Dilek VT's Reviews > Beautifully Cruel

Although there is some mafia story in it, this is not a dark book at all. It is a hearts and flowers kind of book; one that is sweet, sexy and fun. All it is about is love. So if you are looking for a dark mafia book with lots of action in it, this is not it. I don’t like mafia romance that much so this one worked for me 😊

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I loved both characters but the heroine Tru is my favorite. I usually dislike the heroines romance writers create because they tend to create women without a backbone and most of them are either awkward and silly or they are a pushover. However, Ms Geissinger's women are always adorable.



Tru may seem to be shy at first but she is no pushover. When she is confronted with a difficult situation, she shows how strong she is. She is indeed a firecracker 😊 Although Liam, the hero, is a very strong alpha character, Tru was never afraid of speaking her mind. She was never afraid to confront the other mafia members either, she never let them walk all over her.

Tru has a lot of sass and her banter with Liam is delicious. Well, no one writes fun and sexy banter between a man and a woman better than Ms. Geissinger so when the book starts with their sweet banter, I thought just how much I had missed Ms Geissinger’s writing.

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Tru is a law student but she also works at a diner to support herself. She is 24 years old.

Liam is a man whose job we didn’t know until towards the end of the book. He is 39 years old so there is a 15 years age gap between them.

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For the past eleven months, Liam has been coming to the diner where she works just to watch her. He looks like a man obsessed with her. As he’s never said anything, she's not sure what to make of his intentions.



Although it is clear that he's a dangerous man, Tru still wants to get to know him better because she feels attracted to him. That’s why, finally, she decides to talk to this mysterious man who always comes to the diner in expensive suits.

And when she starts to talk to him, Liam slowly starts to see that he has underestimated her thinking that she was shy. She is in fact a smart and sassy woman under that shy exterior. And the more they talk, the more attracted they feel towards each other but Liam knows that she would be in danger if she were with him so he tries to stay away as he did for the past 11 months. And also, he constantly warns her that she should stay away from him and say “No” to him because he is dangerous but she doesn’t listen to him. And, each time he decides that he will never come back to that diner again, he breaks his own promise.

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Liam fears a long-term relationship will eventually harm her so he finds another solution that I didn’t like. He suggests that they live together in his house for 28 days and then never see each other again. He also says that she should be smart and say “No” to him. I was afraid that she would be stupid enough to say "yes" but she surprised me with her logical answer. She knew it would hurt her when they had to break up and she didn't want a short-time relationship. She wanted more. I was happy with her decision.

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Up until that part, I was really loving the book but then something happened and I was pissed at our hero for a while.

(view spoiler)[ Although Liam knows that he is being selfish, he wants her to say “yes” and when she finally listens to his advice and says “no”, he can’t be OK with it. He is too obsessed with her that he kidnaps her.

At that time, she doesn’t understand that it is kidnapping. He kisses her and takes her in his arms and puts her in his car. He takes her to his house. She is a bit angry at how he takes her from her graduation party with her friends but still he can manage to charm her.

First, she doesn't understand that he is going to keep her in his house for 28 days. She just thinks that because she refused to be with him for 28 days only, he now wants at least one night with her. Because she wants him as much as he wants her, she has sex with him that night twice. The next morning, she wants to leave but he doesn’t let her go. It is only then she realizes that his intention is to keep her there for 28 days. She is furious then. She gets out of the door and tries to escape but his men don’t let her go.

She is pissed and she says she won’t sleep with him again and thank God, he doesn’t force her. They live together and he never tries to touch her in a sexual way.

Then, a few days later he takes her out to a restaurant and tells her she is free if she wants to be and when she goes to the loo, she sees that she can go out of the back door and no one will stop her but she herself decides to stay and give him a chance. From then on, they become lovers that are inseparable.

Normally, I wouldn’t easily forgive a man who did that but I forgave him when he gave her the choice of leaving in the restaurant and she stayed willingly. And maybe also because I knew how strongly he felt for her, I tried to ignore how wrong what he did was.

I love a man obsessed about a woman, but of course only when the woman is also obsessed about him 😊 (hide spoiler)]

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After they solve this problem, 3 weeks pass in pure bliss until something happens that separates them for a short time and then we have the happy end, don’t worry 😊

Actually, the book doesn’t have a complicated plot. Nothing much happens other than their time together and the problem of him being in the mafia and her being in danger with him. They needed a clean solution and that part was the plot twist. It was good and I liked how things ended.

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We learn that Liam had a girlfriend 18 years ago and she died and Tru had a boyfriend who cheated on her but it is only mentioned in one or two sentences and no one is caught up on their ex so no problem.

Well, there is one man who feels something for the heroine and causes some trouble but it is nothing to be bothered about as she sees him only as a friend.

