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A review by caitybell
Beautiful Secret by Christina Lauren
3.0
It's difficult to know where to start with this review because I love this series dearly but rereading this book so many years later has me a little sad to admit I didn't enjoy this one the way I remembered doing so.
Ruby is sent on a business trip as the assistant to Niall Stella (the brother of Max from book two). While on the trip Ruby, a perky and optimistic woman, and Niall, an uptight and introverted man, dance around each other until they can no longer resist the attraction they have.
Character-wise, I liked seeing a less-confidant man in Niall. The others in this series are very much alpha men, but Niall has baggage and it gets in his way a lot. This was endearing at first, then just frustrating by the end. Ruby is sweet but an utter mess. Her office crush on Niall before he even knows her name is cringy and makes their interactions after being stuck on a trip together with a little hard to read. The secondhand embarrassment is strong in this one. In the end, all of that could have been forgiven simply because I love Christina Lauren's writing and the cameos from the other books, but the last chapters...make my blood boil.
I think it's because I'm older now, I for sure don't remember being so angry when I read these books years ago. I remember loving Niall and Ruby. But, damn, after having experienced men getting away with being awful in the workplace I just can't enjoy this one. I'm good with Ruby, but Niall's complete lack of standing up for Ruby against her sleazy boss, which he totally could have and had the power to do something about it, and then he CONTINUES TO WORK WITH SAID SLEAZE LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED was maddening. Yes, I know it's usually the girl that gets the short stick in a corporate setting, especially with crappy men who think they can get away with anything because they usually do. But in my fiction, especially Romance, I want the bad guy to be held accountable, damn it. The ending left me unsatisfied and annoyed and while Ruby held her ground and kept her morals, Niall fell flat on his face by doing nothing, and it's never addressed. Because of this, Ruby should never have stuck around for the guy, in my opinion.
The only reason I bumped it up to three stars is simply because of the writing and the handful of really cute/sexy scenes.
Ruby is sent on a business trip as the assistant to Niall Stella (the brother of Max from book two). While on the trip Ruby, a perky and optimistic woman, and Niall, an uptight and introverted man, dance around each other until they can no longer resist the attraction they have.
Character-wise, I liked seeing a less-confidant man in Niall. The others in this series are very much alpha men, but Niall has baggage and it gets in his way a lot. This was endearing at first, then just frustrating by the end. Ruby is sweet but an utter mess. Her office crush on Niall before he even knows her name is cringy and makes their interactions after being stuck on a trip together with a little hard to read. The secondhand embarrassment is strong in this one. In the end, all of that could have been forgiven simply because I love Christina Lauren's writing and the cameos from the other books, but the last chapters...make my blood boil.
I think it's because I'm older now, I for sure don't remember being so angry when I read these books years ago. I remember loving Niall and Ruby. But, damn, after having experienced men getting away with being awful in the workplace I just can't enjoy this one. I'm good with Ruby, but Niall's complete lack of standing up for Ruby against her sleazy boss, which he totally could have and had the power to do something about it, and then he CONTINUES TO WORK WITH SAID SLEAZE LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED was maddening. Yes, I know it's usually the girl that gets the short stick in a corporate setting, especially with crappy men who think they can get away with anything because they usually do. But in my fiction, especially Romance, I want the bad guy to be held accountable, damn it. The ending left me unsatisfied and annoyed and while Ruby held her ground and kept her morals, Niall fell flat on his face by doing nothing, and it's never addressed. Because of this, Ruby should never have stuck around for the guy, in my opinion.
The only reason I bumped it up to three stars is simply because of the writing and the handful of really cute/sexy scenes.