Linda
Written on Jun 11, 2016
I absolutely loved Beauty, Inc. - it's one of the best Beauty and the Beast re-tellings I've ever read, and I was immediately swept off my feet by both Belle and Magnus.
Tara Lain's Pennymaker Tales series is truly amazing! I loved spending some time with Belle and Magnus, and Beauty, Inc. was a tale that got me thinking about the fact that we often need to look deeper than what we see at first sight. There is strong friendships and loyalty in this story, and there is family who doesn't act like family, but friends who do act like family. There are some strong, very smart characters, and some important messages about what is important in life.
A great love story - that's what the original Beauty and the Beast is all about, and that's definitely true for this re-telling as well. I truly enjoyed Magnus - almost more so than Belle - because he was in the public eye, had left the scars on his face be, and didn't think he deserved love or affection from anyone. It was great to see Belle slowly change his mind, just by being loveable and showing Magnus that he was worthy, and while Magnus kept being insecure about those feelings for a while, he was never pathetic or diminished by that. It made him more likeable and realistic to me.
The story spans over several weeks, and while Beauty Inc. is a company inventing new skin care and make-up, it's also a company that works to help women in need. Sharing is caring, and Magnus brought that to a whole new and important level with his various charities. Written in third person point of view, past tense, but with dialogues to let the readers close to the characters, the story was well executed and made me cry tears of joy in the very end.
Walking behind Kleinschmidt came the most beautiful boy - man - Magnus had ever seen. Pale blond with much darker eyes, cheekbones like a lesson from Michelangelo, and a tall, slim body that filled out a gray business suit as if he were walking a runway.
No one else looked even a little like that, but wow. Belle's steps slowed. Looking at Strong's face on the cover of a magazine revealed its ugliness, but in life his pure vitality and charisma leaped across the space between them and ate Belle alive. So ugly he was beautiful.
"I'm glad." His heart beat so hard they both should have been able to hear it.
Beauty, Inc.
(The Pennymaker Tales #3)
by Tara Lain
Excerpt
Excerpt: Beauty, Inc. by Tara Lain – Belle is GratefulMagnus stared at the photo he kept in the top drawer. Quit being sappy. Still, helping Judy Brancoli brought it all back. He sighed. A good reason to stick with other philanthropies.
Is someone here?
He looked up just as Belle stepped into his doorway. His heart skipped. What did Belle’s expression mean? Confusion? Anger? Hope? “Hello.”
Belle swallowed hard. “Are you the one who called Judy last night?”
Okay, what had he done now? “Uh, yes. I—I thought—it was so late, and no one else was here.”
“You had a ticket waiting for her at the airport and got Leroy to meet her?”
“Yes.”
“And gave her a job and insurance?”
“I talked to HR, yes.”
Some huge storm battled behind Belle’s midnight blue eyes. He didn’t seem to be able to catch his breath. He just gasped and clutched his chest. Magnus stood. “Are you okay? Can I get you water?”
Suddenly Belle took off like a gazelle that had spotted a lion—except he ran to the lion. In three bounding steps, he crossed the office and hurled himself at Magnus. Before Magnus could prepare, a tall, slim body hit him full force, arms wrapping around his neck. “Thank you. Thank you. Oh my God, how can I ever thank you?”
Magnus lost his balance and staggered, arms coming around Belle, falling until his butt hit the office chair, which rolled back. They smacked the wall with Belle sprawled on his lap. He gasped for breath, and the exhale came out as a laugh. It was like having the world’s cutest dalmatian on his lap—a dalmatian he’d like to kiss and embrace and otherwise manhandle. Dream on.
Belle kept hugging and muttering, “Thank you. Thank you.”
Magnus adjusted Belle a little so he was actually sitting on Magnus’s lap but didn’t make a big enough thing out of it to scare him off. Hell, this was a moment to savor and prolong.
Finally Belle stopped wiggling, which was good, since the vibration was getting to Magnus’s cock. Belle stilled and seemed to hesitate. Reluctance or embarrassment? He sat back and looked into Magnus’s face. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Magnus couldn’t help smiling, even though the effect wasn’t really friendly. “I’m very glad you’re happy.”
