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4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
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grace and west west and grace must read highly recommend west st claire small town rise from the ashes grace shaw absolutely loved food truck taco truck fall in love even though every single roller coaster beautifully written long time really enjoyed well written friends to lovers
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Marta B.
5.0 out of 5 stars West St. Claire will own Your heart!
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2020
Verified Purchase
Playing With Fire is definitely one of my fave books from this author. I cannot tell how many emotions are boiling inside of me right now!

I wanted to be burned and gahhhhh Mrs. Shen, Grace and West.... SWEET BABY JESUS THEY GAVE ME WHAT I'VE WANTED !!!! My heart swells, my eyes are puffy but Goddddd !!!!! THIS book, with THIS story inside.... IS a Pure Perfection and most wanted fire You could only survive.

West will own Your heart. Grace sweet Grace... She will make You feel strong and proud. They will rock Your world with the most captivating force.... And Mrs. LJ Shen??? This woman is the Queen of Angst, without any doubts.

Every word. Every chapter was like the adventure which will burn Your soul and heart... just to made You rise like the Phoenix from the ashes. West and Grace are simply everything and I loved them from the beginning. Author didn't wrote about "some couple" - She created the most beautiful friends to lovers book I've EVER read . It was honestly, even sometimes RAW story about falling in love with Your best friend. It wasn't fairy tale with pink unicorns around.... It was lesson how to teach each other, how to live with each other.... How to remind ourselves that we can love, and that we can be loved too.

Send help with some wine.... Dear Bookhangover, welcome back
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Jacquie C M
5.0 out of 5 stars #MustRead!
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2020
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Best book of the year!
I know readers hear this over and over, and not all books live up to the hype. Trust me when I say, Playing With Fire delivers everything it promises and more.

Grace Shaw is the heroine I've been waiting for...she's not classically beautiful, her confidence has taken hit after hit, and now she's just trying to stay invisible in a world where she used to shine. Man, I love this girl. Her loyalty and strength, combined with her sass and sheer grit make her one of my favorite LJ characters, ever! Her history isn't pretty, but she's rising from the ashes of her life like the phoenix that she longs to be.

West St Claire and his friends are the campus elite. Everyone wants to be seen with them, and be seen by them...everyone except Grace. When West takes a job at That Taco Truck where Grace works, she can't figure out his game. Is it a dare, a joke, or something else...? The more she gets to know the heart of West, the heart that beats inside the angry bad boy, the more she wants him to see her, scars and all. West is a multi-layered character, a bit of a bully in the signature style of Ms Shen, but he has a depth that is unlike anyone else she's written to date. He's funny and flirty, with a brooding edginess that will satisfy every alpha male, angst-filled craving you have.

This isn't an elite billionaire romance. As Ms Shen has said, these characters are in a different tax bracket than many recent books. And I loved that.

This a must read, 5 star story of rebirth and redemption, friendship and fiery passion. I can't believe it's finished. I will miss these characters in a way I haven't done in so long.
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Cheri @ KCBR
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars: My heart is on fire after reading this book!
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2020
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My heart is on fire after reading Playing with Fire by L.J. Shen. Two broken souls come together and ignite each other’s hearts in this unputdownable and empowering story. I loved Grace and West, and their journey through the ashes to find each other.  This book will be on my top 2020 book list.
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S. Red
VINE VOICE
5.0 out of 5 stars L.J Shen's Best Book to date!
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2020
Verified Purchase
Beautiful. This story was absolutely beautiful. Every single word, every single moment, just every single thing, was perfect.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this story. I was intrigued from the blurb alone, and the fact that L.J. Shen is one of my all-time favorite authors. I wasn’t prepared for everything this story was, and everything this story gave me. This book isn’t your typical small-town romance, and this is so much more than opposites attract. The angst, the drama, the love…perfection.

I love that Grace Shaw isn’t your typical heroine, she’s been broken and bruised and she is utterly amazing. As for West, I think we all love a bad boy, but he’s so much more than that. Grace and West are kismet. The push and pull between them, their chemistry, is palpable. I felt every word of this story. I felt like I was a part of it. L.J. Shen finds a way to grab her readers from the first page, and refuses to let them go even after the story is over.

Every heart wrenching and heartwarming part of this story was mesmerizing. I didn’t want this book to end, I devoured every single word and every single page. This is hands down one of the best books I’ve read, period, and this may be my favorite book of L.J. Shen’s to date as well.
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Sarah R
1.0 out of 5 stars I wish I never read it
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2020
He is a jerk to her. Sleeps with her by does not acknowledge her in the daylight. Then he is insanely sweet. Then in front of the whole school he calls her names and is a jerk. Not to mention Tess was a terrible person a bully to heroine and the author still gave her a HEA which is pathetic. Tess should have ended up miserable and the grandma did not deserve Grace love
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S
5.0 out of 5 stars My heart 😭
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2020
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ALL THE FEELS. I’m so in love with Grace & West it physically hurts.
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K. Bergamo
1.0 out of 5 stars Boring
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2020
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I'm done with this author. This story is just pathetic , with one dimensional and unappealing characters. So sad !!
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Top reviews from other countries

Imogen W.
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect romance
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 26, 2020
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This is a genuinely amazing book. It is very well written for its genre, with a colourful cast of characters supporting the main pair. I loved every moment of it. I NEVER cry at romance books, but the last few lines of this book were so perfect... really worth the read and the message of the book is incredibly powerful. I thought that L.J.Shen's style in this novel was a bit different from the Sinners of Saint series, it is definitely more of a classic, less vulgar romance. I think L.J.Shen's heroes become less crass with each book, because unlike Vicious or even Bane, West wasn't that rude or mean without justification. The kindness he showed some of the characters in the novel was moving without being saccharine. I also think that West and Grace's tragic backstories were way more believable than the backstories of other Shen characters. West and Grace both have difficult pasts with isolated traumas, yet they are linked psychologically by this, and they encounter each other organically (no bets or dares). They both help each other and work towards cultivating an honest, trusting relationship over a believable time span. Their character development is stunning. His acceptance of her insecurities and her acceptance of his depression is true to life. There were a few scenes that were so overblown and dramatic, but I cringed in a good way, unlike with some books that make you stop reading with embarrassment. I would say that the melodrama could have been toned down a bit, but the melodrama is one of the reasons why Shen's books are so addictive to read! This is definitely my favourite Shen book, it does away with the superficiality and vulgarity of previous books, by creating a love story that is based on more than conventional attractiveness and arrogance. I will always have a soft spot for the Vicious book (which I have reread three times) but Playing with Fire is the kind of book I will recommend to my friends. Please don't be put off by the cringe subtitle and also don't believe anyone who gave this book less than 5 stars!
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars You know it's gonna be good
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2020
Verified Purchase
I loved this but that's to be expected from any L.J.Shen book. West is the total bad boy ,angry, arrogant,anti-relationship , rides a motorbike ,fights at an underground club and doesn't much care of He lives or dies.
To Grace He doesn't feature in her plans or her life untill He does.
Grace is still coming to terms with the changes in her life whilst looking after her crazy Grandmother ,working part-time,and trying to remain invisible.
To West she's a breath of fresh air and a pain in the proverbial!.The
I read this totally immersed in the story , laughed ,cried, and ignored everything else. Loved loved loved it
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Jules
5.0 out of 5 stars PHENOMENAL
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2020
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I listened to the audio of this and omg, it makes it so much more raw, grace and wests story completely consumed me and absolutely broke me i couldnt stop listening.

Through their highs and lows I felt it all.

This is that book, the one that stays with you forever, I have a few and this is definitely on the top of that.

Could not recommend this book enough💜
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sazzletastic
5.0 out of 5 stars Texas and Maine
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2020
Verified Purchase
Loved it from start to finish.

West was so misunderstood, thought to be bad but he always had good intentions. He lost his parents when they lost Aubrey and themselves but they made it, they reunited. Nothing would every change what happened but they learned to live with it.

Gracie Gracie Gracie....such a strong, selfless, beautiful person. She had it tough from the start, her mom, the fire, her sassy grannies.

West and Grace completed each other.
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RedReader
3.0 out of 5 stars 3 stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 8, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book took me quite a long time to get through. I just couldn’t get into the storyline, kept being bored by it and didn’t feel the pull of chemistry between the two mains.
The best part of the book was the last 10% for me. Grace’s character arc was the saving grace of this book. I found West to be a bit of a blah character. There are so many other written characters exactly like him and I wanted something more the whole time.
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