Alpha (noun): 1) Having the highest rank in a dominance hierarchy 2) The most powerful man in a group3) Liam BlackHe was a stranger to me, a dark and dangerous presence who materialized from the shadows one rainy night to save me from a vicious attack. I didn’t know his name or where he was from. All I knew was that the only place I’d ever felt safe was in his arms. But safety is an illusion. And …
But safety is an illusion.
And not every savior is a hero.
And—as I’d soon find out—having an alpha save your life comes with a price.
Liam Black wanted something from me in return.
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Mesmerizing, enthralling hot love story.
J.T.Geissinger outdid herself with this book. A very enjoyable plot and wonderful character development.
Loved it! 5 stars!
This was a new author to me and boy was I happily rewarded. I had seen all sorts of wonderful reviews on my feed and had earmarked this one to read when I had a free moment. And I’m so happy that my free moment came sooner rather than later because this was a sinisterly sensational story.
There is nothing better than a well written alpha hero, especially when accompanied by an equally fierce heroine that a story really shines. The passion, the intensity, and the banter between Liam and Tru is perfectly executed throughout the story. I get why Tru nicked named Liam “her Wolf” because he fit the bill perfectly, every sexy sinful inch of him!!
I found that when I sorted this book, it flowed so well that it held my attention and I couldn’t put it down. I got completely immersed in Liam and Tru relationship and didn’t want their story to end. There are major revelations and some unexpected twists to this story that created suspense and intrigue to a story that I will not spoil for you.
All I want to say is that I Loved this story and am equally happy that I have found a new author to add to my reading repertoire.
* First time reading author
I LOVE this story. Beautifully Cruel is the first story I have read of hers, so I was not going in knowing what to expect.
This story brings a mafia side to the story, but it is not the typical kick-butt and asks questions later type book. Liam comes across as sweet and quiet. But little do you know what he was hiding.
Tru works as a waitress and has noticed someone coming into her diner for the past year. She finally has the nerve to talk to him and it seems to scare him away. But she finds herself in his crosshairs yet again.
I absolutely enjoyed this story and will be catching up with J.T.’s other stories.
This is the first book I read from this author, and I am not disappointed in the slightest. I started it and then had to pause it because life got on it’s way and didn’t had time to read (wish it was an audio so I could have finished before) but I just got a couple of free days and was able to continue with it. Once I started it again I wasn’t able to put it down. Liam Black was so captivating, charming and mysterious. There were some moments when I thought…’is it going to be a PNR… I don’t think I read it was’… but I was there thinking and maybe wishful thinking that Liam would turn out to be a Vampire or a Werewolf, alas he wasn’t. But he ended up consuming my thoughts and I loved everything about him, even his bossiness cause that makes him more awesome!
And as for Try, that girl is AMAZING, super awesome, she doesn’t hold back, she’s strong, opinionated, witty and the way she keeps Liam on his toes is the best ever. Honestly one of the best female characters I’ve read in a while.
The story is fast paced, steamy and funny, perfect, perfect, perfect!
Just one more thing… Will Killian get his own book? I hope so… I love him already and don’t know much about him lol it was love at first sight
For some reason, I thought that this story ‘Beautifully cruel’ would be a ‘dark’ read. I think I made that assumption based on the book cover and the blurb. To me personally, it sounded like a ‘dark mafia’ story. And I was right about one but not about the other. Because from the first chapter, this story had me smiling and I would be doing that a lot during my reading of this book. The story may have been different than I expected but I still enjoyed it very much.
Like I said before, I enjoyed the story very much and for the most part it was 5 stars to me except for the last part (the ending) of the story. That felt to me, personally, a bit too neat, too easy and that’s the reason that I give it 4 stars. Don’t get me wrong, I love a HEA and I even need one in my romance stories so that wasn’t the problem, I think here, the way to that HEA just felt a bit too easy, the problem got solved too quickly, too smoothly to me. I expected more trouble, more action. I don’t want to spoilt the story by telling details but I have read other stories with a ‘similar situation/problem’ and there the solution was much harder, more problematic.
But I’m glad for the main characters that the ‘problem’ got solved so easily for them.
So, the story itself, I don’t want to tell too much of it, I think you best discover it for yourself. But like I said before; it isn’t a dark story. The story is about Tryve (Try) and Liam Black. Try works as a waitress and one of her customers is hot, quiet and mysterious Liam. He doesn’t say much but he’s always watching her. And then one night, they do talk and then he saves her life and from there on their whole dynamic changes, going from strangers to lovers. Try’s character starts as a ‘shy’ woman but during the story she becomes more sassy. I loved Try’s character very much, she has her own kind of humour, she’s honest, friendly and likeable.
