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Left #1.5
Pretty Hurts
Efia Bello knows firsthand how much Pretty Hurts. As a make-up artist and stylist, she’s seen the cruelty and unrealistic expectations of perfection required in the industry. When her hair begins to fall out and she discovers she has Alopecia Areata she’s forced to dig deep and find the beauty in herself. The last thing she expects to find during her struggle is love, but barber, Edgar Gilborn is a temptation she may not be able to resist. When Edgar Gilborn agrees to open his Barbershop early to accommodate a woman with a hair crisis, the last thing he expects to walk in the door is a curvaceous dime piece who threatens to break his one-year dating drought. Healing from a broken engagement he’s focused on his business and family. Now he has his eyes set on a different prize. Can he show her hair doesn’t matter, and the chemistry between them is worth exploring?
- GenresRomance
100 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 23, 2016
17 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Shyla Colt
167 books1,004 followersShyla Colt is the sassy USA Today Bestselling author of the popular series Kings of Chaos and Dueling Devils M.C. This genre-hoppers stories feature three of her favorite things: strong females, pop culture, and alternate routes to happy ever after. Listening to her Romani soul, she pens from the heart, allowing the dynamic characters, eccentric interests, and travels as a former flight attendant to take her down untraveled roads.
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, this mid-west girl is proud of her roots. She used her hometown and the surrounding areas as a backdrop for a number of books. So, if you're a Buckeye, keep an eye out for familiar places.
As a full-time writer, stay at home mother, and wife, there's never a dull moment in her household.
She weaves her tales in spare moments and the evenings with a cup of coffee or tea at her side and the characters in her head for company.
You can interact with Shyla Colt online via her website
www.shylacolt.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorshyla.... and
Twitter: @shylacolt
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shylacolt/
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, this mid-west girl is proud of her roots. She used her hometown and the surrounding areas as a backdrop for a number of books. So, if you're a Buckeye, keep an eye out for familiar places.
As a full-time writer, stay at home mother, and wife, there's never a dull moment in her household.
She weaves her tales in spare moments and the evenings with a cup of coffee or tea at her side and the characters in her head for company.
You can interact with Shyla Colt online via her website
www.shylacolt.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorshyla.... and
Twitter: @shylacolt
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shylacolt/
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 31, 2017
I wavered between four and five stars, but decided to give 'Pretty Hurts' the full five for several reasons:
1) No billionaires, no bikers, no babies. In fact, it was refreshing to read about two people who liked children, but did not want them for themselves.
2) Efia and Edgar were in their late thirties and had the maturity to show for it. They had rich and interesting lives - Efia was a makeup artist and Edgar was a barber.
3) Efia is the first bald heroine I've ever read. As someone who made the big chop fifteen years ago, it's nice to read about what really makes a woman feminine, as Edgar points out:
"Society has some very antiquated concepts of femininity."
4) Efia is dark-skinned. Given the amount of colorism I've found in romance, it's always refreshing to read about darker women, especially those who aren't feeling sorry for themselves.
Four stars would have been due to the shortness of this wonderful, slow burn romance. I really wanted to see Efia walk right into the lion's den of her industry with her newly shaved head and explain about her alopecia. She was no shrinking violet, but a powerful woman with a strong sense of self:
Makeup, clothing, hair products and shoes are a few of the tools I use to add loveliness to a grim, harsh and at times unforgiving world. With these tips and tools, I can control how others perceive me with sleight of hand, cover up and sass. I like it that way.
Women are savvy. We adapt, adjust, and forge forward.
Fear is a vindictive bitch, and I'm fighting to wrestle free of her grip.
One thing I've learned in thirty plus years is this: you have to love all of you.
I also would have enjoyed a nice, scathing set-down of her busybody aunt.
Then there's Edgar. If he were real (and I lived in Texas) I'd want him to be my barber. This is what an alpha male should be like - a strong man who loves and respects an equally strong woman. Edgar saw a beautiful woman, hair or no hair. He saw a woman he was interested in and courted her, first as a friend, then something more.
