Book: Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren

Have I read it before?:  Nope – first read. Thanks James at Books-A-Million for helping me narrow down the choices for my new fictional boyfriend.

What did I drink?:  3 large glasses of pinot grigio. there was a point in the evening when I realized I surpassed my last drunk reading PR. I was apparently quite proud of myself:

How do I feel:  Actually not terrible. Woke up at 5:30am with terrible drymouth and a headache. But I downed a glass of water and three Ibuprofens and went back to sleep. Nothing 10 hours of sleep can’t cure. I LOVE LABOR DAY.

General Thoughts:

Well, I actually read the entire book. My husband looked over at me, amused, when I drunkenly declared: “REALLY?!” after closing the last page. As far as smut novels go (don’t get mad, I use that term WITH LOVE), it gives what you expect. and gives it to you early – 

but if you’re expecting Bennett to do anything and everything for Chloe and shower her with love, affection and romance – well, don’t. You will be sorely disappointed. I sort of was. I know that some people found the POV change in the books to be jarring – that actually didn’t bother me and I really like to read from both of the character’s perspectives – but I didn’t always like being in Bennett’s head. Probably because he’s a dick. I mentioned that a few times last night I think:

I was then hopeful – wait! Is this it?! Is this when he stops being a major assface? EVERYONE IN MY HOUSE WAS ON EDGE.

I also had very legitimate concerns:

Bennett comes around by the end of the book, which is great. I wished there was a bit more of that, and I hope there will be in the next one…. but I also kept waiting for the reason that the rest of his family is like the nicest fucking people on earth and he’s a beautiful bastard. but no reason was given. at least in this book. AND THAT KILLED ME. and sort of left me with a bad taste in my mouth (and it wasn’t pinot grigio).

I also felt that there wasn’t full character development in this first book. I don’t know that much about Chloe or Bennett – only that they fuck a lot. While I enjoy the sexcapades as much as the next girl, part of the enjoyment for me is learning about what makes each character tick and then watching them push past their insecurities for something bigger and better: being together. I don’t feel like that really happened here. Although, I will give major credit to the authors for Chloe’s character: she’s strong, awesome, and certainly doesn’t take any of Bennett’s crap. In certain circumstances I liked that. However, I didn’t like the reason they “broke up” (were they ever really “together?!”). I felt that was pretty lame and that Chloe seriously overreacted. I may have to re-read that part to see if I missed something due to drunkenness but I’m pretty sure I didn’t. SorryI’mNotSorry.

There are certainly delicious points in the book. Like, when he let’s his guard down at the hotel – or at his parent’s house – or in the dressing room at La Perla. ALL AMAZING SCENES. But it probably says more about me than about the content of the book that I really connected with the characters when they slipped their masks off and actually talked to each other. I suppose my major complaint is that it didn’t happen as much as I would have liked. 

Sigh. So, I’m withholding final judgment until I finish the series, but so far on my mental ranking of fictional boyfriends, Bennett is nearing the bottom. But before you get too upset – let’s be clear, he’s still on the fucking list.