From the Bookshelf of Turning Pages At Midnight…

Brutally Beautiful (Beautiful, #1)

Christine Zolendz

Start date: September 9, 2015

Finish date: September 15, 2015

Discussion: Buddy Reads

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What Members Thought

Jan 16, 2014 V rated it really liked it

Shelves: erotic-romance, bdsm, dark-romance

4 INSANE stars! Well this one started off alittle weird...it took me awhile to get my bearings on what the hell was going on with the H and h's background in the first couple of chapters. But after that, I was sailing through the book.
One thing's for sure, both characters are carrying some serious baggage. So much so that when they first meet, no wonder there is so much animosity. To be fair to Samantha – or ‘Lainey’, she takes a lot of shit from Kade (which is undeserved) and gives it back wit 4 INSANE stars! Well this one started off alittle weird...it took me awhile to get my bearings on what the hell was going on with the H and h's background in the first couple of chapters. But after that, I was sailing through the book.
One thing's for sure, both characters are carrying some serious baggage. So much so that when they first meet, no wonder there is so much animosity. To be fair to Samantha – or ‘Lainey’, she takes a lot of shit from Kade (which is undeserved) and gives it back with interest, something which astounds Kade and makes him want her more. And Kade….well he is really fucked up, and for once, he had every right to be after what he went through when he was a teenager. No, ‘My Momma doesn’t love me’ type shit. No, what he went though was ….just….awful.
So the story begins by outlining just enough of their backgrounds to peak interest, but not enough to fully explain their past. Lainey runs away from her husband with her best friend and ends up working in a strip club in the middle of nowhere. Kade waltzes into the bar (which is owned by his brother) and is immediately attracted to her. The next 50% of the book is made up of them at each other’s throats, Kade being an utterly annoying arse-hole (but being hilarious in the process) and finally lots of smart-ass comebacks from Lainey. Even though this part takes up half of the book, it is a rather quick read so I don’t feel like this dragged on too much, which of course is good.
The next 30% or so the characters finally start to make progress in their ‘relationship’. Don’t get me wrong, they piss each other off, say some stupid things etc, but Kade finally starts to admit that he needs help and that Lainey is the one to do that. Mixed in with some pretty intense scenes with the ex, I raced towards the final chapter. Now, this is where ive dropped a star. Although I definitely appreciate how and why the ending was written the way it was, it still kinda felt rushed. I still don’t know exactly what happened or what lead to Lainey/Samantha’s escape from her husband OR exactly how the ending was pulled off. What im saying wont make sense until you read, but I did backtrack to double check I hadn’t somehow missed a chapter. However…that said, it was still a great ending that left me happy. I want to know if the next book continues with their relationship??? If so, then maybe ill get answers to some of those questions.
4 solid stars!!
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