Beloved: The Salvation Series, Book 1 (Salvation, #1)

by Corinne Michaels

Men suck.

They break you. Leave you. Take everything until there’s nothing left. And frankly, I’m done allowing them to make me feel insignificant. So, forget men. I’ll just throw myself into my job, because at least that never fails me.

Jackson has other plans, though. I refuse to be impressed by his perfect body, the cute dimple on his cheek, or the rugged stubble on his face. Jackson Cole can be resisted.

But, I’m only fooling myself.

He’s going to wear me down. I can feel it. In the end he’ll prove that once again, I’m no one’s beloved.

• ISBN10: 1682306216
• ISBN13: 9781682306215
• Publish Date: 7 July 2016 (first published 27 May 2014)
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Out of Print: 28 January 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Diversion Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 300
• Language: English

Reviews

[Ing Cruz]

3 stars for Jackson. He saved this book for me. Was going to give it 2 stars cause being in Catherine's head is exhausting. Wish we had more POV from Jackson.

[boghunden]

When you look at the genres for this book, it's listed as romance and military fiction. I've never read military fiction before, and I didn't really think it'd be for me. What I came to realize while reading this book, was that it was more or less a regular romance novel with just a little military thrown in there. Don't let the genre throw you off! I do expect more military things in the next book though.

Speaking of the next book, this book ends on a cliffhanger. I was finishing it up at night, at 1am to be exact, when the book ended with a huge cliffhanger. I got so annoyed that I could't go to sleep, and so I went and downloaded the sample of book two, just to see what would happen next. I of course went and bought the book the next day.

I wasn't the biggest fan of the book at the beginning, it felt more like a mediocre book to me. It was a bit slow, and I'm not really into the whole "girl meets billionaire boss" trope. However, it got better towards the end and I came to really enjoy it. I loved how Jackson treated Catherine, and I loved Jackson's friends.
I don't feel like we saw the full potential of Catherine, she didn't come as far as I was expecting, but I enjoyed her journey.

I was thinking this would be a two star read for me, but then the ending happened. The ending you guys!!! Be prepared and have the next book lined up already - you can thank me later ;)

[leelu92]

Hmmmm. I think there is a lot of potential here. I enjoyed parts of this story but as a whole it fell a little short for me.
What I liked:
Jackson
the sexytimes were great
the MCs had great chemistry

What could've been better:
less internal monologue from Catherine
more character development for Jackson
there was no real mention of how them being together impacted their professional relationship
a bit too much back and forth between the two of them- "I want but I shouldn't" type stuff

There is a cliffhanger and I knew that when I started reading and I was fine with that. I'm undecided as to whether or not I'll read the second book.

Like I said lots of potential here but it was a bit all of the place for me.

[Cocktails and Books]

4.5 Stars

Whoa! Good thing Beholden comes out tonight at midnight. I'm dying to know what happens next.

[Lynn]

I have a weakness for men wearing a sharp suit. Add ex-SEAL to the mix and there you have it; my perfect book boyfriend. I knew Jackson Cole would be added to my exclusive list before reading Beloved. Catherine is a heroine we can all identify with. All the ingredients for a 5 star read.

Catherine is a woman who's life is scarred by the men in her life walking out on her. Heartbroken and dealing with her resulting abandonment issues, she throws herself into becoming the top of her profession. What she didn't expect was to land a contract with a Raven Cosmetics, who's CEO was a man she literally fell for.
Jackson is the honorable ex-SEAL turned successful business man who is plagued by guilt issues. He's swore off women, but is taken by surprise when a beautiful woman literally lands in his lap one evening. Even more surprising when the same woman turns out to be the publicist he's hired for his cosmetic company.

When their worlds collide Catherine and Jackson have instant chemistry and when they are together they sizzle! They are meant to be together but both are dealing with emotional baggage which in turn throws their relationship into turmoil. Catherine doesn't want to commit to a relationship because all the men she has ever loved end up leaving her. Jackson wants to keep Catherine close, but he carries the weight of guilt on his shoulders for the deaths of close ones and doesn't want to put Catherine at risk of the same fate. So he does the only thing he knows is right...

This is a fabulous debut by Ms Michaels. Beloved is the kind of book you just don't want to end, so the cliffhanger is a huge positive for me because I'm not ready to let go of Catherine and Jackson yet. Beholden, I am patiently waiting for you.