Fake dating isn't exactly my favourite trope, although the author has a very engaging writing style and draws you into the story. I would definitely like to read more from her.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Quite possibly my favorite L.J. Shen book yet - and that is really saying something! Amazing banter, fake dating, enemies to lovers - what more could you ask for?

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

Shen is a queen of writing alphaholes I don't think anyone can get hit balance of broody alpha dbag with a secret soft center quite like she can. The Devil wears black was a fantastic 2nd chance fake dating story with some real heart and soul behind it. I loved the diary entries throughout the book they added another layer to the story. Chase omg I wanted to hate him for his whole attitude but my god I couldn't help but love him by the end. He really came through as the story went on. The whole story had me hooked and I went on a rollercoaster of emotions throughout. Cant wait to read more by this author

Your funeral! 🤣😉

This Devil is the kind you want for no valid reason. The kind that twists you up and you don't know why. His snark, rudeness, and generally appalling behavior is NOT enough to make you walk away, even though you want to. He is everything you know better than to want...and absolutely everything you need.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into it. I still look forward to reading future books from LJ Shen!!

This is my favorite book from this author now! Chase and Mad were everything I needed and more, I couldn't put it down!

I did give this a chance but stopped at 20%. But the hero was just a jerk (ironic) and the heroine makes way too many pop culture references because she's 'not like other girls'. Hard pass.

My first book from this author and also my last. I usually can separate the artist from the art, but I cannot with good conscience support an author who engages in the kind of behavior that this author did.

I received this eARC from Montlake via NetGalley last year for my completely honest review. I decided to DNF and not review as I was not liking it. I am a mood reader and decided I would come back to this one at a later time to try again. Unfortunately, this one is still not for me. I am all for a hero who can be a jerk... but then redeems himself, showing he can be kind, loving and respectful. I just didn’t feel Chase did this. And if I don’t like the hero, I won’t like the story. There was more to my dislike but I truly don’t enjoy writing reviews where I didn’t like the story, so I’d rather just say, it wasn’t for me. I know that there will be many that will enjoy this book for the exact reasons that I didn’t. So give it a try if the blurb grabs you.

The Devil Wears Black is epic beyond words! It is so hilarious, sexy, so emotional and angst, LJ Shen is the creator of a new trope: ROM-ANG-COM!. It is so addictive, I spent two days sitting on the couch reading without stopping, obsessed with the characters and what was going to happen, I HAVE NO WORDS FOR HOW MUCH I LOVE IT. It is kindle crack!!!

Chase Black wants Maddie, his ex-girlfriend, to help him by pretending to be his fiancée for a while, and Maddie can't say no, but now she is not willing to put up with anything from him and she is going to show him that she is not the submissive girlfriend that he used to know, this couple is so amazing, Chase is EVERYTHING, he is sarcastic, arrogant and jerk, but he also loves his family so much, gahhh, I die of love for him, and Maddie, is a sassy heroine who will steal your heart, and as the chapters go by, dear god, I swooned so hard, they warmed me up and melted my heart at the same time.

This story is unique, intense and powerful, it is a roller coaster of emotions multiplied by a thousand. The banter and intense chemistry between them are everything, almost melted my Kindle. And the sarcastic dialogues, I laughed out loud with them, Insuperable. But beyond all this, what left me completely captivated is that the story shows us that there is nothing more powerful than love, its strength breaks any barrier, no matter how high it is. LJ Shen made me live an epic experience, she has the ability to awaken the most intense feelings in the reader, a round of applause, an ovation to the author, this is the best romcom I've ever read.

I've got to say that I loved this book. I loved the grumpiness of Chase and the 'madness' of Maddie.

I thought that Maddie's love of family was beautiful and it didn't even have to be her own.

I enjoyed experiencing the legacy she was left by her mother and how that had an impact throughout the story.

The supporting characters were just that, supportive of the story throughout and providing some light relief.

All in all a nice addition to the catalogue of L.J. Shen

The last time I read a book by this author, it was my first time and I didn’t love it. That was a couple years ago.
I decided to give this book a chance and see if I can connect with this author’s work.

