The Kiss Thief by L.J. Shen Published by Self-Published on January 6, 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Amazon
From USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author L.J. Shen comes an enemies-to-lovers romance with a twist...
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.
This one hurts because I’m a big L.J. Shen fan and I really enjoyed much of the story, but ultimately the heroine ruined The Kiss Thief for me.
Wolfe is the king of all anti-heroes—a 30 year-old Senator with zero scruples. His emotional cruelty toward Francesca, his very naïve 19-year-old wife, is truly despicable and yet he has a magnetism that sparked my curiosity. I easily got absorbed into the story, wondering what happened to make him such a miserable human being and what it would take to redeem him.
Of course my heart went out to Francesca who is collateral damage in a war between her mafia boss father and Wolfe. She is only 19 and led a sheltered life, so initially I gave her a pass for her immaturity. I excused her bouts of crying and temper tantrums. I even tried to overlook the silly business with her family superstitions. It seemed my patience paid off. I began to grow fond of Francesca and the spine she starts to develop. She and Wolfe make a great team, and I liked the obvious attraction they come to share. I especially enjoyed the battle of wills between Wolfe and Francesca’s dad.
Unfortunately, the plot unravels during the last quarter of the book. I was dumbfounded by a series of epically irrational choices that Francesca makes. It reinforced my opinion of her as a childish, rather dim heroine. There are so many aspects of the storyline toward the end that just make no sense at all to me. No amount of grand gestures or sweet epilogues could make up for that. Other readers may not be bothered by Francesca’s behavior and should have a more satisfying reading experience as a result.
Recommended for fans of:
Mafia romances
Alpha anti-heroes
Forced marriages
* I received an early version of this book. This does not affect the content of my review. *
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.
Ugh. I think I know what decisions you’re talking about in that last half. She drove me nuts with those decisions. Other than that, I liked this one.
Great review!
Angela your review is perfect! I have seen others being bothered by her behavior. Others are over the moon so I was quite torn but after reading your review I think I’ll pass.
I’m glad I’m not the only one! 🙂