I know the author is very popular and I wanted to give her books a try, but this just wasn't for me.

Sexy, Steamy and all the best parts of a great romance novel, I could not put this down and man did it make me hot.

There is a thin line between love and hate and Emilia was drawn to him and unable to stay away. Seeing him everyday was too much and made her life absolutely miserable. Having him save her when she needed it to the most filled her heart with trepidation and ensured she remained strong. He would be her undoing and she never realized he was helpless around her. The push and pull of the characters will draw you in one word at a time.

This was such a cute romance. Yes, it seemed a bit toxic at the beginning, but as the story progressed and backstories were revealed everything seemed to click and make sense. I loved the banter between the characters, the friendships and even the family drama. This was a quick, dirty read yet still neat in its own way.

Emilia is a spitfire of a girl, but she was also very quiet. Love-struck the moment she met Vicious. Emilia seems to not have a backbone because she takes so much bullying, but it's so much more than. I definitely believe she should have been a bit stronger, but I think that's what made her so sweet. She was a very understanding, kind and loving person. She saw past peoples's bs and saw the hurt and pain they were battling with. She was a trooper through and through. However, she STILL should have knocked Vicious out a bit as a teen.

Vicious full name Baron Spencer was just as his nickname said -- vicious. He was a heartless, coldbolded guy...or so people thought of him. He was a grade A douche-bag. I didn't care for his rudeness at first, but as the story went on and I looked deeper at him and with his backstory revealed his actions began to make sense. Vicious was really a sweet guy on the side, but he was clouded by so much pain and hurt. He closed himself off from love. He was a dick, but I still loved him!

The romance was hilarious to me! Going from attraction to hating to still being attracted to being a bully to falling in love. That's what I loved about it! The romance was insta-love, but it also took time to grow between Emilia and Vicious. There of course were other romances with other characters, but I honestly enjoyed their weird, almost toxic relationship. Why? It actually allowed Vicious to heal in a deeper more real way. Their love was pure, but it had to break down some walls around Vicious' heart.

Dean was an amazing guy. I loved him when he had his time to shine, but I adored him for his friendship with Vicious. He was a real friend--almost brother. The other two guys, Trent and Jaimie, were just as interesting as Dean. They didn't get a lot of shine time, but I know that they have their own books I'm excited to read.

Rosie is the best sister ever. I loved her quirky ways and how real she was with Emilia. I cannot wait to see how things go for her in the sequel, especially since she ends up with someone that isn't Hal -- I am here for it.

Jo was a terrible stepmother and Vicious's dad was no better. They didn't have the heart to love kids and were purely money hungry people. They both got their expected end and I couldn't have been more than happy about it.

Overall, I TOTALLY enjoyed with read and can't wait to finish the series and revisit the gang!

I did not enjoy this book. I found the romance EXTREMELY problematic. I found the love interest rude, mean and emotionally abusive. I don't understand how the main character can fall for someone after he made her life miserable.

Yea, this book isn't for me. Alpha asshole is a big NOPE. LJ Shen is a very popular author with a big fanbase, but I don't think she's the right author for me.

Eeehh, this was not as good as The Kiss Thief in my opinion. Or maybe my expectations were too high after reading that one, I don't know.
I didn't like that this was basically a case of insta-love, our main characters just didn't want to admit it.

Vic also did a complete 180 mentality-wise nearing the end of the book and it just didn't make sense whatsoever.

I. Loved. This.
If you asked me why, or what it was that drew me to this in particular I couldn't tell you, because it was all of it! Amazing, so good.

[Thanks Netgalley for the ebook. This review is my honest opinion but just another opinion, you should read this book and judge it by yourself]
I don't know what happens to me everytime I read an L.J. Shen that I find myself between love and hate. I think her books are like a soap opera, I read rolling my eyes so hard I fear I lose them in my head but, at the same time, I can't stop reading. It happened to me while I was reading The Kiss Thief and it happened again with this book. This time I didn't hate the MC but I couldn't like them either, especially Vicious. I didn't like him AT ALL, what an ass****. He's like Chuck from Gossip Girl, someone hateful and proud of it, meh. And Emilia looks like Anastasia from Fifty Shades, another meh. I could understand their lust, even their obsession, but never their love (I didn't even feel that Vicious was in love with Em, he's so cold). I know they have some history and that Vicious' past and need of revenge is even stronger that his feelings toward Emilia but I didn't buy the whole story.
On the other hand, I liked the HotHoles relationship. It's strange but it works for them and for the reader.
The story is full of cliches and a little anticlimatic at the end but I must confess that I was hooked the entire reading, I couldn't put it down! And that's very important to me, so I'm going to read more of L.J. Shen.

