McKAYI wasn’t the one who broke her but I played my part.She came to us when she was ten. I raised her. I loved her. I taught her how to survive in a world of evil men. But it wasn’t enough.ADAMI wasn’t the one who saved her but I did my best.She needed me as much as I needed her. Bought and paid for on the auction block. But not for the reasons you think. She was my weapon.DONOVANI wasn’t the … not for the reasons you think. She was my weapon.
DONOVAN
I wasn’t the one who lied to her but I hid her truth. She was broken before I got there. Wild and angry. Defiant and bratty. But she trusted me most. She loved me best.
So I set her free.
Indie Anna Accorsi is a woman lost in her past.
A pretty little nightmare.
A gorgeous piece of misery.
A mess of lovely darkness.
She is creeping beautiful.
And now we want her back.
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4.5 stars–CREEPING BEAUTIFUL is the first instalment in J.A. Huss’ contemporary, adult, suspense filled, mind-bending, dark, psychological thriller focusing on four ‘friends’: McKay, Adam, Donovan and Indie. CREEPING BEAUTIFUL is a spin off of, and set in the same world as the author’s THE COMPANY (2017).
Told from four first person points of view (McKay, Adam, Donovan and Indie) using present day and several time lines throughout the past, CREEPING BEAUTIFUL covers fourteen years and follows the unconventional relationship between McKay, Adam, Donovan and Indie. At ten years of age, Indie Anna Accorsi was sold and bought by the next generation of an organization known as The Company who trained child killers and assassins to do the work of cleaning up when society has gone wrong. Throughout the years the reader is up close and personal as Indie struggles with her direction in life, a life controlled by the boys, now men, who make it their responsibility to protect Indie from herself and others but all is not well in Indie Anna’s mind, a mind destroyed and still controlled by the psychological manipulations inflicted before she was bought and sold.
J.A. Huss pulls the reader into a dark and deadly world of mind control and assassins; of family and friendships; of the manipulations of the body and soul; of one young woman’s desperate attempts to be normal when her world is anything but. CREEPING BEAUTIFUL focuses on Indie Anna Accorsi, and her relationships with the man who bought her, the man who raised her, the man who tried desperately to keep her together, and the boy with whom Indie fell desperately in love. A mind-f*ck of epic proportions; a twisted, intricate and detailed tale of suspense that ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.
WOW! OMG! WOW! and OMG! WOW again!
Adam Boucher, Core McKay, and Donovan Couture have secrets, but they are joined by their past as Untouchables in The Company, and joined to Indie. Adam is on Les Fleurs Island to attend an auction. He wants to make his own team to carry on The Company tradition. He finds a ten-year-old Indie Anna Accorsi. She is a throw away, not valuable to anyone because she is wild, young, and creepy. Adam sees potential. Donovan sees someone to psychoanalyze. McKay can’t walk away even though she has the capability to destroy them. Indie is the perfect addition to their team. What exactly is this group up to? The answer to this question isn’t easy to reveal because – secrets.
Creeping Beautiful is the definition of a WOW story. It is JA Huss at her finest. It is everything I love about this author. It keeps me guessing. The characters are sexy, creepy, mysterious, and loveable. Each chapter is from one of the team’s point of view. The plot is intricate and tight, keeping the focus on the characters, while so much action is happening. There are twists and turns that make me nervous and hold my breath one moment then tie my stomach in knots the next until I start to breathe again. I didn’t have a clue what would happen from one page to the next, but I knew it would be a thrill. From the beginning, I was hooked, following the breadcrumbs that expose the past, the present, and the potential future.
Creeping Beautiful is a suspense-filled adventure. Huss takes us on a trip back to her wicked Company world with a completely new cast of characters, and the return of some old friends and foes. Expect surprises at every turn. I love that Creeping Beautiful has old characters and events from the past sprinkled throughout; shining new and unexpected insight on what you think you know. This doesn’t mean you must read The Company before reading Creeping Beautiful . It is a standalone novel. It is fun visiting this world again with the new and some of the old. There is a satisfying ending with the promise of more in the future. I can’t wait for more. A must read from one of my favorite authors.
This story is going to be an excellent audio. I can’t wait to get my copy.
If a book review should be about how the book made you feel, I FELT THIS BOOK. Creeping Beautiful is a complex, multifaceted mind twister from page one. We are introduced to the four principal members of a ruthless private army, Adam, Mc Kay, Donovan and Indie. There is no filler in this story; every word counts and there are so many truths to unfold. Within this story there is suspense, there are secrets, lies and love. “…a lie is just a secret in the shadows.” Creeping Beautiful is a masterful story that held my attention and kept me thinking to the very last word. Outstanding
It is starting to get harder and harder to write reviews for Julie’s books without sounding like a broken record. Once again she blew me away with the complexity and intricacy of this story. Once again my head is spinning from the mindfuckery (is that a word?) that takes place throughout. And once again I lost myself in the pages of this new “old” world that Julie is revisiting.
The very first story I read by Ms. Huss was the first book in The Company, simply titled “Come”. It was included in the Bend Anthology and it was our first introduction to a super secret, incredibly powerful shadow organization called “The Company”. As messed up as the things were that took place in that world, I could not get enough of it. I fell in love with James Fenici, Nick and Harper Tate, and Sasha Cherlin. More books followed, that world expanded in various ways in other series that Julie wrote, and different branches of the Company were introduced. The original Company was long gone, having been destroyed by the very characters I initially fell in love with. Now, we’re back with Creeping Beautiful, which introduces us to characters that were left behind in that aftermath.
This story revolves around India Anna Accorsi and the men who love her. Adam, McKay, Donovan and Nathan.
