Scandalous (Sinners of Saint, 3)

If you want to be strong - be.' This is a book that you need to read completely uninterrupted because once you start it is incredibly hard to stop reading. I was lucky to be able to do that, it was like flying across the dateline because before I knew it I had lost an entire day! This was such an exciting, exhilarating, emotional and sexually charged read. Not my usual single dad story that is for sure! Trent Rexroth is young, successful, self made and extremely smoking hot. When he walks into a room, everyone notices him but he is not the sort of man you want to cross though. He has only given his heart away once in his life and that is to his beautiful daughter Luna. 'I wanted to show her that the world was a beautiful, frightening place worth experiencing. That peasants could be crowned kings if they worked hard enough, and how her daddy was living proof of that.' Luna’s mother left them both when she was still a toddler and not long after that Luna stopped talking. Despite lots of therapy she hasn’t uttered a word in two years and shows little emotion. When Edie Van Der Zee walks into their life, Trent was not prepared to firstly cope with his daughters interaction with her and secondly the way his body reacted to her. He had ‘encountered’ Edie prior to her coming to work at the company he part owns and let’s just say that he has every reason not to trust her. Edie is very much under her father’s thumb. He is a womanising adulterer and her mother deals with it by drowning herself in alcohol and prescription medication. Edie favourite thing to do is surfing, not much gets in the way of her time on the waves and it’s the only place she really feels at peace in the world. And her father hates the fact that she enjoys it, it’s not an activity that he wants his daughter or family name attached to – image is everything. Edie is fiercely independent and has denied herself access to her fathers wealth. However, she has one weakness and her father loves to exploit it. For that reason, she has agreed to come and work for him but there are conditions, there is something he wants and Edie has been tasked with getting it for him. Trent Rexroth oozes sexiness and Edie is not immune to his pheromones. She knows she shouldn’t be thinking of him in that way, she is only 18 and he is 33 but any woman in close proximity to him would find it hard to escape feeling this way. Therefore it is inevitable that these two would fall into bed together and it is hot, not your usual hot, it’s f****** hot. 'I wanted to get wet and let the tide wash over me without dipping a toe in the ocean. I wanted what was forbidden, and wrong, and f****** crazy.' What was supposed to be a one off thing seems to have turned into a crazy addictive habit. Edie is incredible with Luna and seems to be able to pull emotions out of her that Trent hasn’t seen for a long time. She has impacted both of their lives in very different ways. She also challenges Trent and is wise beyond her years, I guess that happens when you grow up in the family she has. However, Edie has a job to do and betraying people she cares about is the only way to get what she wants from her father. ‘I should stay away from you, but I want you too f****** much. And when it’s all over, when all that’s left of us is sweaty flesh and shattered minds and torn hearts, you will remember me as the man who made you cry, and I’ll remember you as the girl I had to break to stay afloat.’ This was such an incredibly addictive read, there is so much happening and a bit of mystery carefully weaved throughout the story. It was forbidden, sexy and I simply inhaled every page!

First Thoughts: Interesting characters and plot line. Didn't see the twist coming until it was close to being revealed. A genuine standalone 🙂 My Review: This is a a genuine standalone with a plot line full of twists and turns that I did not see coming. Scandalous has a great array of strong and interesting characters. Trent Rexroth is the bossy hot older guy raising his 4-year-old daughter Luna as a single father. Edie Van Der Zee is the headstrong rebellious daughter from a wealthy dysfunctional family and her father Jordan Van Der Zee who just happens to be in business with Trent Rexroth. The great characters were brought to life in this scandalous story through angst, mystery, suspense, witty dialogue and some downright steamy action. Trent is a broody anti-hero with a heart of gold which he keeps well hidden. Edie is biding her time and choosing her battles wisely. She portrays a selfless person who constantly puts others before herself while not letting her moral compass get in the way of cutting loose and enjoying life. Rather a regular feminine Robin Hood who likes to live on the edge. She balances her erratic escapism with a morning surf and hanging out with Bane, a loyal friend who comes with benefits, including being the opposite kind of person her father expects her to associate with. Her relative freedom is ripped from her by her father who demands she do more with her life. He arranges for her to work at his office which also happens to be where Trent works. They spark up an instant attraction neither of them wants a part of. Trent is well aware she’s too young for him and a colleague’s daughter. Edie interprets Trent’s arrogance as a trait too similar to her father’s. Their journey was a slow build up tempered with healthy exchanges of witty banter. Add to the mix the adorable daughter Luna who hits it off with Edie instantly. They both compromise their stance to accommodate Luna’s best interests. Luna’s influence on them both is minor and far from contrived. The forbidden aspect to their relationship is multi-layered. Their age difference which is neither obvious nor played down enhances the story by raising the risks for both establishing any type of connection between them, let alone a relationship which neither of them wants to entertain. Scandalous was so much more than an enemies to lovers romance. Their being together was frowned upon on numerous levels beginning with their own perceptions. An undeniable attraction that succumbs to the impossible, obliterating all sense of reason to the point the scandal was in walking away from what could be.