Vicious is a long, hard fought enemies to lovers romance.
The interesting thing is the discovery at the end.
The fireworks are explosive between these two. And after ten years apart, things are just as combative.
They are hot together.
The writing is great. I just wasn't in love with the characters at all.

Sorry I just didn't like this book. I loved Sparrow and I was hoping I would like this book that much or more, but I couldn't stand Vicious. I love a sexy Asshole as much as the next girl, but said Asshole is suppose to have some kind of redeeming qualities. Something that makes you soften to him and fall in love with him. Not Vicious he was just a straight up asshole. At no point in the read did I think wow I can totally see why Millie loves him. At no point did I find him sexy or desirable. I did however find myself annoyed with him and bored with the whole book. I found myself wondering wtf was wrong with Millie that she would want a jerk like Vicious. How could she love him when he was never, ever nice to her. I didn't care about their relationship. I didn't really want to finish the book but I heard it got better. I felt the good part came way to late and was so different from the Vicious we knew this whole book that it felt forced. Overall I'm just disappointed and over it.

Hate and Love is very thin line....
Emilia family just moved to small town Todas Santos in California while her parents worked as housekeepers to Vicious Spencer's. She didn't enjoy going to school with rich and privilege kids. Other students made her feel like she doesn't belong there. Especially Vicious made her life more miserable and he made sure she feels outcast.
When Emilia started to going out with Dean, one of his Four Hot Holes, part of Vicious group, everything escalated and she was sent away and break up with Dean and never come back.
Ten years later, starving artist, waitress Emilia meets with one person she didn't wanted to face., Vicious. She never wanted to face him but she couldn't afford to lose the job so decided to serve him. And when he asks her to visit him for the tip, she couldn't forget what he has done to her and decided to move on.. Until he showed up at her door step and offers PA job she couldn't refuse.
Now Emilia and Vicious is working closely together. Emilie feels this is temporary and she feels he will use her again just like he did before. When he reveals what he wants her to do, she is not sure if she could do it for him and for herself.
Vicious has never been in loved or know how to love. He is driven to revenge his hate toward his father, stepmother and his wealth. He has his own demons that drove who he is and has been. Now Emilia is back to his life and he needs to find a way to help him finish his revenge but keep her closer than ever and never let go.

I have read several books by L.J. Shen and this one didn't disappoint. Hero Vicious is not typical, a likable hero but I did warm up to him as I read about his dark past and Emilia, heroine makes up for it. Story is twisted in so many ways that keeps the storyline moving and had to get the end.
This could be standalone.
Thanks to Netgalley and Author for ARC in exchange for honest review.

I already read Dirty Headlines by her and LOVED it! I have a couple of her books on my app but I haven’t read them yet (I know, I know). I found this book a couple months ago on NetGalley even though it’s been released like two years ago. So hint: if you look through thousand ARCs there, you can find a hidden treasure 😉

Back to the book.

I had a feeling since the beginning that Vicious secretly liked Emilia. His actions said so. But he was also a bully to her, hiding behind his own pain. He was a domineering, bossy, angry boy who wanted to hurt her. Deep down though there was love.

Emilia was portrayed as a naive, sensitive but overall a happy kid, who in ten years just wanted to help her sister. She didn’t have other choice – and Vicious wouldn’t let her – but to work for him.

I loved this push and pull between them but sometimes I wish Emilia was stronger and she wouldn’t forgive him that quick. Honestly, the hero annoyed me at times because he was so demanding. That’s why I am contemplating between 4 and 5 stars, so I’ll give this book 4.5 stars. I need to read about other HotHoles, like asap.

Vicious was a savagely sexy and surprisingly sweet read, and it's absolutely put author L.J. Shen on my radar, making me anxious to read even more of this series and discover her past releases. There's no sugarcoating here, folks. Baron Spencer, Jr. isn't a nice guy. Not when he was a teenager and not when he was an adult. He doesn't pretend otherwise either. He owns up to his reputation because it's his reality. Emilia LeBlanc is certainly no stranger to Vicious and what he's capable of just to get what he wants and to have the world around him adjust to his whims. What he did to her when they were both eighteen was underhanded and manipulative, but he's able to justify it in his head. What Vic feels for Em he feels immensely, and all those conflicting emotions lead him to act and react rashly. Vic's back story is difficult to read, and my heart broke for him, even when his spirit didn't, making him into the hard person he became after his mother passed away. Em was the breath of fresh air that he needed and wanted, but did someone like him deserve someone like her? I can't find sufficient enough words to explain why and how much I loved this book. I went into this without having read Defy, the prequel novella which was part of an anthology and will be released separately next month, but it still worked out quite well in the end. Ask me what I want. I so want more of the Sinners of Saint because Vicious was a five-plus-starred, decadent series starter. ♥

