יופי חסר רחמים

Beautiful #1

by Christine Zolendz, דפנה לוי (Translator)

משחק מחבואים קטלני.

לסמנתה מתיוז יש דם על הידיים. בעודה נמלטת מסודות אפלים ומגבר שהיא מתפללת בכל ליבה שלעולם לא ימצא אותה, היא מנסה להסתתר כדי לשרוד ולהישאר בחיים. אין לה ברירה אלא להתחיל מחדש ולשכוח את חייה הקודמים.
כשסמנתה בטוחה שהצליחה להתרחק מעברה ומהשדים המאיימים עליה, היא נושמת לרווחה ומקווה למצוא את עתידה בעיירה נידחת בלב הרי אדירונדק, במקום שבו לא חלמה שתפגוש גבר שסודותיו אפלים ואיומים לא פחות מסודותיה שלה.

קיידי גרייסון מסתתר, לא רק מפני השדים שרודפים אחריו, אלא גם מפני עצמו ומהעולם שבחוץ. מדי יום הוא מצטער על כך שעוד לא מת. הוא יהיר, שחצן ושתלטן. זיכרונות עברו מענים אותו ללא הרף ומאיימים על עתידו, שנראה קודר לא פחות. כשרוחות העבר ממשיכות לרדוף אותו, הוא גוזר על עצמו חיי בדידות ומתקיים באמצעות מילותיו וסיפוריו בלבד.

עד שהוא פוגש אותה.

האם החיבור בין סמנתה לקיידי יהיה חזק יותר מהטרגדיות שצילקו את חייהם? או שמא הם יאפשרו לשדים שלהם לכלות אותם?


יופי חסר רחמים הוא רומן מתח סוחף ומטלטל על משיכה אדירה ומוחלטת, שהופכת לשנאה ולאובססיה ובהמשך לאהבה גדולה מהחיים.

קריסטין זולנדז היא מחברת רבי־המכר של יו־אס־איי טודיי. היא מתגוררת בניו־יורק עם בלש המשטרה המקומית האהוב עליה ביותר ועם שתי בנותיהם היפהפיות. היא אוהבת לקרוא, לכתוב, לשתות יין משובח וליהנות מקפה איכותי.

Genres: Romance, Dark, Abuse, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, New Adult, Adult

275 pages, Paperback

First published December 26, 2013

About the author

USA Today bestselling romance author. Mother. Coffee drinker. Unicorn believer. New Yorker.
Books and writing are my escape from reality.
Read Me Free Here:
bit.ly/ChrisZo

Reviews

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars!!!!!



What. A. Ride. Wow! I really loved this book. Stories that are a little on the dark side, maybe even a little disturbing are my favorites! This had the darker elements, but it was also comical, sensual, and beautiful. An intriguing and entertaining read.


The story begins with Sam and Jen. Sam and Jen are injured and on the run. We don’t know why or what happened, all we know is they can never go back. They are no longer Sam and Jen. They are now Lainey and Bree.



Once they get far enough away to stop, they end up at a strip club. They decide to go in, clean up and get a drink. That’s all. They end up becoming friends with the clubs owner, Dylan, and get part time jobs waitressing. Bree and Dylan really hit it off. Sam is just happy to be safe, anonymous, and left alone. Then one night, she meets him. Kane.

Kane is Dylan’s mysterious, dark and strange brother. He is taken by Sam from the moment he lays his eyes on her. This is not normal for him. He does’t get ‘taken’ by anyone. He prefers to stay to himself 99% of the time. He has females he uses, and he see’s his brother every once in a while, but he is the prime definition of the word ‘loner’. Kane has a dark past full of violence. He is an author and I bet you can guess what types of novels he writes. The violence... it’s shaped every part of who he is.



Kade Grayson has a plan. To stay as far away from this Lainey as he can. That doesn’t work very well for him. For some reason, she calls to him. He can tell she’s broken, damaged, a mess, just like he is. He wants her but he doesn’t know what to do about it. He’s haunted by his past, he doesn’t want to drag anyone else into it. With her, it could be different. He can tell she has her demons too.

“I think you’re hiding demons too, Samantha Matthews. I want you to introduce me to all of them, because I think I finally found someone whose demons would play nice with my own.”

Kade Kade Kade. I love my broken men. When I first met him, I knew I would love him. He’s mysterious, dangerous, dark and twisted, antisocial and has issues. He can be a straight up asshole. But there was something about him, I just couldn’t get enough. The quote below... that is why I love Kade! :D

Creepy? Yes. Possessive? Absolutely. We all know I have issues. I. Don’t. Care. What. You. Think.


Samantha is a strong heroine. Once you hear her story, wow. She’s feisty, spunky and she had some sense of humor. As dark and serious as this story could be, Sam had me laughing out loud more than once.

“It’s a condom, Kade, because if you’re going to act like a dick, you might as well dress like one,”

“I’m not surprised, nor could I bring myself to give any fucks about the situation. Seriously, my fucks had been all used up already.”


“Can your penis reach your rectum? Then go fuck yourself.”

“You know having a small dick is the leading cause of acting like a big one.”


“You need a hardcore fucking detox for assholism.”

As the story continues, Sam and Kane become enamored with one another. They both have dark sides, but they have this connection that cannot be denied. Both having pasts that torment them, they find solace in each other. Sam has never felt the things she feels for Kade before. And the same goes for Kade. He wants to know all of Sam, even her dark side.

“Everything that happened…to me…is stained here,” I whispered, touching my hand to my heart. “It will forever be in my heart, but what I want … is to move it over a little so I can fit you in there too.”

I wanted to drown in him. I wanted to feel every inch of that look against my skin. I wanted to touch every last part of him. I wanted to make him call out my name.

Two broken people with mysterious and disturbing pasts,end up healing each other, easing some of the pain from the past. But what happens when the past becomes the present? How will these two damaged people cope?



Christine Zolendz’s writing is phenomenal. I love the darker reads... they call to me. Brutally Beautiful was captivating, intense, original and completely held my attention. The story was full of suspense and kept me on edge the entire time I was reading. I didn’t want to stop, didn’t want to put it down. An unforgettable read! There was tension, humor, mystery, some crazy hot and sexy scenes, and even some romance. I couldn’t get enough! I’m happy to say there is a second book. And there is no reason to delay reading this, there is NO cliffhanger :D

“I think the truth is that we are in love with the fantasy of being that one person who could inspire, arouse, or affect someone who is so untouchable to the rest of the world.  It makes us feel special; like we’re the diamond in the rough, the one in a million, the one that everyone else couldn’t be, and do what everyone else couldn’t do.  Imagine being that significant to someone?  To never have to doubt that he loves you, or needs you, or more importantly, wants you more than any other.”

[Jennifer Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK WAS...
DARK
FUNNY
SEXY
DISTURBING
AND SO BRUTALLY BEAUTIFUL!



CHRISTINE ZOLENDZ EXCEEDED MY EXPECTIONS WITH THIS NOVEL!



This story is told in alternate povs (which the author nailed) of a girl named Samantha who is on the run with her bff. She meets a Damaged? Crazy? Stalker? Sexy! HOT! guy named Kade who is crippled emotionally by a traumatic event from his past.

"Words had always come easily to me. Violence and hate were in my veins. I was rage personified, and horror and malice were my only friends. We had lived together peacefully since I came to terms with being me."

If looking for something different, please give this book a shot. The writing was strong, the characters were fantastic and the story was unforgettable!

"No matter how badly it was going to hurt, I didn't want to be anywhere but with Lainey. Let her crush me. Let her destroy me. There wasn't much good left of me, but I wanted her to take every last bit."

"I've been broken by lesser men than you, Kade Grayson. Being broken by a good man is something I haven't done. Break me, Kade. Trust in me enough to know you can."

P.S. IT'S NOT PARANORMAL

[Lady Vigilante (Feifei) · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 73% and stop giving me that look.

Yes, I am well aware that this book marks the gazillionith time I did not finish a book since January 2014. So shoot me. I feel it’s justified to give this book a 2 star rating based on what I have read (which let me remind you is nearly 3/4 of the book). Oh and about what I read:



Some things you should know about me and how I evaluate a book’s worth:

1. Heat level and hot sex do not serve as motivation for me to finish a book. Sex is fabulous and in fact I do prefer my books to have steam, but bottom line is I need the story. The plot (and a well-crafted one at that) is what counts.

