Tag Archives: Beautiful Bastard

The Bachelors of the Books

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Since women (and men alike) were introduced to the devilishly handsome vampire Edward Cullen and “shutup you’re not really 18” heartthrob Jacob Black from the Twilight series, there has been a noticeable influx of paperback princes in romance novels with authors trying to create that perfect man for readers to swoon over. Insert GPOY here.

As a romance novel enthusiast, I’ve decided to list my top 6 “Bachelors of the Books”. These men, commonly referred to as “book boyfriends”, not only steal your heart but make you feel that love – because everyone deserves to be loved, even if it’s within the confinement of a novel. Brace yourself and get ready to swooooooooon.

NOTE: The images provided are pictures of men who I believe represent the character exceptionally or actors who have been cast as the character in movie adaptations of this book.

#6 Dean Holder (Hopeless by Colleen Hoover)
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“Dean Holder? Messy brown hair? Smoldering blue eyes? A temper straight out of Fight Club?” This quote represents Mr. Dean Holder perfectly. Dean Holder has this captivating aura of confident swag about him – “You probably faked passing out the other day, just so you could be carried in my hot, sweaty, manly arms.” However, like most bad boys, he’s troubled. Women loooooove their troubled men. Here’s to thinking that Sky is one lucky, lucky gal.

#5 Daniel “Monty” Montgomery (Outback Dreams by Rachael Johns)
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One of the best things about Outback Dreams was how close to home it was (on the other side of the country, but still). The best thing about it, however – and other readers could attest for this as well – was the character Monty. A true man’s man, this outback handyman knows what he wants and goes for it, regardless of the consequences, whether it be for his dream farm or for Faith Forrester’s heart. A couple of dick moves here and there, but hey, nobody’s perfect. He sure comes close to it though. What confuses me is this: how Faith could overlook Monty for so long is beyond me.

#4 Christian Grey (Fifty Shades Trilogy by EL James)
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Everybody’s favourite bajillionaire BDSM dom enthusiast Christian Grey has won over a lot of hearts since Fifty Shades of Grey. The word “damaged” doesn’t even begin to describe how royally fucked Christian is: he’s cold, distant, controlling and unnecessarily possessive. Underneath all of that is a caring, gentle soul that is just in need of some tender lovin’ care. He’s got to be incredible for putting up with Anastasia for so long. He’s also totally baben, but that’s beside the point. I dare you to listen to Prelude in E Minor by Frédéric Chopin (a song he plays on the piano in the first book) and not feel how much pain he’s in. Jamie Dornan might be the new Christian Grey, but I still think Jessie Pavelka is my Christian.

#3 Bennett Ryan (Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren)
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The title Beautiful Bastard describes Bennett Ryan to a tee – he’s beautiful, and he’s a deadset asshat bastard. Although, much like Chloe Mills, you couldn’t help but find the young CEO intriguing. Also a gajillionaire so early in his life, Bennett is the type of man that can irritate you one moment and have you wrapped around his little finger the next. His charm is almost outweighed by his arrogance. He’s spontaneous, he’s handsome, and he’s a horny prick. Stock up on underwear and avoid being alone with him in the stairwell… just kidding. Women would jump at the chance of a stairwell encounter with Bennett.

#2 Michael (Sundays at Tiffany’s by James Patterson)
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Michael (only referred to as simply Michael) is a dream man – literally. Why? Because he’s imaginary. 9-year-old Jane Margaux (Claremont, if you watch the movie adaptation) needed a friend. Enter Michael, the handsome imaginary friend who knows everything about Jane – her hopes, her fears, her favourite dessert… you name it. Several years later and this imaginary heartthrob is back. Who doesn’t want a big, masculine man to walk you to and from work after giving you flowers? Michael is also willing to punch out his friend for disrespecting women – yeah, that happened. A little spoiler alert: Michael becomes real, so at least you can say you’ve fallen for a real book character, not an imaginary one.

#1 Travis Maddox (Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire)
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Travis Maddox is the right balance of sweet charm and rough badass. A panty-droppin’ player turned one-woman man, Travis is the whole package: he’s big, he’s strong, he’s got killer tatts, he rides a motorcycle and can also fight with the best of them. He’s also motivated and cunning and romantic and knows how to make a woman feel as if she’s the only one. Only Travis can make a nickname “Pidgeon” totally adorable. His never-give-up attitude is infectious and his need for cuddling makes him seem the ultimate gentle giant. If you want a man who is that dedicated to you that he gets your name tattooed on his arm, well, Travis is your man!

