Title: Cruel and Beautiful
Author: A.M. Hargrove, Terri E. Laine
Publisher: (November 12th, 2015)
Add to: Goodreads
NOTE: This is a Adult/New Adult novel. Due to mature content this title is recommended for ages 18+
Synopsis: Cate Forbes, a dedicated college student with a carefully plotted future, doesn’t know the first thing about love. When she accepts a blind date with a rumored tasty piece of eye candy, she thinks she can get by with a night of fun. Cate’s plans quickly unravel when she gets one look at the sexy…
Drew McKnight.
The relentless hockey-playing medical resident knows what he wants—a career in Oncology and Cate. Although he’s heard the gorgeous brunette is a little relationship skittish, a single night out isn’t what he has in mind. Determined to have her—in every way possible—he shows her just what a future with him would hold.
Only life has other plans. The unthinkable happens and everything begins to shatter. Both in too deep, they will have to fight the cruel and hang onto the beautiful.
Review - 2.5/3 Stars - Cruel and Beautiful by dual author team – A.M. Hargrove and Terri E. Laine sold me hook, line and sinker with the prologue and I couldn’t wait to read and find out what this story was all about.
So, I’m still at a loss for this review. I don’t know if I want to rate it 2.5 Stars or Three. The prologue was beyond amazing. It’s well written and had me emotionally invested in the characters and their story from just about word one. The ending was also extremely well written and fit in perfectly with the prologue that I fell in love with. It’s the middle that I had a hard time with, It felt rough and just didn’t seem cohesive for this reader with what I read in the beginning. It wasn’t until I reached the end of the book that I felt I was reading something to match that powerful statement I found in the first parts of the book.
I can only assume that writing a book with a co-writer can be difficult at times. To keep it cohesive and the characters voices on point. And I’m not sure if that’s what happened here, but it did feel to me as two people had written this. The middle was just so different. It didn’t flow as well, there were holes and well, the writing put me off. I couldn’t get over how vastly different the middle felt from the beginning and end and it’s STILL sticking with me because of how emotionally invested I became so quickly.
If it wasn’t for how emotionally invested I became so quickly I’m not sure I could have finished the book once the writing didn’t feel right. Yet I had to know. Did I skim, maybe a touch, but nothing to derail my understanding of the story.
One of the other things that I did like was how it was told in present and past tense throughout the chapters. It was spelled out at the beginning of each chapter so there was no confusion.
As mentioned above the characters had me invested from the beginning. I wanted to know their story – heartbreak and all – yet… I lost interest in the middle BUT it picked up again at the end and I became invested once more.
Gosh, I wanted to LOVE this book from beginning to end, not just the beginning and end yet it does happen. And maybe it was just me, I’m only one reader… I did shed a tear or two at the end of the book so that alone was part of why I’m leaning more to the 3 star rating.
In the end with the emotions I felt at the start and finish and the fact that there were tears that prologue was strong enough that it alone left a huge lasting impression on me that I’ll carry it with me for a long, long time to come. Would I recommend this one? Now that’s the question. I think I would, because again I’m just one reviewer. I’d say to give the prologue a try and see if it has as strong of an impact on you to make you read the book from cover to cover. It’s without a doubt an adult title for various situations so keep that in mind before reading.
ABOUT A. M. HARGROVEPlease find her at www.amhargrove.com.
One day, on her way home from work as a sales manager A. M. Hargrove realized her life was on fast forward and if she didn't do something soon, it would be too late to write that work of fiction she had been dreaming of her whole life. So she rolled down the passenger window of her fabulous (not) company car and tossed out her leather briefcase. Luckily, the pedestrian in the direct line of fire was a dodge ball pro and had über quick reflexes enabling him to avoid getting bashed in the head. Feeling a tad guilty about the near miss, A. M. made a speedy turn down a deserted side street before tossing her crummy, outdated piece-of-you-know-what laptop out the window. She breathed a liberating sigh of relief, picked up her cell phone, called her boss, and quit her job. Grinning, she made another call to her hubs and told him of her new adventure (after making sure his heart was beating properly again).
So began A. M. Hargrove's career as a Naughty and Nice Romance Author.
Her books include Adult, New Adult and Young Adult Romances, including, The Guardians of Vesturon Series (Survival, Resurrection, Determinant, reEmergent, and the novella Beginnings); Dark Waltz and Death Waltz (The Praestani Novels); The Edge Series (Edge of Disaster, Shattered Edge, and Kissing Fire); The Tragic Series (Tragically Flawed and Tragic Desires); Exquisite Betrayal; Dirty Nights: The Novel; and The Hart Brothers Novels (Freeing Her, Freeing Him, and Kestrel).
ABOUT TERRI E. LAINEFind more about me and social media links at www.terrielaine.com.
Wife and mother of three, I've always been an avid reader. In my early years, my best friend and I would tell each other stories over the phone when we were bored. We called them our "soap operas" and generally revolved around whatever boy we liked at the time.
Over five years ago, I got this crazy idea to write a novel and try to publish it. And the rest is history. This journey has been a blessing, and a dream realized. I look forward to many more memories to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment and let me know your thoughts on this post.