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So Damn Beautiful

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"A love story that had me as riveted as 'The Notebook.'" - Lethal Glam

"Honest, raw, emotional, edgy, and fun." - She Reads New Adult

"Chase is one seriously hot bad boy...I was team Chase from the minute he was introduced." - One Girl Lost in Romance Books


Neither knew anything could be...so. damn. beautiful.

Studious NYU art major Annie Green is laser-focused on one day becoming a curator at the Louvre in Paris. Then she meets tortured graffiti artist Chase Adams, the hottest thing in New York’s burgeoning street scene – and also the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen. Not that such things matter to Chase. He just wants to be left alone to create.

When Annie manages to convince Chase to work with her on a major NYU art retrospective, their connection is intense and undeniable, as Chase challenges everything Annie thought she knew about art, life…and love. Slowly, he begins to trust again and reveal the truth about his past.

But when Annie is pursued by the privileged president of the fraternity – someone who clearly offers Annie much more than him – Chase begins a dangerous descent into darkness. Annie must decide between her head and her heart, and choosing wrongly could shatter them both to the very core forever…


***This is a New Adult romance novel. Recommended for 17+ due to strong language and sexual content. For readers who love 'Beautiful Disaster' by Jamie McGuire, 'Easy' by Tammara Webber, and 'Slammed' by Colleen Hoover

336 pages, Paperback

First published December 13, 2013

4 people are currently reading
1100 people want to read

About the author

L.J. Kennedy

1 book14 followers
L.J. Kennedy worked in the publishing industry for seven years before leaving to pursue her own writing and projects. She collaborated with an amazing co-writer to bring So Damn Beautiful to life. She lives in Seattle with her husband and their beloved Boston Terrier. Visit her online at www.lj-kennedy.com.

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5 stars
21 (28%)
4 stars
26 (35%)
3 stars
21 (28%)
2 stars
4 (5%)
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2 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for TeriLyn.
1,385 reviews441 followers
January 10, 2014
**ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review**

I’ve been stalling on writing this review because I felt conflicted for a good chunk of the book. And that’s with saying I really, really liked this book. I liked Annie and Chase. I couldn’t get enough of their passion for the art surrounding them. After much contemplation, here goes. The book is extremely well written and smart. The plot is easy to follow; the characters engaging. The banter is witty and beautifully written. The detail of the New York art scene, both traditional and street, is fascinating. Annie goes to NYU with a grand plan and throughout the book her entire paradigm begins shifting to something that ultimately transcends her. And even though I don’t agree with Annie for one thing that she did throughout the book I can’t fault her for it and that is a testament of the honesty in this author’s writing. The author made me believe in this character, understand her, and sympathize with her. This is Annie’s coming of age story. And it’s worth your time to read it.

With that said, I am not a big fan of love triangles or heroines so conflicted they cheat in their relationship. And yes, fair warning, Annie cheats. But the vulnerability and the rawness that is involved in this story made me look beyond the cheating to the deeper meaning for Annie’s life. This is her coming of age story, and this is a byproduct of what happens when you’re young and think you have the whole world figured out. Sometimes you make mistakes. Annie’s holding on to preconceived notions she thinks she needs to follow. She holds on so tightly she doesn’t realize that their just slipping away because a green-eyed boy from the wrong side of the tracks is opening her mind to magic she never knew existed. She is being challenged. Normally, the cheating would turn me off but the author’s story telling captivated me to the point of understanding the honesty of being a freshman in college and having your world turned upside down emotionally, artistically, philosophically. Chase Adams is street artist whose notoriety Annie doesn’t understand. He’s quick to judge her even though he sees something in her. He an anarchist with his art, a rebel with a cause, challenging the traditionalist minds of art. Chase is brilliant in both his graffiti and his words. Eloquently spoken yet completely unrefined. Chase thrills Annie, he’s elusive, seemingly dangerous, and exudes confidence. He’s a conundrum for Annie, her total opposite, a traditionalist versus a radical, right down to their names, in my opinion. As much as he challenges Annie, she challenges him right back. They are two different yet similar worlds colliding to create an explosion of unrelenting passion.

So just like Chase breaks down barriers for Annie, L.J. Kennedy broke down a barrier for me. The cheating in this book became less about the cheating and so much more. It’s Annie understanding herself and growing up. It is societal ideologies being challenged. It’s a good girl who falls in love with a bad boy without even trying. It’s an irresistible pull to the edge. It’s a girl who finds herself so completely and then fights for what she believes. It’s a really great story; honest, raw, emotional, edgy, and fun. I hope we get another book to see where the characters go beyond the ending of So Damn Beautiful, more Annie and Chase would be awesome to read.
Profile Image for ***Cheryl***.
762 reviews27 followers
January 12, 2014
Thank you to author L.J Kennedy for providing an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review

This was a great debut book from author L.J Kennedy. It had a very clever and original plot line.

