Beautiful Stranger is the second book in the Beautiful Series. Beautiful Bastard is the first book, which I reviewed here. If you read that review you know that I wasn’t exactly gaga over it. I decided to give Christina Lauren (the author duo) a second chance and pick up Beautiful Stranger. I’m so glad I decided to read it, because it blew Beautiful Bastard out of the water. And if you really wanted to… you could read it as a stand alone book. Although the Beautiful Bastard Series will have 4 novels and 3 e-novellas in total.
The synopsis:
A charming British Playboy. A girl determined to finally live. And a secret liaison revealed in all too vivid color. Book two in the NYT Bestselling series.Â
Escaping a cheating ex, finance whiz Sara Dillon’s moved to New York City and is looking for excitement without a lot of strings attached. So meeting the irresistible, sexy Brit at a dance club should have meant nothing more than a night’s fun. But the manner—and speed—with which he melts her inhibitions turns him from a one-time hookup and into her Beautiful Stranger.
The whole city knows Max Stella loves women, not that he’s ever found one he particularly wants to keep around. Despite pulling in plenty with his Wall Street bad boy charm, it’s not until Sara—and the wild photos she lets him take of her—that he starts wondering if there’s someone for him outside of the bedroom.
Hooking up in places where anybody could catch them, the only thing scarier for Sara than getting caught in public is having Max get too close in private.
I almost didn’t read this book because I found the man on the cover to be unattractive. Yes, I judge books by their covers. So do you, don’t lie! But I went ahead and read it anyway because I’ve been fooled by book covers in the past. Seriously, I’m so glad I read it.
We met Sara Dillon in Beautiful Bastard. She is one of Chloe’s good friends and works for BB aka Bennett Ryan. However, we didn’t meet the sexy Brit Mr. Max Stella aka Beautiful Stranger until this book. He is a fellow businessman and knows Bennett Ryan because of the work they do.
One of the main reasons I loved this book is because of Sara and Max. I loved both of the characters. They weren’t super over the top like Chloe and Bennett. They didn’t hate each other, actually they really enjoyed each other and it was apparent. I think the authors did a better job of creating a story in addition to all of the sex scenes. Just like in Beautiful Bastard, this book was full of sex. But it was definitely unlike many stories I’ve read in the past, because it was never in a bed.
Sara had a thing for having sex in places where they could get caught. At one point in the story they actually go to a voyeuristic kind of club and… well things just get weird.
One of the best things about this book was that the pseudo relationship developed at a believable pace and actually had precedent. In Beautiful Bastard, I felt like I was side-swiped by their sudden love for one another. In Beautiful Stranger it felt more realist.
Sara was scared of entering into anything more than a sexual relationship because of her recent breakup with her a-hole of an ex. Max wants Sara in any way that he can get her. They spend a lot of time together, mostly having sex, but also talking and getting to know one another. Sara was destined to fall for that Beautiful Stranger, wasn’t she? Plus he’s a Brit. Who can resist that? Not me! 😉
As far as the sex scenes go they were just above average. I would say I enjoyed reading them mostly because of my positive feelings for the characters themselves, not necessarily the writing style of the authors. Overall, I was left very satisfied with this story and I can’t wait to dive into Beautiful Player (which is about Chloe & Bennett) releasing this October. There will be a few e-novellas before then which I’m definitely looking forward to.
So I’m dying to know… Did you fall for Max Stella?
Other Books I’ve Reviewed That You Might Enjoy: