Tuesday, 10 October 2017
Monday, 9 October 2017
Review: Vicious by L.J. Shen
Publishing Date: December 27, 2016
Publisher: ljshen
Pages: 338
Romance
The Premise from the Author: "Emilia - They say love and hate are the same feelings experienced under different circumstances, and it’s true. The man who comes to me in my dreams also haunts me in my nightmares. He is a brilliant lawyer. A skilled criminal. A beautiful liar. A bully and a savior, a monster and a lover. Ten years ago, he made me run away from the small town where we lived. Now, he came for me in New York, and he isn’t leaving until he takes me with him. Vicious - She is a starving artist. Pretty and evasive like cherry blossom. Ten years ago, she barged into my life unannounced and turned everything upside down. She paid the price. Emilia LeBlanc is completely off-limits, my best friend’s ex-girlfriend. The woman who knows my darkest secret, and the daughter of the cheap Help we hired to take care of our estate. That should deter me from chasing her, but it doesn’t. So she hates me. Big fucking deal. She better get used to me" (Shen).
My overall thoughts and review: This review has been a long time coming. I read this book a few months back and absolutely loved it. From there, I began buying all of Shen's backlist and binge read them all. Vicious was the first to draw me in, and even after a reread yesterday, I'm still in love, and if it's even possible, I love the book even more with a reread?? There is just something about Shen's writing that immediately pulls you in and she somehow makes you feel such frustration for a character, but also love for them at the same time. Baron Spencer AKA "Vicious" was given this nickname, because he is absolutely vicious. He is one of the Hotholes of Todos Santos and the narrative flips between present day and the past in his high school years. When he first meets Emilia, she accidentally walks into a private conversation, and from there, he seems to have this hatred towards her. Her parents work for his family on his estate, and even though don't get along well, they are constantly drawn to one another. Things also get complicated when Emilia starts dating one of his best friends, Dean "Ruckus" Cole. It's clear they both have feelings for one another though, and Vicious acts out through jealousy and Emilia pushes her feelings away.
Flash forward to present day New York, where Emilia has been fired from her job and she must work every waitress shift she can get to support herself and her sister, Rosie. On one unlucky evening, she meets Vicious again and from there, he offers her an offer she can't refuse. A PA job with a great income and a new apartment for her and Rosie. She promises herself that she will keep her guard up this time, and not fall for him again. Vicious says he's simply only hiring her so that she can help him with a certain lawsuit. It sounds so incredibly complicated, but it just worked. The future/past narrative really worked because you got to see how they were with each other, and how Vicious acted incredibly selfishly and impulsively. Gosh, I wanted to shake high school Vicious!! But I loved that Emilia was chipping away at his hard exterior piece by piece. She was so strong, independent, and sassy. She definintely gave back everything he threw at her, and he described it best at the end of the book just how "good" she was: "Knowing what I'd done, she was still here. What's more, she was still strong. That was the true beauty about this girl. She never cowered. She always stood tall and thought for self, knowing what was right and what was wrong in her universe. Always" (303). Their day in New York, going to the museum and the tattoo shop, is definitely my favorite moment of the book. You just see Vicious completely undone by her and I think that's what made me love him so much. So many hilarious and cute moments during this moment in the book. He's frustrating as ever, but also soooo swoonworthy. I loved their messy and not so-beautiful love story: "We've waited a long time for this. I want the real thing. Not the watered-down version. And the real thing is not only beautiful. It is also ugly. I want your truth" (199). I love how they both made mistakes and both had flaws, but I loved how they somehow were better because of the other person, while not losing themselves completely. I feel like with a lot of romance novels, some of the bad guys do a complete 180 after falling in love, but Vicious remains Vicious (I love how crazy he can get and his arrrogant hot hole self), and in a way, he becomes Emilia's Vicious? I don't want to say too much and spoil the book because holy twists and turns and reveals, but when you learn the background story of Vicious, it just tugs at your heartstrings and you want to hug this guy. Emilia put it perfectly when she described how complex her can be: "I shook my head quickly. 'I'm just not sure how you can be both nice and compassionate and a terrible asshole all at the same time,' I muttered. He smiled. 'It's a hard job, but someone's gotta do it'" (281).
I loved this book so much and I can't say enough good things about it. It's definitely an enemies to lovers story, but also a second chance romance. It is just the best kind of romance, and I'm sitting her wishing that Shen will one day write more of Emilia and Vicious' story. When Vicious learns that he has fallen for her, well has loved her all this time, it's just beautiful: "'I want you,' he said simply. 'Just you. Nothing else. Only ever you,' he breathed out in pain, closing his eyes" (295). If you haven't read anything by L.J. Shen yet, what are you waiting for? THIS is her best book in my opinion and I loved it so much, I now own a few copies of it ;)
🎵🎵 - Haunting by Halsey // Back to You by Louis Tomlinson & Bebe Rexha
(I had these songs on loop while reading and they made me think of Vicious/Emilia)
My rating of the book: ✮✮✮✮✮ (5/5 stars)
Available for purchase at:
Amazon, Kindle, and Book Depository (Free Worldwide Shipping)
Links for L.J. Shen: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Friday, 6 October 2017
Thursday, 5 October 2017
TeensRead Preview Winter & Spring 2018 | September 30, 2017
This past weekend, a bunch of book bloggers gathered at the Bloor-Gladstone Library to hear about some new and upcoming excited reads coming Winter & Spring of 2018. The event was hosted by Raincoast Books, and for the Toronto one, we had the lovely Jenn from Lost in a Great Book & Vanessa from Ampersand Inc. as our great hosts!
