Review: Bane by L.J. Shen

The princess saves herself in this fairy tale.

Well, what can I say? Leigh has outdone herself. I have been waiting on pins and needles for this book, and when I saw it waiting in my kindle library as pretty as can be, I almost went through the roof.

A liar. A con. A thief. Roman "Bane" Protsenko is an unapologetic asshole. He's crass, and rude, and will do just about anything to fulfill his dreams. He has been doing whatever he can to get where he is, and it hasn't been as easy ride for him. All Bane wants is to continue to live his life the way he has been living, uncomplicatedly, while climbing his way to the top by the skin of his teeth.

Enter Jesse Carter. The very definition of complicated. This girl has many a reason to be angry with the world. She may be living in a mansion, and may have the best things that money can buy, but Jesse is a sad sad girl. It was hard for me to read her backstory, because the girl couldn't catch a break. I was wondering how Leigh wrote those parts because they sure as hell weren't easy to read.

For some reason Bane decides he is going to help sad Jesse. He is going to drag her back kicking and screaming into the world, and force her to live once again. He is going to be her friend, and her knight in shining armor if needed.

I loved this book for many reasons. It was hot, and sexy, and savage which was all the things right up my alley. But the number one reason why I loved this book: Jesse Carter. I loved how Leigh gave her character the strength to fight back. I loved how even though Bane was a badass motherfucker, he was at times secondary to Jesse's fight. I loved how he would step back and let the princess swing her sword to banish her own nightmares.

I expected Bane to be alot of things, but understanding and compassionate? Nope, I hadn't expected those, and those were the things I loved best about him. As much as I love to read about take charge men who fight the battles of their women for them, sometimes you just wanna see the girl do her thing while the guy cheers on from the sidelines.

This was a beautiful story. It may not have been perfect, but I thought it was amazing and honest. This is my favorite one from this series.

5 million stars.