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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
2.5 stars
the books i've read from l.j. shen have always been hit or miss for me, but after i read and completely adored the villain, i was honestly pretty excited for this book and the idea of sam and aisling together. especially because there were so many different theories about their story with so much hype surrounding them.
while there were some aspects of this story that i liked, i was unfortunately pretty disappointed with the overall result. the more i had time to sit with this story and think it over, the more issues i had with how it all played out.
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✰ WHAT WORKED FOR ME ✰
→ in my opinion, the prologue was actually a pretty decent set up for a story. it was unnecessarily long, yes, but i thought it gave good insight into both characters and their histories. i really loved the idea of sam and aisling having met before and having had a whole encounter that no one else knew about that set up the foundation for her infatuation with him. i actually really enjoyed to entire carnival scene and i thought it led to a lot of potential for their relationship development.
→ for the most part, i liked aisling. the parts of her character that we've seen in the previous books was only a fraction of who she really was, and i liked seeing the newer sides to her. i also really liked her development throughout the story, and the parts where she began to stand up for herself against different characters and in different situations.
→ there were definitely some cute moments between the two main characters, with my personal favourites being aisling taking care of sam while he was sick, and sam renting out the entire carnival for their date.
→ CILLIANPERSY + ASTOR crumbs were adorable. whenever characters are featured in books after their own, i get nervous about them potentially being OOC. thankfully that wasn't the case in this book. the crumbs we got were few and far between, but they were definitely a highlight of the story. that's my family y'all <3
→ even though most people seem to hate the focus on the family drama in this book, i actually found it pretty entertaining. the fitzpatricks are a ridiculous family that all need serious therapy, but i can't say that i wasn't laughing during some parts of this book because of their dramatics.
---
✰ WHAT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME ✰
→ there is a very big difference between utilizing the "obsessed girl" trope and making that girl look embarassingly desparate. while aisling seemed to bounce back and forth between the two, she came across as desparate way too often for my liking. there were MULTIPLE scenes of her literally begging sam for him to sleep with her. BEGGING. and when he would turn around and insult her to her face, she didn't even flinch. this wasn't a scenario like cillian and persephone, where he was never outright disrespectful toward her. sam was incredibly rude and mean to aisling for more than half of this book, and aisling pretty much turned a blind eye to it until over halfway through, and continued to beg him for attention. it was honestly painful to read at times.
→ sam's character arc was essentially nonexistent. he was set up to be this intimidating, genius mobster who ended up getting fooled not once, but twice in the same book. while i can somewhat understand him getting blindsided by aisling, his willingness to believe cat's story without checking everything 100% just didn't sit right with me. he set out to destroy the fitzpatrick family for something that ended up being a complete lie, and he didn't even bother to confirm it before hand. not to mention that he treated aisling like dirt for most of the book, and then developed feelings for her and abandoned his hatred of women in the blink of an eye. it made no sense.
→ there was a literal scene where sam and aisling screwed around in the doctor's clinic and did doctor-patient roleplay. fine. but how about the fact that they roleplayed him giving her a pap smear? let that sink in.
→ the friendship between the guys, specifically between sam and cillian, was one of my favourite parts of the villain. for some reason, the author decided to throw that all away in this book, as sam decided to ruin the fitzpatrick family out of some hidden hatred he has for the brothers and their wealth. don't even get me started on the girls' friendship that is barely existent here, despite the fact that it's the third book in the series centered around them.
→ i was really hopeful that we would get some cute scenes with the fitzpatrick siblings bonding. that obviously didn't happen.
→ aisling working in the field of euthanasia does not make her a monster. that's all i'm going to say about that.
--
i knew going into this book that the monster was the last book i planned on reading by this author, but the disappointment of this story only confirmed that further for me. i will be taking cillianpersephone + astor + their unborn child and putting this series out of my mind.
the books i've read from l.j. shen have always been hit or miss for me, but after i read and completely adored the villain, i was honestly pretty excited for this book and the idea of sam and aisling together. especially because there were so many different theories about their story with so much hype surrounding them.
while there were some aspects of this story that i liked, i was unfortunately pretty disappointed with the overall result. the more i had time to sit with this story and think it over, the more issues i had with how it all played out.
--------
✰ WHAT WORKED FOR ME ✰
→ in my opinion, the prologue was actually a pretty decent set up for a story. it was unnecessarily long, yes, but i thought it gave good insight into both characters and their histories. i really loved the idea of sam and aisling having met before and having had a whole encounter that no one else knew about that set up the foundation for her infatuation with him. i actually really enjoyed to entire carnival scene and i thought it led to a lot of potential for their relationship development.
→ for the most part, i liked aisling. the parts of her character that we've seen in the previous books was only a fraction of who she really was, and i liked seeing the newer sides to her. i also really liked her development throughout the story, and the parts where she began to stand up for herself against different characters and in different situations.
→ there were definitely some cute moments between the two main characters, with my personal favourites being aisling taking care of sam while he was sick, and sam renting out the entire carnival for their date.
