Defy (Sinners of Saint)

Hot, sexy forbidden student/teacher romance. I enjoyed the switch with the teacher in this scenario being female. This was a nice short and sexy story. I would have given this a higher rating if there weren't so many punctuation and spelling errors (at least in my copy) that kind of pulled me out of the story several times. I will give this a 3.5 rating

I read Vicious, the first book in the series, before I read this one (Vicious came out first) so I had a little bit of an idea of what was going on, since the book dropped hints several times about what was going on. I really liked this story, I liked Melody and Jamie and their relationship was HOT. I liked the taboo nature of the story (all parties are of the age of consent) and it was executed well. It made me love the bad boy HotHoles even more.

Why the three stars? Because the book ends at 77%, SEVENTY-SEVEN PERCENT! I understand that the book is really a novella, but I was in no way expecting it to end so quickly. I don’t like it when I think I have x% of a book, especially a good one, and it just stops. I feel a little like I’m shortchanged. Having a quick blurb about a story is one thing, but having a whole chapter is too much. If I wanted that much of a story I would download the sample.

But yes, I liked the book, I liked the dual POV of both of the main characters, and I liked the resolution. I just wish authors would stop with the practice of what feels like duping the reader.

Oh my god Jaime!!!!! Yes! Yes! Yes! I loved this story so darn much! I want to be his Little Ballerina!!! Jaime and Mel lit my kindle on fire! Is it hot in here? Yes. Yes it is. This might be a short read but holy Jesus does it pack a punch. Right to the sweet spot!

Another great read by LJ Zhen. I love this author's writing style. I don't do spoilers at all, but will let you know this storyline is a taboo that is told so beautifully. Love has no bounds here and the characters are intriguing as they are complex. This series so far is a massive hit in the park. Grab this book and fall into the world of suspense, enticement and some holy hotness.

This steamy prequel novella was a quite enjoyable read but I found the writing a bit plain. What I truly liked was the mixture of seduction and taboo in Jamie & Melody’s romance although it would have been great to get more details about how the emotional part of their relationship had grown.

Defy ~ Loved it from start to finish, a fast paced read shorter than pervious books from this author but still jam packed with hotness, drama and a cocky dirty talking sweetheart.

This is one hell of a storyline young handsome student prays on his sexy teacher, I loved that for once the older woman bags the hot stud!

Cannot wait for more in the gripping series.

This is one seriously hot novella. in fact the only issue I have with it is its a novella. I want more. No I NEED MORE!! This author certainly knows how to pack a punch in a few words. She has an amazing talent for writing these characters that are not entirely likable, but you cant help but love.

This book will leave you DYING to read the rest of this series.

So the student/teacher romances aren't really my favorite and one that I usually just skip right over. With that said, WOW!!!! this was an amazing read. L.J Shen did such justice to this genre, by thinking outside the box and making the story about a male student and his female teacher. She kept it fresh and somehow new, I have now found myself searching for more books like it. If you read Vicious but are on the fence about this book, just do it! For me this topped Vicious which was hard to do! My favorite book by L.J Shen yet! Enjoy.

Perfect little novella about Jaime and his teacher Melody. This short novella covers a lot of ground including Melody and her her background and dreams and Jaime and his character development. While my heart will always be for Vicious I loved reading about one of the other hotholes.

Loved loved loved and couldn't put it down. Definite one sitting read

Wow that was some cracky goodness and I want more. Viscous has been sitting on my Kindle since it came out and now after reading this, I will definitely be reading that next. I do wish this was a bit longer but only because I liked it so much and didn't want it to end. If you are a fan of Penelope Douglas or Erin Watt, I definitely think you'll enjoy this one.

Read in September 2016
I received a ARC copy from this novela for an honest review. A forbidden love affair between teacher and student. jaime and mal. The ultimate fantasy.... Amazing how in a short story i falls in love with this characters. and vicious #OMG# , i want to spank and teach him a good lesson. so give me more L.J Shen.