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Killian from Dangerous Beauty trilogy also makes an appearance in this book. I never liked him in that trilogy but here we learn how awful his life was when he was a child so I felt sorry for him.

And he was cute in this book… at least he didn’t get on my nerves as he did in that trilogy.

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All in all, this book was a good one that made me feel as it always happens in Ms. Geissinger's books. Maybe this one was not one of her epic books for me but still it was good enough to get solid 4 stars from me.

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You should really read the Acknowledgements in this book. It is a quite heart-felt one.

I am sorry for your loss Ms Geissinger ☹

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Here are a few QUOTES from the book 😊

This is how he watches her all the time in the diner…

He’s waiting. Watching me. Unsmiling as always, with burning dark eyes and the kind of focus and stillness I’ve only ever seen in documentaries of big cats as they lie in wait in tall grasses for a gazelle to pass. This is always how he looks at me: in hunger and silence. But unlike an African cat on the prowl, the wolf’s gaze holds something wary underneath. A kind of enforced restraint.

***

He does his impression of a sphinx and stares at me, his gaze turning from blistering to coolly impenetrable. The man has perfected being enigmatic to an art.

***

He slants me a look that I think is meant to convey amusement, but is smoldering instead. The man can’t help it. His default setting is raging inferno.

***



This is how Diego, who also has feelings for Tru, describes the situation with Liam.

“You’re beautiful, chica.”
Surprised, I open my eyes and look at Diego. He stares back at me with a grim set to his mouth.
“Beautiful and sweet. And smart. And funny. I’ve been watching guys come in here and get boners over you for two years. But I’ve never seen any man look at any woman the way that fucker looks at you.”
I hesitate to ask, but curiosity gets the better of me. “How does he look at me?”
“Like he’ll die if he doesn’t.”

***

This is a good example of our heroine’s temper 😊



When my ex cheated on me six months after we moved to Boston together, I threw all his clothes into a big pile in the middle of the sidewalk and lit the pile on fire. I might be an introvert, but I’ve got a temper, and I hold a grudge like nobody’s business.

***

And here you can see how much sass she has. In the diner, while he was talking to her, he wants her to take her hair down and then he has to listen to her for five minutes until she finishes her tirade😊

He issues a startling command. “Take your hair down.”
I arch my brows. “Excuse me?”
“Your hair. Take it out of the bun.”

Okay, so he’s got the whole alpha male thing going on. He’s probably used to issuing orders and having his minions peep in terror and scatter to do his bidding. Unfortunately for him, I’m just as stubborn as I am hot-tempered and grudge- holding. The only orders I take are for food.

“First things first. Tell me your name. Then maybe we’ll exchange phone numbers. Then maybe we’ll go on a date. You don’t really look like a guy who goes miniature golfing, so…dinner? Yes. Dinner. You’ll take me somewhere nice, I’ll laugh at all your jokes, we’ll get to know each other. Then maybe at some point down the line after a few more dates, I’ll take down my hair for you. But that’s something you earn. I don’t know what kind of women you’re used to, but my mother didn’t raise a worker bee. She raised a queen.”

I stare at him without smiling. “And I don’t give away the honey for free.”

He’s silent for so long it gets uncomfortable. But then he leans over the table, threads his fingers together, and looks me in the eyes. His own are fierce and burning. “And here I thought you were shy.”

“I am,” I say, nodding. “Especially with strangers. Tongue-tied and awkward, too. That doesn’t mean I’m a pushover. I live most of my life in my head, but the knives come out when necessary .”

The wolf stares at me. I have never, ever, been looked at with such intensity.

***

For a long while, she doesn’t know who Liam really is…



***

I loved how obsessed Liam was with Tru.
 
“Can you appreciate at all how strange this is for me?”
After a beat, he answers, his voice an octave lower. “Aye, lass. I can. It’s strange for me, too.”
“How is it strange for you? This is your rodeo.”
He growls, “Because I’ve never been obsessed with a woman the way I am with you.”
The raw honesty in his voice stops me short. I whisper, “Really?”
“Aye. I feel like a filthy fucking addict.”
I sit with that for a moment, enjoying it.

***

I gasp, writhing. “I’m not your fuck toy, dammit!”
“No, you’re not my fuck toy,” he says against my neck, his voice husky. “You’re my queen bee. My unhealthy obsession. The reason I haven’t been able to sleep in a goddamn year.”

***

I whisper urgently, “Promise me something.”
“Anything,” he says instantly. “Name it.”
“Don’t let me fall in love with you.”
He whispers, “Could you?”
Oh god. He wants it. He wants me to fall in love with him.
My voice shaking, I say, “I’m halfway there already.”
He looks like I’ve just stabbed him in the gut.


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