MOONLIGHT SINS
Series: de Vincent Series #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release Date: January 30, 2018
New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout delivers the unforgettable story of a woman whose new life has just begun—but may end in murder…
Julia Hughes has always played it safe until she learned a very painful lesson. Now Julia’s starting over with a job in the Louisiana bayou—and a scorching encounter with a stranger, only to discover he’s Lucian de Vincent… her new employer. The de Vincent brothers share a massive fortune and a dark reputation. Julia cares for their troubled sister, but a menacing presence in the mansion—and the ever-present temptation of Lucian—prove dangerously distracting.
Lucian’s grandmother claimed de Vincent men fall in love once—and hard. Apparently, it’s Lucian’s turn. Julia’s compassionate care of his twin makes Lucian want to lay himself bare. But some secrets are better for Julia not to know.
The recent “suicide” of Lucian’s father is the latest in a string of deaths on the estate. Someone is eliminating the de Vincents. And the best way to get to Lucian may be through Julia…
when the de Vincent men fell in love, they did so fast and hard, without reason or hesitation.
I struggled with my rating for this book. A LOT. On the one hand, the characters were multi-layered and intriguing.
I was immediately sucked into the mysterious world of the de Vincents. These brothers are a captivating mix of cold, ruthless, and totally magnetic. With each piece of information the author feeds the reader, you grow more and more intrigued by their world and the demons that they clearly hide in their dark closet of secrets.
“I’m not just screwed up, Ms. Hughes. I’m as broken as they come, but I don’t need to be fixed. I don’t want to be fixed.” He caged her in. “I like all my fucked-up shards and pieces. They make me who I am. They make me real. The question is, can you handle real?”
Lucian de Vincent is the playboy. He goes through women like he goes through expensive liquor. He doesn’t do repeats and he doesn’t do feelings. But that suddenly changes when he lays on the beautiful nurse his brother hired to take care of their sister. Their connection is instantaneous, though they do their best to deny it.
At first I wasn’t sure about Julia. She gives off a very innocent, slightly naive vibe. But I’m happy to report that she was neither. She hasn’t lived the life that Lucian has, but she’s also no wallflower. This is a woman that’s not afraid to stand up for herself and turn down Lucian’s blatant advances over and over, until the heat between them proves to be her undoing.
Sadly, this is also where the story began to lose me. While I love a slow burn, I found the pacing of the story to be entirely too slow. By 20% my interest began to wane, and by 40% I was almost completely disengaged. The only thing that kept me pushing through to the end was my curiosity about the mysterious happenings and suspense around the de Vincent family. I needed to know how it all turned out. It took a great deal of effort to push through. I read the book over the span of almost 2 weeks because I kept finding excuses to put it down to read something else. I found myself skimming some parts and bored with others. And while the ending was definitely a twist, it wasn’t completely surprising either. I can’t say it felt anticlimactic, but I suppose that I just wanted something a little bit…more.
There was plenty to like about this story, which is why I had such a tough time rating it. But ultimately, the pacing was too slow for me and I was just too bored with parts of the book to rate it anything higher. I’m certainly hooked on the de Vincent brothers and will eagerly read the enact books in the series. Unfortunately this one just didn’t blow me away.
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