A DIAMOND MAGNATE DARK ROMANCE NOVELSix years ago, Harold Dalton framed me for theft and sent me to jail to steal my diamond discovery. He gave his daughter to Jack Clarke in exchange for the excavation rights. Today, I’m walking free, and I’m coming for him with a vengeance. Six years of cruelty make beasts out of men. I’m going to take back what he stole from me, and more. I’m not interested in … interested in his properties or shares. I don’t want his small change. I want his biggest asset. Beautiful, mentally unstable, Angelina Dalton-Clarke.
Worth billions, she’s the wealthiest widow in the country, and also the craziest. Her self-harming tendencies had Jack declare her incompetent before he put a gun to his head and blew out his brains. Lina isn’t allowed to touch a cent of her riches. Her father manages her finances. He has all the signing power. As her husband, that chore will fall to me. But if she thinks I only want her for her money, she’s sadly mistaken.
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Damian Hart spent 6 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit thanks to being set up by Harold
Dalton and now he is out and ready for revenge. That begins with marrying Damian’s daughter, Angelina
Dalton-Clarke, whose husband Jack died.
Angelina Dalton-Clarke has no desire to get married ever again, especially against her will but her father
blackmails her do it. She has been declared mentally ill and spent time in an institution after the death
of Jack.
Lina has no desire to be married to Dami but soon the two begin to get closer, although Dami punishes Lina for her disobedience which both scares and pleasures Lina. But with Dami’s “butler”, Zane, making
Lina’s life difficult will she be able to stay in the house and go through more pain and suffering when she has already been through so much?
With Damian trying to get his mine back will he have use for Lina when he gets access to her money and will Lina finally be able to feel safe and free again? Can Lina find the papers she needs to finally get the
information her father is after?
This was a really good book with so many twists, turns, and moments of deception.
I liked Damian right from the beginning and I understood his need for revenge after he was set up but I
hated how he punished Lina, especially not knowing what she had been through in the past. I really thought he jumped the gun with that and then with the red dress after. Damian was so hell bent on
revenge that he was pushing Lina away instead of bringing her close and it wasn’t her fault that she married Jack.
Angelina was a broken character but I could see that she had been mentally and physically abused,
regardless of what was said about her. I was so angry with Zane and how he treated her but nobody
believed her, especially Damian. I understood why she risked so much to try and find the papers and what it meant to her. I hated that Harold could part with her so easily but soon everything made sense.
This book had so many twists and turns that I wasn’t ever sure who was going to be loyal to who.
Although I admit I loved Lina’s security guards Russell and Brinks as those two truly cared about her and wanted to protect her with everything they had.
Zane was lotyal to Damian to a certain degree but he was not willing to do anything that assisted Lina and terrorized her whenever Damian was not around. His sister, Anne, and father were just as bad and it
broke my heart and I crossed my fingers Damian would discover the truth.
I was so happy when Lina finally opened up to Damian but the damage had already been done but Damian then had to figure out what he could do.
The end was so awesome and I was so proud of Lina for getting herself back on track but recognizing she wasn’t complete!!
This was the first time I have read this author and I look forward to more! By Rebecca
Twisted and captivating!!
What an amazing ride of a story. Wow!!! It is a little dark, well more gray than dark. But there are so many layers to these characters. Six years ago a young man, Damian, with big dreams, met a young woman, Lina. But her deceitful father, Harold Dalton, framed Damian for theft and stole his diamond mine. For six years Damian plotted and schemed in jail for his revenge against Harold. During those six years, Lina was married off to a wealthy older man until his death. She was labeled crazy and suicidal. But that didn’t scare away Damian. He came for Lina with a vengeance. Their story is beautifully broken. It was angsty and hopeful. Damian and Lina are two damaged souls that were both handed a crap life that neither had control over. But they began to slowly heal and figure out what they need and want. This is such a captivating story with many moving parts that in the end fit together like a perfect puzzle piece. Charmaine Pauls is an amazing writer with such a special imagination. She kills it again with this book!
