Ruckus

5 stars.

I knew going in that I would love this book. I love everything that L.J. Shen writes. However, what I didn't realize was how much I was going to love this book. I didn't think that there was any possibility that I would love Dean more than Jamie. I was wrong. So. Wrong. While they all have the dirty talking alpha-male thing down, Dean knocks it out of the park.

"I was still a sinner…and I was still the wolf her grandmamma warned her about." Sweet Jesus....so many great lines in this book. Whether as anger all monologue or said to the other. Holy hotness...


He has a vulnerability to him that is juxtaposed between his demons that makes him swoon worthy. He isn't afraid to show love and that is what he does to Rosie.

Sweet Rosie, show more fragile and living in a world where everyone babies her. All she wants is to be independent and to truly live. Dean gives her that chance forcing her to truly live. I loved her being feisty with Dean. Their banter was funny as hell and made you root for them to come together, especially as 11years of their lives had already been wasted.

I loved the entwining of the other characters. It was done in a way that didn't detract from this being the Story of Dean and Rosie. It enriched the story. I look forward to Trent's story.

Fantastic book. One of the best of 2017. I can guarantee that after Trent's story comes out that this entire series will be getting a binge all in one read through. Probably more than once. show less

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Dean "Ruckus" Cole has the money, alcohol, and drugs part of life down. He can party like no one else, but he's doing it to fill the void in his life left by his overwhelming desire for his ex-girlfriends sister and a secret that no one knows about. In high school, where he first earned his nickname and become one of the Four Hotholes of All Saints High, he saw Rosie LeBlanc. Never mind the fact that he dated her sister, she's moved on to one of his best friends and now it's his turn to win the prize.
Rosie LeBlanc, better known as Baby LeBlanc to Ruckus, knows who she wants, but she can't have him. The only person to really be there for her and never held her disease, Cystic Fibrosis, over show more her is her sister and that means Dean Cole is off limits. She lives her life to the fullest, accepting that a long term relationship isn't possible with her predicted short lifespan, but Dean is slowly breaking that wall down. As they head home for her sister's wedding, the weight of everyone's judgement sits on her and she finds solidarity with Dean, but he still has that secret.

"I forgot what it felt like to spend rel time with Ruckus. Forgot the mayhem he stirred inside me."

L.J. Shen has done it again with the second, full length installment in her Sinners of Saint series. Ruckus is dramatic, has a bit of angst, and tackles some real life issues with grace. Plus, it's got all sorts of hotness with alpha males and smut scenes that make you blush. Main characters Dean and Rosie carry significant weight on their shoulders, their lives heavy with sorrows and regrets. Their opportunity to be together is fraught with complications, despite their desires for one another. I both loved and hated the push and pull between these two, they had so many excuses to not work and one massive reason to work that should've out shined it all.

"I was going to eat my cake, and keep it. Impossible?
Just watch."

I loved that Ruckus was about attraction, with the characters facing their growing lust for one another as well as dealing with the repercussions of Dean dating Rosie's sister. It isn't just a clean, easy romance, especially when you mix in Dean's secret and Rosie's illness. Nothing about Ruckus is cut and dry and it does take some time to get to the meat of the story, but it's definitely not boring getting there. From late night partying to the serious discussions readers didn't even know Dean could have, Ruckus is the romance we all hoped for in the Sinners of Saint series. show less

Ruckus and Rosie

I honestly had my reservations about reading this one because how weird is it that dean and Millie use to date and now he is after her sister?!? But that being said the background info that was giving on Rosie and Dean helped me understand so much more of their relationship so kudos to the author she did this really well. Dean is amazing and has a lot of family drama going on and Rosie has her illness so it seems like they won’t get their hea but trust me it works out in the end.

5+ stars.

I knew going in that I would love this book. I love everything that L.J. Shen writes. However, what I didn't realize was how much I was going to love this book. I didn't think that there was any possibility that I would love Dean more than Jamie. I was wrong. So. Wrong. While they all have the dirty talking alpha-male thing down, Dean knocks it out of the park.

"I was still a sinner…and I was still the wolf her grandmamma warned her about." Sweet Jesus....so many great lines in this book. Whether as anger all monologue or said to the other. Holy hotness...

He has a vulnerability to him that is juxtaposed between his demons that makes him swoon worthy. He isn't afraid to show love and that is what he does to Rosie.

Sweet Rosie, show more fragile and living in a world where everyone babies her. All she wants is to be independent and to truly live. Dean gives her that chance forcing her to truly live. I loved her being feisty with Dean. Their banter was funny as hell and made you root for them to come together, especially as 11years of their lives had already been wasted.

I loved the entwining of the other characters. It was done in a way that didn't detract from this being the Story of Dean and Rosie. It enriched the story. I look forward to Trent's story.

Fantastic book. One of the best of 2017. I can guarantee that after Trent's story comes out that this entire series will be getting a binge all in one read through. Probably more than once. show less

How is it that Shen can do this to me? She always has me back and forth, all over the shop, trying to to find where Is stand on the characters she has created. I love them, then I hate them, then I may love them again, but some I learn to despise. She has a way, with her stories, where she can really get you to feel on the same level as you do in real life. It is as if you are truly there, right in front of these people, living along with them, as the story unfolds. Ruckus, well, it was an eye opener. Yes, I bloody well loved it, and, yes, it made me go through the full cycle of emotions with the characters.

End result, I love Vicious and Emilia even more. Their story was horrifically perfect for me. However, Dean and Rosie’s is show more perfection on an entirely different level. It opens your eyes to the possibilities in relationships and what trials some couples must go through, just to be together, in the end.

I loved the detail that was put into the story. From the small details that really brought the characters to life, to the twists that Shen threw at us, to really keep us guessing as to whether or not these two would really be together. I loved reading along as they faced challenges and made decisions that would change their lives. It was intoxicating, and so hard to put down.

This is truly another must read that has been added to the SoS series. It perfectly fits with the series and truly adds to the excitement and messed up lives these lot live. If you loved Vicious, you’ll definitely enjoy this read, though it is very unique in it’s own way!

**I received an arc and chose to provide my honest review. show less

Dear Lord...Ruckus, I LOVE this book, love love love, did I say love? Dean "Ruckus" Cole is a hot dang mess. He drinks too much, has sexy times with the ladies too much, and smokes a WHOLE lot of pot, and dang if you don't still love him. Only L.J. Shen could make you love such an obviously flawed character. Rosie just wants to live, she wants to live life to the fullest and is always held back.
Every time I pick up an L.J.Shen book, I think oh she can't possibly top her last book; and then she does. I know this book left me ravaged, and I am sure it did that to her, to write it. This book is all kinds of amazing, you get to learn the back story that makes Dean "Ruckus" Cole, the alcoholic pothead that he is. You get to learn why Rosie show more refuses to live anywhere but New York, and you fall so far in love with these characters. I want to say thank you for writing such an epic love story. This story is told in alternating views. show less

One of the four HotHoles with Vicious, Dean Cole has had his eye on Rosie LeBlanc since high school. Now that Rosie broke up with Dr. Darren, Dean takes the opportunity to try to woo Rosie. But he dated Rosie's sister Emilia in high school and no one can forget it, or his promiscuous ways since then. Between their personal history and Rosie's chronic illness, not to mention Dean's secrets, does this love have a chance?
I didn't really like the first half of the book, but after reading Vicious I was partly invested in the characters so I kept reading. I'm glad I did, as it was worth it. The twist at the end was great and I liked the intro to the next book in the Epilogue.