“No one’s ever done such a wonderful thing for me before.”
Magnus tried to be corporate and fatherly—very challenging in his current position. “It’s the mission of this company to help women.”
“Yes, but this was very personal. I’ll be grateful all my life.”
“I’m glad.” His heart beat so hard they both should have been able to hear it.
Belle looked down at where he was firmly planted on Magnus’s lap. “I guess I was a bit more enthusiastic than I planned.”
“You don’t hear me complaining.”
Belle slowly looked up at Magnus’s face, which made Magnus want to cringe or hide. Too close. Belle cocked his head and inspected every inch of Magnus’s ruined landscape of a face. Slowly, he leaned forward and kissed the scar across the bridge of Magnus’s nose. He whispered, “In for a penny—” and his mouth moved south until he kissed the distorted corner of Magnus’s mouth.
Is someone here?
He looked up just as Belle stepped into his doorway. His heart skipped. What did Belle’s expression mean? Confusion? Anger? Hope? “Hello.”
Belle swallowed hard. “Are you the one who called Judy last night?”
Okay, what had he done now? “Uh, yes. I—I thought—it was so late, and no one else was here.”
“You had a ticket waiting for her at the airport and got Leroy to meet her?”
“Yes.”
“And gave her a job and insurance?”
“I talked to HR, yes.”
Some huge storm battled behind Belle’s midnight blue eyes. He didn’t seem to be able to catch his breath. He just gasped and clutched his chest. Magnus stood. “Are you okay? Can I get you water?”
Suddenly Belle took off like a gazelle that had spotted a lion—except he ran to the lion. In three bounding steps, he crossed the office and hurled himself at Magnus. Before Magnus could prepare, a tall, slim body hit him full force, arms wrapping around his neck. “Thank you. Thank you. Oh my God, how can I ever thank you?”
Magnus lost his balance and staggered, arms coming around Belle, falling until his butt hit the office chair, which rolled back. They smacked the wall with Belle sprawled on his lap. He gasped for breath, and the exhale came out as a laugh. It was like having the world’s cutest dalmatian on his lap—a dalmatian he’d like to kiss and embrace and otherwise manhandle. Dream on.
Belle kept hugging and muttering, “Thank you. Thank you.”
Magnus adjusted Belle a little so he was actually sitting on Magnus’s lap but didn’t make a big enough thing out of it to scare him off. Hell, this was a moment to savor and prolong.
Finally Belle stopped wiggling, which was good, since the vibration was getting to Magnus’s cock. Belle stilled and seemed to hesitate. Reluctance or embarrassment? He sat back and looked into Magnus’s face. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Magnus couldn’t help smiling, even though the effect wasn’t really friendly. “I’m very glad you’re happy.”
“No one’s ever done such a wonderful thing for me before.”
Magnus tried to be corporate and fatherly—very challenging in his current position. “It’s the mission of this company to help women.”
“Yes, but this was very personal. I’ll be grateful all my life.”
“I’m glad.” His heart beat so hard they both should have been able to hear it.
Belle looked down at where he was firmly planted on Magnus’s lap. “I guess I was a bit more enthusiastic than I planned.”
“You don’t hear me complaining.”
Belle slowly looked up at Magnus’s face, which made Magnus want to cringe or hide. Too close. Belle cocked his head and inspected every inch of Magnus’s ruined landscape of a face. Slowly, he leaned forward and kissed the scar across the bridge of Magnus’s nose. He whispered, “In for a penny—” and his mouth moved south until he kissed the distorted corner of Magnus’s mouth.
The Pennymaker Tales Series
(The Pennymaker Tales Series, #1)
by Tara Lain
Available for order at
(The Pennymaker Tales, #2)
by Tara Lain
Available for purchase at
About the Author
Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 23. Her bestselling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft. She lives with her soulmate husband and her soulmate dog in Laguna Beach, California, a pretty seaside town where she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!You can find Tara at
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