THE BEST L. J. SHEN BOOK I HAVE READ SO FAR.
My heart.
My poor heart.
My emotions.
Pro tip before you start reading it: make sure you have like 100 tissue paper around you. Scratch that. Make it 200. Or more.
I’m 10000000000% sure you will love this book. I can very-very highly recommend it.
“Francesca Rossi, you’re even prettier than you were last summer.”
“You always say that.”
“And I always mean it. I’m not in the habit of wasting words.”
This novel is super beautiful inside and outside too. Just look at that fantastic and gorgeous cover. When L. J. Shen first announced the release of The Kiss Thief, she said that this book will be a different one in every way, and because of that, the cover will be a little bit more different than we are used to from Leigh. And it is. It is so different than the others, but maybe that’s why I really love it. I absolutely adore the colours, the style of this book cover, it is really girly-princessy. Also, it is not too fancy, it is perfect and I can not imagine anything better for this story. She already amazed me with this cover, the blurb and the little teasers and I was totally blown away when I started reading the story itself. L. J. Shen is a super talented author and she really deserves all the attention she gets and a lot more. I can highly recommend you all of her books if you are a romance reader, I think she will be your new favourite author.
“Kiss-thieving wouldn’t go on my list of gentlemanly things to do, either.”
“You kissed me very willingly, Nemesis.”
“Before I knew who you were, Villian.”
To be honest, at first, I was kinda afraid of this whole love triangle thing, but L. J. Shen did amazing with it, just as with everything, it is really well-written. But honestly, is there anything that Leigh can not write? I don’t think so. She is a genious.
I fell in love with both of them.
My heart is broken.
This book is super emotional.
I cried hard. Like that ugly cry type of cry. There was a scene which really made me cry, and I am pretty sure that if you will read it will also make you cry. As I have already mentioned above, you will need a lot of tissue paper while you are reading this novel. L. J. Shen is the author whose books always make me cry. These books always shatter my heart into tiny pieces, and I am not sure that it can be fixed. But as the story progresses, she manages to put these pieces back into their places and I always finish these novels with a big smile on my face. That’s exactly what happend when I was reading The Kiss Thief too. While I was reading that scene I mentioned, I was crying so hard, my heart broke for both of these characters for different reasons. But in my opinion, this “event” make them change a lot too, and from now on, the story is even more emotional. And at the end… Ohh!
I love it from the very first letter to the very last one.
“Angelo: It was always you, goddess.”
Leigh’s writing style is absolutely magically beautiful. Captivating. I really adore reading her novels, she always write so beautiful sentences, the story is always well-built. She, with every of her new releases proves that she is a really talented author. When I am reading one of her books, I always mark lots and lost of quotes, and it is so hard to decide which ones should I include in my reviews. This happened with The Kiss Thief too, there are so many amazing scenes in this novel.
All things considered, the cover is super stunning and eye-catching, the story is genious and her characters… I can’t even tell you how amazing they are.
“Would you like the secret to disarming Wolfe Keaton, my dear girl?”
(…) “Yes,” I heard myself say.
“Love him. He will be defenseless against your love.”
Francesca is a lot more than you think about her at first. When the story begins, we can think that she is like a perfect but at the same time a little bit naive princess, who is obedient, well-behaved, she does not do anything wrong. But she is a lot, like really lot more than that person. She is a lot more independent, strong. She is not that innocent, and we can see as the story progresses that she is really badass and a fighter, and she also shows that how fierce she is. Personally, she is my biggest favourite heroine from all of L. J. Shen’s novels.
Wolfe Keaton… Ohhh OMG! Be ready, Wolfe will steal your heart and he won’t give it back to you. At the beginning of the book, and for a long time, Wolfe is a little bit mysterious, we don’t really know a lot of things about him, we really get to know him with Francesca. My biggest favourites are always the mysterious characters, so Wolfe was an instant love for me.
And Angelo… Ohh, he is also a perfect book boyfriend! I really-really-really-really hope that Leigh will give him a chance and some day she will write his story too. Pretty please? I am so curious, I would definitely read his book too. I adore him so much, he is so sweet and adorable and ahh. Perfect. Simply perfect.
“Is it you that I love. It is you whom I want. It is you whom makes living a spectacular thing I want to experience, rather than participate in reluctantly, every day.”