Riveting and gritty, this dark romance will draw you in
—>>> Angelina “Lina” Dalton’s life has been far from what the media and society portrays her, which is as a young, mentally disturbed, now-extremely wealthy widow. When Damian is released from jail, a six-year term served as an innocent man wrongly accused, he sets out on his disturbing path to bring to rights what was done to him at the hands of Harold Dalton, the man responsible. And it starts with his daughter, who he manipulates into his home, as his wife in the bargain.
Lina’s fight for daily survival has taken a toll on her at the hands of her father and her ex-husband. She now is a fresh pawn to yet another man who is in utter control of every aspect of her life – her husband, Damian Hart. He is ruthless, brutal, and untrusting, so very changed from the boy she had met those years ago when she had just turned eighteen. Surrounded by people in their household to whom she realizes she cannot turn her back on, Lina has to do what she has to in order to ensure she will survive this latest devilry in her life. Maybe, just maybe, for once in her life, she can claw her way out to get some support to make it out in one piece, if only to put to rest the soul-sucking elements in her past. And Damian may just realize too late all the innocence and goodness she has been already been betrayed far too long for.
I can’t say I’m the type of person that can appreciate a relationship based on pain. Damian says he’s completely devoted to Lina but insists on “punishing” her. So many times I wanted her to just spit in his eye and not give in at all. But, that wouldn’t make for a very good story. The author has a greater plan for us as readers. It’s definitely a captivating story. Several twists and turns will keep you interested and leave you wanting more. 4 stars!
Beauty in the broken
Charmaine Pauls
Reviews on goodreads. Amazon. BookBub the book addicts
The story will take you in so many directions and you will love every minute of it !! The drama is outrageous !! There are so many things going on and it just sucks you in and you can’t put it down !!
Another wonderful book !!
Holy mackerel this is one dark story. Damian is a complete jerk at times but on one hand you can understand why and then on the other hand you just want to knock him upside his head. Lina is a sweet young lady that boy do we see growing throughout the story. It is a gripping story that has you wishing you could stop reading but it is so intriguing that you can’t put it down. The characters are well developed and the writing is fantastic. It has a superb storyline that can feel so realistic to the end. It is definitely worth reading and doesn’t disappoint.
I love this authors work. The storyline, the characters, never fail to intrigue and captivate me and Beauty in the Broken was no different.
Spending six years behind bars is enough time to plan your revenge for being framed for something you didnt do. Damian Hart does exactly that. With everything in place theres only one last thing to do, to take her.
For Lina Dalton Clarke being forced into a marriage due to something her father has done isn’t new to her. She knows what to expect, so she gets herself prepared for the worst.
Damian has wanted Lina since their first meeting. Will the anger he feels subside when he gets her alone? Lina has been through alot of horrible things lately. Will she have what it takes to keep going?
A strong, feisty heroine and a dark possessive hero. A story full of emotions, dealing with abuse and violence, crime and revenge but with an underlying romance. A story that I found hard to put down. A story that deserves all 5 stars
Excellent twisted and tortured story
I loved this story. It is hard to read at sometimes, but it is nonetheless a very strong story, with psychologically complex characters, who may seem broken, but who are instead very strong to rebuild, even if it takes place through unorthodox ways, the heroin living in semi-imprisonment, with a hero who is a BDSM adept to keep her under its yoke. At least that’s one of his goals in the beginning.
And wow … what a beginning !
After being in prison for six years because he was betrayed and stolen from his diamond mine, Damian returns, finds all the evidence to incriminate and give away the one who betrayed him. In exchange, he demands to marry the traitor’s daughter, Angelina (Lina), who was declared mad after the death of her husband, but who has inherited millions of which her father has the tutelage: if she remarries, her husband recovers the management of all the money. Damian wants to take revenge on her father by taking her, punishing her if she does not submit, recovering his mine and destroying all those responsible for his imprisonment.
But despite all their dark sides, a deeper bond is created, constantly shaken by the confidence that neither of them can give because of their past, and Damian’s “friends” who attack Lina
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book
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~~ 5 BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN STARS! ~~
“He’s my downfall, my beautiful destruction.”