If you’re still alive after all that epic swoonage, I suggest you purchase all of these books from your nearest bookstore (preferably Dymocks because I love that place) and join the world in falling in love with fictitious men. It’s not as insane as it sounds.

The storylines aren’t bad either.

– by The Black Widow

Review: Beautiful Bombshell

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While I impatiently await the arrival of Beautiful Player, here’s a review for Beautiful Bombshell because the boys are back! #boysnightout #hangoverpart4

RELATED LINKS: Widow’s Lure reviews Beautiful Bastard
Widow’s Lure reviews Beautiful Bitch
Widow’s Lure reviews Beautiful Stranger

The boys are back in town!

The boys are back in town!

 

Beautiful Bombshell – the fourth in the Beautiful series by Christina Lauren – features the two male protagonists (Bennett Ryan and Max Stella) from the previous books as they intend on going out for a wild night for Bennett’s bucks night (or stag night, as is called in North America apparently). Their night of manly fun with Will and Henry, however, is altered by the appearance of two sexy females.

You know how I said in Beautiful Bitch that the fiery, sexual chemistry between Bennett and Chloe had stagnated? And their personalities had been a bit watered down? Yes, well, that wasn’t the case in Bombshell and I absolutely loved it! Bossy Bennett and Sassy Chloe were back in full force! These were the characters I fell in love with! Max and Sara were as “adventurous” as they were in Stranger so just from the first two chapters of this novella, I could tell that this was going to be one erotic rollercoaster.

The storyline in this book wasn’t as enthralling as the storylines in the previous books, however, I was still hooked from start to finish in this humorous take of a bachelor’s bucks night. This is pretty much The Hangover in book form. The men are pissed and are up for a wild night of fun, starting at a seedy strip-and-other-erotic-adventures club. Nothing really major happened in the book really besides Bennett’s revelation at the end which I thought was a bit adorable. The events of the book, however, were hilarious that I would actually start giggling on the bus and then I would have to try and hide the fact that I was laughing in front of a gazillion other people.

The way the book was written was different than the previous books. Since the two characters featured in this book were Bennett and Max – both being of the XY chromosome – they both received their own fonts however their name was stated at the beginning so the reader knew who they were seeing as female font and male font couldn’t be used. I thought this was very interesting, and I’m not quite sure why. Either way, bananas are still yellow and apples are still red.

Bennett Ryan is probably one of my favourite fictitious characters – ever. Along with Michael from Sundays at Tiffany’s and Princess Peach. There are so many dimensions to him and his confident swagger is just amazing. He’s calm, he’s cool, he’s collected, he’s also a horny bastard who knows what he wants and how to get it. I haven’t had the same connection with Max Stella as I have with Bennett and I’m not sure whether that’s because he came second or because he isn’t as suave as Bennett. Although, Max is as multi-dimensional as Bennett so I can say that he isn’t a bland character.

Solst-o-meter
Storyline: 7.0/10
Style of writing: 8.2/10
Overall: 7.6/10

This was a more funny read than it was romantic and I like that they’ve introduced good humour into the series. Although this had plenty of passionate lovemaking and downright inappropriate fondling (here’s looking at you, Sara and Max), I would still recommend this book based on the comic factor. Poor Will, didn’t know what he was getting into. I have to praise Christina Lauren on their excellent work on the Beautiful series and I absolutely cannot wait for the next installment!

– by The Black Widow

Review: Beautiful Stranger

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I haven’t had the privilege of reviewing a book in a while seeing as I haven’t had the time to properly sit down and read one. Eventually my passion for reading “smut” returned and I found myself reading Beautiful Stranger, a close relative to Beautiful Bastard and Beautiful Bitch.

RELATED LINKS: Solstice Satisfaction reviews Beautiful Bastard
Solstice Satisfaction reviews Beautiful Bitch

Just can't get enough of Christina Lauren.

Just can’t get enough of Christina Lauren.


Beautiful Stranger follows the antics of Sara Dillon, who you may (or may not) know as Chloe’s best friend from Bastard and Bitch. She is newly single after leaving her scum of an ex-fiancee. Enter Max Stella, who you may (or may not) recognise as Bennett’s friend who lent him the house in France in which Chloe and Bennett became engaged. Sara and Max meet at a nightclub and eventually agree to a very no strings attached arrangement filled with raunchy fantasies and head-sized burgers.

First of all, I’d like to commend the efforts on intertwining characters from previous books that I thought were simply going to be sidekicks or characters with no real purpose. That was the first thing I found really intriguing and my mind was a bit blown when I realised who Max Stella was. Nice work, ladies.

