L.J. Shen is an internationally-acclaimed new adult and contemporary romance novelist. Her work has been featured in bestseller lists in Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, and Amazon. She and her husband, son, and chubby cat live together in Northern California.
Her top works include Vicious, the Sinners of Saint series, Sparrow, and the All Saints High series.
She enjoys fine wine, reality tv shows, and getting some sunshine with her snoozing cat. She writes both stand-alone works, as well as series.
L.J. Shen Books in order
All Saints High Books
Boston Belles Books
California Love Books
Hollywood Chronicles Books
Sinners of Saint Books
Standalone Novel
- Sparrow (2016)
- Blood to Dust (2016)
- The End Zone (2017)
- Dirty Headlines (2018)
- The Kiss Thief (2019)
- In the Unlikely Event (2019)
- Just the Tip (2020)
- Playing with Fire (2020)
- The Devil Wears Black (2021)
- The Monster (2021)
- Bad Cruz (2021)
- Ruthless Rival (2022)
Short Stories/Novellas
Similar authors
- The Fall Away series Penelope Douglas follows a brave young woman. When she stands up to her ex-friend, now a bully, the consequences are different than what she would have thought.
- Danielle Lori’s Made series follows Elena’s sister. She is arranged to marry Nicolas Russo, a mafia man with a dark and shady past.
- See also: Natasha Preston Books in Order.
Most recommended books
- The Villain (Boston Belles, #2) (4.27 Goodreads score)
- Bane (Sinners of Saint, #4) (4.27 Goodreads score)
- Angry God (All Saints High, #3) (4.24 Goodreads score)
- Broken Knight (All Saints High, #2) (4.23 Goodreads score)
- Ruthless Rival (Cruel Castaways, #1) (4.20 Goodreads score)
Latest releases
L.J. Shen’s newest book is called Ruthless Rival. It is part of the Cruel Castaways series and was published on May 3rd, 2022.
Book summaries
Pretty Reckless (2019)
PennThey say revenge is a dish best-served cold.I’d had four years to stew on what Daria Followhill did to me, and now my heart was completely iced.I took her first kiss.She took the only thing I loved.I was poor.She was rich.The good thing about circumstances? They can change. Fast.Now, I’m her parents’ latest shiny project.Her housemate. Her tormentor. The captain of the rival football team she hates so much.Yeah, baby girl, say it—I’m your foster brother.There’s a price to pay for ruining the only good thing in my life, and she’s about to shell out some serious tears.Daria Followhill thinks she is THE queen. I’m about to prove to her that she’s nothing but a spoiled princess.DariaEveryone loves a good old unapologetic punk.But being a bitch? Oh, you get slammed for every snarky comment, cynical eye roll, and foot you put in your adversaries’ way.The thing about stiletto heels is that they make a hell of a dent when you walk all over the people who try to hurt you.In Penn Scully’s case, I pierced his heart until he bled out, then left it in a trash can on a bright summer day.Four years ago, he asked me to save all my firsts for him.Now he lives across the hall, and I want nothing more than to be his last everything.His parting words when he gave me his heart were that nothing in this world is free.Now? Now he is making me pay.
Broken Knight (2019)
Not all love stories are written the same way. Ours had torn chapters, missing paragraphs, and a bittersweet ending.Luna Rexroth is everyone’s favorite wallflower.Sweet.Caring.Charitable.Quiet.Fake.Underneath the meek, tomboy exterior everyone loves (yet pities) is a girl who knows exactly what, and who, she wants—namely, the boy from the treehouse who taught her how to curse in sign language.Who taught her how to laugh.To live.To love.Knight Cole is everyone’s favorite football hero.Gorgeous.Athletic.Rugged.Popular.Liar.This daredevil hell-raiser could knock you up with his gaze alone, but he only has eyes for the girl across the street: Luna.But Luna is not who she used to be. She doesn’t need his protection anymore.When life throws a curveball at All Saints’ golden boy, he’s forced to realize not all knights are heroes.Sometimes, the greatest love stories flourish in tragedy.
