BEAUTIFUL BASTARD (BEAUTIFUL BASTARD, BOOK #1) BY CHRISTINA LAUREN: BOOK REVIEW

Beautiful Bastard
Beautiful Bastard, Book #1
By Christina Lauren
ISBN# 1476730105
Author’s Website:  http://www.christinalaurenbooks.com/

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Autumn

* Beware of possible Spoilers*

Synopsis:

An ambitious intern. A perfectionist executive. And a whole lot of name calling. Discover the story that garnered more than two million reads online.

Whip-smart, hardworking, and on her way to an MBA, Chloe Mills has only one problem: her boss, Bennett Ryan. He’s exacting, blunt, inconsiderate—and completely irresistible. A Beautiful Bastard.

Bennett has returned to Chicago from France to take a vital role in his family’s massive media business. He never expected that the assistant who’d been helping him from abroad was the gorgeous, innocently provocative—completely infuriating—creature he now has to see every day. Despite the rumors, he’s never been one for a workplace hookup. But Chloe’s so tempting he’s willing to bend the rules—or outright smash them—if it means he can have her. All over the office.

As their appetites for one another increase to a breaking point, Bennett and Chloe must decide exactly what they’re willing to lose in order to win each other. Originally only available online as The Office by tby789—and garnering over two million reads on fan fiction sites—Beautiful Bastard has been extensively updated for re-release. (Goodreads)

Review:

Bennett Ryan has it all.  Amazing career, loving family and smoking hot good looks.  His ultra critical and snarky management style has earned him the nickname “Beautiful Bastard” from Chloe Mills, his intern.

Chloe is on the verge of completing her internship at Ryan Media Group and with the infamous Bennett Ryan as her mentor, it has been both a dream and a nightmare.  One minute she wants to kill him and the next minute she wants to kiss him breathless.  She believes that she has successfully hidden her desire for her boss until one day in the conference room – all bets are off.

The two colleagues are thrown into a steamy panty-ripping affair that crosses every line of professionalism and leaves them both questioning if it’s just steamy sex or could it be more?

I remember reading The Office back in 2009.  It was no doubt the hottest story that I had ever read up to that point. So when I found out that it was going to be published as Beautiful Bastard, I knew that I had to read it.

The connection between the characters is somehow off.  The heat is still there and the sex scenes are still steamy, but the relationship between Bennett and Chloe seems forced and superficial.  The ending was a bit abrupt and although it may be satisfying to some readers, it left me lukewarm.

I really wanted to love this book and even still will read the next book in the series.  The potential is apparent but it just somehow got lost in all of the hype.