Defy (Sinners of Saint, #0.5) by L.J. Shen Series: Sinners of Saint #0.5
Published by Self-Published on January 31st 2017
Pages: 114
Amazon
Defy is a smutty, insta-love, insta-lust short novella. Defy is a prequel to Vicious (Sinners of Saint #1). It is recommended, but unnecessary, to read Defy before reading Vicious.
First included in Hot for Teacher Anthology: 19 Stories Filled with Lust and Love.
My name is Melody Greene, and I have a confession to make.I slept with my student, a senior in high school.Multiple times.I had multiple orgasms.In multiple positions.I slept with my student and I enjoyed it.I slept with my student and I’d do it all over again if I could turn back time.My name is Melody Greene, and I got kicked out of my position as a teacher and did my walk of shame a la Cersei Lannister from the principal’s office, minutes after said principal threatened to call the cops on me.My name is Melody Greene, and I did something bad because it made me feel good.Here is why it was totally worth it.
If you enjoy the forbidden, Defy is one heck of a student-teacher romance. It’s beyond sultry and I was surprised by the unpredictable nature, seeing that the entire plot appears to be given away in the synopsis.
Jaime is a popular 18-year-old high school student and Melody is his unhappy 26-year-old English Lit teacher. Their relationship is ethically wrong, but the age gap isn’t so large as to make their affair feel creepy. In fact, their dynamics seem to give them a level playing field. The story is told exclusively from Melody’s point of view and I really enjoyed her complexity. She’s lost and vulnerable, but she’s honest about her shortcomings and actually has a pair of balls when she chooses to use them. Jaime is a total catch.
Contrary to the author’s warning, this story doesn’t smack of Insta-Lust to me. Jamie and Melody’s fling seems like an inevitability after a whole lot of sexual tension that started building before the story even begins. The abundance of not-so-subtle flirtations only adds to that.
I have a love it or hate it relationship with novellas. However, the characters here are extremely intriguing, and the plot is so dynamic that it lacks that one-dimensional quality novellas tend to have. My only complaint is that I wanted more. The epilogue ends abruptly and left me unsatisfied—like it’s missing a chapter where the ripple effect of the characters’ choices is fully exposed.
Stupid me. I read Vicious, Ruckus, and then Scandalous before reading Defy, not realizing that this novella was intended to be read first. It won’t hurt your enjoyment of the Sinners of Saint series if you read Defy out of order, but the book helps reveal the depth of the bond between the four HotHoles. In hindsight, I recommend reading this before reading Vicious.
Recommended for fans of:
Student-teacher romance
Steamy sexy times
Anchors
Mommy issues
About L.J. Shen
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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