The story is about Annie Green who has just started at NYU as an Arts major hoping to win an internship as a curator at a famous world art galley. When she first started at NYU, starting a relationship was the last thing on Annie's mind however she soon attracts the attention of Harrison who she meets at a party and Chase, a graffiti artist who she spots through the window of class one day but bumps into later on. Chase is also one seriously hot bad boy. I liked that bad boy in this book was a graffiti artists which gave the book an original twist. I was team Chase from the minute he was introduced into the story.

This story does have an element of a love triangle and one point Annie does cheat on one with the other. I'm not going to say to much about the plot as it would be easy to give it away. The cheating did leave me a little conflicted at times and sometimes in stories it annoys me but I think the author does a good job of expressing Annie's feeling and actions and the conflict she is facing that it didn't bother me.

As I already said I loved Chase's character. Yes he is a graffiti artist with a reputation as a bad boy but he is also very smart, funny and sexy. I loved the way his character developed throughout the story and although this was Annie's story it also felt like it was also Chase's. Annie and Chase also have some really great banter and chemistry together.

The street art element of the book was interesting. It certainly showed that the author had put a lot of thought and time into researching street art and it intertwined into story very cleverly.

It did take me a little while to get into the story as at times I felt it was a little wordy but once it hit 35%ish I couldn't put it down. I especially enjoyed the last quarter of plot.

Overall this great book that's edgy, gritty, funny, emotional and a sexy read. I will be keeping an eye out for any future books written by L J Kennedy.
Profile Image for Abby McCarthy.
Author 15 books588 followers
November 24, 2014
So Damn Beautiful is a story about a girl Annie, who goes off to art school in New York and she learns about the world of Graffiti and street art while falling for Chase Adams a street kid yet talented artist.

This book is written incredibly smart.  You might think a novel about Graffiti?  Well that is why I jumped right into this, not going to lie, my baby brother is a graffiti artist/young emcee/ beebop boy in his day/break-dancer, so you see there was a huge reason for me to want to dive into this.  It was a leap I'd gladly take.  This is a journey about beauty and coming of age.  As I read this I thought about some of the underlining themes that this story had, and a thought that went through my mind was this is so well thought out.

This story is sexy!  It's filled with scenes that are paint splattered with ugly and beautiful at the same time.  It makes you want to look at things in a different light and isn't that one of the best things a book can do for you!

My teeniest criticism is that it became slightly wordy sometimes.

I asked the author to share a little bit on her inspiration for this story and here is what she had to say:

The story came about twofold – first from my love of bad boys (yowza – the more brooding, the better, I always say), and secondly with the title. I was brushing my teeth one day, when the title popped in my head and I saw my eyes widen in the mirror. I rushed to do an Amazon check and was so excited the title hadn’t been used yet. From there, the story unfolded rather organically, as I consistently tied the characters and themes back to the idea of beauty (hence the idea of contrasting the traditional art world to the gritty graffiti world). Once the plot, characters, and motivation were sound, the execution of the vision was collaborative.

For a little something interesting, just check out this youtube video, it's pretty stinking fantastic!

And cause I'm a proud big sis, real


There is ART here!!


One final thought I really appreciate, Kennedy's appreciation to some of the beauty in urban culture.  At one point she used the words Punk Rock and I loved that she got this enough to know that spraying can be PUNK ROCK!


So read this.  It's different and it's fresh.

Profile Image for Willow.
56 reviews2 followers
Want to read
January 11, 2014
Want to read this book so bad!
Profile Image for Valentina "TinchyB" .
350 reviews76 followers
May 24, 2014
This was really nice love story.
Solid 4 stars read!
Perfect for fans "bad boy-nerdy girl love story" ;)
Profile Image for Kim.
2,443 reviews
March 30, 2014
Find this review and more at kimberlyfaye reads .

I really enjoyed So Damn Beautiful. From the beautifully flawed characters and their sometimes questionable decisions, to the art talk, to the New York City setting, it all enthralled me.

While this book had several of the elements popular in new adult lit – good girl/bad boy relationship, a love triangle, frenemy with serious bad behavior and a girl looking to find herself – the way L.J. Kennedy put it all together made it stand out from the pack. As a total package, the book was unique. It was also beautifully written with complex characters that, while likable, were difficult to cheer on at times because of their bad behavior. As I mentioned above, there is a love triangle in this book. There's also some cheating, which may turn off some readers. It didn't me, though, because of how it was all handled. There was so much more than met the eye to all of the characters and some connections just can't be denied.

So Damn Beautiful was both a romance and a coming of age tale. Annie really grew during this book. I enjoyed watching her growth from a small-town country girl with an interest in art to a more assured, more confident city girl with her finger on the pulse of the street art scene. Chase was magical. Yes, he was a bad boy street artist, but he was more than that, too. Underneath the playboy exterior, he was vulnerable. He was sexy as sin and his scenes with Annie left me fanning myself. He wasn't always easy to like and his mood swings and the back-and-forth were exhausting at times, but (gross generalization here) that's common in creative people. Annie and Chase had tons of chemistry and the sexual tension between them was off the charts. They also shared a passion for art and they just clicked. It was that simple.