Take the first scene for example. Samantha and Jen are running for their lives, they’re soaked in blood and when they find Dylan’s bar the very next moment they’re flirting with him? You just trivialized whatever ordeal they went through, and not to mention that this part was never ever brought up again until the creepster showed up at 70%. Dylan didn’t even question their identities or whatever happened to them until well after 50%. Unbelievable.

As far as the plot pacing goes...it sucked. The "suspense" part and Samantha running away from her past could've been completely omitted if you asked me. Why? Because it was barely brought up until the 75% mark where Mr. Douche comes looking for her. Throughout the whole book, I kept asking myself "why is she running away?" and "what/who is she running away from?" but it turned out the story is more about Kade than anyone else. And as for the ending! Worst ending in the history of endings.

2. You write a smart book and I’m immediately a groupie for life. It takes someone extraordinary to win over both my mind and heart so I really don’t expect much here, but at least make your book sound logical instead of having the lust emanate off of the pages.

**I want to say here that if you are a fan of REAL by Katy Evans you will have no problem liking this book, for I found the writing to be eerily similar to that of the “intensity” REAL tried to portray.**

Flowery and fluffy writing to commemorate a particular part of the body? Check.

3. Grammar/Syntax/Writing style. Listen, if I can’t even read your book because of the way it’s styled, then I just can’t read your book. If your story is published, then I expect some quality for what I paid for i.e. little to no grammatical errors and easy-to-follow transitions and above all, mature writing.

This is one aspect I find necessary to go into extreme detail and fans of this author may beg to differ from my opinion; however it was the main reason why I chose to DNF: horrible writing, to the point where I think my brain was bleeding. Why? BECAUSE SHE WRITES LIKE THIS AND NO IT’S NOT JUST ONE TIME OR A FEW TIMES IT SEEMS LIKE IT’S NECESSARY TO HAVE CAPS IN ALL THE TIME. DID THAT MAKE SENSE I HOPE SO.

“Why the hell was I standing here letting him TOUCH ME? WHY the HELL WAS I KISSING HIM BACK?”

“STOP! A STARBUCKS!”

“For the first time EVER, I wrote a happy ending. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?”

“HOLY CRAP. I. WAS. SMILING.”

“WHAT. THE. FUCK.”

“Why the FUCK was I smiling? This was bad. This had BAD written all the fuck over it.”

.....

On top of which, it was painfully obvious that the male POV was written by a female, and an incredibly lackluster POV at that. I can’t count the number of times Kade came off as a whiny, clingy person rather than the brooding, damaged man the author tried to portray him as. The number of “fucks” in the book was also ridiculous, almost as if Kade didn’t say ‘fuck’ every other line I wouldn’t know he’s a guy.

In hindsight, I should’ve jumped ship at 21% when I knew I wasn’t going to like it, but I tried my best to finish the book until at 73% I didn’t see the story going anywhere. It seems like all I did was just prolong the inevitable: DNF. I will not be reading anymore of this author’s future works.

[*J* Too Many Books Too Little Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was



Dark
Twisted
Creepy
Disturbing

"This....this is just a morbid filled ice cream cone dipped in psycho flavored sprinkles."

Yet oddly it was at the same time...

Funny
Sexy
Intriguing
Cool

The prologue....



What did Samantha and Jennifer do??? And why??

Samantha is on the run....from her brutal past.

"Something dark haunts us all. What darkness haunts you at night? What do you squeeze your eyes closed to when the darkness bites against your back when you're alone at night? Because I was married to mine. I was daughter to mine, and I refused to look in the mirror and see it make me as dark as them, so I walked away from it all."

Kade is stuck in a nightmare...from his brutal past.

"Everything that happened...to me...is stained here," I whispered, touching my hand to my heart. "It will forever be in my heart, but what I want, Sam, is to move it over a little so I can fit you in there too."

"...you somehow soothe the chaos that's inside me. You heal me."

Kade



I mean his past really did a number on him....rightfully so.



Can two brutally beautiful, brutally broken people heal each other???

"I let go of my baggage, if you let go of yours or we're going to hit each other with the heavy packages for the rest of our lives."

Christine Zolendz



You kicked ass!!

[Aestas Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** FULL REVIEW NOW POSTED *** 4.5 stars!!

Fast-paced, witty and intriguing, Brutally Beautiful was a dark and yet delightfully gripping book that hooked me from the start and kept me flipping pages long into the night. It was SO well-written. The dialogue was snappy, the plot was kept me on my toes, and the story was raw and emotionally intense. This book was truly a joy to read and I have quotes highlighted on almost every single page. If you are a fan of dark, tortured heroes and strong heroines, you should definitely add this book to your reading list.

The dedication at the beginning already had my heart clenching...

"Dedicated to the ones that are bruised and broken."

... and with an opening line like the following, this book instantly grabbed my attention!

"There was blood all over my hands and I knew I was losing control, because I was more desperate to find a drink, than a napkin to clean off the mess."

The story starts off with the heroine, Sam, escaping her violent, pain-filled life literally with blood still on her hands and running deep into the mountains with her best friend which is where she meets Kade -- a man hiding a dark past and even more secrets than her.... I don't really want to say more though. That is the main set up of the story but the rest of the details are all a journey I suggest you just dive into :)

I adored the hero, Kade!!! He was such a complex and intuguing character. He was a complete mystery to me -- almost an anti-hero honestly. He was dark (and I mean DARKKKKKK), an antisocial, Alpha loner with a world of issues and a mysterious past. He was antagonistic and intense, at times he felt dangerous but I knew he was just damaged, he could be a total jerk one minute but then turn around the next moment and say or do something that made my heart just melt. He was far from perfect but I totally loved him!!

Actually, if you're a fan of Matt Sky (the hero of Night Owl), you'll probably love Kade because in many ways he and Matt felt like long lost brothers!

I'll totally admit though -- he did not make it easy to love him at first. I was totally drawn to his character when I first "met" him and was already starting to like him but then, he opened his mouth.

WHAT.
AN.
ASSHOLE.

I mean really. But... the more I learned about him, the more I realized that while he had issues, he was a really good guy at heart and hiding behind the antagonistic facade he wore was a broken man haunted by the demons of his brutal past.

"Violence and hate were in my veins. I was rage personified, and horror and malicee were my friends. We had lived together peacefully since I came to terms with being me."

The heroine was just awesome! She'd been through hell but she held her head high and was NOT the kind of woman to let a man walk over her. She was funny, sassy, and strong and I just loved her for it!

"I'm sure Kade Grayson had a long line of interested women offering their dancing services to him for his money, but I wasn't going to be one of them."

The story was told in alternating POVs. I loved getting both sides of the story and, because I liked both Sam and Kade, I loved seeing the story through their eyes. Kade's POV though was especially interesting. It was fascinating, dark, funny, totally weird and yet surprisingly normal, a touch disturbing at times but also just pure awesome!! Like I said, that man was DARK -- his thoughts and actions were borderline unhinged at times...

"I wanted to hate her, break her, and keep her the hell away from my sick, twisted mind. But, there was no point in lying to myself, was there? Because I wanted a taste of her even more. I wanted her."

But I loved how Sam was the first person to be able to break through his walls and get to the real HIM. Still, it was a love, hate, love, hate, love, hate type relationship filled with amazing banter, a healthy dose of eye fucking and sexual tension out the wazoo!

"We were a mere inches away from each other, and ready to either claw each other's eyes out or lick each other silly."

Kade just kept on surprising me but I loved how this dark and twisted man was getting completely unravelled by this girl who wouldn't take any of his shit and who he couldn't keep off his mind.

"Yeah, I was going to follow her. Staying away from her was not an option…. Fran dropped her off at a grocery store. Psycho me followed her in."

So yeah, he was an asshole, a jerk, a wee bit of a stalker, and certainly seemed more than a little crazy BUT I LOVED HIM!!! I couldn't not. He was a man haunted by the nightmares of his past but something about Sam helped to heal him... slowly.

"You somehow soothe the chaos that's inside me. You heal me."

Now with the way it's written, there's SO much that's hidden and mysterious and honestly, there were times when some of the content got so dark that a part of me almost wondered if the story was maybe a paranormal one but... no - it's fully contemporary, real life. And, it all makes sense in the end!

