Sparrow by L.J. Shen [REVIEW]

Troy Brennan

Every 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 Raynes
That'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.

5 Love Birds Stars
I see the raving reviews and a few have mentioned how amazing Sparrow is. I love the cover and I was intrigued by the summary. I’m a sucker for killer books. I have a feeling I will love and hate Troy Brennan.

Sparrow is a standalone novel and is written in dual POV. As much as I love books with an ending, I could have easily read another one or two more books of this story. That’s how much I loved the author’s writing and storyline. I love finding a new author! I only wished she had more than two books out.

Troy is a not an easy Hero to love. In fact, he will make you cringe a bit. I love these kinds of men in books. I don’t want hearts or flowers, I want raw, gritty and tough love baby. He gave me cocky, ruthless and mean. I was eating it up like a love sick girl.

Troy is a Fixer. He fixes problems, legally, illegally, it doesn’t matter to him. He’s dad was a mobster and he wants to avenge his father’s death because he loves his dad dearly. I was instantly hooked from the first chapter. It gave me a glimpse of what kind of man Troy is and why he is the way he is today.

“Troy Brennan was … a sociopath, and he didn’t bother disguising his nature and putting on a mask when he faced the world”

“If you think you’re going to give me trouble, think again. I invented trouble. I stir it, I mix it, I … fix it. Don’t try my patience, because you’ll discover I have absolutely none”

Sparrow is getting married to Troy. Yes, that’s how the second chapter begins and I’ll tell you what, I had a huge smile on my face when I read that. We don’t know why she’s marrying; only that people don’t say no to Troy and Troy wants to marry Sparrow. I absolutely adored Sparrow. She’s spunky, sassy and really strong. She’s a tom-boy that loves to cook and doesn’t care for materialist items. I love it when she stands up to Troy and just tries to survive the marriage.   

“We weren’t a real couple, and this wasn’t a love story”

The book doesn’t have insta-lust or insta-love. There’s so much tension between Sparrow and Troy, you are glued to the pages reading.  I love that Sparrow fights back with Troy and doesn’t act the damsel in distress. She’s unhappy about the marriage but she’s making the best of it. What I also love is that there is more to the story than the relationship. Troy is still searching for his father’s killer and there is also a former lover that comes to play.  I know, just a bunch of good stuff!

“You can hate me and still love how I make you feel”

“He gave me lies, and I ate them from the palm of his hand. He gave me lies, and for him, I closed my eyes”

I was shocked and surprised by Sparrow. If you are looking for an anti-hero with an epic love then Sparrow is for you.

 AMAZON

L.J. Shen is a best-selling author of Contemporary and Young Adult romance novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat.

She enjoys the simple things in life, like chocolate, wine, reading, HBO and internet-stalking Chris Hemsworth.
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