I’d say Dean is Vicious lite though but he has his own charm. The main thing about Dean and Vicious is how much of alpha jerks they are. LJ Shen does a great job interconnecting all these characters and creating a foundation in Vicious that is, if not essential, truly enriching. If there’s something I admire about LJ Shen is her ability for world building even in a contemporary series, where most authors skimp in establishing worlds that feel real. I’m not going to delve too much into this but I’ll still heavily recommend reading Vicious before going into this one if you want to get the full picture of what this series really is about and everything that led to the events unfolding here. the events happening in Vicious, inconsistencies that feel a lot like retcons to make the couple in Ruckus feel like they always were meant to be, all else be damned. If you’ve never read Vicious there’s a higher chance you’re going to love this book but if you have there’s a chance you’ll be puzzled by a few inconsistencies between the events happening here vs. I feel like I need to start there because there’s a chance your experience reading this book is going to be heavily influenced by your experience reading Vicious (or lack thereof). It’s the follow up to the mega hit Vicious, which brought this author out from relative obscurity to the top ranks of. Ruckus is book #2 in the Sinners of Saint series by LJ Shen but it’s been promoted as a complete standalone. And conquering her will be the sweetest victory. Rosie LeBlanc is about to find out how hard I can fight. Getting to her is a battlefield, but man, that’s why they call me Ruckus. In a world where everything is dull, she shines like fucking Sirius. All smart mouth, snarky attitude and a huge heart.

They say the brightest stars burn out the fastest. Dean Cole wants to be my bronze horseman. Eleven years later, he waltzed into my life, demanding a second chance.

One thing you should know before you judge me I saw him first. The striking fallacy to my blunt, raw, truth. No one has ever made me feel more alive than the guy who serves as a constant reminder that my clock is ticking. They say that life is a beautiful lie and death a painful truth.

Vicious book lj shen series