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Yooooo I’ve been waiting for Sam Brennan’s book for ages, honestly. Since I was reading Cillian’s story and Sam shot up to the top of my INTERESTING list, and boy, I had fun.
Yes, we’ve seen sections of this type of story before, but I don’t even care. I thoroughly enjoy Shen’s work, especially the work built into series.
Aisling certainly was a bit spineless at times, but was also the perfect complement to Sam - they just worked. Sam, too, did/said some things that weren’t great, but damn, he worked for me on so many levels! The wait for his story totally paid off.
Anyway, had fun with this read for sure.
Yes, we’ve seen sections of this type of story before, but I don’t even care. I thoroughly enjoy Shen’s work, especially the work built into series.
Aisling certainly was a bit spineless at times, but was also the perfect complement to Sam - they just worked. Sam, too, did/said some things that weren’t great, but damn, he worked for me on so many levels! The wait for his story totally paid off.
Anyway, had fun with this read for sure.
DNF girl stand the fuck up
edit: skimmed thru the whole book again. girly only stood up at 65%. needed more groveling.
edit: skimmed thru the whole book again. girly only stood up at 65%. needed more groveling.
Incredibly fascinating, a very convoluted story, and I couldn’t believe LJ Shen could domesticate Sam Brennan but she did!!
Sam Brennan sees himself as a monster. He’s definitely more dark and sinister than Troy Brennan, his adoptive father. He took up the reigns of Troy’s work in underground Boston and developed it further. More than The Fixer, he turned mobster and took up more areas of Boston that Troy had. He’s richer and dangerous and now works for Aisling’s father.
In this book, we read how close the Brennan and Fitzpatrick families are, courtesy of Hunter and Sailor’s marriage and their common business. Aisling graduated in medicine and is working, and we later learn she has dark secrets of her own. Despite all their frequent reunions, Aisling’s love for Sam remains unrequited. He won’t even look at her, much less talk to her. So she took matters into her own hands, and appeared at his night club Badlands, on a Halloween night, disguised and decided. They hook up but he recognized her scent, realized they were inevitable, and they negotiate a fling. After, Sam learns damaging news about Gerard Fitzpatrick, Aisling’s father, and a new plot surfaces, revenge of the very devious and serious kind.
There are so many plot lines in this book that keep the reader riveted to the story. Aisling’s secrets that are unknown to her family and friends. Sam’s revenge on Gerard Fitzpatrick. Aisling’s unrequited love for Sam and how it changes intensity through the book. Sam’s growing fascination with Aisling as he learns of all her underlying layers. And through it all, the Boston Belles, always there supporting their friend. I loved seeing Cillian as a doting father and doting husband, what a departure from the business icicle he used to be! Hunter, entertaining as ever, Sailor adorably dorky. Belle, as irreverent and effervescent as ever, and Devon is mesmerized by her. New book in the future!
I really had no idea that Sam would ever bend and accept Aisling into his life. For one, his life is incredibly dangerous and rife with murder and mayhem. He sees himself as a monster, incapable of love. And yet, I knew it was not true, since he loves his adoptive mother Sparrow and his sister Sailor. I loved the scene where he’s crawling on the floor in all fours so his niece can ride horsey on him. That’s not what a evil monster does during his Sunday family dinners!
I was surprised at Aisling’s inner darkness but loved it because it helped her understand and accept Sam’s darkness better. Once he knew Aisling’s secret, it opened the way for him to accept her and fight for a future. In spite of how erotic their encounters were, the book was slow burn because Sam was so stubborn in letting Ash in. I loved that in spite of all her love for Sam, she also grew up and started to demand respect and attention. The domestication of Sam Brennan was full on!
This is not a book you put down! It’s fascinating, riveting, and memorable. The complexity of the characters and their lives are very compelling and what made me like it more was the duality. They have light and dark sides, they have moments where their tenderness comes forth, and at the next moment, their harshness comes out to deal with problems. Aisling’s issues with her parents are front and center in the plot of this book, the lives of Hunter and Cillian with their families, and Troy and Sparrow are all intertwined to make this a very complete saga that satisfies in all aspects a book can have. It’s a book that you need to read again and savor, once you know all the secrets that are revealed as you read. Make sure you have a free day because there won’t be any homework to do while reading this! Fantastic read!
Sam Brennan sees himself as a monster. He’s definitely more dark and sinister than Troy Brennan, his adoptive father. He took up the reigns of Troy’s work in underground Boston and developed it further. More than The Fixer, he turned mobster and took up more areas of Boston that Troy had. He’s richer and dangerous and now works for Aisling’s father.
In this book, we read how close the Brennan and Fitzpatrick families are, courtesy of Hunter and Sailor’s marriage and their common business. Aisling graduated in medicine and is working, and we later learn she has dark secrets of her own. Despite all their frequent reunions, Aisling’s love for Sam remains unrequited. He won’t even look at her, much less talk to her. So she took matters into her own hands, and appeared at his night club Badlands, on a Halloween night, disguised and decided. They hook up but he recognized her scent, realized they were inevitable, and they negotiate a fling. After, Sam learns damaging news about Gerard Fitzpatrick, Aisling’s father, and a new plot surfaces, revenge of the very devious and serious kind.
