Author: Christina Lauren
Date Published: February 12, 2013
Genre: Adult Fiction, Erotica, Romance
Source: ARC from Publisher
Rating: 3/5
Links:
Goodreads
Barnes & Noble
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.
Review:
A love-hate relationship couldn't get any more complicatedly right than this!
Bennett Ryan reminds of those young pre-pubescent boys who would bully the girl they like just to catch her attention – that same boy in grade school who would stick a gum on a girl’s hair, the one who would pull her pigtails and make fun of her just to make sure that he has her attention. It’s endearing to think about it but when you’re the girl who’s the object of his attention, it’s downright annoying and infuriating. And that’s exactly how Chloe Mills feels about her boss. In her very own words, “she was the right hand that most days wanted to slap the damn face”.
Plot-wise, it has no plot. Seriously, aside from the love-hate relationship between Bennett and Chloe, this book had absolutely nothing. Nada, zero, zilch. It’s an erotica romance, plain and simple. Aside from the overt antagonism, the characters have hidden intense attraction with each other. They have wild, hot sex. They realize that amidst the mind-blowing sex with each other, they actually fell in love. So then, they end up together. That’s it.
To be honest, if the scenes in this book were to happen in real life – which I’m very sure, won’t have a chance any time soon – lawyers would have a field day because it would be raining cases of sexual harassment.
Now, what do I like about this book? It’s Chloe. I love a female character who has spunk and can give back as good as she got. Abnormal attraction with Mr. Ryan aside, Chloe is pretty much a kick-ass heroine because she’s no pushover. She’s smart, confident and hard-working, and she doesn’t let her overbearing bastard of a boss to rattle her witless.
As for the writing, sometimes it’s witty and sometimes it’s just over the top that it just makes me say, “Yeah, right”. Then I laugh. I don’t know if the authors intended for the book to elicit such reaction.
Overall, I believe that there is a proper audience for this book who could better appreciate it. Personally, I was looking for a proper rising action or build-up for the story before the characters declare their undying love for each other. Then again, who am I kidding? This is an erotic romance. And I’m pretty sure that fans of the erotica genre would enjoy reading this one.
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