Blog Tour & Review: The Kiss Thief - L.J. Shen
THE KISS THIEF
BY L.J. SHEN
Release Date: January 9th
Cover Designer: Letitia Hasser at RBA Designs
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.
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Francesca's kiss, the one meant to be bestowed upon her by her future husband, is stolen by a handsome brute. Now he's stolen her future too, declaring her his betrothed and whisking her off to his gated mansion. He promises wealth and education, but no romance, no love, no happily ever after, not the kind she's always dreamed of at least. She wanted Angelo, a friend, the heir to a powerful family in The Chicago Outfit, what she got was Senator Wolfe Keaton. He's got it out for her father though and things get very twisted. He's not what she wanted, but the notes point to him and as time goes he wears her down and soon she finds her heart tied to his.
"Disloyalty had a taste. It was bitter. It was sour. It was even a little sweet"
Francesca and Wolfe are the sort of couple that, in a book, are meant to be. Their fiery personalities, their clashing perspectives, their beauty are like puzzle pieces that just need matched properly. Francesca, though innocent in many ways, has been a pawn in The Outfit for longer than she even knows. Wolfe, though, is the exact opposite. He's the one that finds the pawns and makes them fit his needs. As humans we don't pair the innocent and the bad together very often, those qualities are not often good things, especially with the type of bad Wolfe is. In books though, these characters thrive together. Francesca inspires a soft side of Wolfe and Wolfe reveals the fierce heroine that Francesca has hiding inside her. Their romance, though not soft and sweet and marred by ugly, burns bright between them and the hard moments push them together. The push and pull between them is realistic, it's a bit dramatic, and it's incredibly romantic. I was drawn in by the two, I loved the power play between them, and I could've easily lived in this book for several more chapters.
I will admit I had some trepidation when it came to starting The Kiss Thief. I love L.J. Shen's work, I love her bastard heroes who find their hearts, I love her strong heroines, and I always love the stories. That said, I am a fierce and loyal mafia and crime romance reader, I have a hard time letting new authors into that circle. I was impressed with The Kiss Thief, I enjoyed that it wasn't as deep into the crime world as many others are. There are times when the details weren't as on point and times where the crime drama didn't have as much fear to it as I've grown used to in similar novels, but it was believable enough for me. I did have some other complaints, particularly with how much emphasis was put on the character's age and how often she did act young, despite touting often than she wasn't. Both are incredibly immature, but it does allows for their growth as individuals and as a couple. We go through some really annoying OW/OM drama, ultimately though we get the romance, the smut, the addicting story that L.J. Shen is known for.
"Our hearts were tarnished. Stained. And guilty. Unpredictable to a fault. And bound to break."
The Kiss Thief is the big surprise release we've been waiting for from L.J. Shen since she first teased it. Wolfe, like many of her other heroes, is all sharp edges, handsome looks, and fierce loyalty. He's the hero you can't help but love and Francesca is the one to reveal his truths. It's a romantic novel with just the right amount of drama and entertainment.
"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.
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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Tags: 4 stars, blog tour, candi kane pr, contemporary, crime, l.j. shen, organized crime, review, romance, the kiss thief