But my mind was racing -- what could possibly have happened to make Kade the way he was? "What could possibly make a grown man choose a reclusive existence and have such a strong distaste for other human beings?" .... Well, I won't tell you what it is but the answer was HEART BREAKING!! It also explained everything. It made me desperately wish I could hug him but most of all it made me genuinely understand him. All of a sudden all of his "strange" behaviour and actions made sense.

"People who have seen real life monsters up close will never feel understood by people who haven't. What those people don't understand, is that we still see those monsters, everyday."

I really love seeing strong heroines such as Sam. While Kade was absolutely an Alpha, she was the one who saved him and I absolutely love that.

"Everything that happened… to me… is stained here," I whisper, touching my hand to my heart. "It will forever be in my heart, but what I want, Sam is to move it over a little so I can fit you in there too."

Guys, I need to say this again -- the WRITING was awesome!!!! Smart, snappy, intelligent -- it kept me highlighting like crazy. It was brilliant. I was right there in the story. The style was so real - very direct and so visually rich. With a great balance between darkness and humor. I had a very hard time choosing only a few quotes to include with this review. For example, I loved the banter...

"It's too early to laugh," I mumbled...

"Why? Do you hate morning people?" she asked, smiling.

"It has nothing to do with morning… it's the people part." I retorted…

"Mr. Grayson, your charm is showing. You might want to tuck it back in."

I loved the humor...

"Coitus Interruptus!" I screamed. "Stop and put your hands where I can see them."

I loved the descriptions...

"This was bad. This had BAD written all the fuck over it. This… this is just a morbid filled ice cream cone dipped in psycho flavoured sprinkles."

And I loved the randomest lines that just made me smile...

"I've been to his place; he lives in harmony with his dust bunnies."

Ok now the ending got intense!! Ohhhh my gosh there was a scene that had my heart in my THROAT!!!! Worst nightmare!! And, while it did feel a touch over-dramatic, I was really grateful to have all my questions in full detail.

I'm happy to say that there is no cliffhanger at the end. If you wanted, you could in fact read this as a standalone novel but there is an optional teaser chapter at the end that leaves you wanting more. Luckily, the next book will be out in a few weeks so you won't have long to wait if you're wanting more from these characters.

Overall, this was really a wonderful read! Fantastic writing, great characters, and a fast-paced, gripping story that I could not put down. I loved it and would definitely recommend adding it to your reading lists!!

"It was beautiful and dark, twisted and profound."

4.5 stars.

CASTING: See above

****************************

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[Patrycja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Brutally Beautiful
Series: Brutally Beautiful #1
Author: Christine Zolendz
Release Date: 5th January, 2014
Rating: 4.5 stars
Cliffhanger: No.
HEA: Yes. The story will be continued, though.




Once again, I was captivated by exceptional storytelling of Zolendz. Only she could came up with a story so bloody and dark and still make it heartbreakingly beautiful. I admire her for that. As much as I loved her previous series, Brutally Beautiful has one advantage more… it’s more mature.

My mind is still in the story with Sam (Lainey) and Kade. I’m reliving every moment with a big smile on my face, I am still swooning and melting.

Brutally Beautiful is exceptional and I will have it close to my heart for a very long time. It’s one of those stories that are unforgettable.



The story starts off with a bang. In thrilling way, Zolendz introduce us to main character Samantha. She and her friend are on the run. Both are horribly beaten and are running away from New York and something that happened there. They stop in a strip bar and don’t leave. Both of them get a job as waitress and start a new life.

2 months of blissful time in the middle of nowhere ends when Kade Grayson steps in the bar. He’s a brother of Dylan, strip club owner. Kade is not normal, though. Horrible past twisted him and inside his head his the beast an reincarnation of the devil himself. He’s a horror novelist. A recluse. He’s damaged. Broken. Twisted. He's the biggest asshole on the whole planet.

"Words had always come easily to me. Violence and hate were in my veins. I was rage personified, and horror and malice were my only friends. We had lived together peacefully since I came to terms with being me."

And he kind of can’t stop thinking about Lainey.

"No matter how badly it was going to hurt, I didn't want to be anywhere but with Lainey. Let her crush me. Let her destroy me. There wasn't much good left of me, but I wanted her to take every last bit."

What can I say? Christine Zolendz took me on amazingly agonizing journey. Journey filled with hope, small light in the darkness and brutally beautiful love that blossoms there. I was amazed. Dazed. Thrilled. I was left completely breathless. I loved almost every sentence. This book was like no other I have ever read. So complex and unique it took my breath away!

I loved everything. And I really mean it. Not only the plot was fast paced, refreshing and mesmerizing. Zolendz characters were complex, beautiful and well thought. Every aspect of their personalities was realistic. And Kade… This man was so sexy that I still tremble when I think of him.

Together Sam and Kade were amazing. I ached for them. I cried with them. I wanted to pray for the bad to go away and leave them alone. I never felt so related to the couple I've read about. They made it so easy to love them and hurt for them. My skin is still buzzing with this feelings.




Overall, Brutally Beautiful was funny, sexy, heartbreaking and stunning story. I enjoyed it immensely and I can’t wait for more. My only issue was the rushed ending, that didn’t exactly satisfy me, but I know next part of the series will make it perfect.

[Dilek VT · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in the BEAUTIFUL duet. It doesn’t end in a cliffhanger; it ends in a HFN but there are still secrets unrevealed, so we need book 2 for the story to come to full circle.

***********************************************

Normally, I'd wait and write my review after I finish reading the series but I need to talk about this book asap. I loved it. It was like a breath of fresh air with its exquisite writing.

Ms Zolendz does it again and creates a one hell of a story and we are introduced to the tormented world of two damaged people.

***********************************************

This is a brutally beautiful book.

There is darkness in it.
Abuse.
Violence.
Massacre.
Murder.



And there is also light in it.
Love.
Lust.
Hope.
Healing.



It is written bloody well and my book is full of highlights.

***********************************************

You need to read the Author’s Note before starting the book.

Ms Zolendz warns us there that in real life, not every story is pretty or perfect, and she emphasizes that Samantha and Kade’s story is also full of ugly and painful happenings but still it has its own beauty - as I said, their story is brutally beautiful.

What these two people have experienced are quite like the horror stories that we watch on the news and this awesome book is dedicated to victims of violence and abuse.

Like the writer, I also wish them to find peace and calmness in their life.

***********************************************

The beginning:

The book begins with Samantha and her best friend Jennifer driving crazy fast, away from a bloody scene. They drive for 7 hours and end up in a town in the Adirondack Mountains, where they find a shelter and work to do.

They now go by the names of Lainey & Bree.

Jennifer (Bree) is attracted to Dylan, the owner of the bar where they work and Samantha (Lainey) soon meets and is strongly drawn to Dylan's brother Kade, who is a wild man, tormented and haunted by his past.

***********************************************

The mystery called "Kade":

Kade is living a life of solitude, hiding himself from the entire outside world and fighting with his PTSD on his own. His inner demons and his traumatized mind has surprisingly caused him to become a very famous and successful writer of horror books.

Kade only interacts with people when it is very necessary. To the people around him, he looks intimidating, arrogant and dangerous. He doesn’t care what other people think, though, he just lets them think he is a monster.



Kade's obsession with Samantha:

When Kade sees Samantha in the bar where she works as a waitress, he instantly becomes fascinated by her. She is not your classical beauty but she is stunning in her own way, which captivates him at the first look.

The way she walks, the way she talks to people and her smart mind all fascinate him but at first, he doesn’t want to believe she is real. He has serious trust issues. He believes she is also not to be trusted like all other human beings. He thinks she is faking this perfect personality. That’s why, first he treats her in a demeaning way to test her and I was really pissed at him then but Samantha is one of the most awesome heroines ever - a smartas*, a real kickas*! Her witty comebacks and her self-respect soon make Kade realize that she is real and not pretending and with every new thing he discovers about her, he sees that she is perfection.

When Kade believes in Samantha and starts to trust her, he becomes even more obsessed with her. Although normally he comes to town 3 or 4 times a year, he starts to come to the bar she is working (and his brother owns) more often now, just to watch her.

