Review: Beautiful Bastard (Beautiful Bastard #1) by Christina Lauren

Beautiful Bastard (Beautiful Bastard #1) by Christina Lauren

Published February 12th 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 fanfiction sites—Beautiful Bastard has been extensively updated for re-release. 

My Thoughts
Three generous stars for a book that truly has no plot. I noticed some pretty good reviews for Beautiful Bastard, and it kept popping up on my GR feed, so I've been meaning to jump into this book for quite some time. However, as much as I wanted to enjoy it, Beautiful Bastard and I just didn't hit it off. :(

Aside from a boss and his intern getting it on... and on... and on... and finally falling for each other, what was the true point to the story really? Don't fall for your assholish boss? Someone will always take credit for your work? Stop buying expensive underwear if someone is just going to rip them off of you? That part truly annoyed me. I recently ripped my favorite pair of jeans and grumbled about it for hours. I can't imagine how I'd feel about my expensive panties being ripped off and horded for no real reason but to make frequent visits to La Perla. ~la sigh~

However, I have to admit that I finally came to like Bennett toward the end. A little groveling always goes a long way. Chloe redeemed herself in my eyes and salvaged what little pride and self worth she had by her decisions at the end.

In the end, I don't think this author is quite for me, so the jury is out if I'll continue with this series. I like a side of plot with my serving of stories, and this one didn't quite do it for me. I don't like to read about sex for the sake of just reading about sex.... well not always…

3 Suns

Review: Beautiful Stranger by Christina Lauren

Beautiful Stranger by Christina Lauren
Published April 16, 2013 by Gallery Books
Amazon / Barnes & Noble 

About the book:
Escaping a cheating ex, finance whiz Sara Dillon’s moved to New York City and is looking for excitement and passion without a lot of strings attached. So meeting the irresistible, sexy Brit at a dance club should have meant nothing more than a night’s fun. But the manner—and speed—with which he melts her inhibitions turns him from a one-time hookup and into her Beautiful Stranger.
The whole city knows that Max Stella loves women, not that he’s ever found one he particularly wants to keep around. Despite pulling in plenty with his Wall Street bad boy charm, it’s not until Sara—and the wild photos she lets him take of her—that he starts wondering if there’s someone for him outside of the bedroom.
Hooking up in places where anybody could catch them, the only thing scarier for Sara than getting caught in public is having Max get too close in private.

My Review:

I freaking loved this book so much! MAX STELLA. Everyone who has read this book will understand that every reason this book was so perfect was because of Max Stella. I read a lot of books, a lot of erotica and romance. I also have a lot of favorite couples. Max & Sara definitely went to the top of my list and I'm kicking myself for not reading this book a lot sooner than I did! Sara is rightfully hesitant to be in any kind of relationship after her previous one ended in such disappointment and I freaking loved this book so much! I'm so late to the game on this series, but I'm glad I finally picked this one up! MAX STELLA. Everyone who has read this book will understand that every reason this book was so perfect was because of Max Stella. I read a lot of books, a lot of erotica and romance. I also have a lot of favorite couples. Max & Sara definitely went to the top of my list and I'm kicking myself for not reading this book a lot sooner than I did! Sara is rightfully hesitant to be in any kind of relationship after her previous one ended in such disappointment and heartbreak. She moves to New York City to start over and just wants to have fun and live a little. I loved Sara - she was bad ass! She was the perfect heroine, never once annoying me and completely relatable. One night at a club, she hooks up with Max, a total stranger, and has every intention of leaving it as just a one night stand. But Max has other things in mind. Max is a well-known womanizer. Charming, gorgeous, smart, and did I mention British?! In all his encounters with women, he just hadn't met one that he felt he could connect with and that understood his desires and needs, until he meets Sara. Although they decide to continue their secret affair, feelings start to develop and they have to decide if they can both overcome their pasts in order to have a future together. Oh how I loved Max Stella. The way he adored Sara and how incredibly sweet he was with her, but also so sexy and confident. He is definitely one of my favorite male characters ever. This book was funny, steamy and just fantastic - I loved every minute of it! If you haven't read this series, go get it now! ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 5 Suns

Review: Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren

Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren

Expected publication: February 12th 2013 by Gallery Books

Received ARC from Netgalley 

About the book:

An ambitious intern. A perfectionist executive. And a whole lot of name calling. Discover the story that garnered more than two million reads online.

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 two million reads on fan fiction sites—Beautiful Bastard has been extensively updated for re-release.

My Thoughts:

Oh, Bennett. You rival the likes of Christian and Gideon and I adore you. This book was exactly the type of book I needed for my Fifty/Crossfire fix. It was hot, romantic, and witty. It consumed me and I couldn't put it down.

After spending years in France, Bennett Ryan returns to the states to work for his family's media firm, with his father and brother. While he had been in France - his assistant & intern, Chloe, had started working for the firm. Chloe is extremely hard working and determined to earn respect in the field, while finishing school. Bennetts family has come to adore Chloe and wants nothing more then for her to succeed and continue working for them after she graduates.

And when Bennett returns and meets his intern for the first time - he realizes life as he knows it is going to change. He's attracted to Chloe and he hates it. This connection he feels to her only fuels his anger and makes him act like the bastard he is, because he hates not being in control of his feelings.

But Chloe isn't going to sit back and take his shit. She gives as much as he does and it's AWESOME. I loved Chloe and the fact that she knew how to handle bossy and sarcastic Mr. Ryan. She refused to let him get in the way of her success and just found ways to do her job well and deal with him. But even she couldn't deny her true feelings for him no matter how hard she tried. I loved the heat between these two. When they thought it was just lust - it grew into so much more and their walls started crumbling.

The witty banter back and forth between these two was hilarious. I love that Chloe never backed down. I loved how they started to slowly realize they wanted each other more then just for sex (and there was a lot of it). Bennett, despite being an asshole, completely won my heart. He was bossy and alpha - and I loved every second of it! The chemistry between these two was HOT and I was completely in love with them both.

At that moment, hearing those words, I didn't care about anything else: where we were, who we were, or how we felt about each other. Never in my life had I felt such raw chemistry with anyone. When we were together like this, nothing else mattered.

- Bennett

Nobody had ever made me feel that way, as if my body were made to fit his.

- Chloe

I know there is a lot of hate on Goodreads about this being FanFiction and ripping off other authors and I don't get into that stuff. I don't really understand it because I don't read FanFic, and I didn't see any similarities to Twilight or anything that I don't see in every other erotic/romance novel I read. Basically it all starts to blend together to me, and if it keeps my attention and makes me swoon - then I like it! The more books like Twilight, Fifty Shades, Crossfire - THE BETTER!! So, I'm thankful these ladies came together to publish this book because I think it'll be one of my favorites for the year.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC. I couldn't have been more thrilled to have had the chance to read this book.

5 Suns