COVER REVEAL: The Villain by LJ Shen

 "A love story with teeth and claws. I dare you not to fall in love with Cillian Fitzpatrick."
- Parker S. Huntington, USA Today Bestselling Author

Cover Designer: Letitia Hasser at RBA Designs

Model: George Alsford

The Villain, an all-new modern retelling of Hades and Persephone from USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author, L.J. Shen is coming December 17th, and I have the drop-dead sexy cover!

Cruel. Cold Blooded. 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 the 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.

Add The Villain >>> on Goodreads

For more information >>> join LJ Shen's reader group

About LJ Shen

L.J. Shen is a USA Today, Washington Post, and Amazon #1 bestselling 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 win, bad reality TV shows, and catching sun rays with her lazy cat.

Connect with LJ Shen

Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | Mailing List | Website

BOOK RELEASE BLITZ & REVIEW: Playing with Fire by L.J. Shen

"Clear off a top spot on your Best of 2020 list.

Playing with Fire is coming in HOT!"

- Harloe Rae, USA Today Bestselling Author

Playing with Fire, an all-new intense and all-consuming small town standalone romance from USA Today bestselling author L.J. Shen is available now!

A broken boy on the path to destruction.

A scarred girl without direction.

A love story carved in secrets, inked with pain and sealed with a lie.

Grace Shaw and West St. Claire are arctic opposites.

She is the strange girl from the food truck.

He is the mysterious underground fighter who stormed into her sleepy Texan college town on his motorcycle one day, and has been wreaking havoc since.

She is invisible to the world.

He is the town's beloved bad boy.

She is a reject.

He is trouble.

When West thrusts himself into Grace's quiet life, she scrambles to figure out if he is her happily-ever-after or tragic ending. 

But the harder she pushes him away, the more he pulls her out of her shell.

Grace doesn't know much about anything beyond her town's limits, but she does know this:

She is falling in love with the hottest guy in Sheridan U.

And when you play with fire--you ought to get burned.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/35scdah

Amazon Universal: http://mybook.to/PWFLJShen

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3bDlzRh

Add PLAYING WITH FIRE to Goodreads - https://bit.ly/MDVljgr

MY THOUGHTS

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Point of View: Alternating First Person
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I am so obsessed with this book! It's full of angst and witty banter. It will piss you off, warm your heart, and make you feel ...all the things.  

Grace Shaw and West St. Claire are polar opposites.

Grace likes to hide in the background.
West captures the attention of everyone.
Grace refuses to step outside of her comfort zone.
West HAS no comfort zone.
Nothing flusters West.
Everything flusters Grace.

Despite their differences, Grace and West have two important things in common:

1. They have suffered an unimaginable tragedy. 

2. They are stuck in the past and allow it to dictate their future. 

Grace is surprised to find an unexpected ally in West after being forced to work with him. While West is best known for his hotheaded attitude and total domination in an underground fighting ring, he's different with Grace. He's quick to smile and shares parts of himself that he keeps hidden from everyone else. 

"In a lot of ways, the food truck felt like our bubble.
A snug confession booth.
The rules were different in the truck.
Like we shed our primary skin, of our stigma and reputation and social status.
Here we were simply... us."

PLAYING WITH FIRE is much more than a simple love story. It's also a story about life, loss, recovery, and rising up from the ruins. 

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.

Connect with L.J. Shen

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2OhSvp1

Twitter: http://bit.ly/36ELHZc

Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2oMbFsu

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2AlOiTo

Stay up to date with L.J. Shen by signing up for her mailing list: http://bit.ly/36MnmAQ

Website: http://www.authorljshen.com/

*A big thank you to the author and Social Butterfly PR for giving me the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own and have been written in own words. Life as Jane Doe does not accept monetary compensation for reviews, interviews, giveaways, and/or book tours and does not participate in affiliate programs. 

BLOG TOUR & BOOK REVIEW: The Pool Boy by Nikki Sloane

From USA Today bestselling author Nikki Sloane comes a sexy, edgy new standalone in the Nashville Neighborhood series.

BOOK BLURB

Nothing says happy birthday like catching your husband in a compromising position with his boss. 

His male boss.

Why, hello, midlife crisis.

I'm starting over, but this time I'm doing it right.

