The Kiss Thief

I cant believe Im doing this. I have never given a bad review. Its not my style to knock someones baby, and after writing a story, thats what it is to the author.
This story is dark, cruel and left me sad. At no point should rape be glorified or excused. Not. Ever. Just because she yelled at him to just do it when she HAD NO CHOICE, is not consent.
Never should you be disrespected, kidnapped, held against your will or belittled.
I do understand the story the author was trying to tell. I also know life isnt always sunshine, unicorns and baby animals.
The story premise was interesting. It is a story which would be a hard story to tell. But broken people arent always cruel, mean or vindictive. One thing I was never able to figure out, was how did she even develop feelings for him when he was absolutely horrible to her in every way? When the feelings were developing he was not showing her anything but cruelty and disgust.
I just couldnt get into the story. It was too dark, too disturbing and left me with an overwhelming feeling of darkness and ick. I skipped more pages than I read, just skimming most of them to see if I was missing anything important. I wasnt. Rape. Is. Wrong. Cruelty. Is. Wrong. Broken people do stupid things granted. But not on this scale.
Women, it is never ok to be forced to submit, to sex, to anothers cruel behavior, to anothers will. Never.

But the really disturbing part is where the readers have given this a 4.8 stars out of 5. What does that tell us about our view of ourselves and the society we live in?

Standard issue abuse, manipulation, and rape thinly disguised as romance. I spent the whole book genuinely uncomfortable, wondering how a female author could ethically publish this normalization of rape culture. All around yikes.

“It will be a terrible inconvenience…” “…To love the wife you took in vengeance.”

This book was incredible. A heart-wrenching, slow burning, delicious read that left me feeling like I’d just gone through the wringer by the end. Francesca Rossi, is one of my favorite characters I’ve ever read in a book. She is resilient and brave with a do no harm (despite all the harm that has been done to her), but take no s*** attitude and it shines throughout the entire book. Wolfe is hot and sexy and dangerous but for me, Francesca/Nem/Frankie/Goddess, stole the freaking show. I loved her so much, my heart ached when she was in pain and smiled when she was happy. Halfway through the book, I realized I didn’t care about anything but her HEA. Of course, as we proceeded I saw who I wanted her to end up with, but I’ve never rooted for a character as hard as I rooted for her.

So often we see women in these books become victims of circumstance, and it would have been easy for her to give up and to lose the fight she had coursing through her veins. There were times, I as the reader, thought “oh my God, I would have given up.” But she fought, she persevered and she demanded the love and respect she knew she deserved even though she felt that her heart was broken and her spirit was crushed. Seeing the happily ever after unfold was everything.

Wolfe Keaton, a wolf in wolf’s clothing tbh. Watching his transformation from this hardened, at times cruel man (but mostly in response to a tragic heartbreak early on) to someone softer, humbled and “willing to kneel” for the one person who was worth his pride, was beautiful and moving and made my heart squeeze in my chest. Watching them blossom into this beautiful couple was what phenomenal love stories are made of.

LJ Shen rocked this book and I hope this won’t be the last arranged marriage tale we see from her!

Falling in love was so tragic. No wonder it made people so sad

A standing ovation for ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS THAT I’VE EVER READ, and L.J Shen’s best story to date. It left me with the worst book hangover of the year! ITS INTRICATE PLOT IS A NEW BRAND OF PERFECTION SO MIND-BLOWING THAT IT WILL LEAVE YOU BREATHLESS.

Have you ever felt that words are not enough to describe what you feel? that’s me now after reading this story, I’m an emotional mess and nervous wreck. The Kiss Thief, * sigh *, is EPIC BEYOND WORDS. Oh God, I loved every second when I read it. It’s so different from everything I’ve read before, but so completely addictive. The first words had me hooked on the story and turning the pages as if my life depended on it. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!!!!

