Quick Facts
- Release Date: January 6, 2019
- Page Count: 322
- Publisher: LJ Shen
- Kindle Unlimited? Yes
I absolutely recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance and feel the author’s combination of complex characters, daring and controversial content, and strong imagery make this book fully deserving of a 5-star rating
Synopsis
Francesca is the metaphorical bird in a gilded cage: free to do as she pleases, as long as it supports her mafia-boss father’s agenda. The only thing she’s expected – or allowed – to do is marry into an affluent family – of course, associated with the Chicago mafia. She doesn’t mind this part since she has known who she is going to marry since she was a kid – Angelo Bandini, her childhood crush.
On the night she is to share her first kiss with Angelo, it is stolen by Wolfe Keaton, an Illinois senator who is very much the big bad wolf to Francesca’s little red riding hood. He makes a deal with Francesca’s father that cannot be refused, and before Francesca can even think about protesting, she is whisked away to Wolfe’s Chicago mansion to await her sentence as his future bride.
As Francesca familiarizes herself with her new reality, she must decide where her heart’s loyalties lie: with Angelo and her childhood dreams, or with her soon-to-be husband, who is quickly becoming more than just her captor.
Review
The Kiss Thief, by LJ Shen, features Francesca Rossi, a spoiled high-society 19-year-old with a rich, albeit ruthless, daddy, a boarding school education, and a standing place in the high-end society of the Chicago mafia. It’s not often you see an arranged marriage novel set in the 21st century, and I repeatedly had to remind myself that I wasn’t reading a Regency romance. The fact that Francesca was forbidden by her father to go to college, or to have a career, seemed completely foreign and medieval to me. It blew my mind that she willingly went along with it. This just goes to show how much Francesca’s character grows by the end of the book.
The Kiss Thief is a steamy, angsty contemporary romance that, at some parts, definitely made me uncomfortable. First and foremost, the age difference between Francesca – age 19 – and Wolfe – age 30 – seemed too close to robbing the cradle; however, the way that Wolfe both acknowledged and treated their age difference was a redeeming factor for me. This book does not follow the prescribed pattern of a standard happily-ever-after and breaks the standard mold in more ways than one.
Not everything in this book is clouds and rainbows. At times, I felt that interactions between Wolfe and Francesca came extremely close to crossing the line into emotional abuse. As uncomfortable as these parts were for me, I appreciated and acknowledged that the author wasn’t afraid to offend readers. LJ Shen managed to skirt the line while still creating extremely likable and romantic characters. Wolfe’s transformation was beautifully done, and Francesca was basically a victim of circumstance throughout the book but continuously maintained her dignity, willpower, and courage.
Summary
Overall, I absolutely recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance and feel the author’s combination of complex characters, daring and controversial content, and strong imagery make this book fully deserving of a 5-star rating.
Link to Author’s website: http://www.authorljshen.com/
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