Taking everything into account, The Kiss Thief by L. J. Shen is one of the best reads in 2019, and I think it will keep its place in this list of mine, because it is really an unforgettable story and I already want to reread it. I have already read several books by Leigh and I really do think that so far, this novel is her best work. It is truly a masterpiece. The Kiss Thief is a historical romance set in the modern days, it is not your typical fairytale, it is a lot more than that.
Six stars favourite. I can really honestly recommend it to every romance reader.
When I first saw all the hype for this book I thought gee whizz it can’t be that good, even after it released I waited to read it and what a stupid Idea that was because it was that good, I can’t believe what I actually read it had me hooked from the very first page.
Wolfe was a very mean man and being a senator he really knew how to play his game well. And did he have a game to play, just somethings did not go the way he thought they would.
Frankie was just the pawn in the middle. She really had a hard time really knowing where her place was in the world with Angelo who I liked and felt for him and Arthur Rossi was a mean mean man. Frankie was a little princess but in a way it really wasn’t her fault and I loved reading her story and seeing her grow.
This book at it all
Mean alpha
Nice Guy
Serious plot twist
Revenge
Anger
It just had it all, all the feelings one minute I was angry, next I was emotional and then I was just frustrated but that’s what I love about a book when it gets me so sucked and produces all these feelings while reading it.
I don’t want to give the whole story away and the twists and turns but this book has it all.
Absolutlely fantastic book and I couldn’t recommend this anymore, this books actually had an element that I usually stay away from but I am so glad I got over it and pushed through because it was one of the best book that I have read so far from LJ Shen
Massive 5 stars for this amazing story.
Wow. Wow. WOW! LJ Shen is a master with words and it shows yet again in The Kiss Thief. This story is dark and twisted, but oh so wonderful. I absolutely devoured this book and never wanted it to end.
Loved every word!
This was such an emotionally charged book! I loved the characters, then hated them. I rooted for them, then wished them harm. I had such strong feelings throughout, it’s impossible to just read and not feel this book in your gut. By the end, I was at peace and can only come up with, beautiful!
What can I say about this book? It’s the reason for my sleep deprivation. I can’t stop thinking about this one. The author is a fantastic writer, I kept thinking about that the entire time I was reading. How did she come up with this story? What was her plan, was it this all along?
I love Wolfe, he’s damaged, but he’s strong. He’s hurting throughout this entire booking but he takes his hurt and makes it power.
Frankie was such a strong character. She didn’t let him get to her, she proved herself over and over again. She didn’t let his words or actions beat her down but fought back every time.
Honestly, I can’t say enough about this book. It’s a 6-star read.
This was my first read by L.J. Shen and I really enjoyed it.
This was an intense dark read. Francesca thought she had her whole life planned out. She was dreaming about it. But others had other plans for her. And her life is about to be turned upside down.
This book had me flipping the pages and at times wanting to throw my tablet across the room. I am glad I finally caved and snatched it up and read it. I thought it was worth the read.
Wolfe and Francesca draw you in from the very beginning. This story is everything perfect about enemies to lovers. The characters are perfect in the post imperfect ways. The story is strong and beautiful, sweet and painful, love and hate with all the necessary feels. Leigh seriously can do no wrong and TKT is on fire!
Entertaining.
Francesca’s kiss, the one meant to be bestowed upon her by her future husband, is stolen by a handsome brute. Now he’s stolen her future too, declaring her his betrothed and whisking her off to his gated mansion. He promises wealth and education, but no romance, no love, no happily ever after, not the kind she’s always dreamed of at least. She wanted Angelo, a friend, the heir to a powerful family in The Chicago Outfit, what she got was Senator Wolfe Keaton. He’s got it out for her father though and things get very twisted. He’s not what she wanted, but the notes point to him and as time goes he wears her down and soon she finds her heart tied to his.
“Disloyalty had a taste. It was bitter. It was sour. It was even a little sweet”
Francesca and Wolfe are the sort of couple that, in a book, are meant to be. Their fiery personalities, their clashing perspectives, their beauty are like puzzle pieces that just need matched properly. Francesca, though innocent in many ways, has been a pawn in The Outfit for longer than she even knows. Wolfe, though, is the exact opposite. He’s the one that finds the pawns and makes them fit his needs. As humans we don’t pair the innocent and the bad together very often, those qualities are not often good things, especially with the type of bad Wolfe is. In books though, these characters thrive together. Francesca inspires a soft side of Wolfe and Wolfe reveals the fierce heroine that Francesca has hiding inside her. Their romance, though not soft and sweet and marred by ugly, burns bright between them and the hard moments push them together. The push and pull between them is realistic, it’s a bit dramatic, and it’s incredibly romantic. I was drawn in by the two, I loved the power play between them, and I could’ve easily lived in this book for several more chapters.
