Release Day Review ~ Absinthe of the Heart (Sins of the Heart #1) by Monica James

One of  my favourite Monica James books EVER!! I cannot recommend this book enough!!

Book Description:

Two households, unlike in dignity, in the City of Angels is where we lay our scene... 

London Sinclair was the boy my mother warned me about for as long as I can remember. His name alone has brought my family nothing but shame and suffering, so it’s no surprise we’ve been sworn enemies since the first moment we met. 

With his bedroom eyes and cocky smile, he has all the girls under his spell. I have one more year of school left, and then I’m home free because I’m guarding a secret, one I’m ashamed to keep. 

The boy who is completely off-limits is the one who drives me, Holland Brooks, wild. I want London, and I think…he wants me, too. 

Some may compare it to a Shakespearian tragedy, as our surnames have fated our future, but when a single night changes my life forever, I can’t leave the City of Angels fast enough. 

Ten years later, I have atoned for my sins and return to Los Angeles a changed woman. I’ve come home to get married. But the moment London walks back into my life, one thing is clear. Ten years can’t undo that night—that single, sinful night when I gave into temptation—because I want to do it again.

Buy Links:

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2rhYJsy

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2wbTvDL

Our Review:

Reviewed by Donna ~ 5 stars

***ARC received for an honest review***

“London Sinclair didn’t just break my heart; he fucking set it on fire and threw the ashes to the wind. I loved him, and in return, he danced on my grave.”

OMG, Monica James, what have you done? This author never fails to drag my heart and my emotions through the wringer. This author never fails to knock me on my ass either. I went into this book blind, my chin is on the floor, I have read the last chapter about ten times just to make sure I am on the right page. THIS AUTHOR JUST KILLED ME.

“You’re the cause of my chaos, but when I’m with you…nothing has felt more real.”

This book is AMAZING, for those that love a love/hate book, this book is PERFECT and one of the best I have ever read. This book will drive you nuts, but in the best way possible, HOLY ANGST fest. That fine line between love and hate was depicted perfectly, that constant spat of animosity yet you could feel the undercurrent of sizzling chemistry behind it. Electrical storms were present in every scene these two were in together. I felt the sly looks of appreciation, shrouded in the veils of hate. OMG, I bloody LOVED IT. Now I need the next one, like STAT, like YESTERDAY. OMG!! My mind is running a mile a minute, my heart frantically beating like it’s all out of whack, DAMN, I live for books that have this effect on me. GIMMEE book TWO NOW!!!

“My whole life, my mom told me you were off-limits, that I could have any girl but you…But I never wanted any of them. All I ever wanted…was you.”

London (Sin as he likes to be called) and Holland are arch nemeses, their hatred of each other drummed into them from birth. Their parents sworn enemies. Never the twain shall meet. They fight one and other, they fight their feelings for one and other, but there is a fine line between love and hate and that line is about to get blurry. But what happens when the only person you have ever loved is the one person you cannot have, the one person you were born to hate and what happens when you realise that your first love is the one that you will never, ever forget? Absinthe of the Heart is what happens.

“I don’t know what’s worse – Sin caring, or Sin not caring at all.”

This book was simply delicious, from their parents back story, to their last year in high school and then now in the present as adults. Monica James delivered the best parts of everything and I am so glad I went into this one blind. I didn’t have a scooby as to what to expect, but Monica James just sucked me in, swirled me around her tornado of words and then spat me out at the end… a little dishevelled but full of admiration for one unputdownable story. From London’s affluent family to Holland’s that are despised now they have fallen from grace. The them and us mentality. But Holland is fierce, now a top lawyer and a woman that can fight for herself and her family.

“Oh, and by the way…I don’t think I’m special…I know I am. I’m Holland Brooks-Ferris…and I’m fucking fabulous.”

The second book in this duet is scheduled for September and let me just say that this cannot come quick enough. That book will be one of my most anticipated reads and I am itching to find out where Monica James takes this modern-day Romeo and Juliet. While I hope that their ending isn’t as dismal and they have the ability to turn lore on its head, I know that Monica James is going to decimate us before we get our happy ever after. With many people needing a good dose of karma, I cannot wait for revenge to be dealt. The only people hurt in this tragedy are London and Holland, but with a love that strong, surely that will be enough, family be damned?

“…My only love sprung from my only hate.”

I cannot recommend this book enough. READ IT!! One of my favourite Monica James books EVER.