It's hard to believe that before 2017, I hadn't ever read a book by Leigh "L.J." Shen. Her first full-length Sinners of Saint book, VICIOUS, was one of the first books I read this year, and it's stuck with me ever since. I would still put it as my #1 book for the year, it was that amazing for me...and since then, I've devoured all of her new books! She's quickly become one of my favourite authors, and her particular flavour of dark romance is exactly my type of romantic poison! ;) Now that you have a better idea of how much I adore Leigh's work...and if you saw any of my blog posts leading up to SCANDALOUS's release, I'm sure you can guess how excited I was for this book. I've been wanting SCANDALOUS since the moment I finished VICIOUS. I've been ridiculously curious about Trent because we didn't get to see much of him in Vic's book, and while I was definitely still excited about Dean and Jamie's stories, I was even more eager for Trent's. All of that anticipation just continued to build, and so I felt like I'd been curious about Trent for what feels like ages! And you know what? SCANDALOUS absolutely wowed me! It was exactly what I'd hoped it would be and I thought it was PERFECT! It was raw, harsh, and breathtakingly beautiful. It had that dirty, dark vibe that permeates VICIOUS, but was also still completely its own story. I absolutely adored Trent...I was pretty sure I would, but I actually loved him even more than I expected too...he still hasn't topped Vicious for me, but he's second out of the Hot Holes. ;) I loved seeing him with Luna. I'm really enjoying seeing the Hot Holes grow up, and daddy Trent is absolutely fantastic. I really loved Edie as a character, too. She was strong, caring, and vulnerable in ways that I really didn't expect, but loved getting to see...and put her with Trent and wowza! That brings me to the romance....oh did I ever did I love the romance in SCANDALOUS! Edie and Trent were absolutely amazing together! I loved seeing them open up to each other, and it was so wonderful to see how their feelings developed! SCANDALOUS does happen to have some taboo aspects as Trent happens to be business partners with Edie's father and they have a 15-year age gap between them, but Edie and Trent actually complemented each other so well! Their chemistry was sizzling, but their interactions were also deep, and so beautiful and emotional! This book seriously gave me ALL THE FEELS! I've been a super fangirl of L.J. Shen ever since VICIOUS, and my love for her books and magical way with words just continues to grow! She has a way of twisting my emotional in a cathartic, gut-wrenching, but wonderful way and I always LIVE for her books! SCANDALOUS is phenomenal and if you like taboo romances that will have your heart spinning in circles and your emotions in knots, then I think you'll love it just as much as I did! If darker romances with plenty of steam are your jam you seriously need to pick up one of L.J. Shen's books! Seriously...do it now! I'd start with VICIOUS or SCANDALOUS personally...you can't go wrong with Vicious or Trent. Prepare to be confused by how much you love her not-so-nice leading men though. They're definitely not "good" guys, but boy do they ever make you and their ladies feel good. ;)

5stars...MUST READ!!! I already loved this series, loved these boys, and honestly until you read their individual books you don't understand what's so special about them, because if you see them through a third person's eye who don't know them, you will wonder what is the big deal here...I wanted to know more about Luna and how Trent's relationship was going to be handled with his daughter...this is an amazing story...as usual author's writing style is awesome...the emotions were real, it was sweet when it had to be, steamy/sexy where it was needed...and as usual Vicious gets his say even though this is NOT his book :-)...so, I wasn't planning on reading this book, it was on my TBR, probably for forever since I wasn't too keen on the age difference that we already knew from the last book, when Edie was first introduced...so, when the sample chapters were available, I was like I should atleast read that bit since I loved LJ Shen's writing and the SoS series...next thing I knew, I owned the book on my kindle, and four hours later I had finished the book in just one sitting..I've been an 18 year old myself and hung out with tons of them (seems like a lifetime ago) but Edie is not your usual eighteen year old, for sure...she is some girl power of heroine!!!...Edie is so right for Trent, they are so good together...I'm so glad that I did not miss out on reading this book just because I was so hung up with the age difference...this was such a good read...can't wait to read the next book from LJS :-)

