BLOOD TO DUST
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: L.J. Shen
Release Date: July 17, 2016
His name is Beat, and I should hate him.Bound, blindfolded and bruised, I’m tied in his basement, waiting for the men who stripped me from clothes and humanity to collect his debt to them. Me.
His name is Nate and I should hate him, but I don’t.
I’m not supposed to know his real name, even worse, I’m not supposed to care. He is nothing to me but means to an end. The plan is simple: break free, collect the pieces of my broken soul, kill the bastards and run away.
His name is Nathaniel Thomas Vela, and I’ve never seen his face, though I hear that it’s beautiful.
Behind the rugged and handsome exterior, there’s a quiet murderer, a killer who thinks guns are for pussies and ends people with his bare hands.
His name doesn’t matter, neither does his face, but what does matter is my heart. And right now, sadly, it’s his.
Blood to Dust is a standalone, full-length novel. It contains graphic violence and adult situations some may find offensive.
I look like the perfect victim. Scared. Beautiful. Innocent…Though, I’m anything but the latter.
Well slap my ass and call me Sally, what in the ever hell did I just read?
This.
Book.
Was.
Brilliant!
OK. OK. Allow me to get my thoughts together here
*deep breath*
*another deep breath*
Holy hell, people!
I already knew after reading Sparrow that L.J. Shen was a talented author, but after reading this book? She blew everything I thought I knew away! The woman is a genius. Everything, from the characters, the writing style, the chapter formation, the story, all of it I can describe in two words; brilliantly intense.
I’m picky with my dark romance. Some of it has become entirely formulaic for me; bad guy meets somewhat naive girl, some mundane detail, plot twist for shock value, and BAM! HEA! This book? This book was nothing like that. Not even close. It was unpredictable, violent, brutal, dark and twisted. You won’t have a book hangover after, you’ll have PTSD and you’ll love every depraved moment of it!
Any other woman that finds herself bloodied, tied and locked in a dark basement waiting on certain death at the hands of men intent on collecting their debt from her, may be shaken. But not Prescott. Every minute in her captivity is another minute for her to plot and scheme and plan her escape. Because she will escape. Even if she has to use her unwilling captor to do it…
Beat is a nameless, faceless man in a mask. He’s a man that owes a debt himself. He’s the man with a price on his head and his own survival as his main concern. A prissy little princess tied up in his basement for some unknown debt of her own shouldn’t concern him. Yet there’s something about her that calls to his primal side and tempts his inner beast…
And sooner or later, I know, even in the pitch black, she’s going to hit her target.”
The story packs a hell of a one two punch. It’s deliciously dirty and anxiety inducing gritty. The characters are incredibly well developed, multi-layered, and impossible not to like. Prescott was one kick-ass chick. She’s a survivor and she never stops fighting. She maintains an almost morbid sense of humor even during the most dire of times which gives her this incredibly endearing quality.
As for Nate Vela aka “Beat”? Oh man. Man oh man. I loved him! I loved his inner struggle in protecting himself or doing the right thing. I loved his inner struggle in his attraction to Prescott. There was so much depth to him that you can’t help but connect with right away.
The chemistry between the two of them was deliciously depraved. This is no cookie cutter romance. Nate Vela is one vile, dirty, dirty man and I loved him for it. Both of them are survivors in their own right, and together they’re a force to be reckoned with. It was perfectly balanced with two incredibly strong characters and for this reader it was perfection! There’s nothing better for me than a heroine that can save herself, and Prescott was no damsel in distress.
There were parts of it that I spent laughing. There were parts of it I spent with a knot in my stomach and hands shaking. It was unlike anything I’ve read and I loved every twisted part of it!
There was one particular detail at the end that confused me a little because I don’t remember it being explained. It could have been something I overlooked, but after re-reading the part several times, I’m still not sure. I’m not expecting everything wrapped in a pretty little bow, but given the detail was a pivotal one that set the plot in motion, I suppose I just wanted slightly more explanation on it. But that’s just one minor quibble in what was a truly amazing book, so I really can’t bother myself to complain about it much. If you’re looking for a dark read with strong characters and an unpredictable plot, READ THIS BOOK.
