Vicious
Powerful
Edgy
Surprising

Vicious Sinners of Saint #1

L.J. Shen2016
Emilia They say love and hate are the same feelings experienced under different circumstances, and it's true. The man who comes to me in my dreams also haunts me in my nightmares. He is a brilliant lawyer. A skilled criminal. A beautiful liar. A bully and a savior, a monster and a lover. Ten years ago, he made me run away from the small town where we lived. Now, he came for me in New York, and he isn't leaving until he takes me with him. Vicious She is a starving artist. Pretty and evasive like cherry blossom. Ten years ago, she barged into my life unannounced and turned everything upside down. She paid the price. Emilia LeBlanc is completely off-limits, my best friend's ex-girlfriend. The woman who knows my darkest secret, and the daughter of the cheap Help we hired to take care of our estate. That should deter me from chasing her, but it doesn't. So she hates me. Big fucking deal. She better get used to me.
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Reviews

Photo of RacquelElizabeth
RacquelElizabeth@rocky23
2 stars
Oct 31, 2024

I didn't really feel their connection. This low key dragged and i'm not quite sure why. It wasn't for me but it had its moments i think.

Photo of elinabel hidalgo
elinabel hidalgo @cookiejar
2.5 stars
Sep 9, 2024

I started off wanting to fight Vicious, now I’m out here defending him like he’s my toxic bestie

+2
Photo of Cori
Cori@coriline
3 stars
Jun 1, 2024

Still can’t get over the fact that vicious rolled a blunt outside a birthing room...

Photo of Hanna Rybchynska
Hanna Rybchynska@hannarbc
1 star
May 3, 2024

Not for me... i only read one chapter and it was awful... anoying and didn't feel the connection with main character... I just wanted to roll my eyes... terrible way to begin a book!

Photo of Selin Igten
Selin Igten@emerense
2 stars
Apr 2, 2024

HELLO!??!?! HELPPPPP what the hell was this

Photo of Arielis Valentin
Arielis Valentin@arielis03
4 stars
Feb 26, 2024

Tbh i don’t care there’s something about this book that I clearly like bc this was a re-read and I liked it just as much as the first time lol

Photo of Ms. Mint
Ms. Mint@iread4fun
2 stars
May 22, 2023

***CONTAINS SPOILERS*** L.J. Shen's books are either a big hit or total miss for me. Playing with Fire is amongst my favorite, and I enjoyed reading The Villain immensely. But this one right here definitely falls under the latter category. Why? 1. I don't mind teenage drama (and this book is full of it) when the characters are actual teenagers. I don't mind the stupid decisions that these high school kids are making because hello...teenagers? No, I don't mind those. My problem is when there's a ten-year time jump--the characters are now around 27/28 y.o--and yet their emotional intelligence had never made it past high school. Here's an example: Vicious and Dean are best friends. They're also business partners. In their senior year in high school, they were involved in a love triangle. Dean got into a relationship with Emilia, whom, of course, Vicious has feelings for (despite his teenage ass denial). They were a couple for about eight months when Vicious, an asshole that he is (but that's a discussion for another time), decided he couldn't take seeing the two of them together anymore. So, he threatened Emilia with her parents' job in exchange for her leaving Dean and the town after their graduation. Fast forward ten years later. Apparently, Dean's still salty about Emilia leaving him all those years ago. He found out Vicious's been sleeping with Emilia in his apartment (even though he, too, has been whoring around in Vicious' apartment), and they got into a fist fight. Seriously, Dean. Ten years is a long time. You meet new people. You experience new things. You live and learn. You move on. You don't exchange blows with your supposedly best friend, whom you also co-found a multi-million dollar company with, just because he's been fucking your ex-highschool-gf. 2. Emilia. She's a freaking mess. And I just can't like her. She describes herself best: "I was everything illogical and reckless, everything stupid and irrational...because I was his" - Chapter 28. I mean, what do you say to that? 3. The resolution of the conflict between Vicious and his stepmom feels...anticlimactic. It was built up nicely, but in the end, I was left with just feeling meh. 4. Not a fan of the simultaneous back and forth swap of the dual timelines. Ergo, nope, this one just didn't work for me.

Photo of Sophia
Sophia@sophia25
4 stars
Feb 20, 2023

The beginning and middle were so good but the end felt a bit anticlimatic tbh I expected more and it got a tad boring but the the first 250 pages were great!

Photo of Allison Freedman
Allison Freedman@bookmamaa
4 stars
Feb 6, 2023

Your girl loves a good grovel!! Wtf do they put in the water in Todos Santos? Because JAAYSUS.

