Beautiful Bastard is a hate to love you kind of book. Chloe, business major/assistant/intern, absolutely despises her boss, Bennett. And the feeling is mutual. But he is oh-so-gorgeous and they just have this undeniable chemistry. “The look in her eyes told me that under any other circumstances, I would either already be naked with her on top of me, or lying in a pool of my own blood on the rug.” ― Christina Lauren, Beautiful BastardI have been seeing this around Goodreads and Facebook lately and when it went on sale, I decided to give it a go, even though it wasn't really on my to-read list. I'd read a lot of mixed reviews and I was worried I wouldn't like it at all. I can normally tell, as with most people, if I'm going to love a book within the first few pages. You should always be able to get that immediate connection with a character from the beginning. I didn't get that at all with Beautiful Bastard. Apparently chemistry is all you need to write a book these days. No need for plot or character development anymore. The characters felt really flat for me. Even the alternating point of views didn't work for me, the voices almost felt similar even though they were different characters. The introduction left something to be desired. I got a basic feel for the characters and they immediately jumped in the sack. Rather - a boardroom table. What matters to me is the fact that I didn't have any kind of emotional connection to the characters when they got down to bumping uglies. Had I been given the opportunity, say if there were actual character depth, the moment would have seemed more pivotal, more important and I would have actually cared that these two had unprotected sex for no reason. I've read plenty of books with an immediate sex scene that still kept me interested, so I know it's possible. At this point I'm surprised this book has garnered so much attention.It's probably the copious amount of sex that they have. Because they do. Do it. A lot. Everywhere. I enjoy sex as much as the next person, but come on. I like to have a little story to go along with it. In fact the majority of the book is them either hating each other or having sex to get over hating each other. Eventually they rub all the hate out and fall in love. What? When did that happen? “I was starting to see that this wasn't just sex, and it wasn't something just working out of my system. Sex was just the fastest route to the deeper possession that I needed. I was falling in love with her, and falling to fast and hard to easily find any footing.” ― Christina Lauren, Beautiful Bastard“I don't want to walk out that door and lose what we found in this room."His simple words rocked me. He wasn't declaring, he wasn't promising, but he said exactly what I'd needed to hear. We might not know what was happening, but we wouldn't leave it unfinished.” ― Christina Lauren, Beautiful BastardTo be honest it just needed some actual substance along with the hate and sex. It wasn't a horrible read. Lighthearted, a little hot, some conflict. It was just missing something. It didn't keep me engaged enough to care about the characters. If you're looking for something to pass the time with that's mildly interesting, you could read this. Although there are better, more engaging things out there. Visit my blog for more reviews, recommendations, and giveaways!
Miss Construed's Reviews
Reviews of new adult, young adult, and adult contemporary romance novels. http://www.missconstruedsreviews.com/
Beautiful Bastard is a hate to love you kind of book. Chloe, business major/assistant/intern, absolutely despises her boss, Bennett. And the feeling is mutual. But he is oh-so-gorgeous and they just have this undeniable chemistry. “The look in her eyes told me that under any other circumstances, I would either already be naked with her on top of me, or lying in a pool of my own blood on the rug.” ― Christina Lauren, Beautiful BastardI have been seeing this around Goodreads and Facebook lately and when it went on sale, I decided to give it a go, even though it wasn't really on my to-read list. I'd read a lot of mixed reviews and I was worried I wouldn't like it at all. I can normally tell, as with most people, if I'm going to love a book within the first few pages. You should always be able to get that immediate connection with a character from the beginning. I didn't get that at all with Beautiful Bastard. Apparently chemistry is all you need to write a book these days. No need for plot or character development anymore. The characters felt really flat for me. Even the alternating point of views didn't work for me, the voices almost felt similar even though they were different characters. The introduction left something to be desired. I got a basic feel for the characters and they immediately jumped in the sack. Rather - a boardroom table. What matters to me is the fact that I didn't have any kind of emotional connection to the characters when they got down to bumping uglies. Had I been given the opportunity, say if there were actual character depth, the moment would have seemed more pivotal, more important and I would have actually cared that these two had unprotected sex for no reason. I've read plenty of books with an immediate sex scene that still kept me interested, so I know it's possible. At this point I'm surprised this book has garnered so much attention.It's probably the copious amount of sex that they have. Because they do. Do it. A lot. Everywhere. I enjoy sex as much as the next person, but come on. I like to have a little story to go along with it. In fact the majority of the book is them either hating each other or having sex to get over hating each other. Eventually they rub all the hate out and fall in love. What? When did that happen? “I was starting to see that this wasn't just sex, and it wasn't something just working out of my system. Sex was just the fastest route to the deeper possession that I needed. I was falling in love with her, and falling to fast and hard to easily find any footing.” ― Christina Lauren, Beautiful Bastard“I don't want to walk out that door and lose what we found in this room."His simple words rocked me. He wasn't declaring, he wasn't promising, but he said exactly what I'd needed to hear. We might not know what was happening, but we wouldn't leave it unfinished.” ― Christina Lauren, Beautiful BastardTo be honest it just needed some actual substance along with the hate and sex. It wasn't a horrible read. Lighthearted, a little hot, some conflict. It was just missing something. It didn't keep me engaged enough to care about the characters. If you're looking for something to pass the time with that's mildly interesting, you could read this. Although there are better, more engaging things out there. Visit my blog for more reviews, recommendations, and giveaways!