I loved Liam’s character also very much! His Irish accent, his alpha side and his sensitive side. But I especially liked the mystery surrounding Liam Black’s name and person, as a reader I had my suspicious about who he was and what he did for a living but still, I loved the fact that the writer revealed us his story slowly, bit by bit. Liam may be feared by the people around him but not by Try, she treated him like a ‘normal’ person and just like Liam, I liked that very much. You could feel the chemistry between Try and Liam from the start and it only intensified during the story. Liam fought the attraction between them, what made that the story had a sort of a slow burn feel but that was just one of the things that I loved about the story! And when they had sex, it was very steamy and hot. The story is mostly told Try’s POV but now and then you also get Liam’s POV and I personally loved it that way.
‘Beautifully cruel’ is a good story.
I am at a loss for words!! Blown away by this book. I absolutely loved it. Liam and Tru are one of the hottest book couples ever. She is one lucky girl. Although, I hope Killian gets his own book. He deserves one. When I started this book, I didn’t know what to expect but it was definitely worth the long nights. I’d love for Liam to kidnap me any day. Another great book by JT.
Beautifully Cruel by J.T. Geissinger tells the story of waitress and law student Truvy and the enigmatic Liam Black. Truvy works at a local diner, she is sassy, introverted but not scared to speak her mind. She continually sees Liam in her area in the diner for months before she is brave enough to try and strike up a conversation, but Liam is brooding and intense, tattooed and dark and nothing like any of the men she has been out with before. With a hilarious case of verbal diarrhoea by our heroine, this book sucks you in and keeps you wanting to turn the pages to find out who Liam Black is and why he wants Truvy so much.
This book was a delightfully, sinful read, full of passion, intrigue and some funny moments, especially by the heroine who has no qualms saying exactly what she is thinking. There are moments where you think you know who Liam is and then bam! You are taken by surprise. There was definitely a lot of passion between the two characters, I liked that for Truvy, that wasn’t enough and she made Liam step up to the plate! She also compliments his dark side which we see in various forms throughout the book and doesn’t give up on him, instead helps to shoulder the burden.
A truly great book with wonderful characters and a great story-line!
This is my first book from the author and it was a great read! I’ve been on a dark romance kick and this satisfied it perfectly. Liam is so sexy and I love his confidence while Tru is more down to earth. I could totally relate to her being so nervous and chatters so much when he’s around I’d be the same way. The chemistry is off the charts. The story definitely had some twists I wasn’t expecting. I would absolutely read more form this author. Four stars!
By Tiffany
I knew NOTHING about this book when I read it-had not even read the blurb. If you love dark Mafia romance, for goodness sake, stop reading reviews, 1 click & get going. You won’t regret it!
This is the first book I have read by this author. For all you devoted fans, I know-I’ve been living under a rock! But please know I am joining you in your devotion. The enigmatic Irish Liam, the wolf who could not keep away from his willing prey Tru-I adored them both! In fact, I liked Declan, Liam’s most trusted friend, and Carla, Tru’s waitress friend, and her cruisy roommate Ellie.
Even Diego! Liam & Tru’s attraction to each other was filthy hot, the tension in the story was crazy! I felt very satisfied & happy by the end of the book, and hope there will be more set in this world. Now, I have a backlist to stalk!
I won a copy of this book. My honest opinion is voluntarily provided.
The cover drew me to this book. I saw it and knew I had to have it. The thing with covers though, is that sometimes they have a pretty picture but it isn’t exactly what you get. I really wanted to love this book. I got through the pet names and the initial intrigue and for some reason it fell flat for me. I love a good anti hero, and this one has a twist at the end that left me meh. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great read, I just felt I didn’t have the emotional investment that I wanted with these characters. Insta-love isn’t really my favorite, and I expected it to be more enemies to lovers. If you like insta love and a bad boy that can be good at times, you will love this book. I would definitely recommend it to others, it just wasn’t for me.
My Rating: ****1/4
Type: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Narration: Dual POV
Primary Characters: Truvy (Tru) & Liam
Source: ARC – Courtesy or Author/publisher
This book is different from one other J.T.Geissinger book I have read. I went in blind without even reading blurb and totally loved reading this.
