Loving the Beast by Naima Simone

Loving the Beast was actually my first e-book that I bought using my Kindle and to be honest? This book was definitely worth the buy! I guess it's fairly new but the scenes between the hero and heroine was deliciously sweet and hot! Plus, if you're into stories or quick reads with a fairy tale twist, then this is the book for you. The story starts out with our heroine, Gwen who's at a party solely for the purpose of finding Xavier. As for the reason why, you can pretty much guess from the summary-- she needs him to donate money to the community center that they had both met in. In my opinion, it was a pretty low move from him in order blackmail Gwen into having sex with him. Of course, Gwen is shocked to hear this because of their friendship for all these years! Well, yes she's been secretly in love with him for years and he was in love with her as well... But.

Due to some difficult circumstances, for example Gwen being engaged to his younger brother, Josh. *coughs* They were not able to be together. Well, he gives the bargain and she reluctantly accepts... I actually thought that Xavier would have been a pretty interesting if the author had fleshed him out more into detail, but I'm happy with what I got. Like the Beast, he is physically and emotionally scarred due to his father who he admired's death in the car crash and the result of catching his fiancee in the act of cheating on him. Some tough luck, huh! But like Belle, Gwen eventually heals Xavier's heart through her love for him. It was actually kind of sweet!

Hmm, now let's talk about the scorching hot scenes between the two. I mean, wow. Naima Simone does a pretty great job capturing the sensuality and intensity of their love scenes. I really liked the build-up from havin them gradually start out as being friends and into lovers. I truly enjoyed this little hot read and I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author! 5/5 stars.

Rating: ★★★★★