Audiobook Review: Vicious by LJ Shen

KA
Nov 14, 2017
4 min read

Why? Why do I keep finding out that you've all been hiding amazing books from me? Vicious is so bad, he's good!

Emilia They say love and hate are the same feelings experienced under different circumstances, and it’s true. The man who comes to me in my dreams also haunts me in my nightmares. He is a brilliant lawyer. A skilled criminal. A beautiful liar. A bully and a savior, a monster and a lover. Ten years ago, he made me run away from the small town where we lived. Now, he came for me in New York, and he isn’t leaving until he takes me with him. Vicious She is a starving artist. Pretty and evasive like cherry blossom. Ten years ago, she barged into my life unannounced and turned everything upside down. She paid the price. Emilia LeBlanc is completely off-limits, my best friend’s ex-girlfriend. The woman who knows my darkest secret, and the daughter of the cheap Help we hired to take care of our estate. That should deter me from chasing her, but it doesn’t. So she hates me. Big fucking deal. She better get used to me.

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon US - eBook

Amazon UK - eBook

Amazon US - Paperback

Amazon UK - Paperback

Audible US

Audible UK

Amazon US - Audiobook

Amazon UK - Audiobook

By: L.J. Shen

Narrated by: Savannah Peachwood, Christian Rummel

Series: Sinners of Saint, Book 1

Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins

Unabridged

Release date: 05-30-17

Language: English

Publisher: Audible Studios

Whispersynced at $1.99 /£3.49

REVIEW

Rating:

Story - 5 stars

Performance - 5 stars

Overall - 5 stars

Disclaimer: This review contains foul language.

Emilia and Vicious met as teenagers, it wasn’t the best meeting and it set in motion a lot of problems, for both of them. The attraction they feel is palpable but they both try to hide it. When they meet again as adults Emilia is down on her luck and Vicious has the means to help, but is the money worth what he’ll put her though? Can they work together, or will their attraction become too much? And what happens when it’s over?

So, I’ve had this book in my TBR for a while, and I was content for it to sit there. You know how it goes, too many books and not enough time. When I scored a ticket to the Four Brits Book Signing in Manchester, England this past weekend I wanted to have at least started something by LJ Shen when I met her, so I loaded up the audiobook and set to it. (I finished it on the train ride home). Oh, My Fucking God!!! Why did it take me so long? Why didn’t anyone harass me about reading this book? Why, why, why? I’ve downloaded the other books in the series already. I love how LJ Shen is able to make me fall in love with such an arsehole and she did it while he was still being an arse! Shock horror because that isn’t normal for me. Normally I want that guy to suffer, and he does suffer but the way she has written this book just made me fall in love. I loved her style and cannot wait to read about the other Hot-Holes.

This is a story that will have you questioning everything. Why is he doing this? Why’d he say that? Why doesn’t someone do something? Why are they letting this happen? What is going on? Why doesn’t she punch him in the balls? And you will love having those questions and it’ll keep you guessing throughout the book. If you love bad boy stories this one is a must read/ listen.

This book is full of characters that are interesting, and you want to know more about. The Hot-Holes for example, I need all of their stories. And Rosie’s, I like her and think her book will be awesome.

Vicious is an arsehole but I loved him. He had sweet moments, especially the more you find out about him and the things he did and why. He’s such a ‘bad boy’ but he has heart and after everything he’s experienced you can understand it. Here’s what I love about this book, he’s still a bad boy at the end, he doesn’t change as much as he opens himself up to love. I liked that, it was a different change of pace to most books.

I really like Emilia, she didn’t take his crap. She worked hard for her family and did what needed to be done, even if that meant walking away from everything. She was a strong woman and we all know how much I love those.

Their relationship was one of turmoil to say the least. They fought, and they loved, and it was fun to listen and see the twists and turns of their relationship and where their lives took them. They had some very steamy moments that’ll heat up your kindle, they were placed well and helped give a little more insight into these characters and their feelings.

I really enjoyed the narration, I thought it worked well as a dual narration and both Savannah Peachwood and Christian Rummel were wonderful. Savannah’s performance of Emilia was fantastic, I loved how she conveyed her emotions. Christian’s performance of Vicious was riveting, he played the bully with a sweet-side incredibly well. I will definitely be looking for more of their work in the future. The production was smooth with no issues.