*I was given this title in exchange for an honest review*

Vicious has been nothing but a terrible bully to Millie. He even ran her from her home, her family, everything all because he couldn't handle his own feelings. Ten years later and they meet in a diner she works at and he corners her in the bathroom... yeah. So because she's tight on cash and taking care of her sick sister, she agrees to work for him for a lot of money. He's mean to her once more but he does slowly, slowly, get better towards her. They end up falling in love and Vicious gets everything he wanted, including revenge for what happened to his poor mum. So even though it seems like there will never be a HEA, there is a HEA!

Now I did enjoy this book and found myself wanting to read it even when I wasn't but I'm torn because it mentions pot way too much. Usually I give a book three strikes and then DNF it but when it comes to books like these, I still read them. Even though drugs are a hard limit for it and it makes me uncomfortable. I used to think content warnings were unnecessary but after being burned so many times, I would love one for drugs. Then I could pass books and move on with my life.

So I knock two stars for pot and how it was used. It was never looked down on. I've read books like Crank and those get high ratings because it shows what drugs can do to you and your life. Any book that looks on drugs badly is one I can stomach.

Anyway, I know that most people aren't like me and they give zero shits about drugs being in their books. Moving on, this book is well written, the characters are well developed and it's addicting! You will not want to stop reading it as all. So be warned that if you start this, clear your day.

Okay, so I am WAY late to the HotHole party but better late than never, right? Holy cow. I really thought there was no way this book could possibly live up to the buzz I've been hearing about it since it released. It really, really does. Vicious and Emilia are ev-er-y-thing. Their story is so gut-wrenching and poignant. I read it in two sittings within 24 hours. When I was reading it, I was thinking about it. It's a dirty, sexy love story, but it is so much more than that. It's about life and love of all kinds, friends, family, lovers, and about what's fair versus what's right and what is more important. I immediately went and got book 2 of this series and I am sure by the end of next week I'll have devoured the series. In this case, you can absolutely believe the hype. This book was FIRE.

I had heard so much about this book and had so many people recommend it to me that I really wanted to read it. I have read 1 book by LJ Shen previously and enjoyed so I was excited to read this one. I wish I could tell you that I thought it was a good as the hype but sadly I just found it hard to really like the characters. I have enjoyed many bully romances and enemies to lovers stories and even some very dark obsession books and I have fallen in love with plenty of "alphaholes" in books. I don't want to give any spoilers but there was a point where I was on the cusp of liking Vicious but then he just let me down and I couldn't get past it. I wanted to love it but in the end I just didn't.

This was the first L.J Shen book that I really didn't care for, couldn't stand either character. To think that I actully liked Vicious in the other book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

First off, I should point out that L.J. Shen’s a new author for me and I really liked her book, Scandalous. The writing was raw and the forbidden romance well done in Scandalous. Sadly, Vicious was a bit of a letdown.

Meet Rich Guy – Vicious. I really wanted to like him. He was so good to Trent in Scandalous but he was too hateful. He was such a jerk. The only times I really liked him was when I found out his secrets. I loathed how he treated Emilia. I get it that he lived through a horrible situation but the horrors that we suffer through should not give us the license to treat people like crap and to do as we please. Fine, Vicious was loaded but the way he treated Emilia was sick. Indeed, he was absolutely vicious.

Meet Poor Girl – Emilia. I get it that Vicious put her in a tight spot but at times, she was so self-absorbed she missed things happening around her that were so obvious it was super annoying. Plus, I hated how no matter how badly Vicious treated her, she still fell for him. How can a few good actions wipe away all the bad? I just couldn’t accept that.

This was Vicious and Emilia’s story and their denial to accept their feelings dragged other people in their mess and ruined not just their lives but the lives of those people as well. Sure they got their happy ever after in the end but they were just really toxic for each other and I’m sorry to say this book just wasn’t for me.

An interesting take on a damaged man with this enemy to lovers plot. This is the first I have read by L.J Shen and I must say that the writing style is fantastic and completely immersive. Whilst I'm still a little unsure on how I feel about Vicious as a character, I think that is a testament to L.J's writing really, as the character is so well written and, well, viscous!