Wednesday, 4 October 2017
[Teaser] In Pieces by Danielle Pearl
In Pieces, an all-new standalone from Danielle Pearl is coming October 10th!
Preorder Today!
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2wQ6fPh
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2m891Hp
iBooks: http://apple.co/29QG8M2
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2lqOQ7M
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2a5Uafh
Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/29TYZHf
Three years ago she was left in pieces . . . Most college freshmen love the newfound freedom of living on campus, but none of them craves it like Beth Caplan. One ill-fated night when she was fifteen left her locked in a posh prison of private tutors. It's for the best, everyone said, and maybe it was. But after years of hard work and healing, the one person who never thought of her as broken could be the one to break her all over again. And Beth can't seem to stay away now any more than she could all those years ago.
As soon as David March learned his best friend's little sister was enrolling at his school, he promised to look after her, and promised himself he'd keep a safe distance. But the sweet little girl he'd grown up with has transformed into a gorgeous young woman, and she's attracting attention from people she shouldn't-like the ex who nearly destroyed her and a strange new student with a disturbing habit of showing up wherever Beth goes. But for David, the most troubling discovery is realizing that he doesn't just want Beth to be safe. He wants her to be his.
Disclaimer: I have signed up with Social Butterfly PR to help promote this author and her book. All opinions are my own.
Blog Tour: The Hanging Girl by Eileen Cook - Review and Author Q&A
Publishing Date: October 3, 2017
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages: 320
Young Adult Mystery/Thriller
The Premise from the Publisher: "Skye Thorn has given tarot card readings for years, and now her psychic visions are helping the police find the town's missing golden girl. It's no challenge-her readings have always been faked, but this time she has some insider knowledge. The kidnapping was supposed to be easy-no one would get hurt and she'd get the money she needs to start a new life. But a seemingly harmless prank has turned dark, and Skye realizes the people she's involved with are willing to kill to get what they want and she must discover their true identity before it's too late" (HMH).
My overall thoughts and review: I absolutely loved Eileen Cook's last book With Malice, so when I heard she was coming out with a new one, I knew I wanted to read it! The premise of this book sounded really interesting as well, and I loved the idea of tarot readings and psychic visions being incorporated as well. To begin with, I really wasn't sure what to expect going into this book, but I did not expect it to go the route it did. There were many surprises and to be honest, I didn't see any of them coming. I was pleased that Cook was able to surprise me! I kept thinking that I had the whole bit figured out, but I definitely didn't. The story follows Skye, who has been known to elaborate on stories when she was younger (about her dad), and now she gives fake tarot readings to earn some money to move to New York with her best friend, Drew. She finds it hard to save because it's just her and her mom trying to make ends meet, and along comes an opportunity where she has to play a harmless small role, and move an investigation along in order to earn some money. Things don't go as planned, and it gets incredibly complicated. More secrets are uncovered and a bunch of lies unravel. You honestly begin to question everyone. I don't want to say too much because it really is hard to discuss the book without spoiling it, but you really see how different family dynamics work in the novel: Drew and her family, Skye and her mother, and Paige and her parents. It is so interesting how all three differ greatly, and it tackles just how far you will go for your family, or just how far you won't go. I really enjoyed this book and I honestly finished it in one evening! Eileen Cook will always be an insta-buy author for me and I really hope she continues writing mystery/thriller YA reads in the future. Definitely check this one out if you enjoy thrillers.
My rating of the book: ✮✮✮✮ (4/5 stars)
Available for purchase at:
Chapters/Indigo, Kobo Books, Amazon, and Book Depository (Free Worldwide Shipping)
Author Question and Answer
Q: The Hanging Girl is quite different from With Malice since there are aspects of tarot reading and psychic visions, but how do you think your character Jill from WM would fare in THG world?
Jill has to find her strength over the course of the book With Malice. She’s been in her friend Simone’s shadow for years. Initially, she isn’t sure how to cope with the things that have happened. She’s crushed when people (both people she knows and total strangers on social media) turn on her and say nasty things. I admire her for digging deep to find her strength and realize that ultimately, what matters the most is what she thinks of herself.
I admire Skye, the main character in The Hanging Girl, for being a fighter. Things haven’t always been easy for her. Skye doesn’t always make the best decisions, but she’s active in trying to do something to make her life better. She doesn’t sit back and complain. I always respect people who at least try.
However, I think Jill would do quite well in the world of The Hanging Girl. Both of them are willing to face some harsh truths to figure out how far they will go to survive.
Don't forget to swing by other tops of the blog tour to check out more content from other book bloggers and more Q&As with Eileen. Many thanks to Eileen for stopping by today!
Disclaimer: An advanced reader's copy of the book was provided by Raincoast Books for participation in the book tour. All opinions of the book are my own.
Monday, 2 October 2017
Blog Tour: Scandalous by L.J. Shen - Promo & Small Excerpt
Scandalous, the highly anticipated next standalone in the Sinners of Saint Series by LJ Shen is available NOW!
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