I loved how close he was to his family, especially his mother and sisters. He had to become the man of the house when his father passed. I also loved when he was playing dolls with his young niece. That was a sweet scene and more testosterone than some asshat jerkwad who thinks acting like a neanderthal is somehow sexy.
And this line explains Edgar's love of family:
People spend their youth taking their parents for granted, never realizing as they grow up their parents are growing older. I've no problems being called a mama's boy because I know the he bleakness that'll enter my life once she's gone.
This was my first Shyla Colt novel, and I'd love to revisit Efia and Edgar again.
1) No billionaires, no bikers, no babies. In fact, it was refreshing to read about two people who liked children, but did not want them for themselves.
2) Efia and Edgar were in their late thirties and had the maturity to show for it. They had rich and interesting lives - Efia was a makeup artist and Edgar was a barber.
3) Efia is the first bald heroine I've ever read. As someone who made the big chop fifteen years ago, it's nice to read about what really makes a woman feminine, as Edgar points out:
"Society has some very antiquated concepts of femininity."
4) Efia is dark-skinned. Given the amount of colorism I've found in romance, it's always refreshing to read about darker women, especially those who aren't feeling sorry for themselves.
Four stars would have been due to the shortness of this wonderful, slow burn romance. I really wanted to see Efia walk right into the lion's den of her industry with her newly shaved head and explain about her alopecia. She was no shrinking violet, but a powerful woman with a strong sense of self:
Makeup, clothing, hair products and shoes are a few of the tools I use to add loveliness to a grim, harsh and at times unforgiving world. With these tips and tools, I can control how others perceive me with sleight of hand, cover up and sass. I like it that way.
Women are savvy. We adapt, adjust, and forge forward.
Fear is a vindictive bitch, and I'm fighting to wrestle free of her grip.
One thing I've learned in thirty plus years is this: you have to love all of you.
I also would have enjoyed a nice, scathing set-down of her busybody aunt.
Then there's Edgar. If he were real (and I lived in Texas) I'd want him to be my barber. This is what an alpha male should be like - a strong man who loves and respects an equally strong woman. Edgar saw a beautiful woman, hair or no hair. He saw a woman he was interested in and courted her, first as a friend, then something more.
I loved how close he was to his family, especially his mother and sisters. He had to become the man of the house when his father passed. I also loved when he was playing dolls with his young niece. That was a sweet scene and more testosterone than some asshat jerkwad who thinks acting like a neanderthal is somehow sexy.
And this line explains Edgar's love of family:
People spend their youth taking their parents for granted, never realizing as they grow up their parents are growing older. I've no problems being called a mama's boy because I know the he bleakness that'll enter my life once she's gone.
This was my first Shyla Colt novel, and I'd love to revisit Efia and Edgar again.
October 15, 2016
EXCELLENT STORY!
"Pretty Hurts" made me actually feel and relate to makeup artist, Efia's condition of losing her hair and witness how barber, Edgar was a genuine alpha man who was attracted to Efia unconditionally from the start.
Highly recommended for the subject matter and the way Shyla put her all in the story. Loved the grandma's sayings throughout the story.
5 memorable stars *****
"Pretty Hurts" made me actually feel and relate to makeup artist, Efia's condition of losing her hair and witness how barber, Edgar was a genuine alpha man who was attracted to Efia unconditionally from the start.
Highly recommended for the subject matter and the way Shyla put her all in the story. Loved the grandma's sayings throughout the story.
5 memorable stars *****
October 18, 2016
I am tired of reading about alpha-jerk billionaires. I would rather read about normal guys who get the girl. And Pretty Hurts by Shyla Colt delivers exactly what I was in the mood to read: a friends-to-lovers story about a normal couple and how they traverse the path to love.
Efia and Edgar meet when she decides to cut off all of her hair. Efia suffers from alopecia and her hair has already begun falling out. Instead of continuing to hide it, she asks her friends for advice about where to go to get the help she needs. They steer her to Edgar's barbershop. They know that he'll treat her with respect and not make her feel self-conscious about about her predicament. When they meet, there's an initial buzz which they both try to ignore. Edgar's still dealing with past hurt and Efia's trying to come to terms with her condition. Neither is initially ready for a relationship, but they are ready for friendship. Soon though, it's obvious that these two were meant to be and we readers get treated to watching their love story progress.
