Vicious

Great book, enjoyed every minute reading this book. Sinners of Saints series are fantastic and a must read. Love L.J. Shen writing.

Love Hate-to-love stories!

Could not put them down

“There’s a fine line between love and hate. Love frees a soul and in the same breath can sometimes suffocate it.” – Unknown
Rarely have I as a reader been so enthralled and repulsed by the same character in a book as I am about the man known as Vicious. That is until the author reminds me that he was once a loving little boy who despite the trappings of the uber-rich all around him, lived a lifetime in his youth of hollow degradation with no one, but no one, to whom he could turn. This desperate little boy grew into a man far too quickly who was dangerous in his disdain for humanity and literally “vicious” in his approach to life save for perhaps his “Hothole” high school crew, the fearsome foursome bonded like brothers in arms, inviolate, against all who would come against them.
Then there she was…Half a vision of all that he hated and half a woman whom he desired to the point of madness. There she stood in the “gloaming between the light and the dark. He did know and it was perfectly clear to all concerned that she belonged to him. He was hers to do with as he pleased and it pleased him to visit upon her all the “vicious” hatred bubbling up to the surface of his being when he looked at her.
Who is she? She is Emilia, an artist with a heart filled with sensitive love. She is a quirky girl with loud clothes and soft lavender hair who is supremely unaffected by wealth and its trappings. She does not need to slap a designer label across her back because she had her own style. And from the start she was captivated, enthralled, fascinated by her attraction to this sculpture of a man who has done nothing but torment her. She saw beauty in him and valued him. He did not value her.
Emilia was a rare treasure who did not go unnoticed by Vicious’ crew. One of them dared to become her boyfriend and treat her as she should be treated, decently and as a treasure. This enraged Vicious so he plotted to insure her departure from him, his crew, and tragically for her, her parents. Ten years later they meet in New York quite by accident and the same dance between “the shadow and the soul” of Vicious resumes.
I met this author for the first time in her last book of this series, “Scandalous” . Immediately after reading that book, I had the whole series lined up in my Kindle. This book certainly did not disappoint and was riveting in the examination of these two characters, the themes uncovered by their interaction and the beautiful artistry of this writer’s words , conceptions and depictions of hate, love and…grace.
The line between love and hate is indeed thin and I will suggest that the areas separated by the line are shaded in a gradient fashion…the color most intense closest to the finest of lines and fading as it bleeds away.
Oh and certainly I could not forget to describe the searingly hot erotic scenes that consume the reader. Nothing beats sexual passion with a purpose; with every caress ntentioned by meaning and every kiss designed to leave you sans breath.
It’s obvious, this writer has fans. The sheer number of reviews should draw your eye. I suggest that her fan base be still enlarged because she is just that good at passionate, realistically erotic, albeit hard to find in real life, and the exposure of the psychological damage we all weather to some degree. As a purely clinical observer, it would be difficult for most to understand the disaffection and antipathy in the youth of the wealthy, after all, they have everything their hearts desire. But when we meet a character like Vicious who is given every “thing” but whose young heart was left alone to hollow out; we see that truly money and all it brings is not…”everything”. It was the love of a seemingly lowly daughter of servants whose family made do with far less but had so much more to give. They raised a priceless artist, a lover and most of all a warrior. A warrior that finally, with one slap stepped up to defend that lonely, lost and battered little boy still inside the man.

Have not read.

I read this in one day. I just could not stop! The male character is far from traditional Romance characters but I love him more for breaking the mold. He’s worse than a bad boy. He’s an uncaring boy, grown to man, but hearing everything from his inside perspective breaks your heart into forgiving him and wanting to be part of his life… no matter how much you hate bad boy characters.

There was nothing to like about the cruel H. He had zero redeeming qualities.

I started off with Defy and was hooked on these HotHoles instantly. Vicious and Emilia shared a past but it’s when we’re brought to the present day 10 years later is when things really start to get interesting. Vicious is portrayed as this guy that is only out for himself and has no concerns for anyone around him at first, as we get further into his story along with Emilia we begin to see this man in a whole new light. I can see why everyone falls for him, he tries to put on a front but slowly he opens himself up and a beautiful story is exposed. The pace was consistent throughout and held my attention the entire time, I’m curious as to what the rest of these boys have been up to. Highly recommend you reading this story along with the rest of the series. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.