***********************************************

Safety:

I must warn you that Kade is unlikable at first. He even has sex with another woman (a married one) before he starts something with Samantha (so this book may not be safe for every reader.)

On the other hand, before Samantha and Kade become a couple, Samantha goes out with a man called Francis a few times but they only kiss and do not go further than that.

Obviously, nothing about this book says it is hearts and flowers. It is not a happy sappy light and fun romance. This is the love story of two very scarred souls who do not intend to fall in love with anyone so their falling in love doesn't happen as smoothly as readers with romantic hearts might expect.

But when it happens, when they let themselves fall for each other, then, it is worth all the pain!

***********************************************

The unavoidable attraction grows!

The more Samantha and Kade interact with each other, the more they understand they have something in common: "their traumatized past & the violence they had to endure."

They are both scarred souls. This draws them to one another even more strongly. However, full trust is not earned easily, especially if the person has been abused before because they trusted easily. Therefore, their revealing their darkest secrets to one another take time.



At one point, it becomes impossible for Samantha and Kade to resist the powerful chemistry between them. They are slowly but forcefully drawn to one another with an undeniable attraction, which gradually grows into a powerful story of love and redemption.

***********************************************

Resolution:

Their story doesn’t have a full resolution in this book, it has a HFN ending. When the book ends, some secrets are still buried deep and I guess they will haunt them in Book 2 :(

Now, before I begin to read Book 2, I want to say that this book is worth reading because of the story it tells and because of the amazing way it is told by the talented story-teller / writer C. Zolendz.

It is written in dual point of view. The way Ms Zolendz uses her magic word engraves everything into your heart, every feeling is etched into your soul and she is damn good about creating unique characters with unique stories to tell.

If you ask me, this book is definitely one that you need to put in your “must-read” shelf if you can read books that are a little on the dark side.

***********************************************

QUOTES from the book:

Let me leave you with the perfection of some quotes from the book that may help you to decide if you want to give this book a chance…

Life as I knew it was over.
My life.
Over.
That woman I once was, Samantha Matthews, was gone.
Left for dead.
Everything and everyone I ever knew…
Everything I had ever worked for… gone.
Just. Like. That.
Poof.
Gone.

***

I didn’t cry from fear, or hurt, or pain.
I cried for Samantha Matthews, the woman that they forced me not to be.
For everything I lost.

There are only a few words I have left in my mind for them:
You never should have underestimated me.

***

I’ve felt love and lust before. But this, what I felt while this dangerous man fucked me vigorously with his eyes, it was insane. Intense…



I learned an invaluable lesson once. If I stayed silent for long enough, and just watched long enough, people and life would pass by me, as if I were invisible. Or dead.

***

I had no idea what I had just witnessed, but that little-bit-of-a-wisp waitress seemed to have put that wanker in his place with her presence and words.
Unafraid and confident.
Fearless.
Impressive and deadly sexy.
Beyond sexy.
That was the sexiest thing I’d ever witnessed outside of porn.

***

The plain raw intelligence of her face was utterly breathtaking and for the first time in my life, I couldn’t find the correct adjectives to describe something. No mere words would have done her natural beauty justice or could have described the way she moved.



It was like… liquid.
That’s the only word I had for her.
Flowing, fluid, melting into everything with a precision that seemed naturally calculated.

I felt like Adam looking at Eve for the first time, having never seen another woman before her.

***

He’s tainted with a ton of issues. He’s a loner anyway, doesn’t date, and doesn’t enjoy being around people. He’s pretty savage.

***

“Fuck. Are your eyes green?”
“Yes. Scandalous isn’t it? Maybe I should poke them out for you and insert a color of your choice? Are you against all green-eyed waitresses taking your orders, or am I the only lucky one?”

***

“Your intimidation skills are lacking and I’m not the kind of woman who would actually believe that you are superior to me just because you’re a man. You think you’re better than me and you’re not Kade.
…
If I’m not good enough because I’m a waitress, don't settle for me, don't sink down to my level. You don't deserve anything I have to offer. Let that shit hurt for a hot minute, simmer in it then leave me the fuck alone.

Repeat that shit to yourself in your head when you walk out of here, rinse and repeat.”

***

“You know what they say, having a small dick is the leading cause of acting like a big one.”

***

“You’re adorable when you’re angry,” he whispered, breathing heavily.
“Oh, really? Then get the hell off me, because I’m about to get gorgeous all over your ass.”

***

Lainey.
Lainey.
Lainey.
I could barely see straight as I staggered into my office.
I had to shake this need, this desire to know her.
I felt cursed.
Possessed.
Her face haunted me.
Her laughter echoed in my brain.
Her smile plagued my thoughts.

But mostly it was her calmness that affected me.
Soothed me.
Mollified the rage.

Who was she really?
Where did she come from?
What happened that she ended up bloody beaten at my brother’s bar?



I was a thirty-two-year old woman and I’d never been kissed like this before.
Ever.

Kade Grayson kissed the thoughts right out of my head, kissed my fears and anxiousness away, leaving me empty, and then poured himself in.



“You make me smile when your lips are on mine, like I’m borrowing your happiness, like it’s wiping off on me. Maybe I’m just stealing it, I don’t know.

All I know is that it gives me a calmness, a happiness I never thought I could feel…you give me a reason…"

***

"She was mine, and no other’s. Only my lips could kiss hers. Only my hands could hold hers. Only my body could sink deep inside her between those smooth ivory thighs…

And only she could tame the beast I was. Only she could quench the thirst I hungered after, and coax the monster inside me to be a man again, if only a broken one…”

***

“I think you’re hiding demons too, Samantha Matthews. I want you to introduce me to all of them, because I think I finally found someone whose demons would play nice with my own.”



“I want to see all of you, Sam. Every scar.”

Leaning forward, his elbows pressed into his knees, his whispers tickled my ears, “Then I’m going to make you forget how you got each fucking one.”

***

“Cliffhanger almost killed me. How does it end,” I whispered against his lips.
“Comes out next month,” he said, as warm lips brushed past mine.
“How does it end?”
“Brutally beautiful.”

[Jess-i-ca · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 This shit is crazy stars....

Samantha Matthews and best friend Jen are on the run.



"Something dark haunts us all. What darkness haunts you at night? What do you squeeze your eyes closed to when the darkness bites against your back when you're alone at night? Because I was married to mine. I was daughter to mine, and I refused to look in the mirror and see it make me as dark as them, so I walked away from it all."


They are battered, broken and bloody and wind up at a strip bar in the middle of BFE. They become Lainey and Bree as their cover.There they meet bar owner, Dylan, and talk him into giving them both jobs.



Dylan's brother, Kade, happens to come by the bar and is immediately attracted to Lainey (Samantha) when he sees her confrontation with a drunk bar patron.



Kade is some kind of fucked up...Yeah, he's got some issues.....Girls always wind up attracted to the ones with some problems though....And he's hot so of course that helps.



He had a traumatic experience as a child and is haunted by it every day. This has led him to be a successful writer but he is constantly battling his demons and somewhat of a hermit.



For some reason Lainey goes on a few dates with hippie weirdo, Fran aka Francis



Francis wants to be with her but she doesn't want a relationship. He is absolutely no competition for Kade, he just gets in the way a little bit.



Lainey and Kade have some MAJOR sexual tension.



I love the way she is a smart ass and challenges him constantly

"You’re acting like a bitch, and if I wanted a bitch, I would have adopted a dog."

"I pity you for defining yourself because of the four walls you box yourself into."

Kade tries to stay away but its impossible



"Like a wrecking ball, she came in, crumbling my walls into dust… She was as broken as I was…I could see some sort of pain in those green depths, some sort of mirrored knowledge that the world sucked. And, I thought to myself…finally…finally someone on my side of the fishbowl. I wanted to know what haunted her and hold hands in the darkness…together…"

Sorry but this was the first thing that came to my mind....HAHAHAHA!



And they are just hot together...



But the question is will they heal each other or will their pasts catch up to them and they remain broken?



I loved Christine's writing. Lainey was a very relatable character in my opinion. Also we share the Starbucks love. :)



I will say the only thing about this book is another book with fucking grey eyes....I mean really!!

Anyways, should you read this book?

[Farah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I have to say that this book totally took me by surprise...



It's dark mindfuck kind if book and u didn't realize I needed one like this until I started reading it.