BEAUTY IN THE BROKEN is a darkly seductive masterpiece of EPIC proportions!
THE PREMISE:
When he was a poor, ambitious 22-year-old, Damian Hart attended a high society dinner party hosted by the rich and powerful Harold Dalton, and he became instantly transfixed with the man’s bewitchingly beautiful daughter, Angelina. But, alas, that night set off a catastrophic chain of events that sealed his fate, landing him behind bars for a crime he did not commit.
Now 6 years later, when Damian is released from prison, he has one mission in life: Exacting vengeance against the enemy who framed him and stole his diamond mine. His path of destruction? Blackmail Lina (now a mentally unstable widow worth billions) into marriage, ruin her father financially, and control every aspect of her life.
And he does just that.
But as much as he relishes using Lina to orchestrate her father’s downfall, there’s just one small hitch in his grandiose plan. For the beautifully deranged angel that he aches to shatter into pieces is already profoundly broken yet at the same time has the spirit of a warrior princess! How can this woefully damaged woman arouse his primal desires to possess and protect, defile and destroy, often in the same breath? And while the cruel, sinister diamond magnate resembles nothing of the humble young pauper Lina once met, there is something about his confounding blend of harsh dominance and tender devotion that inflames her senses and begins to heal her fractured mind, body and soul. But how can she trust the crazy whispers of a heart that’s already been crushed beyond repair? Now with the stakes higher than ever, will Damian carry out his twisted vendetta to the bloody end? Or will the impending firestorm lead to a catastrophic turn of events neither saw coming?
MY MUSINGS:
Not only do I relish how Charmaine Pauls, a South African native, sets her books in Johannesburg, but wowza can she weave a high-octane romance that makes your pulse race, your knees buckle, and leaves you all aquiver! This hauntingly beautiful love saga is chock full of wrenching emotion, red-hot, explosive passion, wicked debauchery and diabolical twists and turns!
The writing is resplendent—lushly descriptive, sensually charged and wildly addictive—and it’s teeming with brilliantly complex character development and the kind of masterful storytelling artistry that leaves you spellbound! Furthermore, the author did a stellar job of sweeping us up into an uppercrust, highbrowed world dripping in opulence and grandeur, but which also permeates the senses with a seedy blend of dark sin and filthy depravity.
As for the central love story, there is full throttle tension from start to finish! I was on pins and needles throughout—and was enraptured by the emotional and physical tug of war that is waged throughout as these two fiery lovers constantly walk a treacherous tightrope of love and hate, vengeance and absolution, pain and pleasure.
Holy effin swooooon! Damian is the kind of dark, dangerously sexy antihero we LOVE TO HATE! He is devilishly handsome. Cold as ice. Hard as granite. Terrifyingly Territorial. Ferociously protective. Exquisitely gentle. And so driven by an obsessive cocktail of lust and revenge it consumes every part of him. AS WELL AS US! And as he sets out to use Lina as a vehicle to bring down his greatest enemy, he finds himself inexplicably drawn to his beautifully broken angel—which unleashes an emotional tsunami within this powerfully commanding dom that cannot be contained. For he wants to ruin her, ravish her, AND shelter her at all costs…which clearly puts him in quite a quandary!
And Lina? What a beautifully fierce, tragically brave heroine! She is emotionally “unhinged,” battle scarred inside and out, yet possesses the kind of sheer grit that leaves you AWESTRUCK. My heart broke for all she’d been through—and survived! I love her fierceness. Her fragility. Her resilience. Her aching vulnerability. Her fire. And her HUGE CAPACITY for eternal love. And even though life has surely beat her down—and she finds herself shackled to a man she both craves and detests—she refuses to cower! But she harbors many secrets inside her fractured heart—secrets that Damian is determined to wrench free—and when all is said and done, can her love alone tame the beast inside of him? My lips are sealed but gah what a journey these two embark on together! I lived and breathed the combustible chemistry and the fiery battle of wills between these two fascinating, multi-faceted characters and the evolution of their relationship from blistering animosity to soul-deep love is just HYPNOTIZING!
