Ruckus (Sinners of Saint, 2)

"What makes you feel alive? - Watching my reflection in the cool, calm water of the pool. Blue-hued, unblinking. Diving into a quieter space without even dipping my toe in the water." "Dean was like Batman. He was strong enough to take it." Dean, Dean, Dean - what is it about the name Dean....it's become a name that I truly love. It's the name of one of my favorite characters on tv (they have a demon in common) and every Dean I get introduced to, I fall hard for. But why the name Dean? In Greek it means chief of a group. In Old English it means valley. In Hebrew it means law and in Arabic it means the way of life or religion. All of these definitions of the name Dean are so very true of our dear Ruckus. Once again, LJ Shen makes us dislike Ruckus in so many ways. An arrogant HotHole who is addicted to sex, weed and alcohol. You know he has something buried deep in his soul and just as in Vicious- this story is like an artichoke and you keep peeling layer after layer to get to the heart. And boy, does this have heart. And...once again...a Raider fan...just my type. And Rose, the always blooming rose that loses her petals but they always return. She's sweet, sassy, smart and she has a chronic illness that she refuses to let rule her life. She volunteers her time with babies in the neonatal ICU Ward. And where does she work, but a coffee shop named The Black Hole - another Raider reference and my favorite place to be on Raider Sunday home games. Rose has been in love with Dean since before he dated her sister back in their high school days. She saw him first and loved him first. And their love story is one that you will never forget. It takes them awhile to get there but when they do, just as Dean has always promised - she belongs to him. Always has and always will. I'd read anything that LJ Shen writes, even if it was a few scribbles on a post it note. Her words and writing are beautiful and flawless. She has a way of making words and feelings jump off the pages into your heart and they become a part of your soul. Amazing. Ruckus pulls at those heart strings and at times leaves your heart racing. I was almost breathless. This story has more twists than a pretzel and I never saw it coming. I had an extremely hard time towards the end of the story. I have what is called survivors guilt because I have survived liver failure twice and have a hard time understanding why. LJ Shen is one of my favorite authors. I feel at home when I read her words as our Bay Area roots shine through and our love of the Raider Nation just once again always makes me smile. Ruckus is raw. Ruckus is heartfelt. Ruckus is heartbreaking. Ruckus is unforgettable. Ruckus and Rosie aka Baby LeBlanc, a love story you will devour. You will laugh. You will cry but mostly you will be so in love with this story that you will have the biggest hangover. Have a few glasses of wine when reading Ruckus. Bravo LJ Shen. I feel I am so not worthy of this brilliantly woven story of love, second chances, hopes and dreams and it will truly take your breath away. "It was when the leaves started falling, dancing together in orange, pink and yellow, that what we had grown together became stronger and more alive."

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.2️⃣5️⃣ I made a mistake in waiting to continue this series. Having read Vicious a few months ago, it took a decent portion of this book for me to reacquaint myself with Vicious and Mille. That was frustrating. If you read a lot of books, definitely read the series somewhat close together so you can keep it all straight. Vicious was more engaging on the front end, whereas Ruckus was more enthralling on the back end. There was a moment close to the 30% mark where I was considering dnf'ing. I'm so very glad I didn't. My struggle was with Dean and his 'behavior'. It was off-putting. Obviously and surprisingly, that changed. And then this book surprised me again. A lot of time, I tend to lose interest once the main characters get together, and there is still half the book left to read. I don't want to wade through family drama and have that derail the romance aspect, as that is primarily why I read romance... for the romance. However, this book kinda did that, but did it so well. So, in a twisted turn of events, I actually enjoyed the last half of this story for all the family drama that played out. It gave these characters and their love story additional life. I low-key kind of loved it! I'm excited to hop right into Scandalous. I can see why this series is always recommended. It's good. I can't say it's going to make my top 10 favorites. There's still a couple more to get through, and sometimes a series goes south. Nonetheless, I ate this up, and I'm loving all the characters and their romances. So far, so good. Be forewarned, Rosie is a real heartbreaker... for the reader. She's also very strong and resilient. 😉