Angry God (2020)
Vaughn Spencer.They call him an angry god.To me, he is nothing but a heartless prince.His parents rule this town, its police, every citizen and boutique on Main Street.All I own is a nice, juicy grudge against him for that time he almost killed me.Between hooking up with a different girl every weekend, breaking hearts, noses and rules, Vaughn also finds the time to bully little ole’ me.I fight back, tooth and nail, never expecting him to chase me across the ocean after we graduate high school.But here he is, living with me in a dark, looming castle on the outskirts of London.A fellow intern. A prodigal sculptor. A bloody genius.They say this place is haunted, and it is.Carlisle Castle hides two of our most awful secrets.Vaughn thinks he can kill the ghosts of his past, but what he doesn’t know? It’s my heart he’s slaying.
The Hunter (2020)
Boston’s debauched elite is going up in flames, and it’s the Fitzpatrick family that set it on fire.ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀI didn’t mean to star in a sex tape, okay?It was just one of those unexplainable things. Like Stonehenge, Police Academy 2, and morning glory clouds.It just happened.Now, my ball-busting father is sentencing me to six months of celibacy, sobriety, and morbid boredom under the roof of Boston’s nerdiest girl alive, Sailor Brennan.The virginal archer is supposed to babysit my ass while I learn to take my place in Royal Pipelines, my family’s oil company.Little does she know, that’s not the only pipe I’ll be laying…SailorI didn’t want this gig, okay?But the deal was too sweet to walk away from.I needed the public endorsement; Hunter needed a nanny.Besides, what’s six months in the grand scheme of things?It’s not like I’m in danger of falling in love with the appallingly gorgeous, charismatic gazillionaire who happens to be one of Boston’s most eligible bachelors.No. I will remain immune to Hunter Fitzpatrick’s charm.Even at the cost of losing everything I have.Even at the cost of burning down his kingdom.
The Villain (2020)
Cruel. Coldblooded. Hades in a Brioni suit.Cillian Fitzpatrick has been dubbed every wicked thing on planet earth.To the media, he is The Villain. To me, he is the man who (reluctantly) saved my life.Now I need him to do me another, small solid. Bail me out of the mess my husband got me into.What’s a hundred grand to one of the wealthiest men in America, anyway?Only Cillian doesn’t hand out free favors. The price for the money, it turns out, is my freedom.Now I’m the eldest Fitzpatrick brother’s little toy. To play, to mold, to break.Too bad Cillian forgot one, tiny detail.Persephone wasn’t only the goddess of spring; she was also the queen of death.He thinks I’ll buckle under the weight of his mind games.He is about to find out the most lethal poison is also the sweetest.
The Rake (2023)
Emmabelle Penrose has cruised through life never needing a man, a plan that has worked stunningly well until about five minutes ago, when she decided she must have a baby.Devon Whitehall is 6’2” of premium DNA, financial security, and British royal titles. Best of all, he fears the one thing she dreads the most: getting hitched.Emmabelle figures it’s a no-brainer when Devon offers his services—sperm and involvement in her future child’s life.What begins as an innocent, modern-family arrangement, quickly erodes into a web of lies, dark pasts, and unfurled secrets.Inside this chaos, Emmabelle and Devon are forced to face the awful truth—they are capable of love.Even worse, they might feel it toward each other.
Tyed (2015)
Meet BlaireAn underachieving college student with zero prospects and a ton of issues (hey, being the less-successful twin of a gorgeous supermodel would totally do that to you). She doesn’t do bad boys. Actually, she doesn’t do boys, like, at all. Not that she’s a lesbian. And not that there’s anything wrong with being one. It’s just that…well…she kind of needs to focus on graduating from college right now.And she needs something from Ty. Badly.Meet TyMixed Martial artist, soon-to-be Welterweight champion of the Xtreme Warrior League and the hottest guy in the Bay Area. He’s cocky, arrogant and completely off-limits to anyone with more than three working brain cells…but dude, have you seen his butt? On top of being a world-class player, Ty has a secret.And Blaire? She can barely even handle his truths.Life is about to throw a few knockout punches at both of them. Can they handle the pain?
Midnight Blue (2016)
It should have been easy.I needed the money. He needed a babysitter to keep him from snorting himself to death.I was cherry-picked especially for him. Responsible. Optimistic. Warm. Innocent.The worst part is that I should have known better.Alex Winslow. British rock star. Serial heartbreaker. Casanova with whiskey eyes.“Don’t get near the devil in a leather jacket. He’ll chew you up and spit you out.”Guess what? I didn’t listen.I signed the contract. World tour. Three months. Four Continents. One hundred shows.My name is Indigo Bellamy, and I sold my soul to a tattooed god.Problem was, my soul wasn’t enough for Alex Winslow.He ended up taking my body, too.Then he took my heart.Then he took my all.
Defy (2016)
My name is Melody Greene, and I have a confession to make. I slept with my student, a senior in high school. Multiple times. I had multiple orgasms. In multiple positions. I slept with my student and I enjoyed it. I slept with my student and I’d do it all over again if I could turn back time. My name is Melody Greene, and I got kicked out of my position as a teacher and did my walk of shame a la Cersei Lannister from the principal’s office, minutes after said principal threatened to call the cops on me. My name is Melody Greene, and I did something bad because it made me feel good. Here is why it was totally worth it.
Vicious (2016)
EmiliaThey say love and hate are the same feelings experienced under different circumstances, and it’s true.The man who comes to me in my dreams also haunts me in my nightmares.He is a brilliant lawyer.A skilled criminal.A beautiful liar.A bully and a savior, a monster and a lover.Ten years ago, he made me run away from the small town where we lived. Now, he came for me in New York, and he isn’t leaving until he takes me with him.ViciousShe is a starving artist.Pretty and evasive like cherry blossom.Ten years ago, she barged into my life unannounced and turned everything upside down.She paid the price.Emilia LeBlanc is completely off-limits, my best friend’s ex-girlfriend. The woman who knows my darkest secret, and the daughter of the cheap Help we hired to take care of our estate.That should deter me from chasing her, but it doesn’t.So she hates me. Big fucking deal.She better get used to me.
Ruckus (2017)
RosieThey say that life is a beautiful lie and death a painful truth. They’re right.No one has ever made me feel more alive than the guy who serves as a constant reminder that my clock is ticking.He is my forbidden, shiny apple.The striking fallacy to my blunt, raw, truth.He is also my sister’s ex-boyfriend.One thing you should know before you judge me;I saw him first. I craved him first. I loved him first.Eleven years later, he waltzed into my life, demanding a second chance.Dean Cole wants to be my bronze horseman. My white knight has finally arrived. Hopefully, he isn’t too late.DeanThey say the brightest stars burn out the fastest. They’re right.She sets my mind on fire.All smart mouth, snarky attitude and a huge heart.In a world where everything is dull, she shines like Sirius.Eleven years ago, fate tore us apart.This time, I dare it to try.Getting to her is a battlefield, but man, that’s why they call me Ruckus.Rosie LeBlanc is about to find out how hard I can fight.And conquering her will be the sweetest victory.
Scandalous (2017)
They call him The Mute for a reason.Hard, cold and calculated, he rarely speaks.When he does, it’s with disdain.When he does, his words aren’t meant for me.When he does, my stomach flips and my world tilts on its axis.He is thirty-three.I am eighteen.He’s a single dad and my father’s business partner.I’m just a kid to him and his enemy’s daughter.He’s emotionally unavailable.And I am…feeling. Feeling things I shouldn’t feel for him.Trent Rexroth is going to break my heart. The writing isn’t just on the wall, it’s inked on my soul.And yet, I can’t stay away.A scandal is the last thing my family needs. But a scandal is what we’re going to give them.And oh, what beautiful chaos it will be.
