Title: Beautiful Bastard
Series: Beautiful Bastard, Book 1
Author: Christina Lauren
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Sensuality Rating: Steamy
Source: library
Published: February 12, 2013 by Gallery Books
An ambitious intern. A perfectionist executive. And a whole lot of name calling.Whip-smart, hardworking, and on her way to an MBA, Chloe Mills has only one problem: her boss, Bennett Ryan. He's exacting, blunt, inconsiderate—and completely irresistible. A Beautiful Bastard.
Bennett has returned to Chicago from France to take a vital role in his family's massive media business. He never expected that the assistant who'd been helping him from abroad was the gorgeous, innocently provocative—completely infuriating—creature he now has to see every day. Despite the rumors, he's never been one for a workplace hookup. But Chloe's so tempting he's willing to bend the rules—or outright smash them—if it means he can have her. All over the office.
As their appetites for one another increase to a breaking point, Bennett and Chloe must decide exactly what they're willing to lose in order to win each other.
Originally only available online as The Office by tby789—and garnering over 2 million reads on fan fiction sites—Beautiful Bastard has been extensively updated for re-release.
Reviewed By: Laura
Why I Read This Book: I’ve been jonesing for some more alpha-male kind of guys in my book recently, but I wanted a ballsy female to go with it. I didn’t really want a naive, waif kind of gal and these ladies (Christina Lauren is actual two authors) delivered a brassy, self-possessed woman who couldn’t help who she fell for or why.
What I Liked: The steamy scenes were just right! They had enough description without being tedious & were engaging. Chloe is determined & focused and won’t even let the devastatingly intoxicating Bennett get in the way of where she wants to go. The best part for me though was watching the characters come to very difficult decisions about themselves separate from the mind-blowing sex. That kind of plot is what really does it for me! I think it says something when the authors can get the balance between sexy and substantial without losing the main reasoning people are reading: fun.
What I Didn’t Like: Hmmm...there wasn’t much to dislike in this book. Sometimes I felt like the writing was too prescriptive, like I already knew where it was going and it was frustrating. At the same time though, I wasn’t always right about where it would end up, it just felt like I knew what was coming down the pike. Ah yes, and panty ripping. Seriously, Bennett rips off Chloe’s panties (is there a sexy way to do this?) & KEEPS them! Like, in his pocket or his desk drawer. To me, that’s kind of creepy & sounds painful if the fabric is stronger than initially assumed. Totally not my cup of tea.
Overall Impression: While not the most original storyline (it started as a fan fiction, so take into account), it kept me interested enough in the characters and where they would finally end up that I read it quite quickly. If you want some engrossing and mildly exhibitionistic sex scenes (potential for being caught, but never actually seen), this one will do just nicely.
Laura’s Rating:
I enjoyed this book, it was a fun, light read where I didn't have to think too much while reading it, lol. Nice review!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this book, it was a great read.! I agree where things were predictable but then sometimes turn out another way, but in a way different, and not all that bad. Great review :)
ReplyDeleteGreat review. I have this book waiting on a shelf to be read.
ReplyDeleteI already read this and I did like it but I thought it was a little too much of the same type of romance books that are everywhere these days. I do want to read the next book though to see if it gets better.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great review!