Hey everyone! Today I want to tell you about one of my favorite books of the year. That book is The Monster by LJ Shen and it is available for purchase today (links will be attached below)! What is most exciting is you can read the book for free on Kindle Unlimited! I was lucky enough to get an advanced readers copy of this book, but all opinions are my own. With that I want to thank the author LJ Shen as well as the publishers Social Butterfly PR for the ARC.
Before I get started on my review, I would like to issue a warning about this book. This is a bully romance as well as a mafia romance, so there is some violence in this book. There is also some drug abuse, mental illness, and manipulation in this book. Another thing worth noting is that there is A LOT of sex in this book, more than LJ Shen’s other books. Keep that in mind when reading or deciding to read this book.
The Monster is the third book in the Boston Belles series. This book focuses on mob underboss, Sam Brennan, and Doctor Aisling Fitzpatrick. From the outside eye Sam and Aisling are complete opposites but, they have more in common than most believe. They both have their fair share of trauma and burdens which works to bring them closer together. However, outside forces and internal forces are also at work to keep the two apart. This book has so many twists and turns and ups and downs.
The Monster is by far my favorite LJ Shen book in the series and of all her books. I really wish I could give it more than 5 stars. I would give a lot of her books 5 stars and have, but this one is way beyond that. I had all the feelings while reading this book and after finishing it I am feeling a lot and am having a major “book hangover”. I can honestly say no other book is like this.
The story line was amazing. It was so intense and captivating and is not like most mafia romances. There were so many twists in it and unexpected occurrences. Not only that but while reading an aspect of the story really got me thinking about my ethical beliefs and whether I still believed what I did after reading that. Along with the story line being amazing there were so many great quotes in the book. I personally highlighted 40 passages and quotes while reading. I do think with the story line the character development played a huge role as well.
The characters were so beautifully written and thought out that they felt real. While reading you are made to empathize with the characters and want to see them have a happily ever after. The writing also makes you feel so much anger and hatred to some of these characters. LJ Shen has a way of bringing all her characters to life but the way she wrote Aisling and Sam was nothing I have ever seen or read.
I honestly cannot recommend this book enough! You will get so many twists and turns throughout the book. This book will bring out so many feelings and is well worth the read. I personally bought my own copies in every possible way (ebook, paperback, audio). This is easily the best book of 2021!
Have you heard of LJ Shen or read any of her books? Let me know in the comments below!
Links to the Boston Belles Series:
The Hunter (Book One):
The Villain (Book Two):
The Monster (Book Three):
Sparrow (Standalone but gives back story):
Life with A 