The story is very brilliantly written with some awesome lines!

The story starts with two girls, who in the beginning we know nothing about only that they running away from something or someone battered and bruised.

"Everything and everyone I ever knew…Everything I had ever worked for…gone. Just. Like. That. "



They reach a small bar/ strip club and sporting bruises and cuts and bloodied they give themselves fake names.... Not wanting to be found...hiding...



The wonder of the bar Dayln gives them a job...
Now Dylan has a brother.... He is dark and dangerous, Kade....



He doesn't get close to anyone.
No one gets in his head
Some would say his fucked up in the head but we don't know why...



But Sam and Jen are also holding onto skeletons of their own...

Kade has been through something horrific which makes him the way he is...
Almost like a predator in the night....
But he isn't one...
Not like everyone thinks...



It's until he starts to notice Sam aka Lainey...

She's different, different from the nameless faceless girls he sleeps with. He wants to know her...

"I pity you for defining yourself because of the four walls you box yourself into. And stop looking at me like you’re going to kiss me again, because it’s not going to happen. If I’m not good enough because I’m a waitress, don't settle for me, don't sink down to my level. You don't deserve anything I have to offer. Let that shit hurt for a hot minute, simmer in it then leave me the fuck alone. Repeat that shit to yourself in your head when you walk out of here, rinse and repeat.”"

He wants her as much as he wants to stay away from her.




But something says that Sam and Kade are more alike then they thought.

This book is so erotic in it's own way... And we know how we love erotic dark reads.

"I could have measured the moments in heartbeats, because in the deep darkness, our beating hearts was all I heard. Loud. Pounding. Rising. Twisting together."



We love finding out the truth....
Again I will say this is totally worth the read because only love can help you overcome your demons.
Love can make you not be afraid anymore....
Love can make you want to feel again....

"It reminded me of how easily any emotion can fade and shift into something you never believed you could feel. In a blink of an eye, fear could turn to bravery, happiness could turn to disaster and hate could turn to love"

[Christine Wallflower & Dark Romance Junkie]

I can't get into this book, I can't, I guess it's just me being weird again. I think I read one chapter and I immediately disliked the heroine, for me this is a very bad sign... So I'm going to take the plunge and DNF. I get really cranky when I force myself to read a book I don't like.

[Vishous · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, around the first half of the book I seriously loved it! Loved it so much that I thought nothing could make me not love it so much later.
The writing was amazing, I swear I highlighted almost the whole book. There wasn't one thing I didn't love with the writing. And with the story. I loved it all. I loved all the characters. So what made me give it 4 stars? I would have given it 3.5 but I round it up to 4.

Him. His mood swings. In the beginning he was amazing, he was so dark and twisted and I was mesmerized with his mind and all of his thoughts. He was an asshole and I loved that. He was an asshole pretty much all the time, even when he was trying to be good to her. But later on, his constant mood swings, which were literally up and down, hot and cold, without any normal progression from any state of mind to other were giving me a slight headache in the end. There wasn't any scale how his emotions escalated, they were, literally, seriously manic. Don't get me wrong, his character is like some maniac, but one sentence all peachy and then next sentence he is yelling and growling or whatever, for no reason.

The story was great, and it can be read as stand-alone, which I thought it was when I started reading it. It has an HEA, but after finishing it, and seeing there is a teaser for the next book which had a fu@king cliff-hanger, I was wondering why would you do that? Why would you finish a book and then give like the first chapter of next in the end with a cliff?!?! Why then not finish a book with a cliff?!?!?! Or simply not give a peek into next one?!?!

Both of them hiding something, she is running and living in fear will she be found, and he simply embracing his dark side and not being social, but writing all his thoughts in his books, all his violent thoughts that made him who he is in one event in the past was really a great thing to read.

He, as a writer... Simply stunning...

"Dealing with thoughts about her would end up like all my thoughts did, in sickening violence. I would need to find more words to match her beauty and somehow mar her fictional existence in my head with the exquisite release of her last breath, or possess her with demons, slaughter her by the hands of a delusional lover, disfigure her in a gruesome accident or something equally horrifying"

"My muse would not shut the fuck up. The obsession consumed me for days. The girl, I knew would be an obsession for longer. I wanted to scrape the words I’ve written off the white of the screen, grab them tightly in my hand and smash them against her face. Have her feel my words against her flesh, smear them into her pores, and have them seep into her skin"

With her, you have no idea who she really is until near the end. You know something happened, but who she really is... I didn't see it coming and I actually loved it a lot. She did get on my nerves when she gave him that poetic talk in his car, but in general I liked her because she was a strong character and not some whiny woman.

And now all that's left is waiting for the story to continue and see how ill it be fu@ked up. It was too good to be true, and the thought of actual teaser was somewhere in the back of my mind, but I was hoping for normal stand-alone.

[Georgia ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Damaged Stars

"You somehow soothe the chaos that's inside me. You heal me."



A woman on the run.
A man haunted, bitter and alone.
A passion that transcends logic and self-preservation.



Samantha Matthews, bloodied and beaten she ends up with her best friend working as a waitress in a freaking strip joint in the middle of nowhere. Nothing left to dream about, everything crashed and burned around her and the demons are still chasing after her. But she keeps living.



Kade Grayson, survived an unimaginable tragedy. A horror. And his life ended that day. A shell of man, bitter he pretends to be a monster to go through everyday interaction. A successful writer, he transforms his nightmares into words to keep going. Until his eyes met a pair of green ones.



And Kaboooooooooooooooom!



Only Christine Zolendz can take a twisted story about death, darkness and bitterness and turn it into a sexy and strangely funny book about survivors, love and life. She did it once with her "Mad World" series and she is going full throttle in her new "Beautiful" Series. Danger, passion and constant banter between her heroes who they don't know what hit them. In alternate POV's we get to know both of them and see what makes them tick.

I LOOOVED IT!



On to the next!

[NMmomof4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 Stars (Originally Read 1/17/2014)

3.5 Stars (Re-Read 5/29/2019)

Overall Opinion: I just finished the book Mean Streak and parts of it reminded me of this book, so when I realized I never wrote a review for it -- I jumped right in for a re-read. I'm bummed to say that this will be taken off my favorites shelf and my rating will be going down. I found myself feeling conflicted about the characters where I wanted just a little more back story, especially with the h, because I struggled with connecting to them. I don't doubt that I loved this when I read it the first time because it's definitely unique in the characters' life experiences -- but, I just felt like there were too many unanswered questions and moments where I was scratching my head in questioning what was happening. I know that these questions very well could be answered in the next book, Cold-Blooded Beautiful, but honestly I feel kind of meh about continuing. I might just skim it to see what happens, but overall this was a little bit better than "just okay" 3 Stars for me.

Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Samantha and Kade's story. Samantha and her best friend show up in a small town bar beaten up and end up staying and changing their identities. Samantha meets the mysterious and extremely rude brother, Kade, of her new boss and can't help but be oddly drawn to him. Kade comes with his own heavy baggage but he cannot get Samantha out of his head. There are some big secrets revealed, some sexy times, and some suspenseful moments...and they get a HFN ending.

POV: This alternated between Samantha and Kade's POV.

Overall Pace of Story: Good. I never skimmed and I thought it flowed well.

Instalove: No. Instalust? Yes.

H rating: 3 stars. Kade. He was a mess! Understandably so, IMO, because of his past. I appreciated how he worked through some of his personal demons for the h.

h rating: 3 stars. Samantha. I appreciated her strength and how she always kept calm for others, but I absolutely wanted more depth in her background.

Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed

Push/Pull: Yes They both push away and also pursue the relationship at times.

Heat level: Hot. They have some hot tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story. Some light bdsm qualities like spanking, bondage, and D/s talk.

Descriptive sex: Yes

OW/OM drama: Yes The h is on the run from her abusive husband. The h is also being pursued by OM (that she kisses).

Sex scene with OW or OM: Yes There is a scene where the H is with his f-buddy (that married to OM), and another scene with him kicking a different OW (ONS) out of his house. These scenes happen before anything substantial happens between the h and H.

Cheating: Yes technically The h is technically married to OM that she is on the run from when she meets the H and is intimate with him.

Separation: Yes They are separated physically (but not in the relationship sense) for ~2 months, but there was no mention or suggestion of other partners during this time.

