Beautiful Secret, by Christina Lauren

My rating: 4.75 stars for Niall and Ruby, the newest addition to the BEAUTIFULS series (and the WILD SEASONS too!).

Straight off the bat: These chicks amaze me. Addictive read. Had trouble putting the book down. Lost hours of sleep just to get that extra chapter in. The way Christina & Lauren write is so real (i.e. NOT stuffy, overdone, cheesy romance novel lingo). Their writing is always fresh, funny, sexy and new. They are well into their writing career with 7 novels (an 8th one on the way) and 4 novellas and I have yet to see the dreaded copy/paste effect where the author uses the same characters or stories but with different names and settings. All of their stories have a very different flavor to them and their characters are very well thought out. This book captivated me, had me fanning myself (OMG! The scene in the hotel room, with his recorder!!! *FAINTS*) and smiling big and stupid. Smart, erotic, heartfelt and funny.

Standalone novel but part of the world of the BEAUTIFULS and WILD SEASONS. Niall Stella is Max Stella's brother (from BEAUTIFUL STRANGER). Ruby is Lola's roommate from THE WILD SEASONS series. What a wonderful (and completely plausible!) way to intertwine the two series. This book can be read separately from the other series but why settle for just one lusty book boyfriend when you can have 6?

My heart holds a soft spot for Max (BEAUTIFUL STRANGER) and Will (BEAUTIFUL PLAYER), and they will forever be my ultimate favorite male characters from Christina Lauren but it doesn't mean that I can't really, really, really - stops for air - really, love their other male characters.

So where'd the 0.25 star go to? Well, there may, perhaps, on occasion, maybe have been some very minor repetitive inner dialog with Niall but his sexyness made up for it... Hey Niall, let me take care of those insecurities for you... uh-huh! :D

View all my reviews

Beautiful Beloved, by Christina Lauren

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another wonderfully funny and sexy Christina Lauren read in the "Beautiful" series. Although I prefer by far their full length novels, each novella is an extra little treat in between, to get more, more, MORE! So for this, I say THANK YOU! 

As expected, tons of funny, tons of sexy and and tons of dirty talk. Love the manly discussions between Max, Will, Bennett and now, Niall too! The women are always clever and sassy and the men are beautifully crude. The life and times of Max and Sara post child birth and the all too real struggle of not losing the couple amidst parenthood. I really enjoyed revisiting my Beautiful Stranger, Max Stella, my very first Beautiful that made me fall in love with the writing duo of Christina Lauren!

Reading "Beautiful Stranger" is the minimum requirement to better understand this volume. 

The reading order for the entire "Beautiful" series is as follows:

- Beautiful Bastard (Chloe and Bennett: novel)

- Beautiful Stranger (Max and Sara: novel)

- Beautiful Bitch (Chloe and Bennett: novella)

- Beautiful Bombshell (Chloe, Bennett, Max and Sara: novella)

- Beautiful Player (Will and Hannah: novel)

- Beautiful Beginning (Chloe and Bennett: novella)

- Beautiful Beloved (Max and Sara: novella)

... coming April 14th 2015: Beautiful Secret (Niall and Ruby: novel)

View all my reviews

Beautiful Secret, by Christina Lauren

BOOK BLITZ

COMING APRIL 14TH, 2015

Pre-order your copy here (go on, click! You know you want to!):

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

iTunes

Kobo

Target

A BEAUTIFUL EXCERPT! 

A silence fell over the table as everyone turned to watch Ruby leave the bar and head upstairs to bed. She had been utterly charming throughout dinner, and the group had groaned in unison when she’d excused herself because of our early morning. I, too, had been quite sad to see her go.

“Well, well.”

I looked up to see my brother’s smug expression.

“Now that we’re alone,” Will began, “I think we can all agree to drop any pretense that we’re not ruined for civilized conversation, yes?” Each of them nodded in agreement and beside me, his glass now refilled, Will raised his tumbler to take a small swallow of scotch. “I also think we can all agree Bennett will be an important consultant on this case.”

Max snickered.

“The conference?” I asked, confused.

“It’s an all-too-common predicament,” Bennett added dryly. “Knockout intern. Boss in denial. I’ll draft up a step-by-step plan of containment.”

I blinked, swallowing thickly as I realized what they meant. “She’s not my intern. I have absolutely no say in her career.” I shook my head, frustrated because it was exactly the wrong thing to say. “I’m not . . . that is to say, she’s not interested. Nor I.”

All four men laughed.

“Niall,” Will said, leaning his elbows on his knees. “She nearly dropped her drink in your lap when George asked if she was interested in anyone.”

“Was going to say the same thing,” Bennett said.

“And something tells me she’d be first to volunteer to clean it up,” Will added.

“Well, maybe that’s because she’s interested in someone who works with us at R-C.”

