My rating: 3.5/5 stars
This year I was very dedicated to L.J.Shen because I found her style to fit me very well and all of her books were a match to my vibe. So, I devoured as many books as I could and I will continue doing so until the end of the year and beyond. She is very mature in her writing, for a mature audience and I really love that, because I expect to read a grown-up story, with all the difficulties around it.
The Thorne Princess is actually about a girl named Hallie Thorne, but in this context, she is rich and wealthy, but utterly ignored by her parents and siblings. Hallie lives alone and has a very active nightlife, only to ease the constant pain of being ignored. It’s like she wants attention and wants her parents to see her; therefore, she fabricates an image that is not hers. Because of some stupid decision that puts her in the spotlight of magazines around the world, Hallie will be assigned to a personal security contract, meaning she will have a personal bodyguard, who will make her life hell. Enter Ransom. 😀
When Ransom comes into the Thorne mansion, he knows he will find a very complicated teenager, who he will manage to succumb in no time. He was very wrong and frankly, I hated this reputation of “The Robot” he got in his branch because I’ve read soooo many books about guys that don’t know how to love and don’t care about anyone. C’mon… we all know where this will lead…
The book was good, in an odd way, because it includes mature tropes, kind of weird, but not out of this world. I liked the fact that L.J.Shen brought awareness of a certain aspect revolving around Hallie and it was very well included in the plot and expanded throughout the plot. I liked their chemistry, their banter, and their hatred at the beginning for one another. The dialogue was very smart, funny, and sarcastic, and it was a pleasure reading about their fights.
BUT, when the vulnerable moments occurred, I kind of rolled my eyes a little, because I hate the trope when the guy is shocked about feeling something and everybody is telling him how shocked they are that he feels something. Ransom is almost 30 and for that realization to happen up until now, it is predictable. You stumble upon this in so many books, that it’s not something new… AT ALL.
So, this is my humble opinion, a good book, but could have been a little unpredictable and with tropes that are now used and overused in Romance books. I know Shen can do better and shock us more.
Ramonisme 