Or at least I'm doing what I want.

Taking the day off from work to hang out poolside?

Yup.

Do I leave the swimsuit in my house?

Sure.

Does my very hot, twenty-something pool boy happen to catch me naked?

Oh, yeah, he does. And he likes what he sees... a lot.

My best friend keeps telling me to have a fling and get back out there.

But I'm not so sure she meant for me to do it with her son.

EXCERPT

Troy Osbourne came once a week to service both my pool and the freestanding spa. I'd hired him last year to handle closing and covering the pool for the winter, then reopening it for me last month, and the weekly visits that followed had kept the water crystal clear and the pH perfectly balanced.

My pool had never looked so good.

But Troy always came when I was at work and let himself in through the gate at the side of my fence, so I had completely forgotten his schedule. He must have gone behind the pool house and inside to fetch his supplies, and when he'd rounded the corner and discovered me topless, he'd dropped everything in his arms. 

Including the long pole with the net at the end.

It was as if someone had put their foot down on the sustain pedal of a piano, only this piano played the music of time, and the moment suspended with my long, drawn out gasp.

I was topless, and he was frozen, and holy shit, he's my best friend's twenty-four-year-old son.

It burst from my lips in horror. "Oh, f*ck!"

In my panic, I grasped at my towel to cover myself, only to struggle, hopelessly, since it was pinned beneath my body. I leapt to my feet and yanked the terrycloth up, pressing it over my naked chest.

Troy still hadn't moved. His lips were open, as if he'd planned to say something, but now he was frozen and unable to do anything. I couldn't see his eyes behind his mirrored Aviator sunglasses, but he didn't seem to be breathing. 

So, I did what any reasonable woman would when a gorgeous almost-stranger caught her naked.

I ran.

MY THOUGHTS

Genre: Contemporary / Erotic Romance 

POV: Alternating First Person 

Tropes: Divorce, Forbidden Love, Learning to Love Again, Musicians, Reverse Age Gap, Work Relationships

Overall: ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Character Development: 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨

Steam Factor: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

I've said it before and I'll say it again -- Nikki Sloane never disappoints. I've read every book, novella, and short story she's ever published, and every book, novella, and short story has been nothing short of spectacular. 

THE POOL BOY strikes the perfect balance between steamy and heartfelt moments.

It's the perfect mix of sweetness and filth.

At the age of 42, Erika is in the best shape of her life. So, she doesn't understand why her husband's sex drive seems to be fading. That is until she catches him cheating.  

Meanwhile...

At the age of 24, Troy is stuck working for his stepdad's construction company. It's one of a few jobs, actually -- he also teaches a class at the gym, cleans the pool for Ms. Erika, and performs at local dive bars on the weekends.  

Troy has harbored a crush on Erika for years but realistically knows he doesn't have a shot with his mom's best friend.

CUE: TROY'S FANTASY COMES TO LIFE

"His mouth was the same as his singing voice.

Gentle one second and full of commanding power the next."

FINAL TAKE

Like THE DOCTOR (the first book in the the Nashville Neighborhood series), THE POOL BOY is a fun, steamy, quick read. It should come as no surprise that I loved it, as I love everything Nikki Sloane writes. She can write a sex scene like nobody's business; they are always super hot and never a touch cringe. This is no easy feat, but Sloane somehow manages it every time. THE POOL BOY is the perfect summer read!

Download THE POOL BOY today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/39TKob6

Apple Books:https://apple.co/2BTlM5t

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/2Xm61LU

Kobo:https://bit.ly/2XnDmGm

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2Pm5tBy

USA TODAY bestselling author Nikki Sloane landed in graphic design after her careers as a waitress, a screenwriter, and a ballroom dance instructor fell through. For eight years, she worked for a design firm in that extremely tall, black, and tiered building in Chicago that went through an unfortunate name change during her time there.

Now she lives in Kentucky, is married and has two sons. She is a three-time Romance Writers of America RITA Finalist, a Passionate Plume winner, a two-time HOLT Medallion finalist, and couldn't be happier that people enjoy reading her sexy words.