God. GOD. This book. This heartbreaking, incredibly written, gut wrenching book. If it had any more of my favorite elements in it, I’d feel like it was custom written for me. I don’t remember the last time I read a book that gripped me the way this one did. To the point that I felt it on a visceral level. To the point that now days later after finishing it, I still can’t stop thinking about it. This was easily one of my top favorite reads this year. I picked it up and read it straight through because I couldn’t bear to put it down for even a second. I was an ugly crying, sniveling, raging mess the entire time and loved every painful second of it.
If 
Nicole Jacquelyn has a true gift with words because her characters are so incredibly compelling, you don’t just read about them, you experience them. There is not an ounce of telling in this book. Everything is shown, including the character descriptions. Yeah. I was blown away to say the least.
You may be asking yourself if it’s possible to write a book with a dead spouse and not make the heroine feel like a consolation prize prize. And to you I say, abso-freaking-lutely.
Everything about this story is brilliant; from the feelings it will wrench from your very soul to the emotional mess it will leave you at the end of it. Shane and Kate’s story is not an easy one. It’s filled with pain and heart break but it’s also beautiful in its own right. You don’t read the characters’ journey, you experience it. Everything from the fundamental changes in their relationship to their feelings and everything in between.
If you’re questioning picking this up, don’t! If you’re a fellow angst-whore like me, if there’s one book I can recommend you read, it’s this one! Grab some tissues and some alcohol and prepare to read the whole night through because I guarantee this book will own every piece of you by the time you’re finished.
It’s official; I have PTKD (Post Traumatic Keri Disorder). The woman has ruined me. This book? I hope you all have your big girl panties on, because a walk through the meadows with unicorns it. Is. Not.
Jase has spent the last year of his life in hell. Now he’s free and the only thing burning inside him is revenge. It’s what he eats, breathes, and lives. The chain of events that began on that one bloody night a year ago that cost him him his family all lead back to one man; Tesarik. Only problem is? He’s so powerful he’s practically untouchable. So when the mystery man standing before him promises him the vengeance he seeks for the price of a favor, he knows that he may fight it but he’ll agree. The favor will take him deep into the bowels of the worst sort of human depravity. Into a something only known as The Seventh Circle; a group of men that get off on pain and death.
What begins is a story filled with heart-stopping moments, eroticism in a way only Keri Lake can write, and enough grit and darkness to leave you crying for your mama.
If you’ve read any book by this author, then you already know she’s not afraid to go to the very pits of darkness. She’ll take the readers deep into the bowels of the worst of humanity. Her writing is raw, gritty, and absolutely unapologetic.
Book slump officially over! #DoublePeenForTheWin
Written in dual first person POV, you get equal time in both Henry and Evan’s heads and it just makes the story that much better.
Let’s talk about things that trigger my one-clicker for a second here, shall we?
As for that ending? Well let’s just say I may or may not be rocking myself in a corner as we speak while I wait for July 25 to finally get here
Sparrow Raynes grew up the daughter of a drunken father who happened to work for one of the most feared men in the Boston underground. But now that man is dead, and his son who’s known to be even more ruthless is to be her husband…and she has no idea why other than it’s been arranged and her father agreed to it. So she’ll do it, but she won’t like it. In her eyes it’ll be a marriage in name only because no way can she give her heart to the devil with the steel-blue eyes that’s known as The Fixer. He’s ruthless, he’s cold-blooded, but she refused to cower from him like even the most deadly of the deadly underground seem to…
Sparrow was exactly the kind of gritty anti-hero that I needed. L.J. Shen was not afraid to stick true to her characters and pulled no punches to do so, and I respect the hell out of her for this. Yes, Troy did some things that may not sit right with some readers, but for this reader, I loved to hate it. See I love when an author takes risks to stay true to the characters and that was definitely the case here. This is no insta lust, insta-love, or insta-anything. Troy and Sparrow’s connection formed over time and it felt authentic because of that. Considering how Troy is and where he came from, I wouldn’t have bought it any other way.
L.J. spared no detail to make her story gritty and real. It was action packed, super sexy, and filled with twists and turns. It was enough to keep me at the edge of my seat the whole time and eagerly turning the pages to see what will happen next. The romance was sizzling hot and together with the plot it all came together perfectly.
My only minor quibble with the book was that it went a little much and too creative with the analogies at times. But that was such a minor thing compared to everything that I loved about it that I barely batted an eyelash at it.