... Except it wasn't, because Annie was dating someone else. Someone who was completely wrong for her. I didn't like her with Harrison. Mostly because I didn't like Harrison. He was always a bit douchey to me, but I kept waiting for him to prove me wrong. It was easy to see how conflicted Annie was as she and Chase spent more time together on her project. She was as caught up in him as he was her.
It did take me a bit of time to get into this book, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. One of my favorite scenes was when Annie, Chase and his crew went to the old subway station. It was described in such a way that I felt like I was there with them. I love NYC and street art and would love to see something like that. But, I'm too much of a chicken to do any type of urban exploration. :)

I'm so glad the L.J. Kennedy contacted me to ask me to read and review this book. I really enjoyed her writing style, her unique plot and the complexity of her characters. I can't wait to read more from her in the future.

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
7 reviews9 followers
January 31, 2014
I received a free copy of this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program.

Overall, I really liked this book. I liked that it was a unique twist on the bad boy/good girl dynamic which can sometimes be unoriginal in the New Adult genre. The art concept was nothing I had read before and brought an interesting perspective to their relationship.

That being said, I thought the beginning of the book had way too much "art" talk to the point where I had difficult getting into the book at all because of it. I'm not a big art person and I was overwhelmed with the amount of art speak. Thankfully, once the plot started to develop, it eased up which allowed me enjoy the book more.

The other thing I didn't like was the love triangle. I don't generally care for books where the main character cheats on the significant other and where you end up rooting for the cheating to happen. But it wasn't nearly as drawn out and drama-filled as other New Adult books.

All in all, I really liked this book and would recommend it to other New Adult fans. Good debut book from a new author.
182 reviews2 followers
August 13, 2016
I very much enjoyed this book and would like to have given it 3 1/2 stars.

It is difficult to put into words how I felt about this book. At times the main character Annie acted exactly how I would expect a first year college student who was a bit naive to behave. I really enjoyed those moments. However, there were times when she seemed to mature for her years and those moments just didn't sit right with me. I was also a bit troubled by the short timeline in which all of the story occurs. I found the relationship between Annie and Harrison to be under developed and unbelievable given the time frame. However, the chemistry between Annie and Chase was very fiery and more believable. That being said, I did find it somewhat difficult to wrap my head around such experienced lovemaking coming from ones so young. Still, those scenes in the book were detailed enough to be arousing without being trashy.

All in all, I am thankful to have had the opportunity to read this book. I found the book an easy read that drew me in and did not leaving feeling disappointed.
Profile Image for Rain.
102 reviews14 followers
May 15, 2014
Intellectually stimulating. I personally love street art, classical art, alongside contemporary art. " I won't nerd out! I won't nerd out!" So keeping this brief....

The Author spent a lot of time and energy depicting the environment of various locations in New York for this story to unfold, and that it did, rather effortlessly, given how much attention Ms. Kennedy had paid to this detail.

The relationship was easy to relate to between the two main leads - Annie Green and Chase Adams. The few hot scenes that occurred could had been more graphic however, I'm really not doing this book justice by pointing that out.

I would read this for the two main reasons: How the environment was written about, as I felt like I was there and that was magical.
Second: The main male lead - Chase. He was gorgeous! A raving artistic loony that was as poetic as he was passionate.

Wonderful!!!

Profile Image for Katie Herd.
49 reviews3 followers
April 1, 2015
**ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review**

First let me begin by saying that I don't know thing about street art and I absolutely love a book that teaches me something new. L.J. really described the New York scene really well and it was easy for me to put the scenery in my head. I love the bad guy/good girl concept that Annie and Chase had. Chase shows Annie a world that she isn't used to but finds exciting and Annie listens and understands him with about his past.
Profile Image for Amanda.
2 reviews
August 5, 2016
I received a free copy of this book through the Goodreads Giveaway.

New author? L.J. Kennedy is very well written. I could easily envision the characters, locations and feelings expressed through her words. While the art story-line wasn't exactly for me, I enjoyed the character development of Annie throughout the book. I appreciated her experiences and her changing opinions and desires. I would recommend this book and I look forward to future offerings by L.J. Kennedy.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
46 reviews
February 4, 2014
Good girl Annie Green has come from a small town to make it big in the art world of New York City. Annie has to choose between a frat guy and a street artist Chase Adams. The dialogue flows off the paper and he can feel yourself in the scene of New York City art. Great giveaway win.
Profile Image for Alexandra.
47 reviews3 followers
Want to read
January 31, 2014
I received this as a free giveaway, due to the post office delivering it to the the wrong house I just got it today, so review coming soon :)
2 reviews1 follower
February 10, 2015
This was a good read once I got into it; Loved the Chase Adams character; Good girl must choose between good guy or bad guy.
Profile Image for Jenn.
216 reviews35 followers
to-read-own
November 21, 2014
***Copy received through a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway***
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews

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