Photo of menna
menna@midnightcoffee
4 stars
Jan 31, 2023

i might be a little bit in love with them

Photo of dija
dija@dija
4 stars
Jan 23, 2023

Vicious is a hottie boottie and I enjoyed this book V much.

Photo of Laura
Laura @valethreads
5 stars
Jan 22, 2023

4.5

Photo of Keira 💫
Keira 💫@dirtyhandssidechick
3 stars
Jan 20, 2023

You know what?

I didn’t hate this book. I didn’t love it that much either, but oh well.

These characters were cute ah. Now, I’m stressed to read dean and Rosie’s book because I loved them as parents but the fact that Em was Dean’s ex kinda is a turn off omfl.

I’m hoping they’re like an incredibly cute couple.

But I remember what Rosie said about him… and I’m not going to be happy, I just know.

Also I hate vicious’ blood family. They suck.

Photo of Ashley
Ashley@ashleey
3 stars
Jan 18, 2023

☆ 3.5 / 5 ☆ So I had quite some issues with this book, which is disappointing because I was really excited to read it. 😭😭 The ebook. It was so messed up I sometimes had trouble understanding the text; I still pulled through it like the baddest queen ever. The paragraphs were divided into lines and it confused me a bit. I couldn't even see the book cover on my shelf. Like ??? It's a no no. It stressed me a lot so I deleted the book file after I was done with reading it. I think I lost at least 25% of the plot. But oh well. It was after the 65% mark that I finally started enjoying the book and having interest in the plot. Another issue for me is that I did not like Vicious. He was not it for me. I also felt like Millie deserved more than Vicious. Idk. Yeah I think that’s it. I would probably reread this in the future if the ebook is in better condition or when i have enough money to buy physical book copies.

Photo of mikee ♡
mikee ♡@readwithmeh
4 stars
Jan 5, 2023

I never thought I would enjoy this book more than I have expected! Full of banter and wits!

Photo of Kathleen Tom
Kathleen Tom@kateee
4 stars
Jan 2, 2023

4 stars! It was a good book, an amazing experience! This is my first time reading something from L.J Shen and I’m not stopping anytime soon! :)

Photo of sam
sam@sammiev
4 stars
Dec 15, 2022

ummm Vicious is insane. an actual asshole. I actually yelled "what's wrong with this guy?!! he's literally psychotic!!" while reading this. but um he kinda won me over towards the end IM WEAK OKAY #ViciousiscrazybutcrazyforEmilia <3

Photo of freya.nightwolf
freya.nightwolf@freya_nightwolf
5 stars
Nov 6, 2022

I just finished the series and the spin-off, and "Vicious" is my favorite book of all. I simply love Vicious. I loved this book for all the wrong reasons :))) He's deadly, he knows what he wants, he does what needs to be done, even if everyone will see him as the villain and he doesn't care about anyone's opinion but one person. The way the dialogue between Vicious and Emilia has been written is perfect. The jokes, the fights, the hunt, is all there and it's perfect. PERFECT.

Photo of soph <33
soph <33@s0ph
2 stars
Nov 2, 2022

tbh, didn’t like the hero for a good 85% of this, heroine was alright but annoyingly forgiving of said hero at times. don’t really know what else to say, I zoned out for a lot of this (audiobook) but all in all: it wasn’t bad, I was invested enough to finish it (or did I just have it on in the background while doing art homework…)

Photo of Caroll-Ann
Caroll-Ann@carollvnn
4 stars
Oct 31, 2022

Loved the story, especially the end.

Photo of ♡
@blooms
5 stars
Sep 16, 2022

red flags look green when im down bad

Photo of freya.nightwolf
freya.nightwolf@freya_nightwolf
5 stars
Sep 4, 2022

I just finished the series and the spin-off, and "Vicious" is my favorite book of all. I simply love Vicious. I loved this book for all the wrong reasons :))) He's deadly, he knows what he wants, he does what needs to be done, even if everyone will see him as the villain and he doesn't care about anyone's opinion but one person. The way the dialogue between Vicious and Emilia has been written is perfect. The jokes, the fights, the hunt, is all there and it's perfect. PERFECT.

Photo of Noya
Noya@noya
5 stars
Aug 19, 2022

התיאור החיצוני של וישס זה כל מה שאני מאחלת לעצמי בבעל. כשקראתי את זה בפעם הראשונה אהבתי את זה ואז אחרי כמה חודשים (שנה?) פתאום ממש רציתי לקרוא את זה שוב בלי איזו סיבה מיוחדת (סתם דחף מוזר) אז כמובן שזה מה שעשיתי ואיכשהו זה היה אפילו טוב יותר

Photo of mahi
mahi@adrianslia
4 stars
Aug 17, 2022

3.5-4

Highlights

Photo of elinabel hidalgo
elinabel hidalgo @cookiejar

“—La voy a arruinar.”