There are an ABUNDANCE of kinky power exchanges in this book—yum!–and holy smokes are the erotic interludes scintillatingly hot and wickedly arousing. That said, when provoked, Damian’s punishing wrath is NOT for the faint of heart, and, admittedly, at times excruciating. Nevertheless, even during in the more barbaric altercations, Lina has ALWAYS been the light to Damian’s dark. And it’s in those rare, precious moments when we see the real man behind the monstrous mask — when he cossets and cares for his beautifully broken wife and oh so tenderly soothes her wounds (even those that he himself inflicted)—that the true splendor is unearthed!
“I’m both her torture and remedy.”
Titillation aside, this book is wonderfully balanced, and the richly layered plot truly resonates on every level. And when all the nail-biting suspense and dark, smoldering passion reaches a shattering crescendo, prepare for an electrifying climax that will steal your breath, give you goosebumps galore and leave you GLORIOUSLY RAPTUROUS!
BOTTOM LINE:
BEAUTY IN THE BROKEN decimated me in the BEST POSSIBLE WAY and truly embodies EVERYTHING I CRAVE in a dark romance! This mind-blowing page-turner is one of my TOP Reads of 2019 and I cannot wait to find out what the mega talented Charmaine Pauls has in store for us next!
A MUST Read!
Lina’s circumstances have nearly crushed her will at the beginning of Beauty in the Broken. Damian shackles Lina to him convinced this is the only way she will stay by his side. Charmain Pauls does a fantastic job of balancing her dark romances, and Beauty in the Broken is no exception. Lina and Damian begin their relationship emotionally crippled, often using sexual intimacy to elicit an emotional bond. They are flawed but find strength from one another. With the emotional give and take between Lina and Damian, they repair the damage inside of them. Be warned the consent is sometimes suspect, and a strong dominance theme is at play here. This scenario fits the characters well. I believe it advances their development and leads to a magnificent place. In the end, their roles are balanced, and they are both better for it. I enjoyed reading an advanced copy of Beauty in the Broken by Charmaine Pauls. I would highly recommend giving it a try
Ms. Pauls has a wonderfully creative and diabolical mind and I mean that as the highest compliment. Beauty in the Broken is riveting, compelling and so deliciously twisted with every turn of the page I felt like I was tip-toeing across the Grand Canyon on a high wire while the characters took me an an emotional roller coaster ride of lust and revenge. Damian Hart is one of the most ruthless, vicious and sadistic characters I have ever encountered in a “dark romance” but just when I thought he could never be redeemed the man behind the monster would surface and he would become a very sympathetic character. Angelina Dalton-Clarke has always been a pawn for rich men to abuse and Damian is no different when he forces her to marry him against her will and holds her prisoner in his home. Lina’s character is scarred and broken both emotionally and physically and I felt every single minute of her absolute terror as she tries to leave the shell of herself behind so she might become a woman who can stand on her own two feet. Damian and Lina are two amazingly complex characters whose unbelievable story will linger with me for a very long time to come.
10 +++++ BEAUTIFUL STARS for Beauty in the Broken – A Diamond Magnate Novel
ARC received from author in exchange for an honest review
Opinions expressed are my own & have not been influenced in any way …
A fabulous read – could not put it down & I am not in the least bit sorry to be sleep deprived !! Charmaine Pauls has done another outstanding job with this book ! I did not think it would be possible to love these characters as much as Valentina & Gabriel from Dubious & Consent ( The Loan Shark Duet Series ) but even from just the brief excerpt I knew that I would …
Where do I even start with this brilliant gem of a read ….
Angelina ( aka Lina ) Dalton – Clarke is portrayed as suicidal & mentally unstable -a beautiful & yet very broken heroine. But is she ?? Her inheritance makes her one of the wealthiest women as the sole heir to Dalton Diamond Mines.
Damien Hart has spent the past 6 yrs in prison for a crime he did not commit having been framed for stealing a diamond from Harold Dalton ( Lina’s father ) Upon his release from prison he threatens to expose Harold and his price is that Lina becomes his ( unwilling ) wife …
I have not read a book with more unexpected plot twists & this standalone is easily a top 10 favorite of 2019 & here is why :
Beautiful cover that grabbed my attention & as well as an extremely well written excerpt !
WOW WOW WOW sizzling chemistry between Lina & Damien
Just as there is beauty in being broken for both characters there is a very well written HEA – so much so that I would really love it if somehow we get an epilogue or see where these characters are in the future …. I just did not want this story to end …
Angst & more angst – this is a break your heart into a million pieces & put it back together because you feel so much for what these characters are going thru …
Great secondary characters that support both Lina & Damien
Without giving anything away – a few scenes & items that totally broke my
Black dress – white wedding
Red dress – scars
Bats & Bat houses
Hidden food & locked doors
Society “label” of being mentally unstable
Black diamonds & toy trains
Death – destruction ,kidnapping & revenge
Classic dichotomy of good vs evil & how good will always overcome …
Loving someone enough & more than your own happiness to set them free
This story is a dark romance – but it is a romance that will leave you totally enthralled not only with the story but the characters as well …
This is an off the charts read for me …
Highly recommend not only this book but the author as well …
Excellent work Charmaine Pauls & I can’t wait to see what else you are planning to come up with in the Diamond Magnate series.
Thanks so much for taking your readers on this amazing adventure with Lina & Damien & for writing a perfect HEA for their love story
Beauty in the Broken
Without a doubt Charmaine Pauls’ Diamond Magnate Novel is a 5 STARS read! Beauty in the Broken is a richly layered story set in Diamond Country, South Africa and told in dual perspective, thereby allowing the reader to glimpse into the minds of two very guarded and damaged individuals. The name of the book says it all, poetic in its meaning, the deeply harrowing story leaves the reader wondering if the two main characters, Damian and Lina, ever stood a real chance of surviving the corrupt and exploitative diamond world?
Damian is out of prison, and he wants to punish the parties involved in framing him for theft, resulting in his false imprisonment. He intends to punish everyone who aided in framing him, even those who were indirectly involved, specifically, the rich, entitled, privileged and beautiful daughter of wealthy Diamond Magnate Harold Dalton. Damian has a score to settle and he will take no prisoners. With a penchant for cruelty, Damian blackmails Lina’s father for her hand in marriage and for the rights as her legal guardian, thereby gaining full control over her late husband’s fortune. Lina is declared mentally unstable and unfit to be independent. Damian hopes to exploit Lina’s condition to punish her for the part she played in his false imprisonment. It’s an ugly situation, Damian is cruel, a sadist to his core and he plans on breaking Lina until she is nothing but a shell of herself. The catch? Someone already beat Damian to it. Will Damian’s cruel sadistic tendencies tip Lina over the edge? Or is Damian’s brand of cruelty exactly what Lina needs to ignite the dying embers of her shattered heart and soul?
Wow!!!! I really can’t express clearly enough how much I loved this book! Beauty in the Broken gave me all the feels I look for in a book! Ms Pauls, I’m singing you praises for this beauty of a book! Damian and Lina’s story had me ugly crying over the death of innocence. To read about two people who have this potential opportunity to find their mark in the world but to then instantly have it ripped from them in one heartless act, had me crying in despair for Lina and Damian. The author has such a brilliant way of immersing the reader into this gritty world where corruption and greed reign, all cleverly disguised by wealth, luxury, and refinement. This juxtaposition gives a false sense of security whereby one assumes characters will err on the side of caution by making honourable decisions based on their social standing. However being wealthy and refined by polite society’s standard is not synonymous with being good and kind. Both Lina and Damian are fooled by this notion of wealth and refinement equating to goodness, and it is their lived experiences that tell a different story when placing trust in the wrong hands. They have both been exploited and now exist as shells of their former selves. It is harrowing and painful to read and yet so beautiful to see two broken people try to find their way in life again and learn how to thrive once more. They are truly “beauty in the broken”. Damian will do anything to have it all, and Lina learns how to navigate her new life without being further destroyed. Their life together is sad, destructive and so beautiful. Damian and Lina’s “dance” is breathtaking, intense and at times sweet and touching. I was cheering for both of these characters to get their HEA!!!! The secondary characters were also masterfully written with purpose to really explore Lina and Damian’s characters! I loved every part of this story and was sad when I turned to the last page and saw that it was over.