CONNECT WITH NIKKI

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1SbBUyM

Facebook: http://bit.ly/NikkiSloaneFB

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AuthorNSloane

Instagram: http://bit.ly/NikkiSloaneIG

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/NikkiSloanneBB

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/NikkiSloaneBB

Join her mailing list: https://www.nikkisloane.com/newsletter

*A big thank you to the author and her PR group for granting me the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own personal opinions and have been written in my own words.

BLOG TOUR: The Hunter by L.J. Shen

THE HUNTER really surprised me. While Shen's writing is as clever as ever, it took me a while for me to warm up to Hunter. Initially, I was not a fan.

The story begins with Hunter knee deep in debauchery from the jump. And, it's shockingly gross debauchery at that. 

Hunter is completely different from the heroes I'm used to seeing from Shen.

He's a manwhore with a potty mouth and can turn anything into a sexual innuendo. He has zero shame and gives zero f*cks.

But... he has his moments. He can be funny and flirtatious, kind and charismatic. He can be completely charming when he wants to be. And, let's not forget that he is F-I-N-E, fine.

He's Sebastian from Cruel Intentions (minus the stoicism). He's Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl (minus the snobbery). He's Wade from Hart of Dixie (if you replace his southern accent with one from Boston). He' s John Tucker from John Tucker Must Die (but a hundred times filthier). 

Despite Hunter's arrogance and gross sexual habits, he grew on me and I had fun watching his character develop into something resembling a human being. 

There's a few brief cameos of Knight, Vaughn, and Luna, but don't expect to see much of them. Although Troy and Sparrow have a solid showing, and it was great to get some insight into the Brennan family dynamic.

THE HUNTER is a funny and delightful addition to the Boston Belles series, but there is very little romance and it wasn't my favorite.

MY RATING

OVERALL: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 👥👥👥👥

STORYLINE: 📚📚📚📚

STEAM FACTOR: 🔥🔥

*I highly recommend reading Sparrow and the previous books in the Boston Belles series before reading this one. 

RELEASE BLITZ: The Hunter by L.J. Shen

"This is L.J. Shen at her wittiest, steamiest, heart-aching best!"

- Kennedy Ryan, Wall Street Journal bestselling author

The Hunter, an all-new scorching hot contemporary romance from USA Today bestselling author L.J. Shen is AVAILABLE NOW!

Boston's debauched elite is going up in flames, and it's the Fitzpatrick family that set it on fire.

HUNTER

I didn't mean to star in a sex tape, okay?

It was just one of those unexplainable things. Like Stonehenge, Police Academy 2, and morning glory clouds. 

It just happened.

Now my ball-busting father is sentencing me to six months of celibacy, sobriety, and morbid boredom under the roof of Boston's nerdiest girl alive, Sailor Brennan. 

The virginal archer is supposed to babysit my ass while I learn to take my place in Royal Pipelines, my family's oil company. 

Little does she know, that's not the only pipe I'll be laying...

SAILOR

I didn't want this gig, okay?

But the deal was too sweet to walk away from.

I needed the public endorsement; Hunter needed a nanny.

Besides, what's six months in the grand scheme of things?

It's not like I'm in danger of falling in love with the appallingly gorgeous, charismatic gazillionaire who happens to be one of Boston's most eligible bachelors.

No. I will remain immune to Hunter Fitzpatrick's charm.

Even at the cost of losing everything I have.

Even at the cost of burning down his kingdom.

Download your copy today or read FREE on Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2KZt7S9

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/hunterlj

Add THE HUNTER to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2Qav11R

About L.J. Shen

L.J. Shen is a USA Today, Washington Post, and Amazon #1 bestselling 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.

Connect with L.J. Shen

Facebook:        http://bit.ly/2OhSvp1
Goodreads:      http://bit.ly/2yhgPBx
Instagram:       http://bit.ly/2AIOiTo
Pinterest:         http://bit.ly/2oMbFsu


Stay up to date with L.J. Shen by signing up for her mailing list: http://bit.ly/36MnmAQ
Website: http://www.authorljshen.com/

COVER REVEAL: The Hunter by L.J. Shen

Boston's debauched elite is going up in flames, and it's the Fitzpatrick family that set it on fire. 

The Hunter, an all-new dazzling and delicious contemporary romance from USA Today bestselling author L.J. Shen is coming May 11th and I have the stunning cover!

