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The Ugly Duckling

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Athena Jones is your typical ugly duckling. A bit nerdy and shy, and without the greatest fashion sense, she's definitely no prom queen. But Athena has a secret. She's been secretly dating the most popular guy at school.

Mason McCarthy is the most popular guy at school. While he can get any girl he wants, there's something very unique that attracts him to Athena. But his pride does him in, and he refuses to acknowledge his relationship with any of the other popular kids.

Athena moves away suddenly, and it seems like this would be the end of their love story.
A decade passes as these two grow into full fledged adults. Athena is no longer the ugly duckling, and has grown into her looks and has a sense of style very unique to her. She has decided to own up to who she is, and this makes her so much more attractive. When she moves back to her hometown she never imagines Mason is still there.

When Mason see's Athena, he realizes the mistake he made all those years ago, but is it too late for him to finally show her how much he truly loves her?

Follow their journey as they try and rekindle their relationship after a decade apart, as Athena deals with a dangerous drug dealing partner, and her own sordid past.

563 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 8, 2016

45 people are currently reading
25 people want to read

About the author

Tasha Jones

96 books10 followers

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5 stars
23 (21%)
4 stars
27 (25%)
3 stars
38 (36%)
2 stars
13 (12%)
1 star
4 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Profile Image for Rachel.
379 reviews7 followers
December 6, 2017
I was intrigued by the premise where you have the local town heartthrob fall for the "unattractive" girl. Once I started reading my interest waned and then I started skimming, and even though ten years passed between the time Mason rejected Athena in front of his friends as to maintain his popular status, they still behaved like teenagers once they were reunited.

Athena and Mason's conversations became repetitive, their behaviors repetitive. There was no spice or chemistry between them, or rather it showed in brief sparks. Athena was passive. About everything. Didn't even try to bother to think about what she honestly wanted for herself and for her future, and was just happy to let her fiance Elijah, who at one point had been her guardian, run the show. She remained at his side despite not loving him but simply out of misplaced loyalty and obligation. Mason, he drowned his sorrows in alcohol and threw himself pity parties because Athena had moved on, and he felt he was entitled to a second chance with her simply because. He got around to apologizing and sticking up for Athena in a very cliched way, so I can give him an A for effort. The execution, a very high D.

There were grammatical errors and sentences that didn't make any sense which threw off the pace of the story. There was little to no character development. Short stories have the benefit of getting straight to the point, however, if the road to get there is sluggish and uninspired it doesn't make for a good or great read. This story had a lot of potential, with better editing it could have lived up to it.
Profile Image for Mspraise50.
1,597 reviews65 followers
September 26, 2016
I love the stories about girls who appear to be ugly and one man finds them to be beautiful and then they turn into a swan. Well this is Athena and Mason's story. They are both at high school. They are in a relationship but Mason does not want any of his rich elite friends to know he is dating the ugly girl because he knows they would rip her apart.

Well no prize for knowing that he totally messes up and does not stand up or own his girl when she needs him the most. 10 years of their lives are lost and when Mason does see her again, she is in an impossible situation and is so not available to carry on where they left off.

The story was engrossing to me and I read it in one sitting.
1,565 reviews12 followers
March 23, 2016
Okay

Athena's parents were killed in an accident when she was 16 , she was raised by a friend of her family name Elijah. She had only one friend in school and that was Mason. When he was in front of his friends he ignored her. They loved each other but they could not tell anyone because Mason was the rich popular guy at school and Athena was as they say the ugly duckling. To Mason she was beautiful inside and out. This book had domestic violence, drug trafficking, and the love of two people that found their way back to each other offer 10years.
Profile Image for Sylvia.
1,436 reviews13 followers
March 29, 2016
1.75 stars


I just can't understand how a local drugdealer gets guardianship?
Athena was soo naïeve it was bordering stupid.
Mason did what any typical rich jock does in highschool being a selfish ass.
this book was way too short and although i like free bonus stories at the end this is getting ridiculous!
Profile Image for Tisha Johnson.
367 reviews1 follower
April 4, 2016
Good

Ugly Duckling left me wanting more or at least a different ending. The second story had me ask with is she always on her knees and with all this sex going on where was the OOPS. The third book is a result of being young, dumb and two people not knowing how to properly communicate. Young people get out of your heads.
1,604 reviews2 followers
March 19, 2016
Enjoyed

This was a 3 book set and I have to say I enjoyed all three books. They were all different in a unique way. A lovely holiday read. I will certainly be reading more works from this author
Profile Image for EJ MACK.
530 reviews6 followers
April 24, 2016
Lots of promise with no delivery!! Progression from teenager to adult is unclear and characters just not fleshed out enough to understand the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
781 reviews7 followers
May 2, 2016
Beautiful Swan!

I loved this book but I wish it had been longer. The premise was excellent but it was over too soon.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews

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