“Yeah. You.” Max lifted his glass and finished the last of the amber liquid.

“Sincerely,” I said, fighting a smile. “She’s a fantastic girl, but she’s certainly not a romantic option for me.”

Tilting his head, Bennett asked, “What color are her eyes?”

Green, I didn’t say. I shook my head as if I didn’t know.

“What was she wearing?” Will asked.

A blue dress that hit just above her knee, I didn’t say. A delicate gold chain around her neck and a ring on her right ring finger that I had to resist asking her about until George bulldozed in and asked about a boyfriend.

I rolled my eyes, and my brother laughed again, this time pointing his drink at me. “Blokes don’t notice these things unless they’re interested.”

“Or George,” Will added, and George reached over to grab the back of his neck and try to pull him in for a kiss.

“Well, it’s apparent I needn’t think on this any further,”

I said. “You’ve all decided for me.”

“It’s what we do,” Will said, adjusting the skewed collar of his shirt as he settled back into his chair. “It’s a sickness, we know.”

“I thought we’d lost that muscle, honestly,” George said.

“It’s a relief to know we still have it in us. The ladies will be so proud.” Max rapped his knuckles on the table as he made to stand. “Alas, I’d best be off. New routine: Sara gets the baby to sleep; I do the midnight bottle feeding.”

“Finally taking a bottle from you then? Guess you smell like a woman, too,” I said to Max, reminding him of the little dig he’d thrown my way on my last visit.

Max laughed and patted me on the back, and we all stood, a silent agreement in place that we were ready to call it a night. I watched my brother gather his things and say his goodbyes, feeling the same mix of pride and longing for what he was headed home to: a wife, a daughter. A proper home.

“Kiss the girls for me,” I requested as he made his way out of the bar. He waved a hand, retreating, and then disappeared from view.  

Social Media Links: 

Web site: http://christinalaurenbooks.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/christinalauren/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaLaurenBooks

Twitter:

@christinalauren

@seecwrite

@lolashoes

Life Before Damaged volume 4, by H.M. Ward

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, Peter! Where for art thou you sexy, swing dancing poet, you?

*le sigh*, or should I say, *le swoon*! Peter does it to me every time. In volume 4, both Gina and Peter's characters continue to evolve. You can feel the connection changing from one book to the next and the effect each has on the other is palpable. Lovable characters, others you just want to junk punch, off the wall predicaments but most of all, the start of a life-altering love story that will inevitably lead us to the Peter that we all know and love from Damaged. This volume has the reader going from laughing to angry to wanton to cheering to laughing again and, yes, it ends in a cliffhanger.

This is the story of how one life changes another and so far, the journey is awesome!

Part of the intricate Ferro family saga, each series can be read separately but once you get hooked on a Ferro, you'll want to read them all!

Looking for a 1 to 2 hour escape with funny, sexy, mystery and nail biting cliffhangers? Look no further!

Volume 4 of what will be a 8 to 10 volume series of novellas. It is the prequel to the popular DAMAGED series (2 novels) by H.M. Ward. I highly recommend reading DAMAGED 1 & 2 before reading LIFE BEFORE DAMAGED.

Format: Serial. Approx. 130 pages in print per volume (takes me 1 to 2 hours to read each serial). Some may be longer, some may be shorter but all are ADDICTIVE and SUCH GOOD QUALITY READS!

View all my reviews

Shadows of the Past, by H.M. Ward and Stacey Mosteller

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kudos H.M. WARD and Stacey Mosteller! Beautiful love story. 2 painful pasts, perfectly imperfect characters and a big shaggy dog!

H.M. WARD and Stacey Mosteller do it again! 2 of my favorite authors coming together again to write a beautiful story.

A standalone, full length novel (no cliffhanger, took me a good 6 to 8 hours to read it all). It is not part of the Ferro family saga but there is a tasty Ferro cameo that pops up unexpectedly (for those Ferronutters like me, this is a real treat!).

A beautiful love story about overcoming one's traumatic past and finding inner strength to move on despite the pain (tissue warning: you may shed a tear at times). I love a nice, mysterious, rich, hot, funny, compassionate guy and Oliver is definitely one of them. Kayla is broken but that doesn't prevent her from being sassy and witty, just like all of H.M WARD and Stacey Mosteller's main female characters are. Loved the chemistry. The secondary characters (even the furry and feathered ones) are lovable as always.

Kayla is on the run. Something happened that has left her scared and full of remorse. She can't go back. She's cut all ties and doesn't want anyone to find her. When people get too close, she runs. Only this time, her feet are stuck on the spot and running is impossible. Why? The mysterious British rich dude, who doesn't like to be called "Ollie". After a one night hookup gone wrong, they bump into each other and their story begins.

It's a story to savor, like decadent chocolate or a fine cheese! :) #CheesyPants

View all my reviews