I have to admit. When I realized that Dean’s book (who I thought was not going to be redeemable in any way since he was such an addict and man whore and wasn’t slowing down) was with Millie’s sister, I didn’t know what to think. Yes, we saw a scene in Vicious where Dean and Rosie had chemistry, but come on really??? Vicious kissed Rosie and ended up with her sister, Millie, and Dean dated Millie in high school but was really in love with Rosie??! What a love-square this is lol. But you know what?? At this point, I needed to trust L.J. because she is one of my favorite authors, and I’m sooooo glad that I did. First off, I had to admit that I cried many times. At this point, I’m invested in these characters. I mean, I was at a family get-together and I kept sneaking time to read! I had to know what was going to happen. When I started the book, I knew it was going to be an emotional ride since Rosie has CF. In a way, I’m glad not everything was perfect because it made it even more real. The book starts off by flashing back to the past (throughout the book, we get flashback sequences) and showing us the connection between Rosie and Dean that started before he got with Millie. As I was reading it, I kept thinking “omg omg omg... if only they had each been with the correct person from the getgo” but things happen for a reason. Dean started dating Millie in high school even though Rosie loved him since then and he had pretty strong feelings for her as well- even love. Other things were going on in his life that kind of made him become even more addicted to his vices- which we find out about half way through the book (the truth behind Nina). Time flew by and now Millie is getting married to Vic (Baron/Vicious) and Rosie is her maid of honor. Rosie doesn’t wanna leave with Dean a day early, and Dean is gonna make sure that she does. Dean’s dirty mouth is so hot 🔥I just wanna bottle him up and keep him😋🤤! From the beginning, he keeps taunting her, claiming THEY are going to happen, whether or not she admits it because she WANTS it, just like him (Dean: ready to come? Rosie: where? Dean: on my tongue 👅... 😳🤤😋🔥👏🏻) damn Dean, YES PLEASE!!! The banter between them is erotic and damn good! I love that she doesn’t back down when he throws things in her face- her come backs are ON. POINT. And I love that he’s so persistent... I’m HERE. FOR. IT!! When Rosie finally decides to admit their palpable, thicccc chemistry, I couldn’t read fast enough (and reread and reread and reread that scene). It was amazing. Ugh. Dean, please be real! Lol once they connected, it was glorious! Even after she finally acquiescences and they have a relationship, things are not rainbows and butterflies. There are serious health issues and life-changing events that come into play when truths are revealed that I didn’t see it coming. In fact, towards the end, I found myself bugging my eyes and lifting my jaw off the floor. Ugh. I wish I could experience this book for the first time every time but I’m so glad I can reread it whenever it. I ADORE the epilogue. I read Pretty Reckless (Daria’s story- Jamie and Mel’s daughter) so I am glad I am seeing the kids in the next series here (one of the reasons why I’m reading this series- I needed to come back to the beginning). I can’t wait to Trent’s story so I can finish the kids’ stories after. I love you TJ Shen! Thank you for creating this world!!

OMG.. THIS BOOK DESTROYED ME. especially when I really hadn't expected to fall in love with this one more than I loved VICIOUS. but did fall hard. Ms. Shen is such an excellent writer. Her stories will grab you and drag you into the storm. The writing is always so intense and such that makes you feel the intense emotions of the characters. DEAN AND ROSIE... This is it for me. I just want to go back and read this book all over again.. Ruckus will create havoc on your mind and you'll be completely blown away. Right till the end. Ah, my heart has completely fallen in love with Ruckus. I especially loved that epilogue. As always AMAZING, MIND BLOWING READ. 💖

... ist für mich bis jetzt der beste Teil der Serie. Ich habe gelacht, geweint und mit gelitten und das macht für mich eine gute Geschichte aus. Außerdem erfährt man auch, wie es mit den anderen weiter geht. Beim lesen von "Vicious" war mir nicht ganz klar, was eine falsche Entscheidung (falscher Freund mit falscher Schwester) für Auswirkungen auf das Leben der Betroffenen hat, aber in "Ruckus" sieht man die Konsequenzen.

I was prepared to come here to tell you that books should give people hope, something to dream of and not a sad ending, but you gave us hope. Thank you so much for this ending, I’m crying so hard!

I loved this book HARD!! I loved this couple HARD!!! OMG this book is raw, gritty & real. This one is not all flowers & fairy tales. It's nitty gritty, in your face kinda read. It gives you all the feels. The big feels & the little feels. It will make you curse this author because why do this to them, they're so meant to be. Let them have some easy times. Sometimes the best things come from what you have to fight for. "Love felt like dipping each other in gasoline and burning together. Love felt like dancing with madness in the dark, watching all of its bright lights. Love felt like gasping for air when your lungs were already full." So I know some people are going to read the blurb & think it's not for them because of the whole sister's ex concept. Believe me when I say this book is so much more than that one little facet of it. I have to share this quote because I just absolutely loved it!! "Daddy said I was a magnet for the wrong kind of boys, but that was like sugarcoating a ball of dirt and rusty nails." If you haven't started this series then do so soon. The next one is releasing very soon & I'm so excited!!

Rosie es la hermana pequeña de Emilia(ahora esposa de Baron, aka Vicious,pero en el instituto fue la novia de Dean) y lleva enamorada de Dean desde antes de que su hermana empezara a salir con el. Dean lleva intentando salir con Emília desde hace semanas, pero ella pasa de él, lo que hace que perseguirla sea más divertido. Además está harto de ver cómo la trata Vicious y si ella se convierte en su chica, ella tendrá una vida más fácil en la escuela. Pero cuando ve a Rosie es amor a primera vista. Pero las cosas se acaban liando, Rosie lo empuja a salir con Emília,el sale con ella pero queriendo a otra, Emília sale con el para escapar de Vicious... si habéis leído vicious sabréis cómo acaba la cosa. Y ahora que son vecinos, el intenta llevarla a la cama cada vez que la ve. El problema? Varios a ojos de Rosie. Además de que es el exnovio de su hermana, que el tiene un problema con las drogas y el alcohol, y que se tira a todo lo que lleve falda, está también el tema de la salud de Rosie, ella tiene los pulmones mal y los médicos le han dicho que si se cuida podría llegar a vivir 10 o 20 años más, así que teniendo todo en cuenta lo rechaza una y otra vez. Menos mal que Dean es terco y no ceja en su empeño y en cuanto tiene a Rosie en sus brazos ya empieza a hacer planes de boda. Aunque antes tendrá que resolver todos los problemas que siguen apareciendo en su puerta.