Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren

Beautiful Bastard (The Beautiful, #1)

by Christina Lauren

An ambitious intern. A perfectionist executive. And a whole lot of name calling. Discover the story that garnered more than two million reads online.

Whip-smart, hardworking, and on her way to an MBA, Chloe Mills has only one problem: her boss, Bennett Ryan. He’s exacting, blunt, inconsiderate—and completely irresistible. A Beautiful Bastard.

Bennett has returned to Chicago from France to take a vital role in his family’s massive media business. He never expected that the assistant who’d been helping him from abroad was the gorgeous, innocently provocative—completely infuriating—creature he now has to see every day. Despite the rumors, he’s never been one for a workplace hookup. But Chloe’s so tempting he’s willing to bend the rules—or outright smash them—if it means he can have her. All over the office.

As their appetites for one another increase to a breaking point, Bennett and Chloe must decide exactly what they’re willing to lose in order to win each other.

Originally only available online as The Office by tby789—and garnering over 2 million reads on fanfiction sites—Beautiful Bastard has been extensively updated for re-release.

Reviewed by stacey_is_sassy on

4 of 5 stars

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Audio was better than the read...

I preferred listening to the audio than reading Beautiful Bastard. Maybe, it's because there's a degree of separation when someone else is reading? The insults don't hit the target as hard. I found that she (the narrator as the heroine) could return the insults better than I was capable of. I guess I could "see" the show of hate turning to love clearer. It wasn't my heart or my career being trampled.

He really was a jerk, but I guess, when you're the boss, look that good and you're admired for your intelligence and charisma, it's easy to be a little self-absorbed.

She probably should have told him to shove it where the sun don't shine...wait a sec, she did, and look at how that turned out.

This was not a very mushy, gushy, hearts aflutter type of read. Eventually, he comes good and steps up to the plate, but geez, talk about leaving it to the last minute. She probably shouldn't have risked her job and reputation but the heart wants what the heart wants.

I enjoyed listening to Beautiful Bastard. The narrator does a fantastic job and I found it a pleasure to listen to. I will definitely go on in this series.

***All names have been removed...OK, I'm fibbing. All names were not removed, I've just forgotten them already. Sure, I could have looked them up, but I'm a bit slack like that. This is not a reflection of the book, more a reflection of my absolutely shocking memory.***

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 5 March, 2015: Finished reading
  • 5 March, 2015: Reviewed
  • Started reading
  • Finished reading
  • 5 March, 2015: Reviewed