RATING: BUY IT
LJ Shen writes the men you hate to love, but you just can’t help yourself. With Defy, the prequel novella in the Sinners of Saint series, Jaime bucks the trend. Jaime is a senior in high school, yet very much a man. He knows what he wants in life and is determined to make it happen. And what he wants is Melody. His teacher.
Student-teacher romance is not my go-to trope. It’s never because of the age difference, but more so because of the naiveté that I oftentimes feel from the student—generally a female. Yet, in Defy, Jaime is very much the alpha male and you almost feel like Melody doesn’t stand a chance. Likely because she doesn’t. And while Jaime is the consummate alpha, he also has a heart of gold—both for Melody and for his friends.
Jaime is a HotHole—a group of four boys {men?} who rule their school and their community. They are children of extreme privilege. They are dark, yet loyal; carefree, yet determined. They seemingly have everything they could ever want, yet each is missing what matters most—love. They are a pack. A unit.
They are the only real support that each one has.
It wouldn’t be a Shen book without the uncertainty and the nail-biting. Yet like all Shen novels, it is well worth the ride. The fast, sexy, sweet, hot ride you will definitely want to take. Then, if you haven’t done so, jump right into Vicious {book one in the series}—one of my favorite books so far this year.
As of 2.14.17, Defy is available on Kindle Unlimited.