There are so many plot lines in this book that keep the reader riveted to the story. Aisling’s secrets that are unknown to her family and friends. Sam’s revenge on Gerard Fitzpatrick. Aisling’s unrequited love for Sam and how it changes intensity through the book. Sam’s growing fascination with Aisling as he learns of all her underlying layers. And through it all, the Boston Belles, always there supporting their friend. I loved seeing Cillian as a doting father and doting husband, what a departure from the business icicle he used to be! Hunter, entertaining as ever, Sailor adorably dorky. Belle, as irreverent and effervescent as ever, and Devon is mesmerized by her. New book in the future!
I really had no idea that Sam would ever bend and accept Aisling into his life. For one, his life is incredibly dangerous and rife with murder and mayhem. He sees himself as a monster, incapable of love. And yet, I knew it was not true, since he loves his adoptive mother Sparrow and his sister Sailor. I loved the scene where he’s crawling on the floor in all fours so his niece can ride horsey on him. That’s not what a evil monster does during his Sunday family dinners!
I was surprised at Aisling’s inner darkness but loved it because it helped her understand and accept Sam’s darkness better. Once he knew Aisling’s secret, it opened the way for him to accept her and fight for a future. In spite of how erotic their encounters were, the book was slow burn because Sam was so stubborn in letting Ash in. I loved that in spite of all her love for Sam, she also grew up and started to demand respect and attention. The domestication of Sam Brennan was full on!
This is not a book you put down! It’s fascinating, riveting, and memorable. The complexity of the characters and their lives are very compelling and what made me like it more was the duality. They have light and dark sides, they have moments where their tenderness comes forth, and at the next moment, their harshness comes out to deal with problems. Aisling’s issues with her parents are front and center in the plot of this book, the lives of Hunter and Cillian with their families, and Troy and Sparrow are all intertwined to make this a very complete saga that satisfies in all aspects a book can have. It’s a book that you need to read again and savor, once you know all the secrets that are revealed as you read. Make sure you have a free day because there won’t be any homework to do while reading this! Fantastic read!
Best of the Boston Belle series
Hands down my favorite of the Boston Belle series. Everything I wanted and needed from Sam and Aisling's story. LJ Shen is a master.
Hands down my favorite of the Boston Belle series. Everything I wanted and needed from Sam and Aisling's story. LJ Shen is a master.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
um. i feel like this is the one book in the series people like the least and i can now see why. i usually don't listen to what other people have to say, for a bunch of different reasons, so i wasn't really discouraged by all the one stars reviews i saw while researching "the monster". i was even more confused once i started actually reading the book, because i really didn't think it was that bad.
needless to say, things started going downhill pretty soon. there are two wolves inside of me—one is picky as hell when it comes to books, the other will gladly read the worst heaps of trash literature without having to think about it twice. for this reason alone, i never feel like i'm one to judge. god knows i read much, much worse—and probably even liked it.
"the monster" is not the worst book i ever read, but it surely is the worst in this series so far—i have a feeling "the rake" is going to snatch such prized position very, very soon. the dynamic between aisling and sam was okay until they went official, which is just sad. i don't have much to say about aisling—she's probably my favorite boston belle—but sam i found absolutely infuriating. the way he kept treating her towards the end, after saying that he wanted to be with her and whatnot, the whole "you'll marry me if i win this game of blackjack" ahhhh i hate him. i hate him, i hate him, i hate him. there was, like—close to zero effort on his part to woo aisling, dear god...
needless to say, things started going downhill pretty soon. there are two wolves inside of me—one is picky as hell when it comes to books, the other will gladly read the worst heaps of trash literature without having to think about it twice. for this reason alone, i never feel like i'm one to judge. god knows i read much, much worse—and probably even liked it.
"the monster" is not the worst book i ever read, but it surely is the worst in this series so far—i have a feeling "the rake" is going to snatch such prized position very, very soon. the dynamic between aisling and sam was okay until they went official, which is just sad. i don't have much to say about aisling—she's probably my favorite boston belle—but sam i found absolutely infuriating. the way he kept treating her towards the end, after saying that he wanted to be with her and whatnot, the whole "you'll marry me if i win this game of blackjack" ahhhh i hate him. i hate him, i hate him, i hate him. there was, like—close to zero effort on his part to woo aisling, dear god...
Won't be giving this book a review or rating because the author is problematic. This is a personal decision :)
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Monster has been my most anticipated read after reading The Hunter. After waiting for almost a year, I can totally say that it's totally worth the wait. Like seriously, SamAisling has officially stolen my heart and I absolutely loved them in The Monster.
First of all, let me start by saying that the storyline for this book was a little bit unexpected for me. Not gonna lie, I thought SamAisling would be serving other tropes, but it's actually slightly different than the theories that I made about them. However, that didn't make this book any less interesting. I wouldn't be saying much about the plot to avoid spoilers, but I can ensure you that the entire storyline would get you hooked from the beginning till the end.
Now, talking about the characters, I completely adore Sam & Aisling so much. They are everything. The chemistry & sexual tensions that these two have are just
The Monster has been my most anticipated read after reading The Hunter. After waiting for almost a year, I can totally say that it's totally worth the wait. Like seriously, SamAisling has officially stolen my heart and I absolutely loved them in The Monster.
First of all, let me start by saying that the storyline for this book was a little bit unexpected for me. Not gonna lie, I thought SamAisling would be serving other tropes, but it's actually slightly different than the theories that I made about them. However, that didn't make this book any less interesting. I wouldn't be saying much about the plot to avoid spoilers, but I can ensure you that the entire storyline would get you hooked from the beginning till the end.
Now, talking about the characters, I completely adore Sam & Aisling so much. They are everything. The chemistry & sexual tensions that these two have are just
After reading the Villain, I was excited to pick up a story about Sam and was not disappointed.