This is one of the most incredible and amazing book that I've read so far this year. This author always delivers such amazing characters and storylines. From the moment I started this book, I can't put it down. I was reading every word like it was going to be its last.! It was so amazing to see all the hot holes together and all there women and kids. All these men hold special places in my heart. This book brought on so many emotions and at times I couldn't deal. This book has everything that you would want in a book. It brings the drama, angst, heat, emotion, heartbreak, stupid exes, forbidden love and most of all the the crazy roller coaster ride of events that happen. The one thing I loved the most out of this book was getting to watch the journey of Trent and Edie fall in love. Trent's little girl is the most cutest human being ever. Your in for a massive delight with this book. Lj Shen couldn't have picked a more perfect person for Trent. She always kept him on his toes and challenged him when he needed to be challenged. They are a perfect equal for one another. If you haven't read this book yet then I don't know what your waiting for. I would really suggest starting from the beginning so you understand everything fully. You won't be disappointed. It's a one of a kind. This series is unlike any other, you've never read storylines like this and you've never met characters like these before.

I was positively surprised. I normally don't like it read books where there is a huge age difference between the main characters, but this book was worth reading. The age difference is big, but the young girl is not that young in her soul. She had to grow up fast and will do anything for her family, which definitely makes this book interesting. Worth reading.

“You’re my Delilah, Edie, and I’m your Samson. You want to ruin me, destroy me, strip me of my power, and betray me. I should stay away from you, but I want you too much.” Wow won’t cover how amazing this book is!! I think that LJ SHEN is a magician or has super powers or both, who knows! Once again, she left me speechless- I guess because this book is absolutely spectacular. I'm going to dream about Trent for a bloody long time -that man melted my freaking heart. “He was a dark knight made of coarse material. Cruel in his silence and punishing in his confidence.” I have loved every Hotholes with all my heart, I can even say that I am addicted. As a result, saying I was excited to read Scandalous would be quite the understatement. The teasers were killing me and I counted down the days until it was released and no one would ever understand how thrilled I was when it landed on my Kindle. For me, Scandalous became the ultimate reading experience. It had everything — and I do mean EVERYTHING from beginning till the end — that allows me to fully connect with a story to the point where I'm breathing in its text and drunk with its words. And by the end, I was utterly breathless and intoxicated. This book has feelings and angst the kind that make you not want to put this story down. I was so engrossed and consumed I didn't want to do anything else. Trent and Edie have a connection that is so deep that not everyone will understand. “His eyes are light, his soul is dark, and everything else about what he gives me is full of colors.” She is 18 and he is 33 … she is a teenager and he is a man… she is inexperienced and he is sex on a stick but what matters is that she is broken and so is he. “He looked, walked, talked, and moved like a flawless demon. It both scared and thrilled me at the same time.” The story revolves around a relationship that is wrong in the context of the situation but nonetheless feels so right. With LJ Shen’s expert writing, she manages to show us that there is more to these kinds of circumstances. It’s not about what’s right or wrong, it’s about the feelings that are there and about what the main characters choose to do about it. I loved how they really tried so hard to fight their hearts and it tore me apart, seeing them struggle with their feelings so much. They were doomed from the moment they met… In real life, I might have thought that an 18 years old attracted to a single dad was wrong ish. I don’t know why but I know that I would have had a strong opinion on it. However Scandalous made me look at love in a different light. In a different way. In a different feel. I love this book, from the inside out. Edie loves 3 things in life- Théo, her mum and the ocean. ““You fight the tide. You fling your arms, kicking your legs, trying to escape it, overpower it. The secret is to go with the flow. The secret is to ride the wave. Don’t be afraid to get wet.” Trent loves one thing more than anything in the world, his daughter, Luna. “She was mine. My blood, my DNA, my cells, my eyes, my being. Still, I wished she’d be more accepting of the outside world, and that it would be more accepting of her.” When his nemesis Jordan Van Der Zee offers a job to Edie in the company, Trent AKA the mute is the first to object. He is ruthless, cold and a first class jerk. He is straightaway attracted to the young Edie Van Der Zee and so is she. They both deny their attraction for each other and try to deal with the challenges and complications in their lives. Their relationship is as intense as it is complicated. The story is delivered through alternating dual perspectives, so we really get a solid feel for the journey of both characters… and nothing will prepare you for the ride! The teasing, the anger, the passion mean that they are playing a very dangerous game. How can this end without scandal? Without a disaster? Without anyone getting hurt? Everything is delivered to perfection, and the story really persuades you to open your heart and your mind as a reader... to accept what you typically wouldn't…to understand what you normally wouldn't. There is no wrong or right way to fall in love--it just happens. And sometimes certain obligations take precedence over that love...which makes the person who denies himself selfless, not selfish… and that is why LJ shen has delivered with Scandalous.