Possible Triggers: Yes Domestic violence/school shooting/suicide of friend (off page), violence/attempted murder (on page), and the H has PTSD (on page)

Closure: This has what I would call a HFN ending...kind of they hadn't even shared "ILYs" yet There are a lot of unanswered questions but there is another book, Cold-Blooded Beautiful that is already released and could address them.

Safety: This one is probably Not Safe for most safety gang readers

- Does Not have technical cheating (see above)
- Does have a descriptive sex scene with the H and OW
- Does have both the h and H pushing away
- Does have a physical separation between the h and H
- Does have abuse
- Does Not have a HEA ending

[Natalie ~ The Biblioholic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa! Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa!!

This story was jam-packed with so many feels and I'm not talking the warm and fuzzy kind. Christine Zolendz did an incredible job of blending drama, family, friendship, chemistry, eroticism, pain, despair and trauma. She did all that and still found a way to inject a lot of humour along the way.

Samantha was a brilliant and renowned head trauma surgeon, but she was running away from her life. She was escaping a life filled with lies and was hoping to outrun and overcome her demons. My impressions of Sam were that she was strong, beautiful (inside and out), loving, generous, compassionate, intelligent, witty, and a freaking survivor with balls of steel.

Kade was equally damaged. He survived an extremely traumatic event in his youth and hasn't been the same since. He's lost all of his joy in life. He has cut himself off from society, isolating himself with his darkness. His pain has sparked a successful career as an author of horror. I for one loved getting the chance to explore Kade's mind through his POV. It was dark and twisted, as I expected, but I adored the way he viewed every thing. I especially loved how obsessive he became for Sam. LOVED IT!!

That quote right there... ^^^^^^^... That's Sam and Kade.

I enjoyed the banter these two shared. It had a life of its own. Tennis or Ping Pong-worthy banter. The humour gave some relief to the depth of the story, a bit of light in such a dark tunnel. Otherwise it really would have been too depressing for our broken (or not so broken?) heroes and no one wants that. I'm sure Cold-Blooded Beautiful will deal with Samantha's monster aka David and I cannot wait to bear witness to his destruction.

I recommend this book to any and all who love their books intense, dark, sexy and suspenseful!

[[~Ami~]♥Sexy Dexy♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars



Sooo... I think a storyline we are pretty familiar with. Girl on the run. Girl meets guy. Guy has traumatic past.

What I felt different with this book is the awesome heroine, Samantha. There was just too many quotes from her pov I could quote.

You need a hardcore detox for assholism

Kade on the other hand... One minute he couldn't stop staring at Samantha, the next he was just plain mean. Bottom line is: I found him creepy.

I liked this, great characters, great writing, lol momentsbut I felt it was missing romance rather than the lust. But with this being book 1, I'm hopeful there's more development to come.

[Amy | Foxy Blogs · Rating 3 out of 5]

”I learned an invaluable lesson once. If I stayed silent for long enough, and just watched long enough, people and life would pass by me, as if I were invisible. Or dead.

I was excited to start this story because all of my friends have loved this book, so far. I was told it was dark and twisted. I spent most of the book waiting for it to get dark and twisted. By the time it started to become that way towards the end I was not really feeling it. I really love dark books and had high hopes for this one.

After I was half way through I mentioned to a friend that I’m not sure why I’m not connecting with this book and that I'm not sure if it's me or the book. Her answer, “It’s you.” I laughed so hard because she was so honest with me. When all else fails ask Cookie Monster for his thoughts:



SERIES:

Continuing story with no cliffhanger.

[TheCrazyWorldOfABookLover · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Kade Grayson kissed the thoughts right out of my head, kissed my fears and anxiousness away, leaving me empty, and then poured himself in.”

This is exactly how I feel right now. This book, this wonderfully beautiful magnificent twisted book, has stolen all of my thoughts and words.






I don’t even know what to write, what to say, to convey how obsessed I am with this story. To describe how I devoured this thing and how I wish I could go back in time and erase my memory so I could experience it again.






Christine Zolendz writes like nothing I have seen before. Her words, her characters, everything she put into this BLEW ME AWAY. I have rarely come across words that were so beautiful. She made me laugh, made me cry, and literally took my breath away.



And since I can’t come up with anything else, because this woman and story and characters have left me speechless, I’ll leave it with these two words. READ IT!!!!!!

[✝✝ Ⓓaisy ❣ ✝✝ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished reading Brutally Beautiful. That was overwhelming for me. I don't know whether it was in a good way.
Not only this book left so many questions unanswered, but it kinda gave me shivers too!



Samantha was running away from her past and settles herself in small town by working as a waitress.
I loved Samantha, she was such a strong character. One kick ass heroine.





As she get adjusts herself with her new life, she meet the mysterious Kade.



Kade is the first hero whom managed to make himself look so creepy and moody. He is definitely:





What I felt was Kade should have gotten his therapy when he is 16 itself, and not now!

"Wow. big head, small mind huh? I wouldn't have pegged you as mentally incompetent, but I guess you really judge a book by its cover"

As these two get closer, their attraction grows, we learn more about his past and trauma.
And everything is becomes intense and too much of drama. With of both of them broken, my head was spinning.

" Because Lainey, you somehow soothe the chaos that's inside me"

" What, are you twelve? You shut that phone off one more time, I'm going to kick, Kade"
"How about you kiss me instead?"

Ooo yeah, these two are pretty streamy!!!



Will I recommend? Hmmmm maybe yes!!!

I did enjoy her writing, there were cute moments.

Happy reading xo

[Kelli C · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 dark, twisted, and emotional stars. I loved this read! i love smart characters, and i love an author that can write an clever, mind bending tale to compliment them.

Two characters, both internally damaged, see right into the heart and mind of one another. Both are strong in thier own right, yet so desperate to be saved.
Meet Mr. Kade Grayson

He is a reserved ass with an underlying tone of violence. He has been devoid of any emotion since horrific tragedy at the age of 17.

Meet Ms. Sam Matthews is the epitome of badass...strong, sassy, and a true freaking survivor! She is leading the race for fave female lead.


Their witty dialogue and passionate conversation lead them on a path to an unexpected union of sorts that gives off a sense of both pleasure and pain. It is almost as if they consume one another and you can almost hear their hearts beating with each interaction. All this is present before the first intimate scene occurs. I loved this...such a good story and web weaved to get you hooked before the final fall off the cliff into each other's arms.


I do have some questions that are left lingering in the back of my head as to the nature of what went down with Sam in her past..her relationship with her father, her brother...i just need a bit more, i guess i like the gory details! For now though im pretty damned pleased this had closure and that the clever creativity continued to the very end!

[♡kitten♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 to 4 Stars.

"I'm falling in love with you, and I'm going to let you destroy me."

This was a pretty great read. I was curious right from the very first page, until curiosity got the better of me and all I know was that I suddenly couldn't put the book down. Brutally Beautiful was the first book I've read by this author and immediately I was captivated by her compelling and very polished writing style. The characters very unconventional, not the usual or average MCs you would read in a book, but they weren't difficult to like at all.

This book was messed up, but overall I loved and enjoyed it. By 90% of the book and I was like what the hell is going on. I need more details and answers because that ending did not do any justice to how good this book was!

[Ailene♥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

When characters claimed that they had a “dark” past, I needed to be convinced that what they went through was indeed “dark”. I’m not mocking them for I know that their experiences could/did happen in real life, but the way it was written came off unconvincingly. At first, the hero, Kade, was dangerous, creepy, twisted. I did enjoy how his mind worked. But then, he just became too brooding and boring. It was also obvious that his pov was written by a woman (big turn off!). His transition to being nice was unnatural and all too sudden as well or it felt like he became a totally different person. There was some spark of chemistry between him and Lainey/Sam, but it didn’t combust to a full blown fire. Just like a spark, it vanished too fast.

There were also parts that were cheesy and ridiculous or if not, the timing was off. The heroine was sometimes annoying and rude. Seriously, I could go on and on... But why suffer through the torture of relieving what I had read when I could be moving on to a much worthier book? Indeed it had some moments, but the bottom line was it just fell flat for me…

[Hulya Kara Yuksel · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!