Tru is a law student and doing a waitress job in the night to manage her expenses. A mysterious guy is visiting her diner for almost a year and keeps looking at her. She calls him Wolfie by the way he notices and acts. Even though there are no much words exchanged the heat of his stare has her intrigued. She finally decides to make a conversation with him.
“My mother didn’t raise a worker bee. She raised a Queen. And I don’t give away the honey for free”
Liam Black is a man of few words. He is attracted to Tru but doesn’t make a move on her due to his own self defined rules and reasons. He thinks Tru as a quiet and shy waitress to have a shock of his life when he actually speaks to her. Tru was everything I want to see in a heroine. I’m in love with Tru, she is bold, strong, independent and stand’s up to Liam without hesitation. The connection and understanding that Liam and Truvy share is superb. Totally loved their banter. Who exactly is Liam? Why people are scared of him, what’s his story? How is it connected with Tru? Read to know more.
“Freedom for the wolves has often meant death to the sheep.”
“Honor. Without his honor, a man might as well be dead.”
The reason I’m rating this low is, we don’t get to see Liam’s world much. We see the past and present world of Tru, but no clarity or picture of Liam’s present world. Since it’s a standalone, we can definitely skip that part, yet I would have loved to see more of his world. Hope to see more of that through Killian. Story moved in a steady pace with simple and beautiful writing style. Intrigued with Declan and Killian, hope we see them more in next books.
“She’s my match. The Yang to my yin. The light to my darkness.”
Overall, this book has thrill, fun, romance, slight action and enough amount of mystery. It’s a complete entertainment package. Happy Reading.
I voluntarily read an ARC of this book in exchange for honest review.
Check out other review here: https://meander23.com
J.T. Geissinger is an automatic one click author for me. She does an amazing job of weaving a story that keeps you on your toes and guessing until the very end. This story is another amazing adventure of love that you wont want to put down once you pick it up. I wasn’t ready for it to end and would have kept reading about this couple if she had kept writing.
In this story Truvy Sullivan moves to Boston from a small town to go to law school. Tru is about to graduate and is studying for the bar exam while working at a small diner to pay her bills. She becomes intrigued/infatuated with a customer who comes in for coffee every now and then but is very mysterious. The customer is a handsome quiet man who gives off a vibe of danger and intrique.
Liam Black is the customer that has been coming to the diner for months to get a cup of coffee and stare at Truvy. He has been reluctant to do more then just stare at Truvy and rarely engages more then a few words to order coffee until she surprises him by talking with him.
Be prepared for the unexpected with this book . Settle in and allow yourself to be drawn in by the amazing characters that J.T. Geissinger created. I loved the references and reintroduction to characters from previous stories. If you have read her previous books you will recognize a previous character thread. However, I also love that you do not have to have read previous books to appreciate and understand this one.
Loved the heat and chemistry between Liam and Tru! They were smexy delicious together. JT Geissenger sure knows how to burn up your Kindle Beyond the physical their dialogue and banter was fun to read and really showed the depth of their feelings. They were perfectly matched and you rooted for them to get their HEA. This was overall a sexy and fun read with a couple of interesting twists.
Now I am dying for my man Killian to set my Kindle to 4 alarm
Well, talk about chemistry.
I cannot express with words how much I loved this book. There’s just something so special about being able to feel and connect with the chemistry between the characters, in this case, the consuming and hot chemistry between Liam and Tru.
Liam is swoon worthy. It was impossible for me as a reader and for Tru not to fall in love with him. I loved the banter between these two and those scorching moments that made fireworks come out of the pages.
I really loved the journey this couple took me in. There’s some twists I never saw coming that are so important to the story. There’s the right amount of angst to tug at your heartstrings, and the right amount of hot and sweet that will have you surrendering to this wonderful story.
Incredibly sizzling.
Beautifully Cruel . . . what can I say other than this romance was stunning! This review will be light on plot, because it should not be spoiled, but it is a doozy!
Lord have mercy, Liam Black is all alpha all of the time! Brooding, bossy, sexy as sin and has an accent. He always gets what he wants. And he’s a cuddler!
Tru Sullivan is a waitress and student studying to be a public defender. She is independent, loyal, never backs down from something she believes in and is full of Southern sass!
This was not a romance made to last. But Liam and Tru have more in common than they ever could have realized. A wolf and a lioness . . . shaped and drawn together through tragedies in their past with almost no possibility of finding a future together. She is everything Liam needs, and he is everything Tru wants. But, how can their worlds ever reconcile to give them more than a stolen moment in time?