I will admit I had some trepidation when it came to starting The Kiss Thief. I love L.J. Shen’s work, I love her bastard heroes who find their hearts, I love her strong heroines, and I always love the stories. That said, I am a fierce and loyal mafia and crime romance reader, I have a hard time letting new authors into that circle. I was impressed with The Kiss Thief, I enjoyed that it wasn’t as deep into the crime world as many others are. There are times when the details weren’t as on point and times where the crime drama didn’t have as much fear to it as I’ve grown used to in similar novels, but it was believable enough for me. I did have some other complaints, particularly with how much emphasis was put on the character’s age and how often she did act young, despite touting often than she wasn’t. Both are incredibly immature, but it does allows for their growth as individuals and as a couple. We go through some really annoying OW/OM drama, ultimately though we get the romance, the smut, the addicting story that L.J. Shen is known for.
“Our hearts were tarnished. Stained. And guilty. Unpredictable to a fault. And bound to break.”
The Kiss Thief is the big surprise release we’ve been waiting for from L.J. Shen since she first teased it. Wolfe, like many of her other heroes, is all sharp edges, handsome looks, and fierce loyalty. He’s the hero you can’t help but love and Francesca is the one to reveal his truths. It’s a romantic novel with just the right amount of drama and entertainment.
ARC provided.
After being in a complete book funk for a good while, I’m SO glad I got to read TKT. This is definitely some of Leigh’s best work to date. The characters and the plot line was phenomenal! I couldn’t get enough!
L.J. Shen, you had me with Sparrow, my first read of yours. I love this author beautiful words and spectacular characters. Her heroines are especially awesome and Francesca is fabulous. I love her little acts of rebellion and pushing Wolfe to the point of breaking. Oh, Wolfe. I hate him, I love him, I hate him and then he goes and redeems himself. It’s love! A sexy beast for sure. When these two are on it is hot! To me this story had a beginning, a middle and an end. The middle was the swoony, sexy part. This story does not disappoint and has a little bit of everything. A sexy romance (of course), good/bad villians, mystery, suspense, violence, a few surprises and Angelo! Was it perfect? Maybe, but this author always draws me in with her one-of-a-kind characters and terrific storytelling. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC that had hinky issues which were distracting and I hope were fixed during editing. I had to think about my review for awhile but ultimately these characters wouldn’t leave me alone thus my 5 stars. I will read this one again but I’ll buy the final version so hopefully I wouldn’t have to deal with the editing issues. If you haven’t read Blood to Dust do it! I’ve read it 3 times. I hope Angelo gets his own story. He is terrific and so deserving.
Drop Everything & Read-
An absofuckinlutely perfect slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance between a mafia princess and a panty-melting, assholish anti-hero.
Many will hate how the weak 19 year old Francessca presents, and they will really hate how the 30 year old politician Wolfe treats her. But I have to say, I enjoyed the manner in which Shen told this story. It was fun, engaging and had a great plot.
It is rare to find an author that is talented enough to create a character that is a complete dick- convincingly redeem him – all while attaining the reader’s acceptance in how the story unfolds without throwing their kindle. Shen did exactly that and she did it well.
One thing I love about LJ Shen as an author is she evolve. Her writing style, her hero, her heroin….
First time I read Vicious, I tought this author knew how to write AHOLE to perfection. Then Wolfe was borne. He is a different kind of AHOLE. A scarred man full of revenge -aole but and ahole non the less.
And Francesca… A mafia princess expected to be nothing but beautiful her whole entire nineteen years old life, turn out lot more stronger than anyone expected.
Including the man who only take her for payment.
Not an easy read and not easy characters to love if you not into ahole man and a girl who can handle her self even on her knee and scene that would trauma a virgin.
But to have Wolfe in your arm, definitly worthed every single word in The Kiss Thieft
What a great book! I think that I loved it so much because it is so different than my normal reads! I loved the way the story flowed. It was not dramatic and all the parts made sense to me. The story kept me engaged, Well done Shen. Beautiful writing! Franchesca has so much hidden on the inside, when she is freed all the beautiful parts of her heart is allowed to show. Wolfe heart is hardened because of painful past. Bring them together was excellent. I was very happy with this book!