This is a second chance romance of sorts. Our main two characters were previously dating but ended things on a bad note. So imagine Maddie’s shock when she finds Chase Black at her front steps months after their breakup.

Due to some some complicated family matters, Chase asks her to fake date him for appearances. And she agrees (Shocker)

I liked Maddie quite a lot. She was sweet, creative, unique and ambitious. I just could not wrap my head around what exactly she saw in Chase (besides his obvious gorgeous exterior) because the man was unbearably rude and downright disrespectful towards her. Major ick factor.

They had a simmering attraction but it felt empty to me. Superficial connection that I just could not vibe with.
I continued to read because I rooting for Maddie and prayed this would end well for her.

I will say this, LJ Shen is undeniably a very talented writer. She has a very great style of writing. But I’ve concluded that her books are just not for me. Her brand is kinda the super jerk hero and I don’t enjoy that type at all. If you don’t mind this, her books, including this one, might be for you.

***3.5 Stars***

This was one of those books that I was hoping to love, but only ended up liking. It didn’t really grab hold of me from the start, and it was a bit of a struggle to keep going with it at times, I did actually enjoy the latter part of the book quite a bit ~ hence the .5 ~ but after reading “the end” I can’t say that this would be a book I would choose to re-read again.

Maddie and Chase. I can’t really say that I loved either of them, but they were fascinating in their own way and I admit that I kept reading to see if Chase ever truly softened and if Maddie would shed the whole “Martyr Maddie” nickname, and they do, but there was a lot eye rolling as they stumbled along. As for their journey to their HEA. As I said, my favorite part of this book was towards the end where Maddie shed the whole Martyr thing but still maintained her soft heart and Chase did shed some of his aloof/manipulative nature.

I’ve had my ups and downs with this author’s books, so I honestly never know how any of them will work out for me, but, this wasn’t a bad read by any means. There were some interesting secondary characters, one who I really, REALLY wanted to Gibbs smack and tell to grow a pair ~ even in the end ~ but I figure, if you find the blurb interesting then go for it. It may end up being a favorite.

~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. The Devil Wears Black by L.J. Shen accomplishes something I had thought would never happen, I read a billionaire romance and enjoyed it immensely. I think it’s because, in this book, the heroine wants nothing from the billionaire hero, and in most instances, she is the one with the power, he needs her more than she needs him. The story of Chase Black and Maddie Goldbloom is a fake relationship, second chance at love story with only one bed. I enjoyed watching Maddie come into her own strong and independent no longer willing to dim her lights for Chase in order to win his affection. Steam Level: Medium Publishing Date March 9, 2021 #TheDevil WearsBlack #LJShen #MontlakePublishing #ContemporaryRomance #NotYourAverageBillionaireRomance #NetGalley #bookstagrammer #bookstagram

The Devil Wears Black by L.J. Shen is a wonderful romance, that is hot and steamy, perfect to off set the cold weather going on outside. I really enjoyed this sexy romance that re-connects two people who are both hurting. I highly recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more books by this author.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A strong 5-stars
I have a hate-love relationship with L J Shen's books. And the reason I keep coming for them is that love is always stronger. The devil wears black is one of my favorites of hers. it's worth a strong 5 stars for me.
When Chase cheated on Maddie 6 months ago, she swore he was the devil himself and decided to never speak to him again. One day while getting back from a date, she found no-one but the devil himself waiting in the steps of her apartment.
Chase is not here to ask for forgiveness. he is her to ask Maddie to pose as his fake fiancée to his dying father, who wants to him settled down, and as it happened he never told his family that they broke up.
From Ex-lovers to enemies, to fake fiancés. Maddie and Chase's relationship had seen it all.
I can't get enough of Maddie and chase.
Chase is the Alpha male you'll be expecting. Cold, rude, and full of himself. I wouldn't want to be with him in the same room, but I'd love to read about him. I loved his sense of humor and kind of side with him when he broke up with Maddie the first time.
Maddie is eccentric, she had her bad share in life and still struggling. The new fake engagement agreement took the edge off their relationship and she is finally standing up to Chase and he's completely falling for every aspect of her wonderful self.
this novel renewed my love for LJ Shen. Her characterization is always exceptional. she is definitely my favorite romance author.

