Vicious

So, I've had this book in my TBR for a while, and I was content for it to sit there. You know how it goes, too many books and not enough time. When I scored a ticket to the Four Brits Book Signing in Manchester, England this past weekend I wanted to have at least started something by LJ Shen when I met her, so I loaded up the audiobook and set to it. Oh, My God!!! Why did it take me so long? Why didn't anyone harass me about reading this book? I love how LJ Shen is able to make me fall in love with such an a-hole and she did it while he was still being a jerk! Normally I want that guy to suffer, and he does suffer but the way she has written this book just made me fall in love. I loved her style and cannot wait to read about the other Hot-Holes.

This is a story that will have you questioning everything. Why is he doing this? Why'd he say that? Why doesn't someone do something? Why are they letting this happen? What is going on? Why doesn't she punch him in the balls? And you will love having those questions and it'll keep you guessing throughout the book. If you love bad boy stories this one is a must read/ listen.

This book is full of characters that are interesting, and you want to know more about. The Hot-Holes for example, I need all of their stories. And Rosie's, I like her and think her book will be awesome.
Vicious is an a-hole but I loved him. He had sweet moments, especially the more you find out about him and the things he did and why. He's such a ‘bad boy' but he has heart and after everything he's experienced you can understand it. Here's what I love about this book, he's still a bad boy at the end, he doesn't change as much as he opens himself up to love. I liked that, it was a different change of pace to most books.

I really like Emilia, she didn't take his crap. She worked hard for her family and did what needed to be done, even if that meant walking away from everything. She was a strong woman and we all know how much I love those.

Their relationship was one of turmoil to say the least. They fought, and they loved, and it was fun to listen and see the twists and turns of their relationship and where their lives took them. They had some very steamy moments that'll heat up your kindle, they were placed well and helped give a little more insight into these characters and their feelings.

I really enjoyed the narration, I thought it worked well as a dual narration and both Savannah Peachwood and Christian Rummel were wonderful. Savannah's performance of Emilia was fantastic, I loved how she conveyed her emotions. Christian's performance of Vicious was riveting, he played the bully with a sweet-side incredibly well. I will definitely be looking for more of their work in the future. The production was smooth with no issues.

I had a good feeling that I would like this but was hesitant at first, I don't know why. I want to point out that I thought the beginning was abit messy like it was confusing at first because I'm thinking “How old were Vicious and his HotHoles friends??” Then I thought too much angsty maybe? There was a lot of love and hate feeling fueling between the main characters that I wasn't sure how to feel about it, the complexity of the relationships with another was overwhelming to click for me (not in a bad way) I started to understand more as I read on and I could not put it down! I really enjoyed this..loved it ❤ This is my first time reading a L.J Shen book of hers and I do want to read more of her work. I've been told about her writing style and I'm curious to see how it goes for me

Vicious and Emilia's story ended up being so cute!

Vicious hated Emilia for their senior year because he thought she knew his secrets, she didn't. His hate warped into love, you get to see the lengths a broken abused man will go through to make her his. He trusted her with all his secrets and all his feelings. This is an enemies to lovers bully romance. I like it, there was a very brief mention of Jamie and the teacher, maybe I'll get to why ‘Defy' was a prequel. There aren't any crazy plot twists or oh my god moments. Just a very easy read.

The short story is I enjoyed this bit of nonsense, particularly because of the narrators. Namely [a:Christian Rummel 2725838 Christian Rummel https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1532289458p2/2725838.jpg], who sounds like he's related to Sebastian York (that's a good thing), and [a:Savannah Peachwood 15436851 Savannah Peachwood https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] less so, she sometimes sounds a bit breathy, or maybe that's just the character. It's a story we've all read in some guise or other, but you may still be entertained by one more iteration. No one was hurt while listening to this book. My commute time was a happy one.The Long StoryThis is the first in a series about four, possibly five, a#*holes. Good times.In this installment we have the story of Barron “Vicious/Vic” Spencer and his relationship with Emilia “Milly” LeBlanc. The story is told in dual P.O.V., alternating chapters, and jumps between 10 years ago, when the characters were seniors in high school, and present day.Vicious, his name is an homage to his perceived personality and his Sid Vicious look, though I had in mind Carl Barât from The Libertines, in any case our Vic is a grade-A prick, almost verging on sociopath territory. Of course he has “reason”: terrible father, step mother physical abuse & dead mom etc. and there's some validity to his grievances, but he's also just your garden-variety, entitled boy/man, who assorts women into two categories: disposable receptacles to pleasure him and The One he likes. He's also a shit to his friends. They have a Fight Club type thing going called Defy, in which they beat each other bloody, again for “reasons”. He's not warm and cuddly by any stretch of the imagination and yet he was the character I liked the most. He was honest, even if brutally so, and didn't wallow in self pity. Though he fights it, once he realizes what he wants, he doesn't fight it, even though it's against everything he thought about himself or his future. I appreciate that. He made me laugh.Our Emilia on the other hand, though dressed in the garb of an artist, has none of these traits. She lacks agency, things “happen to her”, she takes forever to admit to sexual desire, or anything else. The story falls back on the conventionality of a hundred bodice rippers where the hero has to grovel to soothe the heroine's ego and not just to prove he's sorry. I also feel like the story relies on what I call “poverty porn” to paint the heroine as saintly and the monied class as crass, evil, or shallow. I kind of found it hard to believe in Emilia's level of poverty, given her education, where she lives, her looks etc. also this notion that Vicious needs a scholarship for college when his dad is ultra loaded doesn't fly But despite all of my griping, which you can ignore, these are more like personal notes. Just get carried along with these lovebirds on their rocky road to HEA. I had a good and I'll surely do the rest because they're on audio and I'm an audio junkie.

Vicious is the best kind of asshole. You love to hate him. This is enemies to lovers, with an obsessive streak.

Vicious and Emilia went to high school together during their senior year. Her parents worked for and lived in his parents house. So they were kind of neighbours. She was the only one to not be scared of him or take his mean attitude. She gave it back.

He hates her, but nobody else can have her. When she ends up dating one of his best friends, he makes it his mission to split them up. He ends up giving her money to leave the state, and stay far away from him and his friend.

10 years later... they meet again at a chance encounter at her waitressing job. And just like that, everything clicks into place. Vicious needs her now more than ever and will do everything in his power to make her his.

He wants to use her for a revenge plan against his step mother, but also wants to fuck his obsession with her.

He gets her to join him as his PA, so they become closer. Once isn't enough, after all these years he needs her more and more.

Vicious was mean in high school, and he still is now. But Emilia sees who he is, and isn't afraid of him.

She lightens him up, while he darkens her a little. Together they balance, like pink and black

I read this so fast and it was fun.

These two are so incredibly messy and toxic. It fed a dark, twisted part of my reading soul that needs attention every now and then.
I think the amount of groveling balanced out his crimes and unfortunately I would've caved as well.

Cons:
- I wanted to pull out my eyeballs every time I had to read the “word” HotHoles
- His relationship with Dean was sketchy and complicated and I don't understand their dynamic
- The highschool royalty cliché lines that shriveled my will to live

It's a book I know I should've hated but didn't and I've made my peace with it