Midnight Blue by LJ Shen

NEW ADULT ROMANCE

Publication date: 01/16/2018
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No

LJ Shen is magic. There’s really just no other way to describe her writing. Her phrasing is totally unique. You won’t find anyone else in romance land who writes the way she does. It’s almost...poetic. I wish I had a better word for it, but I’m in no way poetic, so y’all will just have to take my word for it on this one, m’kay?

I have trouble finding rockstar romances that I enjoy. I mean, sure, there have been a few, but for the most part, all the cliches you find in rockstar stories tend to annoy the crap out of me.

But I didn’t even hesitate to read Midnight Blue, even knowing that I probably only enjoy about 10% of all rockstar romances (and there’s a TON of them out there, folks). I knew LJ Shen wouldn’t let me down. And, man, was I right to trust her.

Alex is a beautiful, complicated, talented, twisted disaster. He’s a drug addict (trying to recover) and cocky and is pretty much a jerk to everyone. But as was the case with Vicious, Rukus and Scandalous, the author weaves her magic and somehow manages to turn Alex into character that I actually end up really liking and caring about. (And I normally have a zero tolerance policy in place where alphaholes are concerned. That policy just doesn’t apply to LJ Shen books.) As a reader, I saw just enough glimpses of Alex’s past to gain an understanding of why he was the way he was, and I empathized with him, even when he was acting like an ass. Watching him fall ass-over-elbow in love with a woman who was so far from his usual type—and seeing how confusing and befuddling it all was for him—was truly delicious.
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“Then you came in, walked away, and guess what? Now I know. I know I’m incomplete and my soul, which I thought was dying, is actually in Los Angeles, riding a French bike in a ridiculous dress.”

​Indie is an interesting heroine, too. She’s every bit as complicated, deep, and messed-up as Alex is, just in a less self-destructive way. She kind of reminded me a bit of Amelia from Vicious. She’s quirky and sweet and maybe a little naive, but not at all stupid. She loves with everything she has, everything she is, which makes her the perfect partner to balance Alex’s world-weary, jaded life experience.

A couple of other things I LOVED:

1. Alex was a train wreck of epic proportions, but he wasn’t a groupie-banging whore. I really appreciated that. I hate the rockstar manwhore cliche. I was glad Alex avoided that particular vice.
2. Plot twists. There were 2 of them I didn’t totally see coming. I love to be surprised in a romance, since critics always say romance novels are predictable. This book cheerfully flips off all those ignorant romance critics and tells them to suck it.  
3. Song lyrics. There are GORGEOUS song lyrics in this book. Like, song lyrics so pretty I want someone to buy them and put them to music NOW. (And someone good. Not Katy Perry or John Mayer, because that would break my heart.)   

So, long-story-short, get to your Kindle and start 1-clicking, folks. This is another winner from an author I’ve come to trust implicitly. And kudos to the crazy-hot cover dude. Well done, sir. Well done.  

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
No rehab needed. This one’s clean and sober.  

Other reading suggestions
Definitely read everything LJ Shen has ever written. When you’re done, check back with me and we’ll discuss how your life has changed for the better.

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