Beautiful Monster by Bella Forrest
Steph's Rating: 4 stars
Dani's rating: 4 stars
Dani's rating: 4 stars
Overall Rating: 4 stars
Format: ebook
Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing
Publication Date: May 12th 2013
Pages: 236
Goodreads Synopsis:
Liam Swift is a young
man Amy has always admired from afar. She's seen his face a thousand
times; on the screen and in magazines.
He seems unstoppable as his talent and beauty send him hurtling toward becoming a Hollywood legend... Until one day - in what appears to be a fit of madness - he stuns the world by throwing it all away. Not even the most persistent reporter can fathom the reason behind Liam's decision.
Never in Amy's wildest dreams could she have imagined this God of acting would go on to accept employment at her local boarding school. Or that he'd personally start teaching her drama lessons.
It seems life can't get much better for Amy ... until the sound of tortured weeping starts echoing through the thin walls of her dorm room each night, leading her to stumble upon a horrifying secret Liam had hoped to keep hidden forever.
He seems unstoppable as his talent and beauty send him hurtling toward becoming a Hollywood legend... Until one day - in what appears to be a fit of madness - he stuns the world by throwing it all away. Not even the most persistent reporter can fathom the reason behind Liam's decision.
Never in Amy's wildest dreams could she have imagined this God of acting would go on to accept employment at her local boarding school. Or that he'd personally start teaching her drama lessons.
It seems life can't get much better for Amy ... until the sound of tortured weeping starts echoing through the thin walls of her dorm room each night, leading her to stumble upon a horrifying secret Liam had hoped to keep hidden forever.
Steph's Review:
This is such a wonderful book! It delivered so much more than what I expected from it, and I wasn't disappointed at all! I think this is the best Bella Forrest book I've read to date, and I'd say it is a complete improvement from her Shade of Vampire series.
Amy was born HIV positive thanks to her mother, and has been cursed to be isolated and smothered her entire life from being terminally ill. She has to deal with good days and bad days, countless and endless medical treatments to monitor her shortened life, and of course, always "being careful". Online school, only viral friends who don't even live in the same country, and days spent entirely home alone. Her dream is to get out to the world--to be an actress and see for herself just how wonderful the world can be. Amy knows she's not going to live as long as any normal person, but she just wants to make the most out of what she's given. Being poor doesn't help though, and her high school dropout father can't make enough to support any of her wild dreams.
And then Amy gets the lucky strike. After secretly auditioning for the single scholarship position to a prestigious acting school behind her father's back, she is notified that she earned the spot. After quick persuasion since her medical bill will be also covered by the school, her father relents and lets her attend. Her dreams seem to be taking a turn for the better, finally, until she stumbles upon the monstrous secret of her headmaster...and the swoon-worthy celebrity: Liam Swift. It doesn't help that the one who forever haunt's Liam's mind makes an appearance at the school to sniff around, and seems to be targeting Amy.
Beautiful Monster is a quick read, and easy to love. I feel like Bella Forrest did a very good job conveying the feelings of Amy to the reader. You can feel her sorrow and her happiness bleeding through every action she does, and I felt like it was really admirable that a girl condemned to a shorter life could be so upbeat about everything all the time. Even if you aren't someone with AIDS, it's easy to connect with all of the characters in this book.
As Dani will say below, there is one certain part that really hooked her onto this book: a dancer, who goes by the name of Porsche (yes, like the car co.) De Ritter. I love this girl--she's probably my favorite character in the whole book! Like Amy, she's HIV positive who's trying her best to make the most out of her life. She is Liam's lifelong friend and of course knows his dark and dirty secret, and is the only one who can keep him sane and safe. She provides solace to Amy who is dealing with the disease eating away at her and keeping Liam's secret safe from the public as well, and she is a wonderful supporting character.
While this book is very character-strong, there were some parts that were a little bit exaggerated and a bit unbelievable (Insta-love alert guys). Those parts were a little distasteful to get through, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. I am looking forward to reading its sequel, which has been tentatively scheduled to be released this August by the author.
Dani's Commentary:
I was also surprised by Beautiful Monster. It has this quality to it that allows the reader to connect with each character and really feel their pain. As a fellow dancer and arts enthusiast, I was hooked as soon as Steph told me what this novel is about :)
The only thing I disliked about this novel is that there were some parts that I thought were overly dramatic. But overall, Beautiful Monster is a fast and enjoyable read.
And then Amy gets the lucky strike. After secretly auditioning for the single scholarship position to a prestigious acting school behind her father's back, she is notified that she earned the spot. After quick persuasion since her medical bill will be also covered by the school, her father relents and lets her attend. Her dreams seem to be taking a turn for the better, finally, until she stumbles upon the monstrous secret of her headmaster...and the swoon-worthy celebrity: Liam Swift. It doesn't help that the one who forever haunt's Liam's mind makes an appearance at the school to sniff around, and seems to be targeting Amy.
Beautiful Monster is a quick read, and easy to love. I feel like Bella Forrest did a very good job conveying the feelings of Amy to the reader. You can feel her sorrow and her happiness bleeding through every action she does, and I felt like it was really admirable that a girl condemned to a shorter life could be so upbeat about everything all the time. Even if you aren't someone with AIDS, it's easy to connect with all of the characters in this book.
As Dani will say below, there is one certain part that really hooked her onto this book: a dancer, who goes by the name of Porsche (yes, like the car co.) De Ritter. I love this girl--she's probably my favorite character in the whole book! Like Amy, she's HIV positive who's trying her best to make the most out of her life. She is Liam's lifelong friend and of course knows his dark and dirty secret, and is the only one who can keep him sane and safe. She provides solace to Amy who is dealing with the disease eating away at her and keeping Liam's secret safe from the public as well, and she is a wonderful supporting character.
While this book is very character-strong, there were some parts that were a little bit exaggerated and a bit unbelievable (Insta-love alert guys). Those parts were a little distasteful to get through, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. I am looking forward to reading its sequel, which has been tentatively scheduled to be released this August by the author.
Dani's Commentary:
I was also surprised by Beautiful Monster. It has this quality to it that allows the reader to connect with each character and really feel their pain. As a fellow dancer and arts enthusiast, I was hooked as soon as Steph told me what this novel is about :)
The only thing I disliked about this novel is that there were some parts that I thought were overly dramatic. But overall, Beautiful Monster is a fast and enjoyable read.
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