Author: Beth Michele
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Hosted by: Love Between the Sheets Promotions
Love believes in second chances.
Francis Heller lives with two truths. Love hurts and beauty is only skin deep.
With midnight black hair, moss-colored eyes, and traceable curves, Fran is the picture of beauty and confidence...on the outside. But deep down she is tormented. Not just by the jagged scars that line her body, but by the horrible memories that cloud her mind and haunt her dreams. The ones that make her want to flee from herself and from the devastating pain. The ones that cause her to placate herself with sex. Anything to make her forget. But for Fran, there's nowhere to hide from the darkness that swallows her whole.
Matt Dixon is the gorgeous brother of her best friend's fiancée. He's suffered losses of his own and isn't willing to let anyone in until his unexpected encounter with Fran Heller, the girl who challenges him and causes him to take a second look, not only at her, but at his own life.
But Matt has scars of his own.
Together can they help each other discover that second chances really do exist? That love doesn't have to hurt? Or has the damage they've both suffered cut too deep to ever heal?
**NA/Contemporary Romance with language and mature sexual content.**
by Beth Michele
ARC review
Published: January 28th, 2014
My rating: 4 of 5 ⭐️
To the observer, Fran Heller doesn't show the ugly scars that carve her body, heart and soul, she looks and acts the stunning twenty-eight year old she appears to be. And every day is a struggle for her to be that girl who is not haunted by dark memories and pain of loss, but she manages so long as she can keep her emotions at bay. But when she bumps into her best friend's bother in law at a conference she is attending, he stirs something up in her.
Not a stranger to pain and loss himself, Matt Dixon has found his own way of coping with his everyday existence. An incessant need to control his environment alleviates some of his anxiety around loss, but makes him appear rigid. When he spots Fran in the hotel lobby, he is struck by the beauty she radiates and taken by her smart mouth. She challenges him and he is surprised to find he likes it. But he isn't blind to the occasional shadow of darkness he sees passing over her face.
Over the next few days, Matt and Fran spend time getting to know each other and find themselves strongly attracted. Slowly opening up to share not just the lightness of their spirit but also the dark shadows of their heart. However, both crippled by fear of loss and rejection as well as limited by time and geographical restraints, is there hope of a future?
*****
Such a 'feel-good' story!! I was left with warm fuzzies after reading this book, the 'good' kinda hangover!
Beth Michele writes a story that includes the difficult topic of child abuse without going into too much graphic detail. Nevertheless, the emotional horror comes across loud and clear. The damage done and the emotional scarring left on the now adult Fran is glaringly obvious, and I would venture to say that the emotional scars of the ultimate betrayal of a parent out-ways any physical scarring.
Fran has coped quite well in life, having been quite successful in her career, but on a personal level has trouble connecting deeply with people. Trust is and will likely always remain an issue for her. Her self-consciousness about her body, is not so much about her appearance, but about what it represents. Once trust is given, she isn't even aware of her body's appearance anymore.
In a relatively short time, Matt has lost all the influential people in his life, while he was still relatively young. Instilled with a great sense of responsibility, he picked up where they left off and took on the role of stability in the life of his siblings. Holding control tightly was his own security and letting go emotionally feels like letting go of control. His need for Fran finally overcomes that fear.
They find in each other a sanctuary of sorts, a place where they can truly let it all hang out. No holds barred.
Wonderful character development in some great writing by Beth Michele, smattered with humour and heat.
✨A tight, touching and softly seducing read.✨
**ARC provided in return for an honest review.**
Fuck she’s hot. I can feel her uneven breaths against my lips as her chest rises and falls after hearing my words. Those eyes, like green panes of stained glass. That plump bottom lip, I’d love to take between my teeth. And she smells good, like jasmine and lavender. I’m not sure what possessed me to say that to her. I know nothing about her. She’s like a little spark though. She lit me up tonight with her smart, sexy mouth, and now she’s got me thinking thoughts I haven’t in a long time, stirring something deep inside of me that’s been asleep. Like how I want to take her right here, make her scream my name while she comes apart beneath me. The elevator doors open and she ducks down and sneaks underneath my arm to make her way out. “Goodnight, Matt.”I hold the doors open and watch her walk down the hall, taking one last look over her shoulder before she turns the corner to her room, leaving me with only one thought.When do I get to see her again?Shit. I’m fucked.
2- $15.00 amazon gift cards
2- e-books Scarred Beautiful
2- signed paperbacks Scarred Beautiful
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