Everything about Beauty in the Broken is perfect!
This was such an angsty read but I absolutely loved it. I could not put it down. I just had to find out how Damian and Lina’s story would turn out. It had its major share of ups and downs but that is what made it realistic and heartwarming.
Damian and Lina had to struggle a lot to get to a point where they could finally love and trust one another. What started as revenge soon transformed into a bittersweet relationship that tested the boundaries of who they were as individuals, having to conquer their own personal fears in order to be together.
Charmaine Pauls definitely knows how to spin a tale with complicated characters like Damian and Lina. I loved both of them and watching them grow as characters was the best. I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Honestly I’m not sure where to start?? This book was total fabulousness and I can’t say enough about it. You have Damien who was sent to prison by the dirty, of dirties type of man. Damien is out for revenge and he is going to get what he wants, and that is Lina the daughter of the man he is out to destroy. Lina is worth billions, but due to her instability her husband will have control of her money. So you see Damien forces Lina to marry him, he gets her and her money. I don’t think he realized he would fall in love with her. This is a dark story and at times Lina’s treatment by Damien and her past treatment by others is rather rough. I will tell you I couldn’t put this book down. It’s fast paced and fabulously constructed. Loved it!!
There is beauty in the broken. 4 stars
I was broken by this book, but in the most beautiful way. Charmaine Pauls ripped my heart out of my chest, broke it many times, then finally put it back in my chest at the end. I was immediately captivated with this world at the beginning of the book and with Damian and Lina as characters, and it didn’t let me go until the end. Lina went through so much that it broke my heart, but the journey to who she is at the end was well deserved. Damian deserves to get his revenge for what was done to him, and the last six years have broken him as well. Damian is obsessed with Lina and would do anything for her which I appreciated, but some of the times he punished her were brutal to read. That is why I gave the book 4 stars – some of Damian’s punishments were hard and uncomfortable for me to read. He does redeem himself in the end! Damian and Lina’s love story is as broken and beautiful as I have ever read. If you want a book that transports you to another world with a story and characters that don’t let you go until you get to the end, then read this book!
OMG talk about loving a book this is one I love and want everyone to read because it is amazing and has so much in it I could write for days about this book but I am going to make this review a non spoiler because you have got to read this book that is how good it is.
Damian is accused of a crime he has not committed and sent to prison for six years and when he comes out he is out for revenge and something more. The man who took everything from him has a daughter that Damian is determined to get and keep and not only as revenge but for something so much more. But when Damian gets to see Lina he is surprised but what she has become and how she has been being treated that he is determined to save her.
This book has it all I mean it is dark and suspenseful, violence, and BDSM. Plus it deals with mental health issues that will break your heart. This is a MUST READ!!!!!!!!!
This is a dark deep story that draws you in and doesn’t let go
Angelina (Lina) is broken in so many ways and as Damian tries to help her he could break her even more Meanwhile he is plotting revenge on the people who falsely accused him leading to time in jail just so they could get hold of his diamond claim. Be prepared to get drawn in and also the fact that once you start reading this book you won’t want to put it down early hour reading anyone
OMG this book is a true masterpiece it has it all and will have your heart racing from the start to the finish with Damien and Angelina because let me tell you you never know what twisted dark scene is coming next. The character development is truly fantastic and so strong in great detail it was like watching a movie it seemed that real. Lina is one of the best woman characters I think I have ever read her strength just blows my mind and along with Damien it is super intense and is so emotional at times. I loved it so much and it is my top read for 2019 theres no way you can get this story out of your head.