Three of them have been raising her since she was ten years old and one is the boy next store who has grown up with her.
Told in multiple POV’s and in past and present chapters, what transpires is a twisted tale of how each of these men feel about Indie and in turn how she feels about them. I remember saying in another review for one of Julie’s books that I imagine her having a huge white board on the wall with pictures of each character, and then countless strings criss-crossing and tying each character together in a specific way. That’s how complex and layered her stories get. Creeping Beautiful is no different. SO much happens, on the pages and in the background. And being that this is Company related, a lot of it is twisted and unbelievable and jaw dropping at times.
Once you start reading, be prepared to put everything else on hold because you won’t be able to put it down. Each point of view is complex, with secrets and truths that are slowly revealed over time. Each piece of information slowly culminating to a mind blowing conclusion that I was not expecting AT ALL. I can’t even imagine what is going to happen with the rest of this series, but I am DYING to find out!
Creeping Beautiful is a standalone dark romance. I think that I have only read 1 or 2 books by this author
OMG, OMG, OMG! I think I may be at a loss for words. The mind games that J.A. Huss played in this book. So many twists and turns. Wow.
I stayed up late reading Creeping Beautiful and then to write my review. This book is hauntingly good. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book after reading the first couple of chapters. But I knew I needed to try and stick this one out! There is a lot of backstory telling and some bad things went on that I didn’t think I could read about. I am here to tell you I am so happy that I kept on reading.
I listen to most of my books via kindle text to speech and this one had so much going on & details I had to go back and actually read the beginnings of this book.
Creeping Beautiful is a dark book to read and it isn’t a light and airy told story. If you love books that mess with your mind then I highly recommend Creeping Beautiful. This is a 5+ Creepy DARK STARS. I hope it won’t be long until Pretty Nightmare comes out!
Love this book
You know when you had been reading romance for a while but you want something new, something that will rekindle your love and passion to read again… Well that was this book for me.
I had been in a romance funk for a while, and this book was a page turner, a mind bending one. One where you see yourself trying to ties the missing pieces of the plot, to get ahead of it so you can have your AHA moment when the “conflict” is resolving.
I loved the character, I loved even more that if you are a long reader of Miss Huss you can get little bit and pieces of the other books, maybe have a little bit of more understanding of what is going even thought you probably won’t remember every little thing that happen on the previous books.
The way it was written, the it flows… The chemistry between all the MC, how the relationship between them evolve was beautiful. Gosh this books, this book was everything and I cannot wait till the next book comes
This book is Amazing..it’s more of an experience than just your average book.
*I received a free copy of Creeping Beautiful. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review which is honest and unbiased.*
Holy twisted plot! Creeping Beautiful is right in line with the other Company books, and the twists and turns were infinite. I loved how it was completely impossible to figure out what would happen next, all the while trying to anyway.
All the characters appealed to me! McCay, Adam, Donovan and Indie all had something that hooked me. Plus, I really wanted things to be OK for them.
And we go again. J.A. Huss and that deliciously creative brain of hers has blown me away yet again with Creeping Beautiful. A story wildly intricate, you have to play very close attention to each and every word to truly understand just what has transpired. The way she gives each of her characters their ‘time in the sun’ so to speak with multiple POVs is utterly brilliant. You don’t get lost when you should. You don’t get confused when you would otherwise. Instead you are privy to a seemingly complicated tale that is ultimately a simply one as the story reaches its conclusion, because at the center of it all is the love for a woman named Indie by the men who adore her.
Adam, McKay and Donovan. The three men who each have their role in the upbringing of a 10 year old name Indie Anna. We get to go back in time with some of their chapters, extracting info on the how and whys of Indie and her young past. All the while trying to figure out where she has been, in present time, and how their fractured, unconventional little family became that way.
I tell ya, I couldn’t look away if I wanted to. I get so caught up in Huss’s words and the way she meticulously weaves this story, throwing in tangents from prior books, allowing me to have more than one happy ‘omg’ moment as the puzzle pieces start to fall into place. It’s a reading experience like no other.
With Indie at the forefront of this story, feeling all the affection, whether somewhat misplaced or not, her 3 men just want her safe and happy. All holding secrets of their own, the journey to true satisfaction for them all is filled with numerous detours, a ton of stops and starts and missteps. But I’m always intrigued to watch it all unfold in only the way Huss can deliver.
I won’t and wouldn’t give away anything more but to say: ‘read it’. Get lost in Creeping Beautiful or actually any of Huss’s books. They are unique, well thought out, smart and enticing. I am always at a loss for words as the last few pages are read except a few ‘damns’ thrown out because I can’t believe how masterful a storyteller Huss is that she can tie up all the supposed loose ends in such a freaking incredible way.
Creeping Beautiful is haunting and real. It’s crazy and confusing. But in the end, it is wonderful and is deserving of 5 huge stars!
JA Huss brings us another winner. Creeping Beautiful is suspenseful, intricate, and soulful. I found the characters pulling at my emotions because they come from very different places in Indie’s life. It is amazing how Julie can create theses individual characters that fit so well in the life of a young girl. Each has a backstory that entwines so perfectly. McKay, Donovan, and Adam are the shapers of this girl’s life.
This book will pull you in and hook you until the very end. Read it!
Holy freaking mind fuck!!! This cover is stunning, gorgeous,BEAUTIFUL, but the words between these pages…..intense, suspenseful, mesmerizing with twists and turns that will have you gasping for breath. Don’t think for one minute you have this story figured out because believe me, I was mind-blown page after page with jaw-dropping secrets that began to unravel until the very end where I was left begging for so much more! Now to impatiently wait for Pretty Nightmare to release!