Cillian “Kill” Fitzpatrick stands with his shoulders back, and his head held high; a man proud of being cold as ice and untouchable. He’s likened to Hade’s and leaves no paths untouched if they wedge their way into his vision.
Persephone Penrose lives and breathes for the growth of mankind and exudes altruistic actions through her teaching of pre-school students, and her willingness to leave her burdens kept tight inside rather than seek help. That is until she is left with no choice. She’s not to be underestimated.
In true LJ Shen fashion, she wraps the difficult ills of society into a package where the surface appeals to the old tales but twists them into something magical and brings Olympus to its knees. Shen’s ability to write a villain with misplaced ideals and bring them full-tilt into the light of goodness and redemption is her wheelhouse. However, the villain in this story is a sleight of hand as there is more than meets the eye in this Greek tragedy, and Shen’s brilliant skills of weaving the subtext of long time inequities in society with the damage created through these dark secrets drive the feels for this brilliant work. There is nothing better than ending 2020 with The Villain and wondering who to root for as there is more here than meets the eye.
The Villain by LJ Shen
Buy Links:
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3qBYGoA
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3qFjmMC
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/33UhpSF
Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/33RC2yB
Blurb:
Cruel. Coldblooded. Hades in a Brioni suit.
Cillian Fitzpatrick has been dubbed every wicked thing on planet earth.
To the media, he is The Villain.
To me, he is the man who (reluctantly) saved my life.
Now I need him to do me another, small solid.
Bail me out of the mess my husband got me into.
What’s a hundred grand to one of the wealthiest men in America, anyway?
Only Cillian doesn’t hand out free favors.
The price for the money, it turns out, is my freedom.
Now I’m the eldest Fitzpatrick brother’s little toy.
To play, to mold, to break.
Too bad Cillian forgot one, tiny detail.
Persephone wasn’t only the goddess of spring; she was also the queen of death.
He thinks I’ll buckle under the weight of his mind games.
He is about to find out the most lethal poison is also the sweetest.