Beauty Dates the Beast (Midnight Liaisons, #1)

by Jessica Sims

[Angie]

I'd been wanting to read Beauty Dates the Beast for the longest time, and now that I have, I'm sadly disappointed. There were a lot of fun ideas here, but overall I was bothered by more than I liked. I loved the idea of a supernatural dating agency, but it really only served as a way for the love interests to (reluctantly) meet and to introduce the heroine to the bad guy, despite her working there. Bathsheba is the human office manager at Midnight Liaisons, where she is forbidden to date the clients. But then a very powerful shifter's date cancels on him, and he needs someone in a hurry. It's either make an unhappy customer and definitely get fired, or break the rules, go on this one date, and only probably get fired. Well, one date isn't enough to get rid of Beau Russell, especially went some monster is after Bath and her sister.

My problems with Beauty Dates the Beast started when Beau revealed that he was going into heat. Well, all of the were-cougars in the area were going into a kind of heat, since one of their females was going into heat, so he needed an outlet for that. Of course, Bathsheba is perfect since she's a human virgin, who doesn't carry disease, even though shifters are immune to disease. Logic, there is none. I totally didn't mind Bathsheba deciding to be rid of her virginity with some guy she barely knows, but the fact that they did it seventeen times in one night, was umm...well my belief doesn't suspend that much. But before they do the deed, he drugs her to get her back to his cabin and claims it's not an abduction but a seduction. I do not think so, Mister! She would have gone with him willingly, since something scary is out to kill her, so why the drugs?! Also, she dumps him like five times within the span of a handful of days, which was super bizarre since they're not even really dating.

The plot was alright. Theoretically, I liked it and thought it was a great idea. But practically, it was pretty silly and boring. The monster that's out to get Bath isn't something I've read about before, but the characters were just too over-the-top for me to believe them as villains. Yes, they're doing something horrible, but the way they interact was more comedic. The two bad guys arguing with each other about how things should be done rather than getting anything done. Plus, it ends within like two chapters. Not very exciting.

Also, the set up for Beauty Dates the Beast didn't make much sense. Bathsheba's sister was turned into a werewolf by an ex-boyfriend, and now they're on the run and lying low so that none of the wolf packs find Sara and take her away. That's fine, except that they both work for a supernatural dating service, where shifters come in ALL THE TIME, making Sara run off to the back and drown herself in perfume so they don't smell her. How about, not work where you can be sniffed out?! Bath says they took the job so they can keep track of where the packs are, but did both of them need to be there? Sara would have been safer in a normal job, while her sister keeps tabs on the wolves. On top of that, Bathsheba is a dateless virgin because meeting men puts Sara at risk of discovery. How about, only date humans?!

Beauty Dates the Beast just wasn't what I anticipated at all. The romance really didn't work for me, and the virgin trope failed miserably. The set up makes no sense at all, and neither do the characters' decisions. And the humorous scenes were more awkward and uncomfortable than anything else. It also ends on a weird cliffhanger, but I don't care enough to pick up the sequel.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.