HUNTER

I didn't mean to star in a sex tape, okay? 

It was just one of those unexplainable things.

Like Stonehenge, Police Academy 2, and morning glory clouds. 

It just happened.

Now my ball-busting father is sentencing me to six months of celibacy, sobriety, and morbid boredom under the roof of Boston's nerdiest girl alive, Sailor Brennan.

The virginal archer is supposed to babysit my ass while I learn to take my place in Royal Pipelines, my family's oil company.

Little does she know, that's not the only pipe I'll be laying...

SAILOR

I didn't want this gig, okay?

But the deal was too sweet to walk away from.

I needed the public endorsement; Hunter needed a nanny.

Besides, what's six months in the grand scheme of things?

It's not like I'm in danger of falling in love with the appallingly gorgeous, charismatic gazillionaire who happens to be one of Boston's most eligible bachelors.

No. I will remain immune to Hunter Fitzpatrick's charm.

Even at the cost of losing everything I have.

Even at the cost of burning down his kingdom.

Add THE HUNTER to Goodreads >>> http://bit.ly/2Qav11R

Be notified FIRST when The Hunter is live >>> http://bit.ly/36MnmAQ

Cover Designer: Lori Jackson

Photographer: Michelle Lancaster

Cover Model: Chase Chase Mattson

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 in 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.

Connect with L.J. Shen >>> Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | Pinterest

Stay up to date with L.J. Shen by signing up for her mailing list >>> http://bit.ly/36MnmAQ

Website >>> http://www.authorljshen.com/

COVER REVEAL: The Pool Boy by Nikki Sloane

From USA Today bestselling author Nikki Sloane comes a sexy, edgy new standalone in the Nashville Neighborhood series.

An all-new standalone erotic romance by Nikki Sloane is coming July 14, 2020!

Cover Designer: Shady Creek Designs

THE POOL BOY

Nothing says happy birthday like catching your husband in a compromising position with his boss. 

His male boss.

Why, hello, midlife crisis. I'm starting over, but this time I'm doing it right.

Or at least I'm doing what I want.

Taking the day off from work to hang out poolside? Yup.

Do I leave the swimsuit in my house? Sure.

Does my very hot, twenty-something pool boy happen to catch me naked? Oh, yeah, he does.

And he likes what he sees... a lot.

My best friend keeps telling me to have a fling and get back out there.

But I'm not so sure she meant for me to do it with her son.

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

Amazon | Amazon Worldwide | Apple Books | Nook | Kobo | Google Play

Add The Pool Boy on Goodreads 

ABOUT NIKKI

USA Today bestselling author Nikki Sloane landed in graphic design after her careers' as a waitress, a screenwriter, and a ballroom dance instructor fell through. For eight years she worked for a design firm in that extremely tall, black, and tiered building in Chicago that went through an unfortunate name change during her time there.

Now she lives in Kentucky, is married and has two sons. She is a three-time Romance Writers of America RITA© Finalist, a Passionate Plume winner, a HOLT Medallion finalist, and couldn't be happier that people enjoy reading her sexy words.

CONNECT WITH NIKKI

Amazon | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bookbub | Goodreads

Join Nikki's mailing list here >>> https://www.nikkisloane.com/newsletter

BOOK REVIEW: Scandalous by L.J. Shen

1. CHAOS & POWER IN THE FORM OF TRENT REXROTH

"Let them think I was crazy. More power to me. No one liked to mess with crazy. Ruthless. Why not? Powerful. Sure? But crazy was unpredictable, the worst attribute in a human."

2. A THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE & HATE

"Whatever we were, we were toxic. A lullaby on a thoroughly scratched record that keeps hiccupping again and again on the line that you hate."

"We were at it again. The cat and mouse. But I wasn't just a mouse. He was Tom and I was Jerry. He might win our battle eventually, but I'd managed to bruise him. I purpled and greened him all the time, leaving battle scars. Marks I loved to look at, in the form of his pissed off face."

3. PASSION

"I liked her hot. I liked her messy. I liked her all over the place because that's how she made me feel. Deprived. There was some poetic justice in it."

"From the day I was born, I knew I had a salty soul. I knew I loved differently. More violently. Everything I'd ever loved. That's what got me into so much trouble in the first place. The sheer obsession I had with everything I cared about."

