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Ruthless Rival

By: L.J. Shen
Narrated by: Stella Bloom, Joe Arden
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Publisher's summary

From Wall Street Journal bestselling author L.J. Shen comes an enemies-to-lovers romance about the fine line between seeking revenge and finding love.

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?

©2022 L.J. Shen. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
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Critic reviews

"This addictive enemies-to-lovers romance…captures both characters’ intense emotions and undeniable chemistry. It’s sure to have readers hooked.”Publishers Weekly

“L.J. Shen is the master of enemies-to-lovers. She had me in her angsty grip from the second I started until I’d devoured the last page, and I loved every second of it!”—A.L. Jackson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

“FIVE STARS: One of the BEST of 2022.”—Tia Louise, USA Today bestselling author

What listeners say about Ruthless Rival

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Poor Boy Rich Girl Love Story centered on atonement

L.J. Shen did it again! I am a sucker for her stories and listened to this one as soon as it was released. Beautifully narrated by Joe and Stella , this story goes back to a poor boy starting a friendship with a rich girl and they both find solace, happiness in their friendship which was then brutally stopped by her father. The combativeness between both of them was electrifying and I love how Arya, as much as she loves her father, is no push over and stood her grounds. This story is addictive and I wonder if there will be spin off for Christian’s to buddies and Jillian as well…Overall, worth the credit and listen

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Loved it!

I loved the back story between Christian and Arya. At times the angst had me sitting at the end of my seat! LJ Shen never fails to deliver an amazing story in which she pulls you right in with the characters. I can’t wait to hear the stories of the other friends!

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Sooo good!!

Omg!! My favorite- enemies to lovers!! I devoured it!! It’s so good!!
The audiobook was amazing and the narrators were awesome!

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Great second chance romance read

This one was done right lots of mystery that is told through the book and a fitting ending too.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Revenge is best….😈

Really enjoyed this book. I love a good revenge story and this one was well planned and executed.
The narration was good. But the female narrator was a little whiny or drawl-ly or something.
Will look for more from this author.

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    3 out of 5 stars

A definite slow burn but oh what a BURN indeed!

I was actually a bit scared to read this at first from all the reviews…not my standard reviews for Mrs. Shen so was a bit taken back before I could even get started. I finally got the gumption to read it and should NOT have been surprised that I became engrossed in the story pretty quickly.
My favorite part was a young Nicky, the library scene, the cracking of the spine of their relationship. THAT is when this story picked up for me and grabbed my attention! Took a little while to warm up but boy oh boy when the story line REALLY kicked in it kicked in with a VENGEANCE!! I fell in like with their story and ached for them. I wanted to love them but they came off a little cold for me.
I saw what they meant, what some of the reviewers were saying. If this were my 1st L.J. Shen book I wouldn’t be disappointed per say but I would t know all the glory and writing prowess that is she. The characters in this book came off a little cold and hard. There wasn’t a ton of heated passion but chilly reasoning and more thinking their feelings than feeling them. These were the least passionate rage for you, do anything to have you couple yet.
Nicky was not made to pay enough for all he did to Arya either. Her humiliation was VERY public and jarring. His groveling was private and humbling…just not my norm for this author.
That being said, she STILL managed to grab my attention and hit it way outside the park. Her “pretty awesome” book was still 10x better than some authors best ever. This should give you a clue at her artistry.
LJ was going through some personal things during this book I believe and it all worked out THANKFULLY (hi #2 & #3)!! So I’m hoping the next book in the series gets us back to traditional Shen bad arse-ary with kick arse characters that evoke some kind of emotion in you. Be it hate, love, laughter, pain…Shen has the chops to deliver it all so looking forward to seeing it.
The narrators ROCK hardcore as usual. Both Stella Bloom and Joe Arden always deliver the goods. Great picks by the author.

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loved it

I really enjoyed reading this author.  I look forward to reading more books by this author in the near future.

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Loved This Story

I wasn't 100% sure I would love this story & honestly I only bought it because Book 2 was AWESOME!! As it turns out - I LOVE this Book & can NOT wait for Book 3!! My heart actually hurt for Arya & I was angry with Christian AT FIRST, by the end of the Book I was rooting for these 2 to have they're HEA. Joe & Stella did a stellar job Narrating this Book!

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Great story

I absolutely loved this book! Beautiful love story. It was believable, beautiful love and not raunchy w the sex

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THE SLOW BURN IS SLOW BURNING!!!!!

A sucker for slow burns and this one hit all the right buttons! It was cute, steamy, funny, and heartbreaking at times but I absolutely loved it!

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