Verdict: 5 STars
Finally. FINALLY. A romance title for the rest of us, one with the right blend of emotion and raw physicality but whose female main character isn’t a spineless self-doubter who falls down a lot. Move over, 50 Shades of Grey, there’s a sexy new power couple for readers to swoon over.
Chloe Mills is only months away from finishing her MBA from a prestigious business school; the final hurdle is completing her internship with Ryan Media Group under the highly-critical and watchful eyes of the world’s worst boss, the irritatingly gorgeous and brilliant Bennett Ryan. She isn’t going to let anything stop her from finishing this internship and earning highest praise from her professors, especially not a control freak with a thing for using and dominating women. If only Chloe could keep her lustful thoughts–and actions–from getting in the way.
Christina Lauren, who is actually the pen name of two highly creative authors who first collaborated on this book when they self-published it online as a work of fan fiction, artfully switched the points-of-view between the two main characters, giving equal weight to their feelings and flaws. But unlike so many tired story lines found in romance, our heroine is self-confident, knows what she wants, and is going to get it, no matter the cost. The scenes played out between the lovers were absolutely fresh and almost unnerving; when the alpha male personality comes out of Bennett Ryan as he orders Chloe around in the heat of passion, she replies with an angry growl of her own and tells him what he can do with himself in very explicit detail.
This is no twisted story of wary dominance and submission, but a fun romp through a completely off-limits office fling gone wrong. What was meant to be nothing more than two career-minded adults enjoying each others’ company in the elevator turns seriously heated as both of them develop forbidden feelings for each other, consequences be damned.
Beautiful Bastard (Gallery Books) is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and more.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.
