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I am Lover of romance, who indulges in the romantic adventures of literature

My name is Renee, and I am the host of this site. I am a 34 year old woman, on the prowl for her mate, searching out the best of books, exploring the wilds of the imagination and delving into the heart of a beautiful love story.

 

Book Review-The Kiss Thief by L.J. Shen

by | Jan 25, 2019 | Book Reviews | 1 comment

Book Review-The Kiss Thief by L.J. Shen

Book Review-The Kiss Thief by L.J. ShenThe Kiss Thief by L.J. Shen
on January 6, 2019
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 320
Format: eBook
Source: Self Purchased
ISBN: 1793307504
Goodreads
Amazon
four-stars

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.

The Kiss Thief is my first book that I have read by this author and what a book!!! Now I won’t say its as amazing as I was expecting, and I think that is partly because this is my first book by Shen and I haven’t read a book this angsty in a very long time and it took a while to adapt to the angst levels, you definitely need to be in the right mood for this type of story. I truly enjoyed the epic feel to this story though.

The Kiss Thief involves two characters that do NOT like each other at all. Our heroine, Francesca, grew up in a home where her father runs a crime mob. But she has always been sheltered and she has always known that she won’t have much choice in who she marries, but there is one man that she wants….Angelo. But at a official dinner, she meets with Angelo and she knows that she does care for him and is thrilled to begin her life with him. But then she meets Wolfe, a senator, one who is gorgeous but rude and views her as a spoiled rich girl. But then she finds herself engaged to him after that night when he stole a kiss from her. Her father has made an agreement with Wolfe and even though she hates him, she doesn’t know what to do. She has always been so sheltered and being Wolfe’s wife will offer many advantages even if she doesn’t like him much although she finds the sexual response to be overpowering whenever she is near him. But there is more to their marriage than Francesca realizes and that there is a man she can love once she gets beneath Wolfe’s tough exterior.

This is one of the best enemies to lovers romances I have read in a very long time. In this book, I found the angst to be very overpowering at times. Now about half way through, is where it really takes a back seat for the most part and we see some great development in their relationship. I really liked both of these characters, they both have explosive personalities so that brings some powerful fireworks that erupt between these two. We see how driven Francesca is, that she wants to go to college (which her father refused to let her do) and to make something of herself and does have a kind and sweet personality when you don’t rile her too much.

Wolfe, however, is full of anger and hate. He despises her father, and is out for revenge. But he never thought that he would love Francesca, the daughter of the man that destroyed his family. But Wolfe is driven to succeed and plans to eventually become President of the United States. So he has dreams to serve his country and help others. But what I loved most was seeing the softer side to his personality, he can be so rough around the edges so seeing more depth to his character was so rewarding as a reader. Seeing his hopes and dreams for life and that he has so much to give in a relationship.

Now I have to say that after reading my frst LJ Shen novel I will definitely be picking her up again for sure. The angst level is high (which I am assuming is what she has in most of her books) so fair warning, and the heroine does smoke in this book (so if that bothers you, fair waring on that—it’s not my favorite thing to see in a romance since its a turn off for me personally, but I was alright with it in this book).

Overall I found the Kiss Thief to be a stunning portrayal of angsty romance that makes you laugh and cry and the delivery of such empowering emotions is shown in such a unique and dynamic way that stuns the reader delightfully!


 

About L.J. Shen

L.J. Shen is USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author of contemporary romance books. She lives in California with her husband, son and lazy cat.
When she's not writing, she enjoys reading a good book with a glass of wine and catching up on her favorite HBO and Netflix shows.

Yeah, she's a badass like that.

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1 Comment

  1. The Bookish Sweet Tooth

    Glad it worked for you! ? I have the audio and can’t wait to listen to it! Great review, hon!

    Reply

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