ARC Review: MIDNIGHT BLUE by L.J. Shen

Four Continents. Three months. Two lovers. One, broken soul

It should have been easy.
I needed the money. He needed a babysitter to keep him from snorting himself to death.
I was cherry-picked especially for him. Responsible. Optimistic. Warm. Innocent.
The worst part is that I should have known better.
Alex Winslow. British rock star. Serial heartbreaker. Casanova with whiskey eyes.
“Don’t get near the devil in a leather jacket. He’ll chew you up and spit you out.”
Guess what? I didn’t listen.
I signed the contract.
World tour. Three months. Four Continents. One hundred shows.
My name is Indigo Bellamy, and I sold my soul to a tattooed god.
Problem was, my soul wasn’t enough for Alex Winslow. He ended up taking my body, too.
Then he took my heart.
Then he took my all.

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REVIEW

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Holy. Freaking. Wow!! That’s all I can think of now that I’ve reached the end of this story. Honestly, I’m just grateful that I came out of this in one piece. While reading this book, it felt like Leigh essentially ripped my heart out, juggled it, pricked it with some pins, kicked it around for shits and giggles, took it out to the range for target practice, made it into roadkill, and dunked that bad boy right back in my chest.

It was the FEELS!!

For once, I wasn’t the one talking to my heart, but it was the one talking to Alex. See us. Feel us. Love us.

- Indie

Midnight Blue was an angsty, sexy, out-of control tale of the stereotypical rocker, his journey to rock bottom, and his climb back to the top. LJ Shen sure knows how to create a-hole heroes and yet she always finds a way to redeem them. I couldn’t help but fall for the angry, long-suffering, addicted Alex right along with Indie.

There was a world outside, I knew it. But there was a smaller asteroid on which we lived, and that was the only place I wanted to be in that moment.

- Indie

You know what I loved about this book, aside from the music, the pseudo-romance, the laughs, Indie’s quirkiness, Alex’s general devil-may-care, the way Indie loved to talk to her heart, Tania, the drama, and the overall tug on my emotions? I loved how the author gave us something that wasn’t your regular run-of-the-mill happy story. The characters worked hard for their happy. There were no rainbows, unicorns, or cute little puppies here. She gave us characters that hurt. Not only themselves but each other. It’s true that it’s easier to hurt those that you love. And she showed us every bit of it. Whether it was from Alex and Indie’s first meeting, "She looked… fine. Not my taste." To the banter between all of the characters. To the dynamic of Indie’s family. To Alex constantly trying to get into Indie’s pants. To Indie constantly deterring him from getting into said pants. To Alex’s hot and cold behavior. Alex’s battle with addiction. Alex’s ridiculous and delusional thirst for vengeance. His thoughtless words and how they could potentially destroy Indie. And then to his grovelling. OMG!! I love when they actually grovel!! Whatever I was looking for in this book, I found!

There was a lot to like in this book. It was very different from what I’ve come to expect from this author, but no less amazing. Although the journey was painful, it had moments of humor and comradery to give it a good balance. And the love, y’all. So much love. All different types of love were found within the pages. And that love wasn’t easy either, but it was real, even when it was ugly.

So after all these words, I’ll leave you with this - GET THE BOOK!! Get caught up in your feelings, try to sing along to the music (even though we don’t know the melody), and fall in love with the writing. These characters will grip your heart, I’m telling you. Take another look at the cover, heed my words, and one-click this dirty bad boy today!!

Expected Release Date: January 21, 2018

Genre: Contemporary Rock Star Romance

POV: Dual - 1st person

Heat: 4 out of 5

Series/Standalone: Standalone