ARC Review: DIRTY HEADLINES by L.J. Shen

Célian Laurent.
Manhattan royalty.
Notorious playboy.
Heir to a media empire.
...And my new boss.

I could have impressed him, if not for last month's unforgettable one-night stand.
I left it with more than orgasms and a pleasant memory--namely, his wallet.
Now he's staring me down like I'm the dirt under his Italian loafers, and I'm supposed to take it.
But the thing about being Judith "Jude" Humphry is I have nothing to lose.
Brooklyn girl.
Infamously quirky.
Heir to a stack of medical bills and a tattered couch.
When he looks at me from across the room, I see the glint in his eyes, and that makes us rivals.
He knows it.
So do I.
Every day in the newsroom is a battle.
Every night in his bed, war.
But it's my heart at stake, and I fear I'll be raising the white flag.

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MY REVIEW

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

L.J. Shen has created some of my favorite alpha-holes and Célian definitely showed me he was in it to win it! He reminded me of a certain character from the show, Suits, and I felt vindicated when it was mentioned in the book.

Célian Laurent:

Cold. Calculated. Sexy. Ambitious. Successful. Intelligent. Strangely charismatic. Determined. Absolutely Filthy. Broken.

Here was a man who had it all. Literally. Money, good looks, excellent health, an elitist upbringing, continued success in his family's business, and no end to his good fortune in sight. In a lot of ways, his impatience for people reminded me a lot of myself. Yes, I'm saying that I saw myself in many ways in this character and therefore I was able to like him a lot easier than I thought I would. He was, above all else, the reason why I enjoyed this story so much. I loved the way he interacted with everyone in this book, especially Judith "Jude" Humphry.

Jude brought out another side of Célian, a side he wasn't familiar with. He was no stranger to relationships, but the feelings that this woman evoked in him left him a little lost. And because he had no control over them, he asserted himself in ways that highlighted his marvelous alpha-holeness. Yeah, he wasn't a nice guy, but he never pretended to be and I think that's what I liked most about him. He wasn't ashamed or embarassed by his words or actions and in the end, he was still the brute he was in the beginning, just with a lot of love for one special lady.

Another thing I loved about this story was Célian and Lily. Every meeting between these two made me laugh!

Whatever she was smoking, that shit was made solely of rat poison, laundry detergent, and laxatives. - Célian

I wanted to cover her up with something. A casket, maybe. - Célian

I wasn't Jude's biggest fan. While I had compassion for her situation and admired her for stepping up to take care of her family, I didn't really like her. I'm not sure if it's because of the importance placed on the fact that she wore Converse... Or how strongly the significance of the color of said shoes were stressed... Or the fact that she showed up to her first REAL job wearing those shoes... Or if it's because she kept saying she wanted to be treated as Célian's equal when there was absolutely nothing equal about them... But I wasn't a fan. In all honesty, she frustrated me. From her notebook to her grand ideas about what life was about to her illogical logic to her many attempts to be someone she really wasn't, she annoyed me.

Regardless, I was entertained and that was exactly what I was looking for. Dirty Headlines was angsty, dramatic, and so freaking sexy! I recommend to anyone who loves a hot alpha-hole and is looking for a good time.

Release: 09.07.2018 | Genre: Contemporary Romance - Enemies to Lovers trope | Dual POV - 1st person | Heat: 4 | Standalone