5 glorious stars for a hungry cat and a very, very

This book has now officially become the BEST BOOK of this Year!!. It's so different from her usual fare of alphahole hero and bullied heroine stories. It's gripping, earnest and fervent, brimming with all kinds of sentiments that range from adoration to humiliation, love bordering on obsession to betrayal of the said love.

“My point is that just because something doesn’t work properly, or is rusty—like your heart—doesn’t mean it can’t survive.”

I went in with pre-set notion of hating...or at least not feeling any affiliation to the hero. But LJ has created a tragically romantic Gatsby-esque hero in Arsène Corbin. His childhood obsession with trying to own the golden angel who he has always felt unworthy o,f is so poignant at times, that I'm not ashamed to have shed tears for him. The LJ masterstroke is not to make him look pathetic but lovelorn shadow chaser who pines after the very people he knows won't belong to him.
His mother,his father, his step sister.

" In my darkest, rawest fantasies, Gracelynn Langston stutters her way into an explanation of how she ended up marrying the person she introduced as her brother for years. "

There's just a madness to own Gracelynn Langston, so he tolerates and perpetuates everything for her.
On the other end of the spectrum is innocent, Doe-eyed southern Belle, Winifred Ashcroft. Wronged Damsel, recent widow, a hapless victim of circumstances and misplaced blind loyalty.
We watch her stumble, struggle to survive. Trying to come to terms with her situation and keep up with the world. And in all this melee is her true self lost in smoke
Shen delivers a story that is incredibly multilayered, as deeply romantic as it is thrilling, and while some moments in it are heartbreaking and shocking, I felt vindicated for Both Arsène and Winnie in the end.
The writing style is somewhat different from what we've come to expect from Leigh and for So Much better!! she has foregone her scathy pen and delved deep in her heart to pull out hurting emotions and spilled them on paper.
From your heart to mine,they've stuck home!
5 glorious stars for a hungry cat and a very, very smart mouse

3 people found this helpful

• A UNIQUE & WELL-CRAFTED EMOTIONAL SLOW-BURN •

Finance extraordinaire Arsene.. is a damaged, sour Billionaire obsessed and in total denial about his toxic, unhealthy and dysfunctional love he has for his calcuating, selfish, manipulative, horrible stepsister/fiancé Grace. And, when together, their poisonous love/hate acidic push ‘n pulls lead them towards a life together for all the wrong reason. Aspiring talented actress Winnie.. is a colourful ray of sunshine, a caring regular visitor at the Children’s Ward and a sweet and loving wife who’s blind to the flaws in her marriage to Paul. Destiny steps in and tragedy strikes which causes heartbreak.. but also venom and hate which spills from Arsene over someone else’s betrayal and secrets. He’s inherited a rundown Theatre he intends to sell.. but he sees that annoying woman again he hates up on his stage.. so anything could happen. However, under Arsene and Winnie’s oil and water angsty barbed snipes, are damaged layers, broken people, shocking truths to uncover and hearts that are going to take a long time to heal from the truth. In their emotional slow-burn there will be lies and truths that will devastate, backstories that will break down walls and character growth, attraction, shared pain and the hands of time that will eventually set them free.

Worth a credit? Yes, it’s so well-written, we’ll-balanced, has a lot of emotional baggage to unpack and is totally addictive.. but this is one of those listens where it didn’t take the usual well-trodden romance route - so I wasn’t initially sure I liked it. However, the uniqueness, secrets, brokenness, revelations and well-paced character-growth hooked me in deeper and deeper as each and every chapter unfolded. And Joe and Savannah were the perfect fit to snipe, snap and bring the heartbreak and cleansing out from the dual point of view slow-to-develop rocky relationship between a deeply flawed anti-hero and the sweet feisty spitfire heroine.

1 person found this helpful

Too Much Other Woman Drama, But Otherwise a Good R

3/5 ⭐
2/5 🌶️
3/5 🎧

Fallen Foe was good, but it wasn't my favorite read from Shen, especially in the Cruel Castaways series. The premise was interesting, but I felt like there was waayyyy too much focus on their previous relationships in the beginning that just felt like a ton of "other woman" drama when I knew Grace wasn't the endgame relationship. Plus, I really just did not like her.

The audio book was good, but I didn't love Savannah's Arsène. It was definitely worth the listen, but not one I absolutely adored.

I liked Arsène and Winnie well enough, their back and forth was pretty fun and I liked the aspect of their enemies to lovers relationship. It wasn't very spicy, we got a handful of scenes and none were very descriptive, I was tempted to give it less than 2 stars, but my 1 stars are for fade to black and heavy petting books. However, I did like what we got for what it was. They had some decent chemistry and especially the last scene gave me all the feels.

All in all I enjoyed my read and I'm still very excited for the third book in the series, which I'm assuming has to be Riggs. I can't wait to see who he's paired up with and which tropes we will get with his story.

1 person found this helpful

LOVED this Book

LJ wrote a Fantastic Enemies To Lovers story!! Arsene & Winnifred's story is Beautiful! This Book gives you every emotion - Anger, Hate, Sadness, Hope & LOVE! Hate towards Grace & Paul; Sadness towards Winnie when Paul dies; Anger when the depth's of Grace's Schemes are revealed & Hope and Love when Winnie & Arsene both realize they are in love with each other!!! This Book is well worth the credit & Joe & Savannah's performances were Fabulous as always!!

Really Enjoyed This!

Honestly, Fallen Foe started pretty twisted and heavy compared to my usual preferences in reading. Great narration and curiosity kept me going; and, by the time I was a fourth of the way through I couldn’t stop listening! The story kept me engaged and the resolution was so satisfying! I recommend Fallen Foes.

Joe Arden as Arsene is perfection

Angsty and swoony, this story of opposites attracting and overcoming loss is so moving. Savannah makes you feel every hurt and heartache Winnie experiences while Joe makes you learn to love the mischievous and cynical Arsene.

Loved Arsène and Winnie!

This story was adorable! Arsène and Winnie are the cutest couple. I love how completely different they are. The way they were brought together was perfect. I will not lie, Christian and Arya are still my favorite couple but Arsène and Winnie are still amazing. The narrators were great and I can’t wait for the next story to see who Riggs ends up with!

Happy ending

That step sister .....some people are so unhappy with themselves they make sure those they can hurt they do. The parents should've gotten that girl in counseling but the mother was just as bad the father with all his billions deserved the abuse for he did not protect his child.

Worst than the fist one, shallow, no real story

It's got potential but ended up being just another shallow story. And that's a pity, bcs the main characters could be really interesting..

Another great story

I found L. J. about a year ago and have loved everything I’ve listened to so far.

She is great at diving into toxic characters, and dissecting them until you love them regardless of how infuriating they get.

Arden and Winnie are wrong from the start and the dirt they uncover the more they become entwined in each other’s lives. I love that she gives as good as she gets and comes into her own.

A tale of love, loss, betrayal, and finding yourself among the wreckage.

Joe and Savannah do and amazing job bringing these two to life and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.