Monday, February 24, 2020

Angry God - LJ Shen

Ruminations of an Insomniac.. 

LJ Shen may actually be responsible for my eventual insanity, I'm convinced of it.. I had to read this one twice, before I could form enough words to sit down and write about it. I love everything she writes, I mean I'd probably read her grocery list (okay, maybe not, but I'm sure you get my point). But it's not just that she wrote these stories, it's an acknowledgement of how much soul she pours into her novels. An awareness of the magic that she pours among her words, like glitter. Then, you finally recover from ALL THE FEELS, and you keep finding pieces of LeighGlitter everywhere, just like real life glitter. 3,6,8 months down the road and you trip over yourself, as a "sparkle" somewhere in the world around you triggers a memory of something she wrote.

"I started it before we’d even kissed. Before Jason. Before Arabella. Before everything, there was you.. You came before art. Before life. Definitely before hate.” - Vaughn Spencer 

Anyway.. Angry God. Heaven help me, I can't. Like I said, I had to do an immediate re-read. Because I couldn't figure out what to say. The characters and prose are Marianas Trench deep. It's achingly raw and real, and comes with a laundry list of trigger warnings. But, Vaughn's story couldn't have been told any other way. Anything short of this particular masterpiece, wouldn't have scratched the surface of doing him justice. It broke my heart on an epic scale. But it was okay, because the beauty in the breaking was magnificent. I was utterly in awe of this standalone conclusion (we think?) to the SOS and ASH families of novels.

Vaughn and Lenora are fire and ice. Combined, they become water. Fluid. Unstoppable. Yet I can't actually say they are opposites. Because on a base level, they are essentially equals. Inexplicably talented. Hurt. Undoubtedly self-aware. Hiding. Sort of in denial. Then they crash. A blacksmiths hammer hitting hot iron. Exploding in sparks. But the resulting blade is stunning. Razor sharp. Lethal. This story, and the lives it encompasses, hit the mark in too many ways to count. I urge you to jump into the deep, dark of Vaughn Spencer's mind. You're going to hit sharp edges under the surface and likely come up gasping for air. But every second is 100% worth it. 


Rating:

Book Boyfriend: 10/10
Flow: 10/10
Plot: 10/10 

Overall: 10/10

Currently available on Kindle (and Kindle Unlimited).

Synopsis:
From #1 Amazon Bestseller L.J. Shen comes a new, emotional standalone about first love, second chances, and overcoming breathtaking losses at a young age.

Vaughn Spencer.
They call him an angry god.
To me, he is nothing but a heartless prince.
His parents rule this town, its police, every citizen and boutique on Main Street.
All I own is a nice, juicy grudge against him for that time he almost killed me.
Between hooking up with a different girl every weekend, breaking hearts, noses and rules, Vaughn also finds the time to bully little ole’ me.
I fight back, tooth and nail, never expecting him to chase me across the ocean after we graduate high school.
But here he is, living with me in a dark, looming castle on the outskirts of London.
A fellow intern. A prodigal sculptor. A bloody genius.
They say this place is haunted, and it is.
Carlisle Castle hides two of our most awful secrets.
Vaughn thinks he can kill the ghosts of his past, but what he doesn’t know? It’s my heart he’s slaying.

Angry God is a stand-alone, DARK High School Romance. It deals with sensitive subjects some may find triggering.

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