Review: The Beauty Series
I decided I would post about this trilogy as it is fresh in my mind. I will include them all in this one post separately.
I want to strive to always give an honest review be it good or bad. Sometimes books don't move us or elicit emotions like others and not all books are fabulous. But I'm not here to bash them either.
Beauty from Pain
Synopsis
Jack Henry, the most desired and eligible bachelor in Australia, wine maker, trillionaire, extraordinaire. He has specific tastes in women, he wants no connection and he certainly has no desire to be in a committed, loving relationship with the possibility of a family or a happily ever after. Laurelyn, a country girl from Nashville, with a musical career that is taking off, but the past has put a bit of a damper on what she wants to do with her life. She takes off on a 3 month adventure to Australia with her bestie Addison and embarks on what turns out to be more than she bargained for.
There are few snags along the way but this arrangement is perfect for both...so they think. Laurelyn, like most women, has trouble keeping love out of this equation. Jack comes to realize that he is having feelings that he has never felt before and has no idea how to cope with this and it doesn't hit him until he's a bit late to express them.
"You and I will both be in Wagga Wagga for the next three months. I'd really like to see you while we're here"
"My life is complicated for reasons I won't discuss. When it comes to dating, I need it to be simple and undemanding. Disclosing my identity complicate things, so you wouldn't know my real name"
We get a taste of the strong 23 year old Laurelyn and she is forward and shoots straight from the hip. I think this comes from her upbringing. She has raised herself and doesn't put on aires and speaks from her heart. BTW...I loathe her mother!!! Jack, on the other hand, is a 30 year old man, he has secrets, and doesn't want to share anything other than sex with her. I was a little put out with him by the end. I really wanted to strangle him, if I'm being honest.
This was an ok book for me. There was a bit of humor and some hot sex but it was lacking for me in places. I was anxious to get the the 2nd one as I am a HEA kinda girl and this left me wanting more of their story.
Beauty from Surrender
Synopsis
We find Laurie back in Nashville, miserable and Jack Henry is in Australia trying to decipher how in the hell he is gonna win her back. The struggles they face in this book is enough to drive any lover away. His past is sneaking up on him and Laurie is getting constant reminders of how his life was prior to her. Will their love endure these ghosts?
When the first book ended I really was left wanting to know where their story would go. I want my HEA!!! Then I remembered I had to read this book and another before I would find out!!! This was depressing for me. I really struggled in this second book.
Jack Henry is thirty years old and he is distinguished and accomplished. Some of the things the author had him say totally turned me off, so much to the point I almost gave up reading (but I'm not a quitter so I pressed on). It was like something an eighteen year old boy would say. I was really turned off by the word "spunk" and the phrase "blow my load". This is a love story and I believe that there could have been other adjectives used in place. It actually made him sound childish and rather disgusting. I also didn't like how whinny he was in this book. I want a strong male lead and he exhibited weakness for me. I realize he is in love but COME ON!!! I want my book male to be the man of my dreams not some whinny ass man in real life!!! The dialogue on both ends was not all that great, some of it is funny but then at points it went from the ridiculous to the sublime. There were other times though when the sweetest things were said that kinda melted my heart.
"I've spent the last three months learning how me without you feels, and I've hated every minute. I never want to do it again"
"There's been no other man since you-not inside my head, my heart, or my body." She reaches for my hand and brings it to rest over her heart. "No other man will ever reside here. It's reserved for you alone."
On the flip side of the coin, Laurie was fabulous!!! She didn't show any weakness when faced with his crazy past!! Even though she is young she knows what she wants and is willing to do anything to make it happen. She wants a family more than anything and she decides in order to have that she will have to look the other way and forgive and try to forget.
"Tucking my tail between my legs isn't my forte. Leaving would make me appear upset, which I am, but also weak, which I'm not, so I have no intention of giving her that pleasure."
We really get to see a side to Jack Henry's family in this book. His mum Margaret absolutely cracked me up!!! She actually made me laugh at several points. We get to see what his family is really like and its so sweet. It's what Laurie always wanted in a family. They are very close and Margaret is the glue that holds them together. She also is such a voice of reason for Jack.
This book was anti-climactic for me, like you're waiting for something big to happen and then something big happens but it's not what you thought it would be and then life just moved on. There were parts that had me screaming because I was angry at Jack Henry, and parts where I was totally cheering Laurie on but I never really got those overwhelming feelings.
Beauty from Love
Synopsis
In the third and final installment we see Jack Henry and L (his new name for her) embarking on a new adventure in their lives. His past is still rearing its ugly head in their present and it's up to L to try and make it through. They have some new hurdles to jump over in order to get to their happy ending.
To say that I struggled to get through this book is an understatement. Like I have said before, I did like the books ok but not something that I would read again. The struggle in this book is more than just a past...it's the present as well.
They are put to the test in this book and all I wanted to say was "Can these people have a damn month of happiness for Christ sake"? Every time I thought things couldn't get worse it did!!! I thought that too much attention was paid to the problem at hand in this third book. It was slightly repetitive and that got on my nerves a bit.
"You were once my beauty from pain, before you became my beauty from surrender. Now you've adapted into something different once again."
"And what is that?"
"My beauty from love...Forever."
I did finish and was glad that I read them. I do have issues with the writing, it was subpar for me, it didn't elicit tons of emotion and I had a tendency to get a bit bored throughout. I wanted a powerful climax and I never really got one. I loved the plot throughout all three books but in my honest opinion it could have been done in two. It lacked a bit of fluidity and the descriptions were a bit sparse. There was also an issue that never got resolved for me and for it to have been such a big deal in the first and part of the second book I was left rubbing my chin wondering what happened.
This is just my opinion on these books and you can take it for what it's worth.
As always thank you for stopping by and reading my blog!!
All my Love
K
