Series: Standalone
Publication Date: September 15th 2020
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review
A broken boy on the path to destruction.
A scarred girl without direction.
A love story carved in secrets, inked with pain and sealed with a lie.
Grace Shaw and West St. Claire are arctic opposites.
She is the strange girl from the food truck.
He is the mysterious underground fighter who stormed into her sleepy Texan college town on his motorcycle one day, and has been wreaking havoc since.
She is invisible to the world.
He is the town’s beloved bad boy.
She is a reject.
He is trouble.
When West thrusts himself into Grace’s quiet life, she scrambles to figure out if he is her happily-ever-after or tragic ending.
But the harder she pushes him away, the more he pulls her out of her shell.
Grace doesn’t know much about anything beyond her town’s limits, but she does know this:
She is falling in love with the hottest guy in Sheridan U.
And when you play with fire—you ought to get burned.
As soon as I read the blurb for Playing with Fire and realized that L.J. Shen was releasing a new adult college romance, I was intrigued. I love college romances and I was so curious to see her write one! I’m happy to say I ended up enjoying Playing With Fire so much – it’s fun, sexy, and emotional. It’s a frenemies to lovers romance between two broken, lonely people who find love and solace in each other.
Grace has scars on her face and body from a terrible fire. She became an outcast after her accident and in college she is still antisocial. She comes across the bad boy of the school while at work at a taco food truck, and they do NOT get along. When they become coworkers, the banter and chemistry ignites. They reluctantly become somewhat friends (which is why I have to say their relationship is a frenemies kind) and I really enjoyed all the quips and teasing – it was a light-heartedness that was very much necessary with all the pain and heartbreak the main characters also experience. The romance is a bit slow but I loved how the relationship developed between Grace and West. Theirs is not an easy romance, but it’s one that’s worth the wait!
It took me a bit to get into this book in the beginning, but West and Grace grew on me soon enough. I really liked their connection, the banter, and the push/pull of the romance. These two frenemies are forced into close proximity while working together at a taco food truck, which I thought was so fun. There are emotional and heartfelt moments as they connect over their traumatic pasts and current loneliness. (I almost cried when we find out West’s tragic past. It. Is. Heartbreaking.) This was an emotional ride with plenty of ups and downs. I’m glad we got a college romance from L.J. Shen, and if you’re a fan of hers, you’re sure to enjoy this newest standalone of hers.
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I definitely believe in good and evil, but I don’t think it’s just black-and-white. There’s so much gray area, people fall on a spectrum. Nothing’s totally good or totally evil.
yes