Book Review: Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren

 

Title: Beautiful Bastard
Author(s): Christina Lauren
Genre(s): Contemporary, Romance - Erotica
Publisher/Date: Gallery Books / February 12, 2013
Series: Beautiful Bastard (Book #1)

"Something in our relationship was shifting, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it No matter how many times we said it never happen again, it would. I was terrified that this man, who was all wrong for me, had more control over my body than I did, no matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise. I didn't want to be the woman who sacrified her ambitions for a man.“ -Chloe Mills

Case Study

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. (synopsis from Goodreads)

The Game's Afoot

Let me just preface this review with the following statement: never did I ever imagine I'd read erotica, and not just any erotica, but erotic FAN-FICTION. I've never really understood the appeal. I had friends who read 50 Shades of Grey and barely made it out alive so my plan was to stay far, far away from the genre. But look at me now. I'm reading erotica and I LIKE it. Yep. Go me!

Beautiful Bastard was just the sort of mindless entertainment I was looking for. It's the story of willful, career-oriented Chloe Mills and the sadistically sexual relationship she has with her asshole boss, Bennett Ryan. Let me sum up the general gist of their relationship for you:

In other words, it's SO not healthy!

Yeah. Not good. And where I imagine in most other erotic fiction, this is considered sexy, to me, not so much. Then again, this isn't your typical erotica. The key difference is that Chloe Mills is a dominant, strong-willed and career oriented kind of woman. When she enters into this sick relationship with her boss, her legitimate concerns don't fly out the window, it's not all about the guy. She is her own person and she never loses sight of that. And where Bennett initially holds all the cards, the power shifts over the course of the book and ends up in Chloe's hands. I won't go as far as to say this is the deepest story I've ever read, but there is more substance than what I initially expected.

Beautiful Bastard's roots come from Twilight. That's right. It's Twilight fan-fiction. And where I can certainly see the parallels now, it doesn't smack you in the face as being a total ripoff either. Honestly, if you didn't tell me, I probably wouldn't have even known which is a good thing.

But what you're probably wondering about most is the sex, because it is erotic.

Between fitting room romps, panty-hoarding and blue balls, it's hot. Rather, it starts off hot but slowly transitions from just sex to love. Beautiful Bastard is smexy, deliciously trashy and a whole lotta fun. And after pulling a 60 hour work week, it was just the kind fluff I needed. I certainly enjoyed the story, which goes to show you, don't judge a book by its genre.

Summary Prognosis

Beautiful Bastard surprised me---partly because I never thought I'd enjoy erotica but mostly because the content actually wasn't bad. The writing was decent, the story was hella entertaining and the smexy parts were kinda hot. Kinda, It's one of those stories you pick up because you know you're not going to have to think, and despite all that, you still walk away feeling oddly satisfied (in more ways than one). WINK WINK.


Rating: ★★★½


Read It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible
Discuss It: Goodreads | Author's Website