4. RETRIBUTION

"Party pooper." Val scowled.
"You have no idea. I'm about to sh*t all over your f*cking life, sweetheart."

5. GREAT WRITING 

"...life was not a game of chess. Life was f*cking Jenga. You tried winging through it, hoping it wouldn't fall down in spectacular fashion and bury you."


Total it all up and you get TRENT + EDIE = GOALS. ❤️

"His eyes are light, his soul is dark, and everything else about what he gives me is full of colors."

MY RATING

OVERALL: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 👩👩👩👩👩

STORYLINE: 📚📚📚📚📚

ANGST: 😒😒😒😒😒

BOOK REVIEW: Violent Ends by Jessica Hawkins

WOW.

WOW.

WOW.

WOW.

WOW.

This series is SO *&$@#! GOOD that I'm legit at a loss for words.

There are no words.

VIOLENT ENDS, the second book of the White Monarch trilogy by Jessica Hawkins, is a nail-biting, page-turning, gripping-your-hair-out-of-frustrated-anticipation kind of good. 

VIOLENT ENDS picks right back up where VIOLENT DELIGHTS left off -- with my jaw on the floor. Natalia Cruz, the sheltered and naïve daughter of one of the most powerful drug lords in all of Mexico, has just been betrayed by the man she loves. To protect her family and everyone she loves, Natalia sacrificed her future happiness and agreed to a wedding that felt more like a funeral. By accepting her role as the wife of a powerful cartel kingpin, she is now legally and spiritually bound to the one thing she so desperately wanted to escape.

When Natalia finds out that Cristiano is not the man she expected, she struggles to sort through her warring emotions. As lines continue to blur, Natalia isn't sure if she should fear or hate her new husband, or if she should feel something else entirely. The only thing she knows for certain -- she will never stop searching for the answers to her questions. 

There is so, so, so, so much that I love about this book. The simmering heat. The power struggle. The witty banter. 

ALL. THE. FEELS.

"I lost my breath at the sight of his ass. I could've flicked a quarter at it and ducked as it ricocheted right back at me. Smooth with bronze, concave cheeks, it had more definition than his top-of-the-line TVs."

But man... that cliff hanger is brutal.

I don't know how to survive the next few months without knowing how it all ends. I can only hope and pray, and cross my fingers and toes, that the title of book three, VIOLENT TRIUMPHS, means the end will be a triumphant one. 

LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

Trust me, you need to read this book. 
You can thank me later.

Amazon ➜ http://smarturl.it/violentendsamz

Apple Books ➜ http://bit.ly/violentendsapple

Google Play ➜ http://bit.ly/violentendsgp

Nook ➜ http://bit.ly/violentendsnook

Kobo ➜ http://bit.ly/violentendskobo

Add on Goodreads ➜ http://bit.ly/whitemonarchgr

Audible Alert ➜ http://bit.ly/videaudioalert

Book 1 ➜ https://www.jessicahawkins.net/violentdelights.html

Listen to my self-curated Violent Ends Playlist on Spotify >>>

Violent Ends Playlist on Spotify

Unfoolish - Ashanti
Bad Boyz - Shyne
Mr. Wrong - Mary J. Blige (feat. Drake)
Head Above Water - Avril Lavigne
Poison & Wine - The Civil Wars
Tragic Endings - Eminem (feat. Skylar Gray)
Let Me (Acoustic) - Belle Mt
Wreck Me - Chord Overstreet
Kiss Me - Ed Sheeran
Electric - Alina Baraz (feat. Khalid)
Never Be the Same - Camila Cabello
Hate to Love You - The Revivalists
Never Let Me Go - Florence + the Machine
Worth of You - Plested
Sail - AWOLNATION
Live or Die - Noah Cyrus & Lil Xan
Hold On - Chord Overstreet

My review of VIOLENT DELIGHTS (White Monarch, #1) can be found >>> here.

RATING: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

SUSPENSE: 😬😬😬😬😬

STEAM: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

*An ARC of this book was provided to me by the author in exchange for my honest review. The thoughts and opinions expressed on Life as a Jane Doe are solely those of the blog owner (me) and have been written in my own words.