Thursday, January 17, 2019

Release Blitz & Reviews: THE KISS THIEF by LJ Shen

   
THE KISS THIEF BY L.J. SHEN
Release Date: January 9th
Cover Designer: Letitia Hasser at RBA Designs.
   
   

AVAILABLE NOW!
FREE IN KU!
         
           
Blurb They say your first kiss should be earned. Mine was stolen by a devil in a masquerade mask under the black Chicago sky. They say the vows you take on your wedding day are sacred. Mine were broken before we left church. They say your heart only beats for one man. Mine split and bled for two rivals who fought for it until the bitter end. I was promised to Angelo Bandini, the heir to one of the most powerful families in the Chicago Outfit. Then taken by Senator Wolfe Keaton, who held my father’s sins over his head to force me into marriage. They say that all great love stories have a happy ending. I, Francesca Rossi, found myself erasing and rewriting mine until the very last chapter. One kiss. Two men. Three lives. Entwined together. And somewhere between these two men, I had to find my forever.
   
   
Excerpt “Are you sure you’re on my card?” I turned to the man with a polite yet distant smile. I was still disoriented from the exchange with Angelo when the stranger pulled me against his hard body and pressed a possessive hand lower than socially acceptable on my back, a second from groping my butt. “Answer me,” I hissed. “My bid on your card was the highest,” he replied dryly. “The bids are undisclosed. You don’t know how much other people have paid,” I kept my lips pursed to keep myself from yelling. “I know it’s nowhere near the realm of what this dance is worth.” Un-freaking-believable. We began to waltz around the room as other couples were not only spinning and mingling but also stealing envious glances at us. Naked, raw ogles that told me that whomever the blonde he’d come to the masquerade with was, she wasn’t his wife. And that I might have been all the rage in The Outfit, but the rude man was in high demand, too. I was stiff and cold in his arms, but he didn’t seem to notice—or mind. He knew how to waltz better than most men, but he was technical, and lacked warmth and Angelo’s playfulness. “Nemesis.” He took me by surprise, his rapacious gaze stripping me bare. “Distributing glee and dealing misery. Seems at odds with the submissive girl who entertained Bishop and his horsey wife at the table.” I choked on my own saliva. Did he just call the governor’s wife horsey? And me submissive? I looked away, ignoring the addictive scent of his cologne, and the way his marble body felt against mine. “Nemesis is my spirit animal. She was the one to lure Narcissus to a pool where he saw his own reflection and died of vanity. Pride is a terrible illness.” I flashed him a taunting smirk. “Some of us could use catching it.” He bared his straight white teeth. “Arrogance is a disease. Compassion is the cure. Most gods didn’t like Nemesis, but that’s because she had a backbone.” “Do you?” He arched a dark eyebrow. “Do I…?” I blinked, the courteous grin on my face crumpling. He was even ruder when we were alone. “Have a backbone,” he provided. He stared at me so boldly and intimately, it felt like he breathed fire into my soul. I wanted to step out of his touch and jump into a pool full of ice. “Of course, I do,” I responded, my spine stiffening. “What’s with the manners? Were you raised by wild coyotes?” “Give me an example,” he said, ignoring my quip. I was beginning to draw away from him, but he jerked me back into his arms. The glitzy ballroom distorted into a backdrop, and even though I was starting to notice that the man behind the demi-mask was unusually beautiful, the ugliness of his behavior was the only thing that stood out. I am a warrior and a lady…and a sane person who can deal with this horrid man. “I really like Angelo Bandini.” I dropped my voice, slicing my gaze from his eyes and toward the table where Angelo’s family had been seated. My father was sitting a few seats away, staring at us coldly, surrounded by Made Men who chatted away. “And see, in my family, we have a tradition dating back ten generations. Prior to her wedding, a Rossi bride is to open a wooden chest—carved and made by a witch who lived in my ancestors’ Italian village—and read three notes written to her by the last Rossi girl to marry. It’s kind of a good luck charm mixed with a talisman and a bit of fortunetelling. I stole the chest tonight and opened one of the notes, all so I could rush fate. It said that tonight I was going to be kissed by the love of my life, and well…” I drew my lower lip into my mouth and sucked it, peering under my eyelashes at Angelo’s empty seat. The man stared at me stoically, as though I was a foreign film he couldn’t understand. “I’m going to kiss him tonight.” “That’s your backbone?” “When I have an ambition, I go for it.”
A conceited frown crinkled his mask, as if to say I was a complete and utter moron. I looked him straight in the eye. My father taught me that the best way to deal with men like him was to confront, not run. Because, this man? He’d chase.
   



WOW. I thoroughly enjoyed this rather different, drama filled read. I wasn't sure what to make of Wolfe, to be quite honest, initially, but as I read on he sort of redeemed himself, although it took me quite a while to even think about liking him. He was quite the wolf though!!
I admired Francesca and her tenacity, her zest for not wanting to be told what to do.
This book was riveting to the point I just had to keep reading till I finished.
Yes there was some nasty characters, some suspenseful moments and especially some things I never saw coming.
All in all this was a thrilling story that kept my undivided attention.
I felt sad for Francesca as to how her life was and now is but I absolutely loved how it ended, never thinking it would be the direction this story went.
I won't say much more than if you want a book that will capture your soul and spit it out at the end then this is the book for you!!! 



I want to start of by saying this is a very different type of book to my normal choice of reads that being said I really enjoyed this drama filled story. It took some time to warm up to Wolfe he’s not a character you fall in love with instantly but as the story unfolds and you get to know him I hope like me you will start to see the real man and hopefully end up liking him. 
Wolfe Keaton or Senator Keaton as most know him is a good looking manwhore who now has his future wife living in his mansion, Francesca Rossi is the daughter of a mob boss and the last thing she wants is to marry Wolfe because she always believed she was betrothed to Angelo a fellow mobster’s son. Keaton has a plan and asking for Francesca’s hand in marriage is all part of it, what starts of as a means to an end becomes so much more when hate turns to love...
This is a book that’s full of drama, full of secrets, full of characters that aren’t easy to like and it has plenty of twists and turns. It’s a story that will captivate you so make sure you have lefty of time to finish because I can guarantee you won’t want to put this book down. Great read.



   
About the Author L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat.
Before she’d settled down, L.J. (who thinks referring to herself in the third person is really silly, by the way) traveled the world, and collected friends from all across the globe. Friends who’d be happy to report that she is a rubbish companion, always forgets peoples’ birthdays and never sends Christmas cards.
She enjoys the simple things in life, like spending time with her family and friends, reading, HBO, Netflix and internet-stalking Stephen James. She reads between three to five books a week and firmly believes Crocs shoes and mullets should be outlawed.
   
     
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