Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Book Review - Beautful Bastard - Christina Lauren


Beautiful Bastard (Beautiful Bastard, #1)
Title:  Beautiful Bastard


Review: Ever since I said I was open to reviewing sexy books publishers have been sending them to me.  I have come to realize everyone has their own standards for what makes a good dirty book, and I have felt like I was stuck in Goldilocks and the three bears.  Either they have been so tame, like the time I read Madame Bovary and reread a certain passage half a dozen times before turning to my spouse and saying I think that was the dirty bit, but I am still not sure.  Or it has been so ridiculously over the top that all I can think is that person has watched way too much porn and has a warped sense of reality.

So after many reads that have been too hard or too soft (no pun intended), I have finally found one that is just right.  Beautiful Bastard is delightfully sexy without being completely unbelievable.  Older seriously attractive executive and the younger whip smart intern with a penchant for expensive lingerie constantly battle each other for 9 months before suddenly they use the conference room for one of its lesser known uses.  I wonder if the authors were making a larger point of relating the 9 months of struggles before the birth of the overwhelming relationship to pregnancy and subsequent childbirth.  There are a lot of parallels but I think I would be giving them too much credit there.   But this was just chapter one.

Eventually through a love hate relationship they battle each other back and forth and then enjoy each other up and down in a myriad of locations, you know, just like you at your respective offices.  Speaking of which I just saw the movie The Babymakers on Netflix and in it the gorgeous Olivia Munn and some actor get it on under the buffet table at an ongoing party and I thought to myself that seems a little much (well to be honest I thought that Olivia is really hot, but then thought it was a little much).  But Bennett and Chloe (said boss and intern) go on to prove Olivia and company have nothing on them.  

While the sex was hot and constant, it never crossed the line of reality which is the key to my preferences in the sexiness.  Another words, any one of the scenarios seemed possible and that I could pull it off in my slightly more boring existence if the spouse were willing.  For a sports analogy, I am pretty sure given enough attempts I could shoot a half court basket during a basketball game.  The thing that makes Beautiful Bastard fiction is the fact they shoot the equivalent of 12 half court shots in a row without a miss.  But that is okay; I don’t know about you but I do not want to read the lead character saying he is a little tired and could they just cuddle in my books.  I get that in my reality.

The only downfall is the plot is a little weak, but I do not fault it for that as it wasn’t what I was reading the book for.  Like you know the sexy factor would be really low if someone said in their review “the plot was excellent.”  And it skipped over some realities for the sake of the story that was there.  Like Bennett’s habit of ripping Chloe’s panties off her every single time.  All I could think was first how much that had to be costing her as La Perla panties can’t be cheap.  Second how flimsy are the La Perlas if they can be simply ripped off without any problem or complaint of pain from Chloe.  I just think if I tried to literally rip off my wife’s panties she would feel a lot of pressure/pain (and not the good kind) as I made the attempt.  And I don’t think it would be an easy task as I put my foot on her thigh for leverage and started pulling on them.  Either way it seems like it would be a total mood killer, let alone the expense of it all.  Plus I get saving one pair of panties as a “souvenir” of sorts is a little hot; but when you start getting up to a dozen pairs you seem more like a pervert.  I also had a problem of the heroine being nonchalant about having full orgasmic sex with her partner and then going back to work without any panties on like that would be okay.  Maybe Bennett is a dry shooter.

Okay that is way too much panty talk for any one review.  Suffice it to say, panties aside (pun fully intended), this book is hot and if you are looking for a good sexy story look no farther than Beautiful Bastard.  It does the job, and then does it a few more times just to make sure.

Publisher:Gallery Books
ISBN: 978-1-4767-3009-7
Copyright: 2013
Pages: 305
Quick Review:  4.5 stars out of 5
Why I Read It: Always ready to enjoy a good dirty book.
Where I Obtained the Book: Sent to me for review by the publisher

Synopsis: 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.
Christina Lauren 
Author Biography:  Christina & Lauren have been writing all kinds of stories together since 2009. This is not the first erotic romance they’ve ever written . . . but it is the first one under this name. Separated by the pesky state of Nevada, these co-author besties talk several times a day, agree that Ruby Pumps is the best nail polish color ever, and would, if given the choice, spend all day staring at the ocean from the San Clemente pier.

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