Absolutely amazing!!! I LOVED it. :) Thanks to my friend Dilek, Christine Zolendz became one of my favorite authors... And I also highly recommend her another book to you, it called "Here's to Falling" Ahh that book was awesome too. <3

Ps. I wanna thank to my dearest friend Dilek for recommending this book to me. Thank you babe. <3

You can read her beautiful and terrific review from this link. :)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 STARS



Life is tough; you have to endure the bad with the good, because the alternative is so... final. I will endure this...

This is a heartbreaking love story of two people who were both living through the aftermath of separate but both horrifically violent pasts. Each one having their soul charred beyond recognition, and trying to find a way to keep on living with what was left. Two hearts beating separately, yet drawn together by a darkness so intense that only by connecting the two could they find their way back into the light.

Samantha Matthews was on the run… with her best friend. Trying to escape a past she had no choice but to leave behind. It was a matter of survival… so she had to be careful. In her mad dash to flee, she had to steer clear of police and even the medical treatment she so badly needed. So it was even more of a surprise, when her brief stop to use the restroom at a strip-club bar in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere turns into a crossroads in her life that could change everything.



For it is here, that she will meet him . This enigma of dark secrets that jump starts her heart back to life. But it can’t be… that part of her has been dead for a long time… and what is dead cannot be brought back.




Kade Grayson lost his life when he was sixteen. It was horrific. It was tragic. And he relives it every minute of every day. Never to forget. Never to recover. Everyone else has moved on from it, but he cannot. So he exploits it. He revels in it. He shares it with the world and feeds their morbid hunger for it. But still, it does not heal him. He is broken.




Until he see them… those green eyes… the doors to his long lost soul. But he soon finds that behind those doors live monsters, different but not less horrible than his own. He should steer clear, no… he should RUN the other way. Yet he’s drawn to them, helpless to resist, even if they end up destroying what’s left of him.




"I'm falling in love with you Sam, and I'm going to let you destroy me."


This book was an incredibly creative love story of two people who were both damaged by the violence of their pasts. I found the author did an amazing job creating intrigue and mystery around the lives of the characters. And the stories that created their pasts were shocking and horrific, yet told in an incredibly emotional and heart wrenching way. I could easily empathize with each if them, and eagerly hoped they would be able to heal each other, and find love together.

"His smile...his smile almost killed me. Arrow right to the heart, with a stampede of fluttering butterflies exploding from it."

I feel torn in my rating of the book. There were parts where I couldn’t fathom giving it anything less than 5 stars, but then I would find myself distracted by overused descriptive terms… I think I mentioned a few in my updates.


RAW... PRIMAL... VISCERAL...

DANGEROUS... SAVAGE... FEROCIOUS...

OK, I got it.

I also felt that the flow of the story was often interrupted. I almost felt like the author took a break… then picked up with something different when returning to the writing. Like the events following what had been previously happening did not fit the situation. At all. This happened several times, and the event that usually fell into place awkwardly would usually be a particularly graphic sex scene.

Now, the chemistry between these two characters was definitely intense and the sexual experiences they shared appropriately expressed this intensity. I think I just found a few of their encounters to be ill-timed in the story.

And lastly, I was a bit surprised that a character like Sam, aka Lainey, would be so instantly attracted to another mysterious man with an intensely DARK personality. I mean this woman was very intelligent. It shocks me that she would tangle with another dangerous “bad” boy, when she was still currently running from one.

"BAD written all the fuck over it. This...is just a morbid filled ice cream cone dipped in psycho flavored sprinkles."

But all in all, I still found myself quite drawn into the story and hoping these two could find some peace for themselves. And I’m happy to hear there will be more to come in another book.

I am a big fan of Christine Zolendz, I think she is an extremely talented and creative writer. And I am anxious to hear more from these characters!!!

3.5 STARS!!!

[AJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I’m falling in love with you … and I’m going to let you destroy me.”

Christine Zolendz cements her spot on my list of ‘must read’ authors with this one! I am a MASSIVE fan of Christine’s Mad World series, but she seems to have taken this one to another level, giving us a disturbingly dark and sexy story which is both mature and intelligent, and blended fantastically with sarcastic humour, drama, suspense and a deeply intense romance. Very different from a lot of other romance books out there, I was hooked from the very first page.

Lainey is hiding dark and violent secrets. She is on the run from her old life, and she and her best friend have set themselves up in a small mountain town where they have set about creating new lives for themselves. I love Lainey! She is feisty, with a brilliantly sarcastic sense of humour, and although she has clearly been through hell, she isn’t prepared to put up with any crap from anybody, and I loved her sass.

“If I’m not good enough because I’m a waitress, don't settle for me, don't sink down to my level. You don't deserve anything I have to offer. Let that shit hurt for a hot minute, simmer in it then leave me the fuck alone.”

Kade is “rage personified”, a snarky and antisocial recluse, he writes horror novels – his way of dwelling in his anger and “living in a world of lies”, creating fictitious characters he can control only to destroy them. He is described as “savage” and “scary”, and simply put, he is an asshole, and he absolutely owns it.

“Will you call me? Maybe we could go out some time,” she smiled, walking to my front door.
“Love, I don’t even remember your name, and I don’t plan on asking you for it again.”
“You’re an asshole, you know that?”
“Yes, and you’re the whore who let me stick my dick in you and spank your ass,” I said, closing the door on her surprised expression. I would say I cared, but I hated lying.

Yeah, I totally fell for him! Of course he’s gorgeous, but he has a brutally violent and tragic past, and is wrestling with hideous demons. His past is hinted at, but when it is completely uncovered, my heart broke for him, and I could absolutely understand how it made him into the man that he is.

Once you felt violence, most people couldn’t cope with it, they couldn’t even push the words through their lips. It instantly freezes the images in your mind, and those images are indestructible. Then there are people like me, who have been touched by violence so deeply that they completely lose their soul to it.

From the moment that Lainey and Kade meet there is insta-lust, epic banter, and a whole heap of eye fuckery going on. I love that the story is told in dual POV, because there are so many conflicting emotions between these two! Clearly there is chemistry, but they have a genuine animosity towards each other as well, and I loved being able to see behind their actions to what was really going on between them.

“I needed to see her again. I needed her to hate me and to stay far away from me, because I wanted to consume her completely.”

“I think I finally found someone whose demons would play nice with my own.”

Kade and Lainey are deeply tormented souls, and their stories shocked and horrified me. They are sensationally fleshed-out characters, and the different ways that they live with what they’ve been through, and how it has shaped them, is beautifully depicted, and creates some fantastic fireworks in their developing relationship, bringing a level of complexity to it that makes it all so much more intense.

“I didn’t care who or what Lainey was, I just wanted her completely. Never in my sick life did I ever give a bit of hope about finding a person who was compatible, who could find comfort in someone as fucking twisted as me.”

“No matter how badly it was going to hurt, I didn't want to be anywhere but with Lainey. Let her crush me. Let her destroy me. There wasn't much good left of me, but I wanted her to take every last bit.”

The build-up is brimming with sexual tension, and the emotion between them is powerful, and I felt it all along with them. And it all culminates in hotness and romance that left my heart pounding.

“Everything that happened…to me…is stained here,” I whispered, touching my hand to my heart. “It will forever be in my heart, but what I want … is to move it over a little so I can fit you in there too.”

But how will their all-consuming passion for each other compete with their devastating secrets, and the fact that their horrific pasts are still very much a part of their present?

Beautifully written, the story is well paced, full of emotion, and had me madly flipping pages. I love that I was surprised by aspects of the story, and thought that the whole thing played out really cleverly. The ending felt a little bit over dramatic at times, and while the book does not have a cliffhanger, the story is definitely not over. I was actually surprised that the book finished where it did, but I loved the epilogue, and thought that it was a really unique idea – it ties in really nicely with the story, providing a bit more depth to an ending that seemed a little bit abrupt. Of course at the time I was reading it, I didn’t realise that there was going to be a sequel, so I’m now looking forward to learning even more about these complex, damaged characters, as well as seeing where the story goes from here.

“This…this is just a morbid filled ice cream cone dipped in psycho flavored sprinkles.”

4.5 stars.

[Angelisa Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I am going to say for now is.....

HOLY FUCK A CAT! You will love the Hell out of this book! CANNOT. WAIT. UNTIL. IT'S. OUT.

