Beautifully Cruel by J.T. Geissinger: My Review

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Check out my book review of Beautifully Cruel by J.T. Geissinger to see if this mafia romance book is a book worth reading!

*Disclosure: I participate in the Amazon Affiliates program, so if you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Check out the book review of Beautifully Crue, a dark, contemporary romance by J.T. Geissinger by romance book blogger, She Reads Romance Books

Beautifully Cruel
by J.T. Geissinger

Series: Beautifully Cruel
Category: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance
Tags: Alpha Male, Dirty Talker, Mafia, Suspense, Forced Proximity
Published May 2020

Kindle | Paperback

Rating: ★★★★★

Geissinger proves yet again why each and every one of her books is a must read! Liam is the perfect alpha hero and he can kidnap me anytime!

Beautifully Cruel is a standalone romance that weaves a smoldering tale of love, trust, surprise and suspense between two characters that are unlike any other I’ve ever read.

Truvy is a law student who’s almost finished with her degree. When not in school she’s working at a run-down diner to make ends meet.

For the past eleven months she’s served a quiet, powerful patron who only sits in her section and who only has eyes for her.

Everything about Liam screams alpha man in a suit even though no words are exchanged with Truvy – only his stares – until the night he comes to her aid.

What I Loved

What I love about Geissinger’s writing is that you’re not spoon fed what to think or feel.

Instead, her storytelling just leads you to unearth more and more details about her characters and their connection and all you have to do is settle in and enjoy the ride.

When you start reading this book, you have no idea who Liam Black is. But you learn quick that he is a man that deserves your attention.

Even his silence serves a purpose – to make you want to sit up and listen, to find out more and to soak up any word that he does happen to bestow on you. Gah!

I can see how Truvy was completely entranced despite sensing that he was not a safe, gentle man.

Liam was a man of power and control but despite all of that – it was no match to his attraction to her.

He couldn’t leave her, couldn’t turn away from her, no matter how much he believed he should for himself and for her safety.

I don’t want to give too much away about the story for risk of including spoilers but what I can say is that the tension between these two and the need both had for control made this book simmer with heat.

Liam and Truvy were a perfect match for one another despite their apparent differences.

Truvy may have looked like the shy, quiet type, but she had a mouth on her.

She could lay on some sweet Southern sass but she could also pack a punch underneath that sweetness. And she didn’t beat around the bush either.

She said what she meant and was forthright – to the point that she never said or reacted in a way that Liam anticipated and it drove him crazy (in a good way) because he couldn’t read her like he could everyone else in his life.

As he said himself, she made him feel human.

I also loved seeing her struggle with the need to assert her free will while still wanting him so desperately despite his means for getting her in his bed.

Liam however emerges as a man of contradictions.

He’s all power and control and violence but he’s also tender and caring and with an unending drive to make Truvy happy and make her feel safe.

Despite his power, assertiveness and dominance – he makes HER feel powerful too when they are together and I LOVED that.

One of the best things about this book are the little details we get throughout – the reason behind Truvy’s name, for example, and the the wolf/lioness references to Liam and Truvy which totally fit the imagery her words portrayed.

Yet I also liked how the details are given only where it matters.

I loved how we weren’t privy to seeing Liam in action at work. It would have totally changed the vibe of the story.

Instead we got snippets to see how he is revered and feared in his role and that was just enough.

Geissinger is truly a gifted storyteller and I love how her stories are so unique from one release to the next.

Regardless of how the storylines change, she always delivers on amazing characters and smoldering heat.

Fans of her work will not be disappointed in Beautifully Cruel. And those readers new to her books will want to grab this one when they have an entire day open as you will not be able to put it down!

*Thank you to J.T. Geissinger for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

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Leslie Murphy is the founder and creator of She Reads Romance Books, a site that has reached over 1 million readers a month looking for the best books worth reading. Called a "book expert" by CNN, Leslie reads over 150 romance books a year because she firmly believes that life is better with a love story. Find her in the She Reads Romance Books Book Club, listen to her on the She Reads Romance Books Podcast or dive into her book lists here on the blog.

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