I loved the slow, easy pace of their relationship and how their mutual friends were so protective of both of them. I also liked how Shyla revealed Edgar and Efia's depth. Instead of giving us shallow characters and instalove, we get very real characters whose actions feel authentic and true. My only quibble with the story was the flash-flood that we get near the end of the book. I felt like it wasn't really needed, especially since we already had another conflict that was unfolding. However, it did lead to reuniting the two after what could have been the demise of their relationship, so it delivered on the HEA.
But aside from my quibble, I really enjoyed Pretty Hurts and would love to read more about Efia and Edgar. This was an honest-to-goodness story about two normal people falling in love and it kept me hooked to the very end.
Efia and Edgar meet when she decides to cut off all of her hair. Efia suffers from alopecia and her hair has already begun falling out. Instead of continuing to hide it, she asks her friends for advice about where to go to get the help she needs. They steer her to Edgar's barbershop. They know that he'll treat her with respect and not make her feel self-conscious about about her predicament. When they meet, there's an initial buzz which they both try to ignore. Edgar's still dealing with past hurt and Efia's trying to come to terms with her condition. Neither is initially ready for a relationship, but they are ready for friendship. Soon though, it's obvious that these two were meant to be and we readers get treated to watching their love story progress.
I loved the slow, easy pace of their relationship and how their mutual friends were so protective of both of them. I also liked how Shyla revealed Edgar and Efia's depth. Instead of giving us shallow characters and instalove, we get very real characters whose actions feel authentic and true. My only quibble with the story was the flash-flood that we get near the end of the book. I felt like it wasn't really needed, especially since we already had another conflict that was unfolding. However, it did lead to reuniting the two after what could have been the demise of their relationship, so it delivered on the HEA.
But aside from my quibble, I really enjoyed Pretty Hurts and would love to read more about Efia and Edgar. This was an honest-to-goodness story about two normal people falling in love and it kept me hooked to the very end.
October 26, 2016
I was looking forward to this so much.
It was a little rushed and needed more *more* to it. More romance, more falling in love, more intimacy. I liked it but it needed to build more.
It was a little rushed and needed more *more* to it. More romance, more falling in love, more intimacy. I liked it but it needed to build more.
September 29, 2016
Super good.
Amazing read. I love reading about older couples. They know what they want and go for it. No need for drama and getting others involved in the relationship.
Amazing read. I love reading about older couples. They know what they want and go for it. No need for drama and getting others involved in the relationship.
September 26, 2016
Challenges and love
This another winner by Shyla Colt. This is continuation of Left and I love Efia and Edgar. The beautiful way their friendship grew and how they supported each other, families and best friends speaks to the greatness of life's journey. Everyone has battles and choices to make. Not wanting children and still loving them is okay. Not everyone wants to have children but want to married and loved deeply. Great story of love and truth.
This another winner by Shyla Colt. This is continuation of Left and I love Efia and Edgar. The beautiful way their friendship grew and how they supported each other, families and best friends speaks to the greatness of life's journey. Everyone has battles and choices to make. Not wanting children and still loving them is okay. Not everyone wants to have children but want to married and loved deeply. Great story of love and truth.
November 14, 2023
While reading Pretty Hurts the word necessary kept popping into my mind. I love when I read a book that challenges what it means to be beautiful and this book had me wanting to applaud. It’s easy to categorize this novella as a “romance”, but its message is an important one.
Efia is a successful makeup artist in the beauty industry. Imagine her heartbreak when she begins to lose her hair due to alopecia. Edgar is the barber that is recommended to her to take the plunge of shaving her head. I liked the author’s decision to make Edgar a regular guy who is well adjusted. I’m tired of books glorifying asshole behavior. This was a breath of fresh air.
I liked the big messages this novella put forth, but I also liked the quirky qualities the characters had. The honest, mature communication was a thing of beauty. Characters who know what they want and what they don’t want and have the skills to articulate it, YES! So many romance novels have angst or challenges due to weak communication skills, it reads as lazy to me. These characters had genuine issues and went about solving them respectfully.