I read this initially in the Hot For Teacher Anthology where I fell in love with the Hotholes. Of course, I had to read it again, because well....Shen does hot, forbidden, and jerky boys turned all lovable and book boyfriend gods. It was my first peek at the boys, and I'm head over heels!! Don't miss out!!

~~~Erika, Book Haven Book Blog

This book was short but really good and steamy. Though I knew how Melody and Jaime ended up from Vicious but it was still entertaining. I liked Melody and felt that she was real. She had issues and was weak when it came to Jaime’s advances. Jaime was a man-boy who was quite conniving and a real stalker. The author did a great job with this couple.

Holy freaking geez this book was WOW!!! I was seduced by this read I hung on to every word page after page because I couldn't put it down. Now on to Vicious and I have a feeling that book will do a number on me!

What hot book. Melody wanted to be a professional ballerina. It ended when she broke her leg. Her parents were teachers so she pursued a career in teaching. She hated it. One thing leads to another & she ends up sleeping with one of her students. Well written & so good. Thanks.

You can't help but love the hotholes! A different take on a student/teacher relationship. It was wonderfully written, though I wish it had been a bit longer... I would have liked to have seen Jamie stand up to his mother... but then I suppose his plan wouldn't have worked out if he had.. I highly recommended you read Defy..

I read "VICIOUS" first, so I already knew Jaime was the sensible one of the brotherhood of the FHH. The understatement was using the word OBSESSION to describe his feelings for Melody. This taboo relationship was so smoothly orchestrated by Jaime that Melody didn't know what hit her! Excellent read, wish it had been longer!

These are barely few qualities that grace this novel. Usually a taboo,similar topics end in grief and disaster.Thank you for the
magic touch! Truly a masterpiece in decoding adolescent and adult behavior that blend in a smashing success!

I really enjoyed this story. It was so well written and wonderfully constructed. I really loved how protective of her he was. The characters were a little weird. Crazy story but great epilogue. Loved it!

This Teacher/Student relationship is hot. He knows what he wants and she is scared of what is gonna happen. He's major alpha and doesn't take no as an answer. Once she give in there is no stopping the emotions between these two! They make a great couple and I'm happy they got the happy ever after!

The more I read about these boys, men really, the more I love them. Not matter how big their ego, their attitude, their viciousness...you have to love them. So good to know all the background information behind Jamie and Melody. Can't wait for the next book...I simply can not get enough!

While "vicious" for me was uber cringeworthy, Defy made me melt! Wonderful writing! would read again!
I just wish vicious would have taken some lessons from Jamie.
I loved how he called her his little ballerina. I only wish we could have gotten chapters from his viewpoint.

I started off worried about how this book was going to progress, but it won me over. I did not want it to end. It has everything I needed in a story from the rough erotic scenes and romantic gestures. Very well-written and felt like a complete story.

I've been really looking forward to reading this novella after finishing Vicious - it was definitely worth the wait. We get the background on Jaime and Mel's relationship in Defy, and how they came to be together. And we got more of the other Hotholes. It's a win-win situation :)

Jamie is the most sensitive Hothole, and I absolutely love him!!! He gives new meaning to HOT FOR TEACHER. I can't believe Ms Shen got so much hotness in a short Novella, Loved Jamie and Mel together, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing whose book will be next.

Taboo!Blackmail!HOT!Scandal!

Prequel novella...for Vicious ...
This novella is hot extreme fantasy...
The teacher Ms Greene and the student Jamie...
Started a as fling! And .....must read to find out!!!!!!!!

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
This was a great teacher/student taboo romance. It is the prequel novella to the Sinners of Saint series. It was a quick read and I devoured every word. I can't wait to more of this series.

I hate the errors typically missed in books, distracting from the reading. This book was a quick, good read. It left content/ideas for more books, but nothing in this story was left out. Tough combination to achieve.

This is my first introduction to the Hotholes and what an introduction it was! My emotions went back and forth reading this little novella. Sometimes it was shock and disgust, and just as quickly it turned to lust and swooning. I think the hardest part for me about this taboo tale was that Jamie was so young. He just seemed too mature and experienced for an 18 year old. Sometimes he definitely acted his age, but others left me a bit skeptical. I still really, really enjoyed this, but I think if it had been set in college, and Mel was his professor, I would have been totally sold. I do wish that this would have been longer than a novella, but I swooned for the epilogue and finally getting Jamie's point of view. I loved the message that age is just a number and love is love. Even though it's just a novella, this is probably the best teacher/student/different aged coupling story I've read in a very long time (possibly ever). I can tell that this series will be a guilty pleasure read for me and I'm excited (and terrified!) to meet Vicious!