→ CILLIANPERSY + ASTOR crumbs were adorable. whenever characters are featured in books after their own, i get nervous about them potentially being OOC. thankfully that wasn't the case in this book. the crumbs we got were few and far between, but they were definitely a highlight of the story. that's my family y'all <3
→ even though most people seem to hate the focus on the family drama in this book, i actually found it pretty entertaining. the fitzpatricks are a ridiculous family that all need serious therapy, but i can't say that i wasn't laughing during some parts of this book because of their dramatics.
---
✰ WHAT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME ✰
→ there is a very big difference between utilizing the "obsessed girl" trope and making that girl look embarassingly desparate. while aisling seemed to bounce back and forth between the two, she came across as desparate way too often for my liking. there were MULTIPLE scenes of her literally begging sam for him to sleep with her. BEGGING. and when he would turn around and insult her to her face, she didn't even flinch. this wasn't a scenario like cillian and persephone, where he was never outright disrespectful toward her. sam was incredibly rude and mean to aisling for more than half of this book, and aisling pretty much turned a blind eye to it until over halfway through, and continued to beg him for attention. it was honestly painful to read at times.
→ sam's character arc was essentially nonexistent. he was set up to be this intimidating, genius mobster who ended up getting fooled not once, but twice in the same book. while i can somewhat understand him getting blindsided by aisling, his willingness to believe cat's story without checking everything 100% just didn't sit right with me. he set out to destroy the fitzpatrick family for something that ended up being a complete lie, and he didn't even bother to confirm it before hand. not to mention that he treated aisling like dirt for most of the book, and then developed feelings for her and abandoned his hatred of women in the blink of an eye. it made no sense.
→ there was a literal scene where sam and aisling screwed around in the doctor's clinic and did doctor-patient roleplay. fine. but how about the fact that they roleplayed him giving her a pap smear? let that sink in.
→ the friendship between the guys, specifically between sam and cillian, was one of my favourite parts of the villain. for some reason, the author decided to throw that all away in this book, as sam decided to ruin the fitzpatrick family out of some hidden hatred he has for the brothers and their wealth. don't even get me started on the girls' friendship that is barely existent here, despite the fact that it's the third book in the series centered around them.
→ i was really hopeful that we would get some cute scenes with the fitzpatrick siblings bonding. that obviously didn't happen.
→ aisling working in the field of euthanasia does not make her a monster. that's all i'm going to say about that.
--
i knew going into this book that the monster was the last book i planned on reading by this author, but the disappointment of this story only confirmed that further for me. i will be taking cillianpersephone + astor + their unborn child and putting this series out of my mind.
I read about a revenge plot that was using a crack addict as the source for more than half of the book. A revenge plot that wasn't even needed because he didn't even care about this said crack addict. A revenge plot that he started in the middle of the book.
- she ran the word monster to the ground and the fact that Euthanasia is what made Ash a monster is so dumb like very underwhelming and not even an awful thing to do.
- ash talked about how she was an outsider with the girls and how she wasn't close to them when that's not how the picture was painted in the previous two. I understand its her pov but I can count on one hand how many scenes she had with the girls alone like its was very unrealistic when they were mentioned together numerous times in the previous two books
- the family drama between her dad and mom was weird and time-consuming.
- I don't even have the energy to go further, moral of the story i went in thinking i was getting pregnancy trope + forbidden love instead i got a boring family soap opera with anal sex and ash begging sam for scraps.
- persy, kill and astor scraps made my heart soar and I can't wait for belle's book for the simple fact that persy is belle's sister so she'll be in there more.
- she ran the word monster to the ground and the fact that Euthanasia is what made Ash a monster is so dumb like very underwhelming and not even an awful thing to do.
- ash talked about how she was an outsider with the girls and how she wasn't close to them when that's not how the picture was painted in the previous two. I understand its her pov but I can count on one hand how many scenes she had with the girls alone like its was very unrealistic when they were mentioned together numerous times in the previous two books
- the family drama between her dad and mom was weird and time-consuming.
- I don't even have the energy to go further, moral of the story i went in thinking i was getting pregnancy trope + forbidden love instead i got a boring family soap opera with anal sex and ash begging sam for scraps.
- persy, kill and astor scraps made my heart soar and I can't wait for belle's book for the simple fact that persy is belle's sister so she'll be in there more.
A typical LJ Shen book.
A bit ridiculous at times, super sweet at others and then questioning if you’re even a feminist at others.
Aisling and Sam were kinda cute, and this rating is more of a 3.5 but goodreads doesn’t respect us. The last book will hopefully be the most interesting bc we don’t know much about Devon so it’ll be a bit more shocking
A bit ridiculous at times, super sweet at others and then questioning if you’re even a feminist at others.
