Beautiful Secret (Beautiful Bastard, #4)
Christina Lauren
AN UPTIGHT BRITISH EXECUTIVE. AN ADVENTUROUS AMERICAN NEWBIE. A SEXY INTERNATIONAL SCANDAL IN THE MAKING. New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author Christina Lauren’s Beautiful and Wild Seasons series hook up in Beautiful Secret for an erotic intercontinental romp that celebrates the best of both worlds! When Ruby Miller’s boss announces he’s sending her on an extended business trip to New York City, she’s shocked. As one of the best and brightest young engineers in London, she knows she’s professionally up to the task. The part that’s throwing her is where she’ll be spending a month up close and personal working alongside—and staying in a hotel with—Niall Stella, her firm’s top urban planning executive and The Hottest Man Alive. Despite her ongoing crush, Ruby is certain Niall barely knows she’s alive…until their flirty overnight flight makes him sit up and take notice. Not one for letting loose and breaking rules, recently divorced Niall would describe himself as hopeless when it comes to women. But even he knows outgoing California-girl Ruby is a breath of fresh air. Once she makes it her mission to help the sexy Brit loosen his tie, there’s no turning back. Thousands of miles from London, it’s easy for the lovers to play pretend. But when the trip is over, will the relationship they’ve built up fall down?
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Absolutely flew through this book, but didn't have quite the same pull as the previous.
Some elements were very interesting: Ruby's openness and frank sexuality was a nice difference from Sara's and I felt like that was pretty consistent. However Ruby came across to me as very young and there was a bit more telling over showing just how bright and charming she was.
She started off being like 'I can't get out two words when he is around' to then 'oh, bantering with him, effortless'.
I really wanted to be into Niall, but he was so insecure and hesitant that it was a hindrance to really connecting with him, in my opinion.
Still a fun read, but it was so overly in the character's heads, in freak out/overthinking mode that it felt bogged down and questioning, instead of sexy.
February 2017
Listened to the audio book, and must say I enjoyed the guy's lovely British accent! (hadn't noticed how often the word 'vibrating' was used until I heard it in his voice....)
I still mostly agree with my first review: Ruby felt young and her understanding and patience were a bit too saintly and her outburst with Niall going to Portia felt a bit out of hand and eye-rolling. Also, since Ruby is basically already in love with him from before the beginning, I think this was an exclusion of the reader seeing him and falling for him with Ruby, we are just supposed to care about him and there aren't enough instances of us seeing him be a great guy for us to like him the way Ruby does.
Niall was such an over-thinker, and I'm sad to say there were a couple times when I thought "what a female thing to do, all this over-analyzing", which is terrible because of course there are guys who over think everything too. Just not the typical male protagonist of a romance, and I think it could have been refreshing if it had been less obnoxious.
March 2018
Don't know why I got this and listened for a 3rd time, other than I just had one or two scenes in my head that I wanted to re-read. Still agree with my previous descriptions, hope to not re-read at this point.
I think I like the 'Wild Seasons' series better than the 'Beautiful Bastards' series, overall.
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