DIRTY HEADLINES – L. J. SHEN

**Spoilers Ahead, Read On With Caution**

Of course I’m back with another L. J. Shen review, I’ve quite clearly become an addict, and simply have to read her entire back catalogue since reading the SINNER OF SAINT and ALL SAINTS HIGH series’. I’m so happy I’ve stumbled upon a gem of a writer, and have read so many brilliantly crafted books over the last few weeks. DIRTY HEADLINES is completely unconnected to any other book I’ve read by L. J. Shen recently, it’s a complete stand alone. 

“But falling into the wrong hands is just as bad as crashing into nothing.” 

With the book starting with a chance encounter between Célian Laurent and Judith Humphrey in a bar, and quickly spiralling into a one night stand. It’s passionate and dirty, and just for one night. Until six weeks later when Jude starts her new job at LBC in Couture, the fashion part of a news channel. And boy does shit hit the fan, and do things get interesting immediately! From here it’s just one hilarious thing after another, and my personal favourite is Jude realising that Célian wasn’t actually a French tourist like he appeared to be when they first met, and was actually very American, and very local. The fact he even had a thick French accent for the night in question, completely committing to it, and then actually being completely, generically American; was just very funny me because I love reading in accents. Especially Scotish *cough* Samantha Young characters *cough*

“And this is the part they don’t tell you about losing a loved one to cancer: They’re not the only people being eaten alive. When they get it, you get it. The cancer nibbles away at your time with them, feasts on the happy moments, feeds off every second of bliss. It devours your paycheck and savings. It nourishes itself on your misery and multiplies in your chest, even if you don’t have it.” 

Part of the charm of this book for me is that there isn’t really ever a moment when you think either character is less than the other. Célian and Jude are almost always on fair footing when it comes volleying comments back and forth. A thing I loved about Jude was that she didn’t take any shit from Célian, even though almost everyone else at work was borderline terrified of him. She was a badass, deserved her position as a junior reporter, and fought back when he was being a knob. I really loved that like all LJ books, we got to be in both the protagonists heads, and got to see everything that happened both between them, and around them separately. 

“There was only one problem with the fact that my heart was so dreadfully, unexpectedly normal. Somewhere along the way, it had stopped being mine.” 

This romance was a complete slow burn, but at an incredibly high heat – which I know is impossible, but apparently do-able if you’re LJ. It was witty, charming, heartfelt and then down right dirty. It was all the things that make me happy about romance, and much much more. Because of this book, I’ve had to go order a few more of LJ’s books to tide me over from SOS and ASH withdrawals, and have more to read after I finish THE KISS THIEF next.