caslater83's review against another edition
3.0
WOW! What a great read! Olivia and Paul are two very fiery characters. The tension between the two is easy to read and feel. I think it's hilarious that Olivia went up to Maine thinking that she was going to be spoon-feeding some old guy only to find that that her "patient" happened to be a guy very close to her age.
Paul definitely has some issues, some of which stem from his service days overseas. But in a sense, I feel that he allows himself to be "paralyzed" by his nightmares. He stopped running and essentially stopped living life. I get the feeling that he has a bad case of survivor's guilt. He lived, but his buddies didn't. One of his dead buddies left behind a wife and ailing daughter. The future for them is unknown. It's a tough situation. I mean, who wouldn't feel guilty about that?
But Olivia, thankfully, brings new life to him. She's able to spar words with him and show that she's just as fiery as he is. The dialogue is fantastic. The attraction between the two is undeniable.
The only changes I would make to the book is: 1) Clean up the language. 2) Leave out the sex. The dynamics between the two are so strong that the bedroom action isn't even necessary!
Paul definitely has some issues, some of which stem from his service days overseas. But in a sense, I feel that he allows himself to be "paralyzed" by his nightmares. He stopped running and essentially stopped living life. I get the feeling that he has a bad case of survivor's guilt. He lived, but his buddies didn't. One of his dead buddies left behind a wife and ailing daughter. The future for them is unknown. It's a tough situation. I mean, who wouldn't feel guilty about that?
But Olivia, thankfully, brings new life to him. She's able to spar words with him and show that she's just as fiery as he is. The dialogue is fantastic. The attraction between the two is undeniable.
The only changes I would make to the book is: 1) Clean up the language. 2) Leave out the sex. The dynamics between the two are so strong that the bedroom action isn't even necessary!
chelsea_jack's review against another edition
5.0
This one is Beauty and the Beast with a lot of twists and turns.
Instead of becoming the Beast's (Paul, a war vet with some facial and body scars who has a nasty disposition after everything he experienced in Afghanistan) prisoner, Beauty (Olivia, a New York socialite who dropped out of business school to do some do-gooding) is stuck in his castle (an estate in Bar Harbour, Maine) by her own choice.
Olivia believes she needs to do penance for having betrayed a loved one (read Isn't She Lovely in advance if you want to know all the details), so she drops out of business school before her senior year, and agrees to work as a caretaker for a wounded war vet. This girl has some serious emotional baggage - she seems to believe that she deserves bad things since she acted so badly. I love her sassy, spunky personality around Paul - while trying to help him heal, she really shines.
Paul, for his part, has given up on life since returning from war. He doesn't want a caretaker - he wants to be left alone to drink himself into oblivion - but he needs the money that his dad sends, so he agrees to three months of playing nice. Which he can barely manage. Truly. There's a lot of snarling and growling.
The story itself is very focused on Paul and Olivia's rehabilitation. They both need to work through their problems, and they seem to manage it best with each other. It's also a very emotional and painful story as both of them, but especially Paul, lash out and try to hurt each other. I grimaced more than once, I winced a few times, I stopped shy of shedding a few tears - but damn, man. Damn.
I strongly recommend this New Adult title - it's very well written, completely engaging and very emotional.
See my blog To Each Their Own Reviews for more on this and other titles.
Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Instead of becoming the Beast's (Paul, a war vet with some facial and body scars who has a nasty disposition after everything he experienced in Afghanistan) prisoner, Beauty (Olivia, a New York socialite who dropped out of business school to do some do-gooding) is stuck in his castle (an estate in Bar Harbour, Maine) by her own choice.
Olivia believes she needs to do penance for having betrayed a loved one (read Isn't She Lovely in advance if you want to know all the details), so she drops out of business school before her senior year, and agrees to work as a caretaker for a wounded war vet. This girl has some serious emotional baggage - she seems to believe that she deserves bad things since she acted so badly. I love her sassy, spunky personality around Paul - while trying to help him heal, she really shines.
Paul, for his part, has given up on life since returning from war. He doesn't want a caretaker - he wants to be left alone to drink himself into oblivion - but he needs the money that his dad sends, so he agrees to three months of playing nice. Which he can barely manage. Truly. There's a lot of snarling and growling.
The story itself is very focused on Paul and Olivia's rehabilitation. They both need to work through their problems, and they seem to manage it best with each other. It's also a very emotional and painful story as both of them, but especially Paul, lash out and try to hurt each other. I grimaced more than once, I winced a few times, I stopped shy of shedding a few tears - but damn, man. Damn.
I strongly recommend this New Adult title - it's very well written, completely engaging and very emotional.
See my blog To Each Their Own Reviews for more on this and other titles.
Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
smitch29's review against another edition
4.0
4.35
I thought this book was great. It was one of those that I really enjoyed reading, but never felt that complete consumption that 5-star books make me feel. Yet, it still was a story that I can't really pinpoint any significant issues. I can't quite say what could've pushed it to a higher rating.
For a quick recap, this book switches POV between Paul and Olivia. Olivia has just one year left at NYU, but has dropped out to flee from her troubles and escape to a guise of charity in Maine. There in main, lurks a man, Paul, who has spent the last two years since his time in war, stewing in his misery. He has pushed everyone and just about everything away, to live in near isolation, only leaving his house to go on early morning walks. Paul's dad had continued to set up caregivers for him in an effort to give him some company to pull him out of his mean rut, and into the land of the living. Olivia is his dad's last ditch effort to reach his son. Paul and his father have a deal that if Paul doesn't scare this girl away for at least three months, his dad won't cut him off. Paul gets thrown for a loop, when this hired help isn't a dowdy woman complete with cautionary language. This one is a hot 22 year old with a bit of sass, and no training whatsoever. Olivia doesn't quite know what is expected of her but she's pretty certain she shouldn't show her attraction to Paul, which he helps by turning into a bit of a jerk. Eventually, they get into a groove, though, where Olivia avoids her shame she's running from, and Paul grudgingly allows Olivia to amuse him from time to time. But with all romance novels, eventually their attraction to one another comes to a head.
I really liked both the characters, I thought they were well written, with human complexities, and amusing mannerism. They definitely had their share of faults and they had to learn to cope and overcome them. Their relationship wasn't a cure all for their problems. The author did a good job hold them accountable for their own recoveries.
This is one of those books that has made me really curious about this author. My next step is to definitely go check out what else this author has offered up.
I thought this book was great. It was one of those that I really enjoyed reading, but never felt that complete consumption that 5-star books make me feel. Yet, it still was a story that I can't really pinpoint any significant issues. I can't quite say what could've pushed it to a higher rating.
For a quick recap, this book switches POV between Paul and Olivia. Olivia has just one year left at NYU, but has dropped out to flee from her troubles and escape to a guise of charity in Maine. There in main, lurks a man, Paul, who has spent the last two years since his time in war, stewing in his misery. He has pushed everyone and just about everything away, to live in near isolation, only leaving his house to go on early morning walks. Paul's dad had continued to set up caregivers for him in an effort to give him some company to pull him out of his mean rut, and into the land of the living. Olivia is his dad's last ditch effort to reach his son. Paul and his father have a deal that if Paul doesn't scare this girl away for at least three months, his dad won't cut him off. Paul gets thrown for a loop, when this hired help isn't a dowdy woman complete with cautionary language. This one is a hot 22 year old with a bit of sass, and no training whatsoever. Olivia doesn't quite know what is expected of her but she's pretty certain she shouldn't show her attraction to Paul, which he helps by turning into a bit of a jerk. Eventually, they get into a groove, though, where Olivia avoids her shame she's running from, and Paul grudgingly allows Olivia to amuse him from time to time. But with all romance novels, eventually their attraction to one another comes to a head.
I really liked both the characters, I thought they were well written, with human complexities, and amusing mannerism. They definitely had their share of faults and they had to learn to cope and overcome them. Their relationship wasn't a cure all for their problems. The author did a good job hold them accountable for their own recoveries.
This is one of those books that has made me really curious about this author. My next step is to definitely go check out what else this author has offered up.
jenrich26's review against another edition
4.0
I love stories about people in tough spots in life who grow and change so I really enjoyed this story and liked the way it unfolded.
ewatson0328's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the Beauty and the Beast connection (although it could just be my slight obsession with BatB). :) This was such a sweet book. I'm really looking forward to the next book.
mandy_pandy's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book! This was one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read. I cried so much for Paul and my heart just broke for what he was going through. The sexual tension was off the charts. I couldn't put this book down and couldn't wait to see if Paul and Olivia were ever going to figure things out. I loved the connection between these characters and the way they helped each other but ultimately had to help themselves. This is one of my top books of 2014 and this one will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommend!
*ARC received by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
*ARC received by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
rlp78's review against another edition
5.0
I read, and enjoyed, the first book in this series. It was a fun, relatively light-hearted read. I was prepared for something similar when I read this. Boy was I wrong. Yes, there were definitely elements of humor, but the story was much deeper and the characters much more broken. Olivia and Paul were incredibly hot together but the most enjoyable part was watching them grow as people. Paul's story just broke my heart. His self-imposed isolation made sense. And Olivia was a much more sympathetic person in this book. I hated that there was no epilogue but I'm hoping that there is another story for Michael coming that could have a nice epilogue for all three couples...
zahreenuh's review against another edition
5.0
Literally love plots like this. I don't care what anyone says. People who have personal life battles and overcome them.. perfect. And I just loved this couple. Grumpy man gets his ass straighten out. Ughhh love