Efia is a successful makeup artist in the beauty industry. Imagine her heartbreak when she begins to lose her hair due to alopecia. Edgar is the barber that is recommended to her to take the plunge of shaving her head. I liked the author’s decision to make Edgar a regular guy who is well adjusted. I’m tired of books glorifying asshole behavior. This was a breath of fresh air.
I liked the big messages this novella put forth, but I also liked the quirky qualities the characters had. The honest, mature communication was a thing of beauty. Characters who know what they want and what they don’t want and have the skills to articulate it, YES! So many romance novels have angst or challenges due to weak communication skills, it reads as lazy to me. These characters had genuine issues and went about solving them respectfully.
July 12, 2018
Beautiful!
Enjoyed this story from start to finish. So many dynamic themes are occurring in this story, a true opportunity for the reader to stop and reevaluate their own preconceived ideas and opinions. "Hair isn't everything," and "Not everyone wants to have children." Shyly Colt takes us, yet again, to a place where some are not comfortable or accepting and delivers a story where love triumphs and the reader gains insight into someone else's experience. Love seeing Houston, Liv, Addler and Abby again...all we needed was the Dueling Devils to come in for cuts and Karma to sing a song or two.
Enjoyed this story from start to finish. So many dynamic themes are occurring in this story, a true opportunity for the reader to stop and reevaluate their own preconceived ideas and opinions. "Hair isn't everything," and "Not everyone wants to have children." Shyly Colt takes us, yet again, to a place where some are not comfortable or accepting and delivers a story where love triumphs and the reader gains insight into someone else's experience. Love seeing Houston, Liv, Addler and Abby again...all we needed was the Dueling Devils to come in for cuts and Karma to sing a song or two.
September 26, 2016
Beautiful
This is what you call a real romance story. It was beautiful. Edgar and Efia are now a favorite couple of mine. This story went from friendship to a deep love. The way it should be. Shyla Colt is an amazing writer. I have enjoyed several of her books but the last ones have been awesome. Houston and Liv, now Edgar and Efia. Wonderful.
This is what you call a real romance story. It was beautiful. Edgar and Efia are now a favorite couple of mine. This story went from friendship to a deep love. The way it should be. Shyla Colt is an amazing writer. I have enjoyed several of her books but the last ones have been awesome. Houston and Liv, now Edgar and Efia. Wonderful.
September 26, 2016
Linda Christiani
I was happily surprised to find a book about something that I did not expect but what was great about this story was how it made you think and feel I would definitely recommend!!
I was happily surprised to find a book about something that I did not expect but what was great about this story was how it made you think and feel I would definitely recommend!!
October 9, 2016
Awesome
Shyla Colt did an amazing job with Pretty Hurts. The characters were strong and well developed. The sexual chemistry between the characters was on fire. I also enjoyed revisiting Houston and Liv.
Shyla Colt did an amazing job with Pretty Hurts. The characters were strong and well developed. The sexual chemistry between the characters was on fire. I also enjoyed revisiting Houston and Liv.
November 17, 2016
Heartwarming
This was a book that stripped away what we think makes us sexy and desirable when it actuality, beauty is truly more than skin deep.
Great dialogue with great characters who invoked all of the emotional outpouring from the reader.
This was a book that stripped away what we think makes us sexy and desirable when it actuality, beauty is truly more than skin deep.
Great dialogue with great characters who invoked all of the emotional outpouring from the reader.
September 24, 2016
Cute
Really short, sweet story. I like the fact that the author dealt with an heroine with alopecia. Edgar was so sweet and supportive.
Really short, sweet story. I like the fact that the author dealt with an heroine with alopecia. Edgar was so sweet and supportive.
September 28, 2016
Loved how the author tied mature love with vanity and society's reliance on outward appearances. Always a fan of Ms. Colt!
October 3, 2016
Story had a great message but I found it hard to stay interested (it took me days to finish).
October 2, 2016
This is a stand alone book. However the main female character was introduced to us in the Book "Left". This was a great book as it dealt with defining beauty and being woman.
October 18, 2016
An enjoyable read. I loved Efia and Edgar.
October 24, 2016
Finding love
Starting off slowly and letting love find you, is so wonderful and can be exciting as well wow I love this story.
Starting off slowly and letting love find you, is so wonderful and can be exciting as well wow I love this story.
April 16, 2017
Short but solid
This was a short but full story. The H/h Were fleshed out and solid the story was good. All and all I enjoyed it.
This was a short but full story. The H/h Were fleshed out and solid the story was good. All and all I enjoyed it.
June 8, 2017
I appreciate the attempt
I liked elements of this story. I really enjoyed reading a story about a couple who doesn't want children. As someone who doesn't want kids, it's rare to see this choice in this genre. Notice I said story, not romance. This didn't feel romantic. The male lead was faceless and generic which is unusual for this author. There was no tension or chemistry.
I liked elements of this story. I really enjoyed reading a story about a couple who doesn't want children. As someone who doesn't want kids, it's rare to see this choice in this genre. Notice I said story, not romance. This didn't feel romantic. The male lead was faceless and generic which is unusual for this author. There was no tension or chemistry.
May 31, 2017
Empowering
Can I say hoe much I'm loving this author for bringing these sensitive, sexy, bearded mature Alphas to life. Loved the way the author tackled her disease, it was so empowering! Also, how she allowed them both to stick to their life choices. It was so sweet and romantic.
Can I say hoe much I'm loving this author for bringing these sensitive, sexy, bearded mature Alphas to life. Loved the way the author tackled her disease, it was so empowering! Also, how she allowed them both to stick to their life choices. It was so sweet and romantic.
November 13, 2016
Efia and Edgar
Efia and Edgar...what can I say? I enjoyed the book from beginning to end. It was so worth the purchase. Alopecia can be such a quiet, destructive disease. So glad that this book touched on it. Like that it takes place in south Texas too. :)
Efia and Edgar...what can I say? I enjoyed the book from beginning to end. It was so worth the purchase. Alopecia can be such a quiet, destructive disease. So glad that this book touched on it. Like that it takes place in south Texas too. :)
December 18, 2020
Love among the ruins
Ms. Colt does an excellent job of fleshing out real people and their real emotions. Eifa, Liz’s friend from Left, has alopecia and needs a sensible barber. Houston recommends his friend Edgar. Edgar is a good man and after almost two years is just now recovering from the breakup of a five year relationship. He did not want children but his fiancé suddenly decided that she DID want kids and just WALKED away from their life. He sees Eifa’s true beauty and while he is gun shy he is open to love again. Of course, his fiancé resurfaced but not the way I thought she would. The book had a satisfying ending....both characters were likable. It was great reading about Liz and Houston, too.
Ms. Colt does an excellent job of fleshing out real people and their real emotions. Eifa, Liz’s friend from Left, has alopecia and needs a sensible barber. Houston recommends his friend Edgar. Edgar is a good man and after almost two years is just now recovering from the breakup of a five year relationship. He did not want children but his fiancé suddenly decided that she DID want kids and just WALKED away from their life. He sees Eifa’s true beauty and while he is gun shy he is open to love again. Of course, his fiancé resurfaced but not the way I thought she would. The book had a satisfying ending....both characters were likable. It was great reading about Liz and Houston, too.
June 3, 2018
Beautiful and realistic
Great from beginning to end! I love the bit of conflict towards the end, shows that even fiction kindle relationships are not even perfect.
Great from beginning to end! I love the bit of conflict towards the end, shows that even fiction kindle relationships are not even perfect.
October 24, 2016
2 1/2 stars - As another reviewer noted "Story had a great message but I found it hard to stay interested" again main story as with this sequel seem recycled.
May 1, 2017
I really enjoyed this book.
Heroine had alopecia and was introduced to a barber who saw her as beautiful regardless.
5 star read *****
Heroine had alopecia and was introduced to a barber who saw her as beautiful regardless.
5 star read *****
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews