4.5 Smooches!
Synopsis
Sometimes love isn’t beautiful…
Sometimes the only way to describe it is beautifully brutal.
If you think you know him… You’re wrong.
If you think you know his family… Wrong again.
If you think you know his story… You don’t.
If you did, you’d likely wonder how the hell a man like Maximillian Adorite managed to make it to this point in his life. At twenty-nine, he’s experienced more than most people could only ever imagine, all thanks to his family. Organized crime they call it. Mafia.
No matter how they spin it, it comes down to one thing. Max gets what he wants. Except for the one thing he wants most.
Her name is Courtney Kogan.
And now that he’s had a taste of her, Max knows he’ll never be able to let her go.
The Southern Boy Mafia series is a spinoff from the Sniper 1 Security series. It has been set up to be read without reading Sniper 1 Security, however, the characters will frequently cross over.
Review
I was so excited to get my hands on Max and Courtney’s story after having caught a glimpse of their complex relationship in Nicole’s previous series. Two incredibly diverse and complicated characters that were as different as night and day; just as equally one lived in perpetual darkness doing bad deeds while the other was often referred to as being on the good guys side, living in the light and fighting the good fight.
What was so good about Beautifully Brutal? Well, where do I even begin? The enigma that is Max continued to unnerve, perplex and astound me from start to finish. Sinister and depraved one minute but hurting and emotional in the next breath when dealing with the romantic entanglements between Courtney and himself. He was sweet and sour. Unforgiving but thoughtful. Hateful and vindictive but full of so much love and devotion for Courtney, it was as though her presence in his life brought him peace and serenity in a world that involved murder, smuggling, guns and shady business deals. Courtney may have brought some good into his life but Max manages to coax a little bit of darkness into hers. I loved Courtney. She was a strong ballsy independent protagonist who not only had integrity but willpower and determination when it came to resisting someone she knew would be bad for her, time and again she walked away and buried whatever feelings she had no matter the cost or pain.
‘Max didn’t respond, just listened to her breathe, wishing she’d remain on the phone for the rest of his life so he could hear her. It was hard enough that he couldn’t hold her in his arms. Listening to her breathe would suffice for a little while.
“I should-”
“No, don’t go,” he said in a tortured whisper. “Don’t hang up. Just breathe, Courtney. It’s…” He choked back the emotion. “Just breathe. Please.” Courtney didn’t respond nor did she hang up, and he could hear her breathe, which was all he needed as the night descended around him. If only their time together could’ve been more like this. Less chaos, more peace.’
When a book is peppered with brilliance such as this is it any wonder Nicole Edwards has so many fans. Her writing seems to gain strength and maturity with each book she writes and with Beautifully Brutal she not only manages to showcase her excellent character development but also her innate ability to bring drama, heartache, action, steam and a well of emotion and angst to the plot without it feeling disconnected or disjointed from the truth of the story.
There was a small annoyance for me half way through the book that involved a bit of an archaic double standard when it came to sex post-relationship (I won’t spoil it for you but you’ll know which part I’m talking about when you read it). I just wish Courtney had stepped up to the plate here and gave some more of her snappy take-no-prisoners attitude but other than that one minor blip this is certainly one of, if not the best Nicole Edwards books to come out. It was fast-paced, gripping and heart-stoppingly beautiful, a modern day mobster Romeo and Juliet and from the small taste we got of Max’s wild and frisky sister, I’d say we are in for one helluva scintillating book next go round.
~Nicole
