Beauty in Deception by Charmaine Pauls

Charmaine Pauls goes back to her Diamond Magnate world with Beauty in Deception and she once again excels at the push/pull between the violent and gentle nature of her heroes and heroines. This is the "prequel" to Beauty in the Broken because it takes place before Damian Hart initiated his revenge against Harold Dalton. It can also be read as a standalone since Roman Malan and Christina have never appeared in previous books. I found this story quite fascinating because it tells the story of how a doppelgänger fell in love with her captor. Both Christina and Roman are complex characters with many layers to them. Their story was heartbreaking, intense, sexy, and emotional. It had all the characteristics that I loved most about this author's writing—multi-faceted hero and heroine, angst, betrayal, revenge, redemption, and obsession.

"In this moment, isolated in our brokenness, we're perfectly aligned."

Sold into becoming Evie Warren's shadow at a young age, Christina has led a harsh and cruel life despite the glamorous dresses. She was merely "a pawn in the ugly games cruel men play." I loved this analogy in the book and it fit her character perfectly and how some actions have consequences. However, Christina loved her younger sister dearly and never gave up despite her misfortune. Meeting Roman freed Christina but his obsession and love also imprisoned her. As for Roman, he was both gentle and cruel. To Christina, he wielded his power and cruelty like a blade but treated her as if she was his most precious princess in the world. I found him quite fascinating and Charmaine's most grayest hero yet because he thought she was his enemy the entire time when in reality, Christina was simply a victim. Bell Warren destroyed Roman's family and stole what wasn't his. Revenge was the end goal but love had other plans.

"With him, I can't be someone else. I can't be anyone other than me. I don't want to be."

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed this book because Christina's journey touched my heart and I wanted her to find her own happiness in the end—whether it be with Roman or not. I loved how independent, courageous, and loving she was despite her circumstances. Roman was hard to like at first but he grew on me. He won't ever be an Ian Hart but he did remind me of a mix between Damian and Maxime. Cruel, prone to anger and irrationality, and obsessed with his heroine. I'm curious to know if Charmaine Pauls will be writing individual books for Mateo, Roman's younger brother, and Eden, Christina's younger sister. Future books to look forward to! Fans of Charmaine Pauls and the Diamond Magnate world will absolutely love this book and devour it in one sitting because I certainly did. I highly recommend this book to those who love the revenge and captive romance trope with a hero and heroine who were simply destined to meet each other.

*This ARC was generously provided by the author and publisher for an honest review*

Rating: ★★★★★