Beautifully Cruel is a dark romance, but not in the way I expected. The blurb was intentionally vague and it worked. This was an extremely unexpected storyline that readers will never see coming. I binged this book in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. I am so in love with this couple and their journey! 5 stars!
Wow . This book just took me by surprise. It was exceptionally well written and the characters were well developed and the plot was so unpredictable. I was captivated and totally hooked to this story from the moment I started and didn’t want to keep it down. It was just so good. It’s intense, unpredictable and kept me glued . I loved both Tru and Liam characters equally. Liam is an enigma till the very end and I really enjoyed peeling layers off him and getting to know him. I literally devoured this book in one sitting and have nothing but kudos for J.T. Geissinger for giving her readers another great reading experience. I am really hoping Killian would get his own story even though he had a very small appearance in this book he does seems like an intriguing character. Definitely a must read.
Beautifully Cruel was a pleasant surprise. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly with J.T. Geissinger’s latest but Tru and Liam make for an enjoyable read. I loved that we get strong characters with both, not just an alpha to pant over. It didn’t take long for me to be hooked in the story and needing to know what was going to happen next. I was sad to reach the last page, I didn’t want the story to end. If the next J.T. Geissinger romance will give me characters like Tru and Liam, I’ll be adding it to my TBR list.
My first read by J.T Geissinger and I’m hooked. I need more books like this one in my life. What drew me to this story was the blurb. It sounded suspenseful and alluring and boy… it sure was. I mean the steam was at maximum capacity. Add in some dangerous situations and a man who can be both a gentleman and a savage and I was glued to the pages.
Truvy and Liam are wonderful protagonists. I loved their banter, their chemistry, the push and pull between them. She’s the type of girl that can fend for herself. She’s strong-headed, sassy, fierce and always speaks her mind. The perfect match for the broody, scary and devastatingly handsome Liam Black, who from the first time he sets his eyes on Tru, can’t help but be mesmerized by her southern charm. In his line of work, he is ruthless and feared, but when it comes to Truvy he can’t help showing his softer side. Liam knows better than to drag her into his dark world but the raw attraction between and all the things they seem to have in common are constantly pulling him towards Tru. He can’t stay away and that might be his demise.
Told in dual pov, the story unfolds at a steady-paced, leaving room for character development. The plotline is suspenseful enough to keep you on your toes and the sexy scenes are over the charts hot. Mr Black has totally captivated my heart and I can say I have a new book boyfriend. Now I just need Killian’s story.
*ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
WOW!!! I loved it!! I didn’t see that twist coming, and it changed EVERYTHING. I’m still speechless. Lol there is quite of an age gap going on. u2063
u2063
Liam Black (39), truly a mysterious man, but so hot. I was so intrigued. He didn’t let his past break him. He got stronger from it. Tru (24) is an interesting woman. No matter how much she wants him, she was able to control her desires for awhile. Not a lot of heroine can. Lol I love her smart mouth with Liam. Her past also shaped her for who she is. The steamy scenes…WOW! The chemistry…AMAZING! I really hope his brother gets a book. Lol He’s so funny. Highly, highly recommended!!!u2063
u2063
Beautifully Cruel is the first book I’ve picked up for J.T. Geissinger in a good while and wow. I mean WOW! The chemistry between Tru and Liam was dynamic from the very start and didn’t let up one bit.
I loved Tru. She was bold and determined. Strong willed and fearless. She wasn’t going to let anyone tell her who or what she could be. No matter how smokin’ hot or broody he was. And was Liam all those things and a whole lot more. WHEW! That man is the definition of alpha with his suits and tattoos and deep stares.
There was no denying the passion between them but it also ran deeper. When everyone was telling her to be afraid, she wasn’t. She saw past his bravado to the man that just wanted something good to hold on to. To believe in. And in turn, Liam gave her freedom to be herself and pursue her dream. They had so much in common it was almost eerie but at the same time it showed just how well suited they were for one another.
The whole time Tru and Liam were together, she could sense there was something else happening. But even with the little nuggets dropped here and there it wasn’t enough for her to put the pieces together. Until…holy unexpected twisty twist!
J.T. Geissinger completely shocked and awed me with how intricately woven and deep the secret Liam was keeping ran. When all was revealed my jaw was on the floor and my heart was leaping with joy. And that ending was just the right amount of sweet and romantic that both Liam and Tru so deserved.