[Jacqueline's Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Brutally Beautiful Stars

A dark twisted read, beautifully written and somewhat poetic

I read Brutally Beautiful a few weeks ago and I wished I wrote my review right when I finished, so this won’t be your typical review, which kills me because I loved it so much.

Short version of the summary

Sam and her best friend are on the run, you don’t know why, but they are beaten up, bruised and battered. We just know they left a terrible situation and both are ready to move forward with their lives. They arrive at a strip joint in the middle of nowhere and both girls get jobs waitressing. Kade, the owner of the strip club is very attracted to Sam, but both Sam and Kade have dark pasts which constantly haunt them.

My Overall Opinion

The beginning starts out with a BAM! both girls are in their car and they are just driving. Both are bloody, hurt and just looking for the next destination. My imitated response was, wow, this is going to be a good book and what happened to these girls, who caused them to run like that?!

Then they reach a STRIP CLUB! Oh god, it couldn’t have gotten better than that.

BUT IT DID … BECAUSE OF ….

KADE…. Soown….

I love me a dark mysterious man. I love me a dark mysterious man who is really really really really mysterious. Kade is kind of just a big question mark and you wanted to unravel his layers and figure out his past.

ALSO, you know I love me a damsel in distress storyline. This is my second book by Christine Zolendz and she did not disappoint. NOT ONE BIT!

Sorry I couldn’t give you any more details. Just know it was a fun twisted read.

As for the ending, there’s a closed cliffy.

AMAZON

[Mistress · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It was beautiful and dark, twisted and profound."

This book was so different, I couldn't put it down. It was filled with dark tragedy and mystery, it was also hot and funny. I loved the quick-whit that Sam/Lainey had. I also loved the interactions between her and Kade. The dark, deep emotions that he felt for Lainey were so intense.

"I felt like Adam looking at Eve for the first time, having never seen another woman before her."

"I wanted to know what haunted her and hold hands in the darkness… together…"

"Lainey, you somehow soothe the chaos that's inside me. You heal me."

"I'm falling in love with you, Sam, and I'm going to let you destroy me."

I NEED to find out the whole story. After reading the preview of Cold-Blooded Beautiful, I'm filled with great anxiety to get my hands on that story! Christine Zolendz is one of my most favorite authors; she is an amazing story-teller. I will read anything she writes without question!

[Kiki]

There are THREE scenes with OW, erm, NO!

Read Roksana's 1-star review of Brutally Beautiful by Christine Zolendz
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Ashleyjo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to the lovely friend that loaned me these books:) xoxo!

Ehh, this is a difficult book for me tag with a rating because it's both great and meh. 4 stars for first half ....2 stars for second half.... 0 stars for the end = 2 stars overall.

Basic Plot

Two women hit the road beaten and bloodied. Hours later, they stop at a small town and end up deciding it's as good as any place to hide from whatever hell they're running from.

The friend and bar owner fall into a relationship, further tethering them to the town.

A complicated, explosive relationship develops between the FMC & her new employer's brother. Both are angry, love to throw verbal knives at each other, are hiding from the world, and are very damaged by the past.

Him...



Her...



Can these damaged souls find comfort and peace together because they each understand the other's demons? Will they kill each other first? Or, will the very demons they sense within each other as a place of understanding and acceptance be what actually reignites the other's past fears?

Initial Thoughts

This is the kind of story and characters that jump off the pages into your brain; swims around to find that alpha neuron; and then attaches the scene, the characters, & the sentiment there so the rest of your brain knows your ass has just been owned



The character & plot development is spectacular for the first half of the book. I'm entranced by the characters personalities and pasts.

Him...

"I live in a world of lies, fictitious characters I dream up and breathe life into, just to break, for the enjoyment of horror readers throughout the world."

"Words had always come easily to me. Violence and hate were in my veins. I was rage personified, and horror and malice were my only friends. We had lived together peacefully since I came to terms with being me."

Her...

"To hell with him, my skin was way too tough for some pathetic gorilla in a Gucci suit to break through."

"I was too old to play games. I was too messed up with my own issues to care about his, and I didn't do drama, not even in TV."

This book begins with multi-faceted characters who are as witty and leveled as they are completely f'd up and kookoo.

Sadly....

The Car Stalls



This story stalls for me and the characters fall into this angsty push and pull slump of recycle, rinse, and repeat that doesn't even ring true to their type A personalities.

He is obsessed with her and it pisses him off. So he verbally assaults her, drinks, stalks, verbally assaults, drinks, stalks - wash and repeat.

She has her own demons chasing her & doesn't have time to try and fix anyone else's... Or does she... Or doesn't she.. Or does she... Or doesn't she.. >> you get the point.

^ This just goes on too long before suddenly transitioning to love WITH no substance other than my damage matches your damage. IF I have to listen to this type of inner dialogue and witness this type of angst, there better be a damn good substantive climax and resolve.

Where Was The Climax?



There's a tense moment when the MCs past seems to have possibly caught up with her, but this just isn't the peak or climax to the storyline that I'm expecting. Some of her cards are laid out on the table, but nothing the reader hasn't already guessed by this point. So, this just isn't that big moment.

There's a very long and detailed scene where he describes his trauma and inner thoughts to the FMC. It's excellently written to make you feel the MMC's pain and anger, but, again, it's just not that climatic moment that pushes the story forward that I was expecting. She shares nothing. She concedes nothing. So, still not that big moment.

That's not to say there aren't quite a few profound statements, like her "redefine normal" line and a girl power bathroom scene. There are plenty of fist bump lines.

There are some laugh and snort out loud lines, too.

But...

By The End

I feel like the guts of the story became too diluted & sparsely spread by the rinse and repeat and absence of that climax to push it forward.

Don't Blackmail Me Into Reading Book 2... Make Me Want To Read It!




The sudden transition from run absentmindedly to run with a plan was odd and felt like author' blackmail.

The answer to her problem was convoluted and plucked from the clear blue sky.

There's no discussion till the plot line just abruptly changes and the reader is in the throes of something where the how, why, when, where, who was NEVER even mentioned. She wasnt going to share her past and was going to run, and then BAM something different and complicated with no discussion.

^^ Odd. Unbelievable. Cloak and dagger to blackmail you into reading book two. Leaving out shit between scene jumps for no reason other than to keep you in the dark and tell you later. Uhm, no! That '-aha, guess what we did between chapter x & y and didn't tell you about' ... 'Guess you'll have to read book two to possibly find out' kinda shit DOES NOT work for me!

There's still a lot of mystery surrounding the FMC's past to help readers want to read book two. We've barely scratched her surface, and that's really the only thing that makes me want to read on. My patience is very, very thin at this point, and if the cloak and dagger routine from book one isn't immediately cleared up, then I will shut that mfer and be DONE!

[Anamarija · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two broken souls - ♫♪"We found love in a hopeless place" 4 stars ☆☆☆☆
Kade & Sam
Story about two broken souls, trauma, issues, violence,crime, human psyche, evil and good, reasons, types of characters, healing...

"He’s damaged. And he’s just grown very attached to all his demons."


"You're beautiful. Stunning. Bewitch-ing. Ravishing. Fucking angelic."


Kade was a king of dialogues in first half of the book. I liked reading them bicker, fight, him humiliating and dissing her. I know that's not right to treat a woman, but I saw it all like a tease.:)

I loved him as a writer and his story pulled me in deep, in disturbing and scary parts of human mind, better described than Sam's story.IMHO.


Sam was really like a calm angel, she dealt with stuff that happened to her much better than Kade. And her background, omg!What life she had before, I was impressed by her career, saving lives in war.... I need more of her story!!!


Anyways, this author has a really unique style of writing, it's really nice. Nothing is simple and characters don't give in easy in this love game.

"Love wasn’t going to heal either one of us. I was not going to erase the events that took place in his life, just as he wouldn’t be able to save me from mine."

You couldn't believe it, but this story has even humor in it!

"A blood-red goblet of wine held tightly in her hand and she smiled
at me like I was the second coming of Christ on a platter, just for her."

"Shaking her ass to the sounds of Lady Blah Blah or whatever the hell her name was." :)

One thing that bothered me, was ending... it was a bit too mushy-gushy-lovey-dovey..too much. This could be avoided cuz all it brought to this story was redundance in the end. But ok, I survived.