Playing with Fire

By: L.J. Shen

Narrated by: Desireé Ketchum, Christian Fox

Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's Summary

A broken boy on the path to destruction. A scarred girl without direction. A love story carved in secrets, inked with pain, and sealed with a lie.

Grace Shaw and West St. Claire are arctic opposites. She is the strange girl from the food truck. He is the mysterious underground fighter who stormed into her sleepy Texan college town on his motorcycle one day and has been wreaking havoc since. She is invisible to the world. He is the town’s beloved bad boy. She is a reject. He is trouble.

When West thrusts himself into Grace’s quiet life, she scrambles to figure out if he is her happily-ever-after or tragic ending. But the harder she pushes him away, the more he pulls her out of her shell.

Grace doesn’t know much about anything beyond her town’s limits, but she does know this: She is falling in love with the hottest guy in Sheridan U. And when you play with fire - you ought to get burned.

©2020 L.J. Shen (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

Magnificent & Beautiful!!

This is the most magnificent and beautiful romance novel that I have ever listened to. This was such an impressive work of fiction with stunning prose, carefully crafted with so much heart and wisdom. Two broken characters damaged by great tragedy, but rising above the ashes to find themselves and discover true love. I am so impressed with L.J. Shen! The casting of Christian Fox was phenomenal! He is always a class act, but the height of vivid emotions that he took this book to is Audie worthy. Christian Fox deserves an Audie for this work! I have always been a fan with his Shayla Black novel narrations, but this was altogether a whole new level. Desiree Ketchum was also so amazing with her subtle southern nuances. I was so entranced with Desiree’s narration and her male voice was perfect! I loved how she showed us how strong a female character can remain even when crushed by life’s unfairness. I feel so very sad that my time with “Playing with Fire” has concluded. I hope that I’ll be able to come across such a fine work of art in the future.

LJ Shen always pulls me in

I loved this story. West and Grace are more opposite but the attraction and their story is beautiful. They both have their demons to battle and form a friendship and love with each other. I have not once been disappointed in any story of LJ Shen's that I have read/listened too. She picks the best narrators and writes an awesome story line.

L.J Shen is in my head

I discovered this author a couple of weeks ago and since that discovery I have listened to EVERYTHING she has written. I didn't think I could love anything more than I loved Vicious or Sparrow but here she is giving me a book that has crawled inside my heart and my head. This is a really beautiful love story about two people who can't trust and believe that are not valuable enough to love. West is the best alpha male. He is cocky, he is is broody, he is a ladies man, he is beautiful, but he is also broken. But underneath the surface he is compassionate, selfless and is driven by a secret past that is ruled by guilt. Grace will forever be one of my favorite heroines. She is broken (both physically and emotionally) but she still stands up for herself. This is worth ALL your credits.

It’s ok

Not bad, just..not great either? Some of L.J.s most recent releases haven’t worked too well for me, mostly because the plot is so wildly out there and the characters unlikeable (In the Unlikely Event, I’m talking about you...). BUT! This book was believable and both characters likable. The H was a little grumpy and damaged, however I appreciated the h’s imperfect and damaged storyline and finding her confidence. The only thing I’ll say is it’s a tad boring? It might just be because the underground fighting trope has been done so many times so I feel like from that perspective I’ve already read it.

Mixed feelings

This story started out really well, caught my attention, but then it seemed to fall apart. The characters are in college but then start becoming really immature and cheesy. Seemed more like high schoolers. Weak ending. Love the narrators, Christian Fox is a favorite!

The other side of LJ Shen

I absolutely loved this - so different from her other books in that it made you feel all the warm and fuzzies with less anxiety, but just as wonderful. Also loved the deeper messages throughout. Definitely worth a credit (and more!)

All the Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh how I LOVE L.J. Shen’s words.... ALL of the words!!🔥❤️🥰 I loved the narrators as well!

Why was this story so well reviewed???

I could tell after one minute this was corny and highschoolish. Weak storyline, predictable characters.

Predictable and Immature

I really wanted to like this book. I can’t quite figure out how it got such good reviews. The story is immature, at best. It couldn’t be more predictable. I was actually shocked by the misogynistic turn the book took especially in the second half. The objectification of the female characters is blatant and sickening. There are parts of the book that literally read as pornography. This could’ve been a tender love story of two damaged individuals who find one another and learn to forgive themselves as they expose their flaws to another human being for the first time. This is the first book I’ve read by L.J. Shen so i can’t really speak to her ability as a writer based on this book alone. I should take the venture to read another one of her bestselling novels but the jury is still out on that.

Unoriginal, and more of a Young Adult book

If the characters had been older and more sensible, I would have found this to be an intriguing read. But because they were so young, this book wasn't relatable. This should have been categorized as a Young Adult book. The storyline was unoriginal...See "Kyland" by Mia Sheridan for a similar, better read. The characters in Playing With Fire seemed to lack depth and originality. The story, as it unfolded, seemed choppy and disjointed. The writing style was unique, but the storyline not so much.

ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL

omg listening to this story made it so much more raw. Desiree did an amazing job with the southern drawl that is grace. Christian fox has just become my favourite male narrator, damn that deep voice, it made you feel so much more when West spoke. They both made this audio, I was hanging on thier every word. 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. Could not recommend this book enough💜

Uplifting and Absorbing

An excellent Young Adult romance from LJ Shen. I thoroughly enjoyed this story of love and finding redemption. Grace has physical scars and a sad history, while West is self-destructive, messed up and angry. Both quite different people, they had an irrestible pull, and absorbing chemistry and a fearsome love. There are lots of ups and downs in this book. There's sadness, pain, overcoming adversity, and finding your way. It's also about coming to terms with the past, accepting very difficult situations and accepting yourself. An ultimately lovely uplifting ending, out of a hard won romance, I would definitely recommend to readers who love broken hero's and heroine's, enjoy the push and pull of a tumultuous love affair, and can empathise and understand broken people.

LJ Shen At Her Best

Angsty, emotional, tragic, sexy, intense, beautiful. Grace and West are one of my favorite couples from 2020.

Absolutely loved it.

I have only read a couple of books by LJ Shen and although they were good, I didn’t expect to live this book as much as I did. The narrators were great and did Grace & West justice. The overall story was great, once I started listening I actually struggled to stop. I found myself listening with my earphones in ad I did all the housework and extending the sleep timer rather than actually sleeping. I’m not sure why I loved this story so much but I do. The struggles & tragedy they both have faced in the past threatening to ruin what could be with West trying to always protect Grace even if it means hurting them both. It was so well written and performed that it’s now one of my favourites. I would really recommend this book.

Loved it!

LJ Shen never disappoints. Fell in love with the broken but beautiful characters of Grace & West.

Great book

I really enjoyed this book, I would recommend it for some young romance. It is was really fun to read

another must read

this was such an anazing book and the narrator's voices just made it perfect. l.j. shen can do no wrong x