Maddie has convinced herself that she has moved on from her jerk of an ex-boyfriend, Chase Black. So, when he shows up months after their break-up, Maddie is prepared to deal with him. At least, Maddie thinks she is but Chase is asking for a huge favor. He hasn’t explained to his family that they broke up and he needs Maddie to pretend to be his fiancé for a weekend.

Maddie is so sweet and kind that of course she goes along with his plans. I wanted her to cut him down. I mean she is so kind they call her Martyr Maddie. He is such a jerk but then it wouldn’t be this good enemy to lovers romance that I so enjoy if he is a nice guy.

Wow. I know from past reads that this author knows how to do a jerk hole but she has reached new levels with Chase Black. He is immediately dismissive towards the heroine. He is distant and so rude. He starts off cutting her down verbally and blatantly states he doesn’t want to be with her. She is hurt and I have to admit I was hurt too. I couldn’t figure out how the author would make readers like him but she warmed me over by the end.

There’s a lot more to Chase than the cold exterior he presents. He has issues and after meeting the Black family, it is understandable. However, his cold front is just that…. a front. He is kinder, gentler and while his reasons for treating Maddie like crap in their previous relationship is silly, I got why the author went this route.

I love banter. Chase and Maddie seem to go at it every chance they get. I enjoyed reading about them fight tooth and nail not to fall in love with one another. Maddie is definitely not the same timid woman that Chase dated before. He is amazed at how strong and feisty she is. Maddie decides to not let Chase run all over her like he did before. She will help him but he won’t call of the shots.

The romance is steamy but not as steamy as I am use to by this author. However, a great standalone with my favorite trope. So fans of an enemies to lovers romance will definitely want to read this if they can get past a douche of an ex-boyfriend.

~ Samantha

This was my first time reading a book by L.J. Shen, mostly because the other stories she's written tend to have a Hero who comes across as a jerk to the heroine, and that is just off-putting to me. But I wanted to form my own opinion so I requested this ARC from Netgalley.

Straight up I couldn't stand Chase, because of the way he comes across the pages. What a dick he was to Maddie. Ugh, right off the bat I didn't like him. I just don't like Hero's who are portrayed the way he was, or who says the things he said to Maddie. Other women seem to eat that stuff up. Not me. The only reason I gave this book 3 stars and didn't just DNF it altogether was because we got chapters from his POV, which gave us some insight into the real him. Still not a fan, though.

Maddie I liked a lot. She was a very self aware girl who knew what she wanted. I don't know why she agreed to help Chase, though. Still thinking about that....

Overall, the story had a lot of potential, and would have gotten more stars from me had the Hero not been portrayed the way he was. Besides his condescending attitude it was just overly explained why he constantly wears black, and I really didn't care for all the pop culture references. Those won't even be relevant a few years from now.

It seems that L.J. Shen is either a hit or a miss for me, so I was a little bit worried about this one, but I ended up really enjoying it.

Positives:
- The trope! If you like, exes who hate each other and who have to fake being engaged, then this book is for you.
- The family dynamic. I liked that even though the Black were a rich family, the author didn’t portray them as your typical mean ones who are better than everyone else. She could have easily gone down that path, and I’m glad she didn’t. All were likable, and I enjoyed that family was something important to Chase. Moreover, they accepted Madison easily therefore there weren’t those annoying arguments between Madison and Chase’s family.
- I enjoy the relationship between Madison and Chase. There was real chemistry between the two and their playful banter was fun to read about.

Negatives:
- Chase. I still have a problem with L.J. Shen’s love interest. They are often the same kind of guy: rude and they don't want to be in any kind of serious relationship. But Chase wasn’t as bad as some of her other MC, so it was an improvement. And as the novel unfolds and that we discover more about him, he becomes more likable, and you can actually understand his behavior.

It wasn't my favourite of L J Shen's books but i did really enjoy it.
I enjoyed the characters, the storyline, as always with Ms Shen was great!