Ruckus by LJ Shen

Oh my, these HotHoles are hot indeed—and yes, they are quite the assholes, too!  

I wasn’t sure how LJ Shen would be able to redeem Dean Cole, but she blew me away with his book.  

His story was nothing close to what I expected and yet it was everything I wanted and more.

When I found out who his love interest would be, I’ll admit I was a little concerned about the fact that Dean had previously dated her older sister in Vicious.  I know, it was a long time ago, but there’s something about ‘keeping it in the family’ that makes me feel a little skeeved out.  

Once again, I should learn to trust in LJ to have my back.  She took that premise, twisted it around, and put a pretty bow on it.  

Of course, it feels like she loves torturing you to get to the reward, but that just makes it so much sweeter to finally make it to the end.

Ruckus Summary

In Vicious, Dean was the ‘good time guy’ and notorious stoner who was slightly detached and always snarky, but you just knew he was hiding something major behind that cool exterior.  

Turns out, you were right.  

You also knew that he was a protector who fiercely defended the underdog.  Right again.  The reason why, though, will blow you away.  There are so many layers to Dean, and while some are less than pretty, learning why he is the way he is will break your heart.  

Yup, you will certainly fall in love with this HotHole. 

I would be remiss if I made this review all about Dean, though.  Rosie, the younger sister from Vicious I mentioned, was a shining star in this story.  

She may be dealing with a terminal illness, but that doesn’t stop her from giving back as good as she gets.  Rosie is a fighter in every sense of the word and her attitude is 100% amazing.  She’s sassy and witty and fun and independent—her personality is essentially the opposite of her sister.  

As for her relationship with Dean, it isn’t always sunshine and roses.  It is a hard-fought one that is fantastic to watch unfold.  Once I started reading, I was fully committed and found it hard to put down my Kindle.    

Enemies-to-Lovers with Emotion

I wasn’t expecting to love this story as much as I did and I am still feeling the affects.  It could have gone a million different directions, but what Shen gave us was perfection.  

While the epilogue was a fantastic to lead into Trent’s book, I need it now….like, yesterday.  I know his book is going to be a doozy.  Bring. It. On.