#Review ~~ The Villain by LJ Shen
The Villain, an all-new twisted modern day Greek tragedy from USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author L.J. Shen is available now!
Cruel. Coldblooded. Hades in a Brioni suit. Cillian Fitzpatrick has been dubbed every wicked thing on planet earth. To the media, he is The Villain. To me, he is the man who (reluctantly) saved my life. Now I need him to do me another, small solid. Bail me out of the mess my husband got me into. What’s a hundred grand to one of the wealthiest men in America, anyway? Only Cillian doesn’t hand out free favors. The price for the money, it turns out, is my freedom. Now I’m the eldest Fitzpatrick brother’s little toy. To play, to mold, to break. Too bad Cillian forgot one, tiny detail. Persephone wasn’t only the goddess of spring; she was also the queen of death. He thinks I’ll buckle under the weight of his mind games. He is about to find out the most lethal poison is also the sweetest.
Stephanie’s 4 Blush Review
Speechless. LJ Shen has delivered an unconventional love story. A unique masterpiece that will have you shaking your head with disbelief. The prologue is filled with so much emotion followed by “are you kidding me!” The story unfolds and the clues are left like crumbs. I had my ideas, my thoughts. I had even suspected that the story might be similar to another book written by Ms. Shen (which would have devastated me). But no…, nope…, nada. Ms. Shen delivers an emotional, heartfelt, cringing, twisty love story. And speaking of twists – this one is perfectly executed (no spoilers here). Persephone Penrose (Persy) is a people-pleaser, easygoing, sweet, and fiercely loyal. She is also an awkward romantic, believing in fairy tales and Greek mythology. She is in desperate need of money to get out of a situation that she has been pulled into. Enter Cillian Fitzpatrick (aka Kill). Her best friend’s brother and longtime crush.
A stranger or an ally, Cillian always had the talent to make my heart sing and my soul weep.
Cillian Fitzpatrick couldn’t be more opposite. Cold, calculating and driven. His quest to conquer all combined with his need for perfection is as strong and steady as a foundation on a building.
He was always calm, quiet, and reserved, never drawing attention to himself yet owning every room he entered.
The Villain is book #2 in the Boston Belles series. It is standalone with some background and references from book #1. There are references to the love story between Hades and Persephone and many reviewers have had mixed emotions and comments about that. Since I am not familiar, I took it as it was told. I had no “she didn’t tell it right” moments. I just enjoyed the ride.
Cillian was a dirty lullaby, inviting me to sink into his claws and nestle in his darkness.
I did find The Villain to be different. The sex was different, the emotions were different, the tale was different. But to me, different is not a bad thing. Not every story needs 30 pages of steamy, hot sex. Persy and Kill have their story, their issues, their way. I enjoyed The Villain. I liked the way the story came together at the end. The next couple is somewhat insinuated throughout the book. I have learned that patience IS a virtue. I will wait and see what will come. “Love is a luxury not everyone can afford.”
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Excerpt
I leaned against the doorframe, hands tucked in my front pockets, and observed. It took her three minutes to notice me. Another two to lift her jaw off the floor, straighten her spine, and turn scarlet. Our eyes met across the room, and that nagging murmur in my chest happened again.
Get that checked. If you drop dead from a heart attack at forty, you’ll have no one else to blame. She winced, looking like I physically slapped her.
“Mr. Fitzpatrick.”
“Miss Penrose.”
“Veitch,” she corrected, just to spite me.
“Not for long,” I noted dryly. “A word?”
“I know many. My favorite one right now is—leave.”
“You want to hear me out.” I cracked my knuckles. “Now say goodbye to your little friends.”
She looked back and forth between the kids and me, then turned and murmured something to the teacher next to her, and hurried my way, dunking her head down. “What are you doing here?”
She closed the door behind her, whisper-shouting.
I’ve been asking myself the same question since bailing on Keith and his snooze-fest speech. What the hell was I doing here?
About L.J. Shen L.J. Shen is a USA Today, Washington Post and Amazon #1 best-selling author of contemporary, New Adult and YA romance. Her books have been sold to twenty different countries.
She lives in California with her husband, son, cat and eccentric fashion choices, and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows and catching sun rays with her lazy cat.
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