Dirty Headlines was my first L.J. Shen novel and while it had one of my favorite tropes, it also has one of the most full-on alphaholes I’ve read in a long time. So what was the verdict?

Synopsis:

From bestselling author L.J. Shen, comes a new standalone, enemies-to-lovers romance.

Célian Laurent.

Manhattan royalty.

Notorious playboy.

Heir to a media empire.

…And my new boss.

I could have impressed him, if not for last month’s unforgettable one-night stand.

I left it with more than orgasms and a pleasant memory–namely, his wallet.

Now he’s staring me down like I’m the dirt under his Italian loafers, and I’m supposed to take it.

But the thing about being Judith “Jude” Humphry is I have nothing to lose.

Brooklyn girl.

Infamously quirky.

Heir to a stack of medical bills and a tattered couch.

When he looks at me from across the room, I see the glint in his eyes, and that makes us rivals.

He knows it.

So do I.

Every day in the newsroom is a battle.

Every night in his bed, war.

But it’s my heart at stake, and I fear I’ll be raising the white flag.

Why I Love It:

While I can’t get enough of the enemies-to-lovers tropes, alphaholes are tricky creatures. I love their cocky arrogance, but too many of them cross that line into pure asshole or worse, controlling asshole.

Célian (which I now find the sexiest hero name) is both cocky and a billionaire (a trope I have no real love for) and yet, what saves him from becoming an asshole is that he is very good at his job as a news director and cares passionately about his company and his employees. He is obviously smart, with incredible integrity, and we get to see him in action instead of just vague corporate meetings like with many other billionaire stories. He’s also compellingly broken, fighting against feelings he doesn’t believe he deserves to have, making his glacial control understandable.

He’s met his match in Jude, who for once in these types of books isn’t there in an assistant capacity, but as a junior reporter. She is incredibly intelligent with a bloodhound’s ability to sniff out news. And as much as Célian is attracted to her looks, he is equally attracted to her brains and capabilities. This is a refreshing change from a lot of these books. We actually get to see Jude active and good at her career, which isn’t about serving his needs but about serving an unbiased news to the public.

This was the hottest book I’ve read in ages and I’ll definitely be checking some of her other work out, because the tension was off-the-charts. My only complaint is that the love/hate aspect gets a bit repetitive in the middle, but Shen fills out this world with interesting subplots regarding their respective families which keeps things rolling along.

This book is a rollercoaster ride of feels in all the best ways. Stop what you’re doing and go read it now.

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