Aisling and Sam were kinda cute, and this rating is more of a 3.5 but goodreads doesn’t respect us. The last book will hopefully be the most interesting bc we don’t know much about Devon so it’ll be a bit more shocking
Overall, least fav in the series thus far not because of quality but b/c Sam is annoying (but still hot)
1 The Hunter: Hunter, laidback rule breaker Playboy & Sailor, mob daughter/uptight athlete
2 The Villian: Cillian, cold hearted billionaire CEO & Persephone, soft hearted PreK teacher
3 The Monster: Finally time for Sam, angry mob boss & Aisling, heiress, 'doctor' younger sis of boss, to take center stage & dance around & deny their feelings until they explode in the way we all love for some reason.
It's no secret in the other books that Aisling is obsessed with Sam, but it was all very hush hush in the sense she nor he ever said much about it openly.
Now we get a better piture, which is: Sam, next gen adopted mob boss, self proclaimed monster (well, not really self proclaimed, but self retained nickname I guess), is chased for ***A FUCKING DECADE*** by Ash, & now shit is finally hitting the fan. They were due.
I wasn't sure what to expect from Aislings character, but I think if asked I would have predicted her to exist somewhere within the realms of naivety, being gullible, etc. However, I was pleasently surprised that she was neither of these things. She is in love with Sam, yes. She is hopelessly obssesed. BUT she isn't dumb, she knows what the deal is & much to my surprise & enjoyment, she plays the whole game right back with him, sneaking her way to him in a dishonest way. Which was weird. But... loved that journey for her (as far as the book goes lmao)
Sam Brennan on the other hand..... oh christ he is SO ANNOYING. I mean, ya I totally *would* (wink face) but his arrogant god complex is other worldly on a whoooooole other level of the others. Actually Hunter & Cillian weren't ever full of themselves, it was the exact opposite, it seemed. Sam... as much as he has his doubts & sadness from childgood trauma (obviously), & I did enjkoy the scenes of him interacting with baby Sailor, Adult Sailor & the kids, etc... he was just annoying outside that. He knew Ash "would always be there waiting for him, when he wanted" & that internal diaglogue was his honest POV & that revelation is important, I get it, but Holy F*ck Boi Energy.
Still, steamy as hell. I don't hate them. Aisling is cool. I'm v here for the whole series & eagerly awaiting the next book which BEST BE EMMALYNNE & DEVON OR SO HELP ME GODDESS.... I'll still read it & love it but really want it that way (LOLOL)
1 The Hunter: Hunter, laidback rule breaker Playboy & Sailor, mob daughter/uptight athlete
2 The Villian: Cillian, cold hearted billionaire CEO & Persephone, soft hearted PreK teacher
3 The Monster: Finally time for Sam, angry mob boss & Aisling, heiress, 'doctor' younger sis of boss, to take center stage & dance around & deny their feelings until they explode in the way we all love for some reason.
It's no secret in the other books that Aisling is obsessed with Sam, but it was all very hush hush in the sense she nor he ever said much about it openly.
Now we get a better piture, which is: Sam, next gen adopted mob boss, self proclaimed monster (well, not really self proclaimed, but self retained nickname I guess), is chased for ***A FUCKING DECADE*** by Ash, & now shit is finally hitting the fan. They were due.
I wasn't sure what to expect from Aislings character, but I think if asked I would have predicted her to exist somewhere within the realms of naivety, being gullible, etc. However, I was pleasently surprised that she was neither of these things. She is in love with Sam, yes. She is hopelessly obssesed. BUT she isn't dumb, she knows what the deal is & much to my surprise & enjoyment, she plays the whole game right back with him, sneaking her way to him in a dishonest way. Which was weird. But... loved that journey for her (as far as the book goes lmao)
Sam Brennan on the other hand..... oh christ he is SO ANNOYING. I mean, ya I totally *would* (wink face) but his arrogant god complex is other worldly on a whoooooole other level of the others. Actually Hunter & Cillian weren't ever full of themselves, it was the exact opposite, it seemed. Sam... as much as he has his doubts & sadness from childgood trauma (obviously), & I did enjkoy the scenes of him interacting with baby Sailor, Adult Sailor & the kids, etc... he was just annoying outside that. He knew Ash "would always be there waiting for him, when he wanted" & that internal diaglogue was his honest POV & that revelation is important, I get it, but Holy F*ck Boi Energy.
Still, steamy as hell. I don't hate them. Aisling is cool. I'm v here for the whole series & eagerly awaiting the next book which BEST BE EMMALYNNE & DEVON OR SO HELP ME GODDESS.... I'll still read it & love it but really want it that way (LOLOL)
dark
medium-paced
Love the Monster
Aisling & Sam!
I just adored this story!
The story just pulled me in, I couldn’t put it down. I love this series and can’t wait for the rake!
Aisling & Sam!
I just adored this story!
The story just pulled me in, I couldn’t put it down. I love this series and can’t wait for the rake!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Nope….
I was really looking forward to this book but it started off not great and just continued to even more downhill from there. The previous books in this series were great.
Sadly, not this one.
This was just all cringe….
I was really looking forward to this book but it started off not great and just continued to even more downhill from there. The previous books in this series were great.
Sadly, not this one.
This was just all cringe….