Bane (2018)
Roman ‘Bane’ ProtsenkoNaked surfer. Habitual pothead. A con, a liar, a thief and a fraud.Last I heard, he was extorting the rich and screwing their wives for a living.Which is why I’m more than a little surprised to find him at my threshold, looking for my friendship, my services, and most puzzling of all—looking humbled.Thing is, I’m on a boycott. Literally—I cut boys from my life. Permanently.Problem is, Bane is not a boy, he is all man, and I’m falling, crashing, drowning in his sweet, perfect lies.Jesse CarterHot as hell, cold as ice.I wasn’t aware of her existence until a fat, juicy deal landed in my lap.She’s a part of it, a little plaything to kill some time.She is collateral, a means to an end, and a side-bonus for striking a deal with her oil tycoon stepdad.More than anything, Jesse Carter is a tough nut to crack.Little does she know, I have the teeth for it.
Sparrow (2016)
Troy BrennanEvery Southie in Boston knows that name. The son of a dead mobster. The heart-throb with steel-blue eyes. “The Fixer” who can make or break you in this city.Oh, and my new husband.Sparrow RaynesThat’s me. No one seemed to remember my name up until he barged into my life.But then he caged me.Kidnapped me.And killed every chance I had to run away from the place where we grew up.Put simply, Troy Brennan clipped my wings.I have dreams, big ones, but I doubt he’ll ever let me chase them. I have no idea why he decided to take me as his wife. But I do know this: pissing off this man will not do me any good. At all.
Blood to Dust (2016)
His name is Beat, and I should hate him.Bound, blindfolded and bruised, I’m tied in his basement, waiting for the men who stripped me from clothes and humanity to collect his debt to them. Me.His name is Nate and I should hate him, but I don’t.I’m not supposed to know his real name, even worse, I’m not supposed to care. He is nothing to me but means to an end. The plan is simple: break free, collect the pieces of my broken soul, kill the bastards and run away.His name is Nathaniel Thomas Vela, and I’ve never seen his face, though I hear that it’s beautiful.Behind the rugged and handsome exterior, there’s a quiet murderer, a killer who thinks guns are for pussies and ends people with his bare hands.His name doesn’t matter, neither does his face, but what does matter is my heart. And right now, sadly, it’s his.
The End Zone (2017)
Jolie Louis is a smart girl.She knows that her best friend, Sage Poirier, is a bad idea.He’s a walking, talking cliché. The Adonis quarterback with the bulging biceps and harem of fangirls trailing behind him on campus like a stench you can’t get rid of.Sadly, that’s also the reason she can’t stay away from him.Well, that and the fact that they’re roommates.Jolie is already straddling the line between friendship and more when Sage comes to her with an offer she cannot refuse: be his fake girlfriend and live for free for the rest of the semester.She tells herself that she can handle it.He’s just the boy she saved ten years ago, right?Wrong. So very wrong.He is a man now, and she is his captive Heart, body, and soul…
Dirty Headlines (2018)
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.
The Kiss Thief (2019)
They say your first kiss should be earned.Mine was stolen by a devil in a masquerade mask under the black Chicago sky.They say the vows you take on your wedding day are sacred.Mine were broken before we left church.They say your heart only beats for one man.Mine split and bled for two rivals who fought for it until the bitter end.I was promised to Angelo Bandini, the heir to one of the most powerful families in the Chicago Outfit.Then taken by Senator Wolfe Keaton, who held my father’s sins over his head to force me into marriage.They say that all great love stories have a happy ending.I, Francesca Rossi, found myself erasing and rewriting mine until the very last chapter.One kiss.Two men.Three lives.Entwined together.And somewhere between these two men, I had to find my forever.
In the Unlikely Event (2019)
Sometimes you meet people who are out of this world, so you make them a part of yours.A one-night stand born from vengeance in a foreign land.An explosive chemistry neither of us could deny.We signed a contract on the back of a Boar’s Head Pub napkin that said if we ever met again, we would drop everything and be together.Eight years and thousands of miles later, he’s here.In New York.And he’s America’s music obsession.The intangible Irish poet who brings record executives to their knees.The blizzard in my perfect, unshaken snow globe.Last time we spoke, he was a beggar with no intention of becoming a king.But a king he became, and now I’m his servant.I’m not the same broken princess Malachy Doherty put back together with his callused hands.I have a career I love.A boyfriend I adore.An apartment, a roommate, a life.I changed. He changed, too.But Mal kept the napkin.Question is, will I keep my word?
