THE KISS THIEF BY L.J. SHEN
Release Date: January 9th
Cover Designer: Letitia Hasser at RBA Designs.
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AMAZON US:
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https://amzn.to/2QtDcqs
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https://amzn.to/2VzmWrR
AMAZON AU:
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AUDIO:
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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.
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.
“Answer me,” I hissed.
“My bid on your card was the highest,” he replied dryly.
“The bids are undisclosed. You don’t know how much other people have paid,” I kept my lips pursed to keep myself from yelling.
“I know it’s nowhere near the realm of what this dance is worth.”
Un-freaking-believable.
We began to waltz around the room as other couples were not only spinning and mingling but also stealing envious glances at us. Naked, raw ogles that told me that whomever the blonde he’d come to the masquerade with was, she wasn’t his wife. And that I might have been all the rage in The Outfit, but the rude man was in high demand, too.
I was stiff and cold in his arms, but he didn’t seem to notice—or mind. He knew how to waltz better than most men, but he was technical, and lacked warmth and Angelo’s playfulness.
“Nemesis.” He took me by surprise, his rapacious gaze stripping me bare. “Distributing glee and dealing misery. Seems at odds with the submissive girl who entertained Bishop and his horsey wife at the table.”
I choked on my own saliva. Did he just call the governor’s wife horsey? And me submissive? I looked away, ignoring the addictive scent of his cologne, and the way his marble body felt against mine.
“Nemesis is my spirit animal. She was the one to lure Narcissus to a pool where he saw his own reflection and died of vanity. Pride is a terrible illness.” I flashed him a taunting smirk.
“Some of us could use catching it.” He bared his straight white teeth.
“Arrogance is a disease. Compassion is the cure. Most gods didn’t like Nemesis, but that’s because she had a backbone.”
“Do you?” He arched a dark eyebrow.
“Do I…?” I blinked, the courteous grin on my face crumpling. He was even ruder when we were alone.
“Have a backbone,” he provided. He stared at me so boldly and intimately, it felt like he breathed fire into my soul. I wanted to step out of his touch and jump into a pool full of ice.
“Of course, I do,” I responded, my spine stiffening. “What’s with the manners? Were you raised by wild coyotes?”
“Give me an example,” he said, ignoring my quip. I was beginning to draw away from him, but he jerked me back into his arms. The glitzy ballroom distorted into a backdrop, and even though I was starting to notice that the man behind the demi-mask was unusually beautiful, the ugliness of his behavior was the only thing that stood out.
I am a warrior and a lady…and a sane person who can deal with this horrid man.
“I really like Angelo Bandini.” I dropped my voice, slicing my gaze from his eyes and toward the table where Angelo’s family had been seated. My father was sitting a few seats away, staring at us coldly, surrounded by Made Men who chatted away.
“And see, in my family, we have a tradition dating back ten generations. Prior to her wedding, a Rossi bride is to open a wooden chest—carved and made by a witch who lived in my ancestors’ Italian village—and read three notes written to her by the last Rossi girl to marry. It’s kind of a good luck charm mixed with a talisman and a bit of fortunetelling. I stole the chest tonight and opened one of the notes, all so I could rush fate. It said that tonight I was going to be kissed by the love of my life, and well…” I drew my lower lip into my mouth and sucked it, peering under my eyelashes at Angelo’s empty seat. The man stared at me stoically, as though I was a foreign film he couldn’t understand. “I’m going to kiss him tonight.”
“That’s your backbone?”
“When I have an ambition, I go for it.”
A conceited frown crinkled his mask, as if to say I was a complete and utter moron. I looked him straight in the eye. My father taught me that the best way to deal with men like him was to confront, not run. Because, this man? He’d chase.
4.5 Stars
OK... I am going to admit this is my first L.J. Shen book. But I think that it has made the experience all the much more. I find myself in complete awe after reading Francesca and Wolfe's story. I don't even know where to start, the story, the plot the twists and turns I am almost seasick but at the same time it was a wonderful growing of love that was healing and so powerful. It had the power to shut down The Outfit.
Wolfe was a closed off man with a vengeance to be taken. His sole focus was revenge. He never let anyone in and had not intention of that when he took the only daughter of the man he despised most in life. He was heartless in the way he treated her despite her young age. What he wasn't prepared for was her push back. Or the feelings that she would eventually pull from him with each confrontation. As she slowly knocks down his walls we see another man completely, one who has a beautiful heart.
Francesca was so innocent to the world around her, her father did a very good job of hiding most of what transpired. Of course sending her off to boarding school helped in the matter. But in the weeks of her return knowing she was smitten with one man, he lets her be taken by another. This is the first opening of her eyes to the man her father really was. That in itself was heartbreaking for her, but the wrath of Wolfe was a disaster. For all her innocence, she was strong against the man and did everything she could to hold her ground. Little did she know that the more time she spent with him the less she would hate him.
Is it possible to go from complete hatred to lasting love? Is it possible to find some light and happiness of the darkness that threatened to pull them all down the rabbit hole?
Wow.... just wow, this is a book worth your read. I am running off now to see what L.J. Shen book I will read next.
*** Advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review. ***
OK... I am going to admit this is my first L.J. Shen book. But I think that it has made the experience all the much more. I find myself in complete awe after reading Francesca and Wolfe's story. I don't even know where to start, the story, the plot the twists and turns I am almost seasick but at the same time it was a wonderful growing of love that was healing and so powerful. It had the power to shut down The Outfit.
Wolfe was a closed off man with a vengeance to be taken. His sole focus was revenge. He never let anyone in and had not intention of that when he took the only daughter of the man he despised most in life. He was heartless in the way he treated her despite her young age. What he wasn't prepared for was her push back. Or the feelings that she would eventually pull from him with each confrontation. As she slowly knocks down his walls we see another man completely, one who has a beautiful heart.
Francesca was so innocent to the world around her, her father did a very good job of hiding most of what transpired. Of course sending her off to boarding school helped in the matter. But in the weeks of her return knowing she was smitten with one man, he lets her be taken by another. This is the first opening of her eyes to the man her father really was. That in itself was heartbreaking for her, but the wrath of Wolfe was a disaster. For all her innocence, she was strong against the man and did everything she could to hold her ground. Little did she know that the more time she spent with him the less she would hate him.
Is it possible to go from complete hatred to lasting love? Is it possible to find some light and happiness of the darkness that threatened to pull them all down the rabbit hole?
Wow.... just wow, this is a book worth your read. I am running off now to see what L.J. Shen book I will read next.
*** Advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review. ***
L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat.
Before she’d settled down, L.J. (who thinks referring to herself in the third person is really silly, by the way) traveled the world, and collected friends from all across the globe. Friends who’d be happy to report that she is a rubbish companion, always forgets peoples’ birthdays and never sends Christmas cards.
She enjoys the simple things in life, like spending time with her family and friends, reading, HBO, Netflix and internet-stalking Stephen James. She reads between three to five books a week and firmly believes Crocs shoes and mullets should be outlawed.
Website: http://www.authorljshen.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorljshen/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lj_shen
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