ABSINTHE OF THE HEART (Sins of the Heart #1) by Monica James-a review

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 14, 2018-05-08

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.

•••••••••

REVIEW: ABSINTHE OF THE HEART is the first instalment in Monica James’ contemporary YA to NA to adult SINS OF THE HEART romance series focusing on London Sinclair, and Holland Brooks.

Told from first person perspectives (Holland Brooks), and several third person perspectives ABSINTHE OF THE HEART is a forty-year saga of two families torn apart by love, infidelity, lies and hate. Holland Brooks grew up the daughter of two people whose lives imploded years before. A result of a teen-aged love affair Holland would bear the sins of her parents including the destruction of a love for a boy she was unable to hold.

ABSINTHE OF THE HEART follows a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ vibe in that two families have been destroyed by jealousy, rivalry, power and hate. From the rich and famous to the other side of the tracks, lives will be ruined, reputations destroyed as the cycle of hate and love perpetuates with the succeeding generation. London Sinclair has only ever loved one woman, a woman off-limits and forbidden by a feud not of their making. Sins of the past, control the present; threats are made forcing London to choose between family and love.

ABSINTHE OF THE HEART, in many respects, reads like a young adult story line with the love triangles, jealousy, mean girls, and belligerent adults who have yet to grow up. Secrets will be revealed throwing our story line heroine down a rabbit hole where the truth will kill any hope of a happily ever after. There is a fine line between love and hate, and that line is blurred one too many times.

Monica James writes an emotional and heart breaking story of jealousy and revenge; hatred and love; secrets and lies; money and power. ABSINTHE OF THE HEART is an intoxicating, stunning and tragic tale of young lovers destroyed by sins of the past. Absinthe of the Heart ends of a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Monica James spent her youth devouring the works of Anne Rice, William Shakespeare, and Emily Dickinson.

When she is not writing, Monica is busy running her own business, but she always finds a balance between the two. She enjoys writing honest, heartfelt, and turbulent stories, hoping to leave an imprint on her readers. She draws her inspiration from life.

She is a bestselling author in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, and the U.K.

Monica James resides in Melbourne, Australia, with her wonderful family, and menagerie of animals. She is slightly obsessed with cats, chucks, and lip gloss, and secretly wishes she was a ninja on the weekends.

TWITTER/ FACEBOOK/ PINTEREST/AUTHORGRAPH/ WEBSITE