Just the Tip (2020)
It was supposed to be a temporary thing.A gig in Paris while I tried to find my dad.Then I met him. Ho.The man.The suit.The professional escort…? I mean, he did go on two consecutive dates during one of my shifts – and I ended up being the third.It was supposed to be a one-night stand, but it turned out to be forever.Here was what I wasn’t ready for – Ho held more than just my destiny and my heart. He held the key to unravel the mystery of my dad, too.
Playing with Fire (2020)
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.
The Devil Wears Black (2021)
Maddie Goldbloom stitched up a plan to ensure everything in her life was perfect—from a career in fashion to a chic NYC apartment to a pediatrician boyfriend.When her ex, Chase Black, storms back into her life with an outrageous request, her immediate reaction is to refuse him. But he only wants to fulfill his father’s last wish. So even though he’s the man who broke her heart, playing his fiancée shouldn’t be hard, especially if it means she gets to watch the arrogant devil squirm a bit.What ensues is a chain of events that detonates Maddie’s life—and when Chase’s walls come down, they both are forced to face reality.They say keep your enemies close. But what if your enemy is also the man you love?
The Monster (2021)
The most important thing I’d ever read was scribbled on the door of a portable restroom, engraved into plastic at a carnival on the outskirts of Boston.Lust lingers, love stays.Lust is impatient, love waits.Lust burns, love warms.Lust destroys, but love? Love kills.Maybe it was always my destiny to fall in love with a monster.When other kids stayed awake at night fearing the pointy-toothed beast hiding in their closet, I longed to see mine.I wanted to feed it, domesticate it, understand it.Sam and I were only allowed to love each other in the dark.Once our story unfolded, and the truth came to light, I was the one to cut the cord.My name is Aisling Fitzpatrick, and I have a confession to make.Sam Brennan is not the only monster in this story.
Bad Cruz (2021)
I would say Dr. Cruz Costello is my archenemy.But that would require acknowledging one another, which we haven’t done in over a decade.He’s the town’s golden child. The beloved quarterback-turned-physician.I’m the girl who got knocked up at sixteen and now works at a diner.He is Fairhope royalty.I get my monarch dose from tabloid gossip.He’s well-off.I’m…well, off.When our siblings get engaged, Cruz’s parents invite both families to a pre-wedding cruise.Except Cruz and I find ourselves stuck on a different ship from everyone else.Cue ten horrible, insufferable days at sea with a man I cannot stand.(My fault, of course.)But when the alcohol pours in, the secrets spill out, and I’m left with one question:Can I take another chance on love?
Ruthless Rival (2022)
When she was young, Arya Roth became best friends with her housekeeper’s son. Soon, friendship turned to young love, and when Arya dared him to kiss her, a chain reaction of disastrous events led to the boy being sent away and out of Arya’s life.Now, two decades later, Arya is an on-the-rise publicist with her beloved father as one of her biggest clients. So when her father is sued by a former employee, Arya sets out to prove that her father is not the monster he is accused of being. The only problem is the attorney who is determined to destroy her father’s good name. Christian Miller is charming, ambitious, and devilishly good looking, and Arya has no idea he is that same boy who kissed her all those years ago.Past and present collide as Arya falls hard for Christian. But when she finds out who he really is and about his obsession with getting revenge on her father, can she choose love over family?
Punk Love (2022)
Alex is a taciturn teen with a chip on his shoulder and plans that do not involve having a girlfriend.Lara is the romantic girl who wants a taste of danger…but not enough to risk her entire life.When they first meet, they have one thing in common–an acquaintance neither of them is particularly attached to.What starts as a casual relationship spins into an angsty love story with ups, downs, and heartache.And through this first love, Alex and Lara find out the most valuable lesson life can teach–that love is a lot, but it is not everything.
