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Book Review-Beautiful Sinner by Sophie Jordan

by | Oct 17, 2018 | Book Reviews | 0 comments

Book Review-Beautiful Sinner by Sophie Jordan

I received this book for free from Avon in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review-Beautiful Sinner by Sophie JordanBeautiful Sinner by Sophie Jordan
Also in this series: All Chained Up, Hell Breaks Loose, Fury on Fire, Beautiful Lawman
Series: Devil's Rock #5
Published by Avon on October 30, 2018
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Small Town
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Avon
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three-half-stars

Locked in with the town bad boy . . .

Most women would be scared, but Gabriella’s only worried about resisting Cruz Walsh, who’s even hotter than he was back in high school. Cruz was wrongly accused of the high-profile crime for which he was imprisoned; Gabriella’s desperate for the scoop that will get her career off the ground and get her out of Sweet Hill, where everyone still remembers her as “Flabby Gabby.” Being stuck in a supply closet with Cruz is the perfect opportunity to land an interview. What Bri doesn’t count on is Cruz taking “up-close and personal” to a whole new level.

If there’s a silver lining to the hell Cruz went through, it’s that losing his freedom put everything in perspective. Maybe starting over someplace new would be easier, but after years locked up, Cruz values his family—and his true friends—more than ever. So he’s back home, facing the gossip, dodging reporters . . . and face-to-face with Gabriella Rossi. They’ve both changed: Bri wants a story and Cruz just wants her. Another thing he’s learned? Don’t let a good thing slip away.

Beautiful Sinner is the fifth in the Devil’s Rock series and boy I have gotten a kick out of these books here. I have such a weakness for those bad boys that need love too…that underneath the tough exteriors have hearts of gold. And with each hero of this series, I fall in love all over again and it was like that with Beautiful Sinner. The Devil’s Rock series centers around characters that are ex-cons and Sophie Jordan has handled these books very well so I was pretty excited to get an ARC copy of Beautiful Sinner, especially since it features the brother of the heroine from Beautiful Lawman —Book four.

The story begins with a small town event, Gabriella is there to congratulate her niece, but then she finds herself locked in a closet with the man rumored to have been falsely accused of murdering her cousin…Cruz Walsh. Its rumored that the Walsh family is no good, but with the recent marriage of his sister to the local sheriff, Gabriella knows that there is more to the family than meets the eye. Even though she is nervous around Cruz, she has also had a crush on him for years. She knew him well in high school, and in the dark, they had the most sensual encounter, a kiss she has never forgotten nor the explosive chemistry. But she is torn between her feelings for Cruz and her job as a journalist to find out everything she can about him. But Cruz and Gabriella have always had a connection and now that they are in close proximity, nothing will stop them from embracing what they have both wanted for years.

I have to say that I truly had so much fun with these characters. I normally don’t care too much for journalist/reporter characters, they just seem to be so selfish and not caring about who they hurt just for a story. But this was NOT the case with Gabriella and I found it so refreshing. Sophie Jordan had me breathing a sigh of relief with this book. Of course, we have a second chance romance here, and some secret identity. Cruz at first doesn’t realize that its Gabriella that he shared that passionate encounter with in High School. But the moment they kiss again in present, he realizes who she is and that she is the one that got him through the worst of it in prison. Cruz is such a strong and honorable hero. I love how devoted he is to his family, and how horrid people can be. The town really treats him horribly and after spending years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, he definitely didn’t deserve such harsh treatment. But Gabriella really surprises you in this book because she stands up for Cruz even though her family will probably cast her out for it.

I’ve always wanted you, Gabriella Rossi. In the boathouse…I didn’t know it was you, but I wanted it to be. In prison, in the dark of night, when I dreamed of the girl I kissed in the boathouse she didn’t have a face…so I gave her yours.

Now even though I enjoyed the romance and the slow growth of intimacy between the characters, the reason my rating is so much lower is the pacing of the book. Being engaged in a story is one of the most fundamental elements in a story for me to enjoy it. Now I did read this pretty quickly, but honestly, I was hoping it would be more engaging. I didn’t fully connect with the story like I really wanted to. I felt like I only got the “surface” outlook on the story instead of the full depth of it like I have come to expect from Sophie Jordan.

Overall I found Beautiful Sinner to be emotional, leave you with tears and smiles love story with endearing characters and a second chance romance that is deserved….A FUN TALE OF STRENGTH AND LOVE!


 

About Sophie Jordan

Pseudonym:
Sharie Kohler

Sophie Jordan took her adolescent daydreaming one step further and penned her first historical romance in the back of her high school Spanish class. This passion led her to pursue a degree in English and History.

A brief stint in law school taught her that case law was not nearly as interesting as literature - teaching English seemed the natural recourse. After several years teaching high school students to love Antigone, Sophie resigned with the birth of her first child and decided it was time to pursue the long-held dream of writing.

In less than three years, her first book, Once Upon A Wedding Night, a 2006 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Nominee for Best First Historical, hit book shelves. Her second novel, Too Wicked To Tame, released in March 2007 with a bang, landing on the USA Today Bestseller's List

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