Sunday, January 13, 2013
Beautiful Bastard (Beautiful Bastard #1), by Christina Lauren
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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.
The Office is one of my favorite Twilight fanfics. And I'm a total hypocrite for reading it in its published form when I've been decrying FSoG.
Beautiful Bastard is well-written, but it still reads like fanfic. I imagined the characters as Edward, Bella, and the others, since I didn't see the type of character development that I usually read in original fiction.
The sex scenes were hot (whew!) and plentiful: most chapters have at least one sexcapade. A little over the top with simultaneous orgasms each and every time they bump uglies, but it is fiction. While the book isn't completely porn-without-plot, it's pretty clear that the sex is the focal point. If you're looking for a deep, meaningful novel, look elsewhere. But if you want to read some smutty goodness, this book fits the bill.
The ending was pretty abrupt: the first 3/4 of the book cover a period of one month; the last quarter spans three months. Some sort of transition would have been helpful. At the very least, the events should have been spread out into several chapters.
Would I have paid to read this? No, I wouldn't have. Not when I could go find a copy of the original fic online. The authors may have reworked the story--and thanked Stephenie Meyer and the fandom at the start of the book--but it's still very much a Twilight derivative.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
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