Page 105

Cuando te empiezas a alegrar un poquito de que tal vez este hijueputa malnacido ya cambio o que tiene intenciones de hacer las cosas bien esta vez y sale con esto:

Photo of Sky
Sky@skylardowdle

“I want you,” he said simply. “Just you. Nothing else. Only ever you,” he breathed out in pain, closing his eyes. “Fuck, Emilia. You.”

Photo of Sky
Sky@skylardowdle

She was a fantasy, and like all fantasies, she was meant to be savored, cherished, and treated with caution and respect.

Photo of Sky
Sky@skylardowdle

How could you not want to fuck this chick? Of course I was hard. She looked like a rainbow.

Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

‘That was Emilia. The sweetest. The nicest. And...mine.’

Page 360
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

“I love you.” He grinned like the boy I was once so desperate to impress.

“I loved you first,” I teased like the girl who knew deep down he always liked her too.

“Not possible.” He kissed me hard, his tongue sliding into my mouth. Then he leaned back. “I loved you since you told me your friends called you Millie. Even then, when I caught you eavesdropping, I knew I wasn’t gonna call you that, because you weren’t going to be my fucking friend. You were destined to be my wife.”

Page 357
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

The war is over, and the good guys won.”

“You’re not a good person,” she sniffed.

He grinned. “My mom was.”

Page 354

Sobbing happy tears 🥹

This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

‘Just because he didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, didn’t mean his heart wasn’t bleeding.’

Page 352
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

‘I was everything illogical and reckless, everything stupid and irrational...because I was his.’

Page 348
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

“Ask me how I feel.”

“How do you feel?”

“In love.” I breathed hard, burying my face in her hair. “I feel in love, and it’s you that I love. So fucking much.”

Page 343
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Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

‘She tilted her head slightly and stared at me almost dreamily, and I loved her for it.

Shit. I did.

and that’s when I realized that all this time, all this fucking time I was chasing her, I was actually loving her.

I loved her when I hated her.

And I loved her when I didn’t want anything to do with her.’

Page 342
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

“Because I trust you. Because I want to know if there’s still a chance you can know who I am, who I really am, and still...” Don’t say love me, don’t say love me, don’t say love me. “Be with me.”

“I want to be with you,” she confirmed without hesitation, and fuck, it just got a whole lot warmer. “I know that they damaged you, and I still want you. I don’t even want to fix you. I just want you as you are. Broken. Misunderstood. Jerk. I want the real version, the dark version, the one who made me the saddest I’ve ever been in my life, but also the happiest.”

Page 338
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Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

“They’d murdered the only person who loved me.”

Page 336
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Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

‘All I wanted was for her to be mine, but I kept thinking—believing—that I wasn’t enough. That something so broken couldn’t possibly deserve someone so whole.’

Page 333
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

‘I was her black.

And she was my pink.’

Page 333
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

“I thought you’d try to take me home.” I arched a playful eyebrow.

“You thought wrong. Your pussy doesn’t interest me right now. Your heart does.”

Page 330
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

“Ask me what I want,” Vicious murmured into my face.

The public display of affection from him—not sexual, not bullying, but pure, naked affection—filled my chest with warmth, but I tried to swallow down my hope.

“What do you want?” I turned my gaze to meet his, and suddenly, we weren’t in New York, in a gallery full of people. We were in my old room. Ignoring the party and the world around us, a world that we constantly disregarded when we were together.

“I want you,” he said simply. “Just you. Nothing else. Only ever you,” he breathed out in pain, closing his eyes. “Fuck, Emilia. You.”

Page 329
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

‘Acting like the psychopath she always thought I was.

And maybe I was a psychopath. Maybe she was the person who made me one.’

Page 320
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

“Missed me?” He offered one of his cocky smirks as I strode toward him.

“Not quite.” I gave him a shove back into his office.

Page 312

Ahh :)

This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

“How far are you willing to go for this girl, Vic?”

I ran a hand through my hair, tugging hard at the roots. “Well, I think I’m about to find the fuck out.”

Page 299
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Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

You were always mine. —Black

Page 293
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

“I used to think of you as a villain, but you’re not my villain. You’re your own villain. To me, you were a lesson. An important brutal lesson, nothing more and nothing less.”

Page 285
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

‘I needed her and she wasn’t there. I needed her but I knew I’d die before admitting that simple fact aloud.’

Page 267
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Levi-Mae
Levi-Mae @leebilou20

‘The room spun around me, like a ballerina on her toes, round and round, and in the blur, there was only him. His dark eyes. His scowl. His air. He was taunting me, even when he wasn’t there.’

Page 261
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