Vicious (Sinners of Saint Book 1) Kindle Edition

5 “Ask Me What I Want” Stars!The Review:WOW! What. An. EPIC. Read!The minute this story ended, I wanted to go back to the first page and start it all over again. That has only happened a handful of times in my reading life and this read is at the top of that list. Vicious was a gritty, powerful and steamy enemies-to-lovers story with amazing and complex characters I won't let go of for a long time to come. It was filled with fantastic writing displaying an emotional, sexy journey that consumed me.In short, this book was brilliant.Story/Characters...This story takes place in two time lines, told in alternating POV’s. Ten years before with some amazing flashbacks, and present day with a riveting plot of revenge and lust.In the past, this read starts with Emilia LaBlanc moving into the servant quarters of the Spencer estate after her mother and father take jobs there. On her first day living in her new home, she has an unpleasant run in with Baron “Vicious” Spencer, the only son of the Spencer family and quickly realizes that this first meet sets the tone for her journey with Vicious when he thinks she knows more than she does.After a torturous senior year in high school being bullied and ostracized and eventually run out of town at the hands of Vicious, the story moves forward to tens years later when Emilia is living in New York with her ailing younger sister, who she has assumed sole responsibility for. She’s put her own dreams of being an artist on hold so she can work two jobs to support herself and her sister. But she’s struggling in a huge way.Enter Vicious, who she hasn’t seen in years, and things heat up quickly, in more ways than one.I couldn’t get enough of Vicious! He was beautifully broken and he pulled at your heartstrings from the moment you meet him, because you just know his perfect life is anything but. Emilia was incredibly loving, optimistic, full of light and her goodness was a complete contrast to Vicious's vileness.But you soon learn there is more to the story then just a rude rich kid with a dirty mouth taking advantage of the help. Vicious has reasons for the pain he’s in. He’s angry at the world and feels like love and goodness don't really exist. Emilia confuses him with her sweet, unsuspecting innocence and with all those feelings he’s holding inside, he can’t separate the love from the hate.Their relationship is filled with a delicious sexual tension that brought the chest pangs and butterflies as they explore their feelings and what they could mean to one another as adults. I loved every steamy interaction, every witty dialogue scene (because a grown up Emilia isn’t taking his crap anymore!), and every moment Vicious lets his guard down.It was clear the author took time to suss out the motivations and feelings of these characters. There was love for them in every chapter because you could feel their pain and excitement through the exquisite writing. You experienced everything right along with them and the author totally nailed all those wonderful “feels” in each captivating word.The Wrap Up:This is going into my reread over and over again pile! It’s that spectacular!This was also my first read by this author and I can tell you I’m hooked. She definitely has a new fan and I’m excited to read her other books.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.2️⃣5️⃣First and foremost, the nods to Sonic Youth! Those tickled me pink! 💗Secondly, this book serves as a reminder to myself to 'sometimes' give an author another chance. I had previously sworn off LJ Shen after 2 disappointing experiences. Midnight Blue, which got a little to outlandish towards the end and Pretty Reckless, which leaned towards being too juvenile. They just didn't work for me. Even so, I've always appreciated Ms. Shen's writing style. Her words have a sleek flow, and her character dialog is consistently good, offering humor and wit.MMC - Baron 'Vicious' SpencerFMX - Emilia 'Millie' LeBlancSpice - 🌶️🌶️.2️⃣5️⃣The Spice... Sorry to say, but the spice was lacking. I feel like the build-up to the spice was so much more compelling and satisfying than the end result. It was borderline 'closed door' - might as well have been, imo. It didn't match up. It didn't rise to the occasion, so to speak. Lol.Vicious. Oh, how I adore Vicious. The bully aspect was so well done. He could be cruel and do some pretty messed up things, but he had his reasons.An entertaining read overall. I'm likely to keep going with this series. There is some moderate interest in the other hinted at couples. I'm definitely not chomping at the bit to jump right in, so I'll file this series away for now.

A captivating enemies-to-lovers tale with the perfect mix of drama, heart and romance. Well written and fun to read! Loved the storyline and characters. Highly recommend!

This book was overall decent but I found it hard to emotionally connect to the characters. I understood the plot, but it was slightly messy and sometimes hard to follow. I also couldn’t connect the main characters emotionally which was an issue for me. Vicious did horrible things to her but she ended up loving him, kind of fast. Even thought the book highlighted they always loved each other, the connection was a hard one to make. It could be because the main point of this book is that love and hate are the same, but the book was just messy so it made it hard to digest. I’m hesitant to read the next 3 books but will most likely give them a try.