~Synopsis~
Glass-doll beauty. A shy, proper smile. Georgette Montgomery is the perfect billionaire’s fiancé.
Or she would be, if she existed.
A dark past. A smile that hides everything. At nineteen, Rae Grove escapes her disaster life by pretending to be other people—specifically, whoever the man paying her that night wants her to be.
Until she’s offered enough money for a one-way ticket to a better life. All she has to do is fly toParis and pretend to be the fiancé of young business tycoon Cohen Ashworth for one month. Within an hour of meeting Cohen, Rae knows three things about him:
1. He hates everyone and everything.
2. He has abundant wit and a knife-sharp tongue.
3. He uses 2 to make everyone aware of 1.
Before long, Rae’s determined to crack open his unbreakable shell. Cohen’s determined to stay unbroken.
But no one escapes unscathed when two opposite worlds collide.
Or she would be, if she existed.
A dark past. A smile that hides everything. At nineteen, Rae Grove escapes her disaster life by pretending to be other people—specifically, whoever the man paying her that night wants her to be.
Until she’s offered enough money for a one-way ticket to a better life. All she has to do is fly to
1. He hates everyone and everything.
2. He has abundant wit and a knife-sharp tongue.
3. He uses 2 to make everyone aware of 1.
Before long, Rae’s determined to crack open his unbreakable shell. Cohen’s determined to stay unbroken.
But no one escapes unscathed when two opposite worlds collide.
“So you want me to change.” His jaw is taut.
“You need to change, or you’re not going to get what you want,” I say. He needs to hear it. “And you’re going to be miserable your whole life—”
“I don’t know how to change!” he says loudly.
I stop, half-expecting the divider separating us from the driver to roll down, but it doesn’t. We’re still alone in the backseat. I should be afraid, should be recoiling the way
I do whenever a man raises his voice to me. But when I reach for the fear, I don’t find it. All I find is…pity?
“I know what I am. What I’m like.” His voice cracks, just slightly, but he masters it. “If I
could be different, I would. Do you understand that? I’m not like you. I can’t slip on someone else’s persona like changing my clothes.”
That stupid twinge of pity turns into a full-fledged needle. I’m very familiar with that shadow in his voice, because it’s been in my heart for years. Self-loathing. At least I can escape myself by being other people. He doesn’t even have that luxury.
Stop it, Rae. Don’t you dare feel sorry for him. He has everything you’ve ever wanted, remember?
“That’s bullshit,” I say bluntly. “You can change. Anyone can change.”
“Show me.”
“What?”
He turns his full gaze directly on me, and I lose myself for a brief second in those ice eyes. “Show me how to be someone else. You do it so easily. You’re getting paid enough, I might as well get some use out of you.”
“You mean like…give you niceness lessons?”
He grimaces. “I’d rather we didn’t call it that.”
“Well…” I hesitate.
“Please,” he says emotionlessly. And if I had to bet on it, I’d say it was damn near the first time that word had passed through those perfect lips.
~
BOOK REVIEW
3.5 Stars
Rae Grove arrives in Paris
ready to leave her working girl life behind after she’s paid a hundred thousand
dollars to pretend to be Georgette Montgomery, the fiancé of a prominent
businessman’s son, Cohen Ashworth.
Right away it’s obvious that while Cohen isn’t lacking in
the looks or money department, his disposition needs a serious overhaul. And giving him some lessons in manners becomes
an additional part of the job.
Rae is an optimist and pretty upbeat for the rough,
underprivileged life she’s led. In contrast Cohen, raised in the lap of luxury,
is brooding and miserable.
Like L.A. Rose’s
previous titles, there is a witty tone to the Rae’s first-person narration.
There’s also a touch of mystery to the story. Where does Cohen disappear to for
such long periods and in the middle of the night? What dark vices does he
harbor? Can Arabelle be trusted? And who is the stranger that Rae is texting?
I struggled a little bit with the chemistry between Rae and
Cohen—as in they didn’t click immediately and it took a while to connect with
them as characters. That’s not to say that they don’t seem well-paired because
it becomes pretty clear that despite their differences in class and money, they
are a good thing for each other once able to look beyond the surface.
The message—of looking beyond the walls and facades and
getting to know the real person—is a good one. Fans of Pretty Woman style
love stories will adore this one. It’s much more romance oriented than sexy. There
are quite a few fade-away scenes. It’s well written and while at times I craved a little
something more, both from the characters and the love scenes, it still delivers
a sweet story and an HEA.
L.A. Rose recently made it out of college alive and with an English degree. She's a habitual beach bum, a cuteness aficionado, and a not-quite-recovered romance addict. She's a big believer in laughter as medicine and steaminess as...more medicine. You can never have enough medicine. Icy Pretty Love is her third New Adult standalone. She is also the author Adrian Lessons and James Games.
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