REVIEW: Beauty and the Bachelor by Naima Simone

Beauty and the Bachelor 
by Naima Simone
Release Date: August 10th 2015 by Entangled Publishing, LLC
Series: Bachelor Auction
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Author's Links: Goodreads, Website, Twitter, Facebook
View/Purchase: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Kobo, iTunes

Billionaire Lucas Oliver is hell bent on revenge. And his plan begins when Sydney Blake—the stunning daughter of his enemy—is tricked into bidding on Lucas at a bachelor auction. Then he serves up a little blackmail...followed by a marriage proposal Sydney has no choice but to accept.

Sydney has been controlled by her family her whole life. When Lucas threatens to reveal her father's shady business, she is once again forced to do her duty for her family. But worse—oh so much worse—is the rush of lust that Lucas ignites in her blood.

Lucas is determined to make Sydney suffer, but it’s tough when he can’t keep from touching her–or thinking about touching her–all the time. She’s not fairing much better since she’s engaged to a darkly handsome beast intent on destroying her entire family...along with her heart.
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

My Review:

In Beauty and the Bachelor we get to read about two individuals who are so caught up in maintaining their loyalty to their families that they are willing to do anything to protect them. In this case, we meet Lucas Oliver, the handsome billionaire whose fortune has helped him claim the ladder of the wealthy and is willing to do anything to avenge his father. And then we meet Sydney, the daughter of a wealthy man who is determined to do anything to protect her family and maintain her loyalty to them. 

For Sydney, her family is very important to her that she is willing to put her life on hold for her family to be safe. When she is thrown into an arrange marriage to one of the wealthiest families in the city, she was determined to make it work for her family. Yet when attending a charity function she was supposed to bid on her fiance, but instead get tricked into bidding for a handsome stranger who seems to have a pull towards her that she can't deny. As soon as billionaire Lucas Oliver introduces himself to Sydney and her family, no one knows who he is other than he is yet another upcoming billionaire. But among all of that, she can't seem to shake the instant chemistry that they both have towards each other, when they go to their date the next day, she gets caught by the person that wants to see her dad fail and go to jail. The only option that Lucas gives her is to marry him instead of her current fiance and he is going to keep the evidence that he has against her father to himself. Little did they knew that what started out as a somehow forced marriage was going to end up different in the end. The more Lucas started to know about the real Sydney, the more he started to realize that she is an innocent who doesn't deserve what he is about to do to her father, and who deserves someone who can truly love her like he is started to feel about her. 

One of the things that I liked about the book was how we get to see the characters grow and accept themselves and their pasts. They both have been equally hurt in their past that it makes it harder for them to move on. Sydney is a character that has always been loyal to her family even though she doesn't get treated with the same love that she gives to her parents. They always have something negative to say to her and that has slowly grown into her becoming insecure with herself. Both of the characters have tragic stories that they feel guilty of and when Lucas starts to tell Sydney about his past, he lets his guard down and he is able to fully trust her. Yet since their pasts collide one wrong move from either of them is going to end up hurting the other. Though we do get character development in the story, I felt that it lacked some scenes at the beginning of the story. It all felt rushed at the beginning, but it eventually slow down the pace which I liked. The ending was sweet and romantic, I am hoping the author writes more of Lucas' friend and his own story. Overall, the story was very well-written, full of romantic scenes and growth in the characters. I highly recommend it, especially if you're looking for a good page-turner read that is going to leave you wanting for more. :)

***ARC provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.***


My Rating: 4.5/5

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