The plot and the characters consumed me, obsessed me, hypnotized me, with an emotional and harrowing romance bordering the dark and raw, full of love, banter, hatred, passion, opulence, power, anguish, that kept me on the edge of the seat, heart racing and a swarm of butterflies inside me stomach.

Get ready for the most ruthless alpha male ever, more than Troy and Vicious together. Wolfe Keaton is despicable, cruel, he has no mercy for anyone, he also is sooooo sexy, he melted my panties, gave me goosebumps and made me blush several times. But nevertheless, he captured my heart. He loves so hard, the sweet way he protects and cares for the heroine, wow, I’m dying of love for him, he’s my new obsession. MY TOP BOOK BOYFRIEND EVER!!!

Francesca is a sweet, beautiful, brave and strong girl who melted my heart, her way of talking to the plants made me laugh out loud, she also faces situations with courage. She is everything I look for in a heroine. I LOVE HER!!

The explosive attraction and passion between the characters is unparalleled, and the slow burn, let me tell you, it reaches stratospheric levels, it could burn a whole room. I cannot get enough of them, I still cannot get them out of my head. THEIR ROMANCE IS SOOO TEAR-JERKING, SO PASSIONATE AND EMOTIONAL, everything what I am looking for in a romance, ahhhh, I keep sighing.

WITH AN EXQUISITE AND FLAWLESS PROSE, L.J. SHEN MANAGES TO CREATE A MASTERPIECE THAT REACHES YOUR SOUL. A masterfully written story that evokes so many different feelings in the reader. Mrs. Shen continues to prove why she is the best storyteller. She has an ability to wrap you with her words and catch your heart, smash it, tear it completely and break it into pieces. My soul still does not recover from the suffering. THIS LOVE STORY IS SO EPIC, SO HEARTBREAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL THAT I NOT WANT TO LEAVE THIS WORLD OR THE CHARACTERS.

It is definitely a must read. An exquisite romance that you will not want to miss. What are you waiting for? Go read it now!

Oh my gawd!! No one does enemies-to-lovers better than this author! This was such a thrilling read!

“Tonight I was going to be kissed by the love of my life.”

Francesca Rossi is The Outfit’s equivalent of Helen of Troy in terms of her famed beauty. She’s highly coveted, but jealously guarded and sheltered by her father. At nineteen and hopelessly romantic, she’s determined to fulfil her dreams and her destiny. Unfortunately, her fate is derailed by the odious man who steals her first kiss.

“He was everything bad that’d ever happened to me.”

Wolfe Keaton is hell bent on revenge. When he realises that the Rossi princess is his enemy’s prized possession, he knows exactly how to begin his campaign to bring the father down. However, Francesca is far from the vapid, spoiled and pampered society girl that she portrays. In fact, he has possibly met his match.

“Your love story was no fairy tale. More like a witch tale. Wicked and real and painful.”

This was SUCH a brilliant, solid read! It had all the feels: innocent young love, hope, fear, anger, jealousy, betrayal, bright hot passion, and a stealthy, binding love. I was completely hooked and struggled to put this story down.

“Why did it feel like he dipped me in liquid fire every time his eyes were on me? And how could I make it stop?”

Francesca was a strong female lead. Sheltered all her life, she’s innocent in so many ways, yet she is naturally graceful, resilient, and thoughtful. She’s also pretty smart and sassy. I loved how she fought to be heard and respected, and valued for herself as a person. The bonds of duty and familial love were strong in her, so it was painful to see the scales fall from her eyes. Stubborn and defiant, she tested Wolfe’s patience to the limit, and I admired her tenacity and courage.

“Francesca had been growing on me like fingernails. Slowly, determinedly, and completely without my attention or encouragement.”

Wolfe was a man of fiery ice and beyond guarded. He was also powerful, commanding and virile. With few friends and no family, he only has one goal in mind. He was such a contradictory man – his actions belied his words. The beautiful, modest Francesca crept up on him and it was wondrous to see the chinks in his armour, as he risked so much for her.

A stunning, addictive and scorching read!

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