This novel followed the style of writing of Bastard and Bitch in which different fonts represented the point of view of the main protagonists, Sara and Max. Again, it made it easier to understand and shift gears so to speak when you went from the overthinking mind of Sara to the wondering thoughts of Max Stella. If I had to nitpick on anything, it would’ve been to give Sara and Max different fonts to Chloe and Bennett respectively, just to give them their own flare. I’m not complaining, however.

The storyline of this novel, although it may have seemed a bit predictable, was captivating nevertheless.  I don’t usually find things “Oh golly, this is rather racy” as I’m very open minded but some of the things that Sara and Max participated in within the novel was, dare I say, racy. The interactions between the two characters were always entertaining and I found their blunt sexual talk quite refreshing, not gonna lie.

I found the characters to be very different to Chloe and Bennett and it was nice to begin with. The clear difference between business Sara and slutty Sara was fun to read and the horny-gentleman known as Max Stella was also made clear. I truly liked both characters as they were but I didn’t have the same connection I had with Chloe and Bennett, maybe just because Sara and Max came second. Maybe not. Although, not gonna lie, Max got me at the ending – will not spoil but let’s just say it was cute and something a man generally wouldn’t say.

Solst-o-meter
Storyline: 7.6/10
Style of writing: 8.2/10
Overall: 8.0/10

This book was a very good read that I definitely recommend to other readers, casual or intense, male or female. It’s fun, kinky and sexy and one should not be ashamed to read it openly on public transport like me. I can’t wait to delve into Beautiful Bombshell because, quite frankly, I miss Bennett Ryan.

– by The Black Widow

Review: Beautiful Bitch

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So curiosity got the better of me and I went out and got the sequel to Beautiful Bastard, entitled *gasp* Beautiful Bitch. I was so taken by the first novel and totally encapsulated in the world of Chloe Mills and Bennett Ryan so I had high hopes for this one. I had planned to purchase this book after my next pay, but I couldn’t wait and decided to buy it straight after finishing Beautiful Bastard. Besides, twelve dollars to my credit card isn’t going to hurt anyone.

RELATED LINKS: Solstice Satisfaction reviews “Beautiful Bastard”

The sequel to Beautiful Bastard follows the now official relationship between Chloe and Bennett.

The sequel to Beautiful Bastard follows the now official relationship between Chloe and Bennett.

Following the events of the previous book, Chloe and Bennett are now officially in a relationship. Beautiful Bitch takes place a bout a year after the events of Beautiful Bastard and it mainly follows the busy work routine lives of Bennett and Chloe. Of course, however, the business is not explored as much as the lust and desire these two sexpots seem to have for each other. Bennett is just dying to take Chloe away for a holiday so he can have her all to himself but work seems to get in the way time and time again.

The storyline in this one was a sad let down, I must say. It wasn’t as much a sequel as it was a timeline filler, and by timeline filler, I mean this book just revisited scenes that either fit into the first books timeline and wasn’t touched upon or could have fit in the first books timeline but wasn’t.  This book mostly featured flashback scenes, from either Bennett or Chloe’s perspective, and didn’t really bring anything new or fresh to the plate, which I was hoping for.

I thought the extreme personalities of both Chloe and Bennett were quite watered down in this book as well; Bennett wasn’t as nearly as bossy and arrogant as he was in the first book and Chloe wasn’t really sassy or manipulative. The two characters seemed to have had an overhaul just because they finally admitted that they loved each other. I didn’t have the same connection with either Chloe or Bennett in this novel as I did in Beautiful Bastard. In saying this, biffs between the two were still evident and still made me chuckle.

It was written in the same manner as the last book which I liked; it made me feel more relaxed as I was familiar with the style of writing from the previous book. The concept of using two different fonts for Chloe and Bennett was used and the contrast in writing between the two was also evident.

The length of the novel was also a let down; after a stellar first novel which left fans chomping at the bits for more, Beautiful Bitch went for 132 pages and that was it. I was really hoping for longer so we could get into more of the infamous Ryan-Mills relationship but sadly I had to settle for 132 pages.

Solst-o-meter
Storyline: 6.0/10
Style of writing: 8.0/10
Overall: 6.8/10

Overall, I was disappointed. I found it entertaining but my hopes for a solid sequel after Beautiful Bastard were quietly dashed by this installment. Fortunately for me, a third book in the series is coming out so hopefully, fingers crossed, I am extremely pleased with that edition.

– by The Black Widow