The Brute

“If I’m your Beast, you’re my Beauty.”

Ok can we just take a moment to absorb the beauty of this cover a one more time before I jump into reviewing this book? It is just absolutely gorgeous, by far one of my absolute favorite covers that I have discovered this year! I would display this in a poster form all day, every day, and never get sick of looking at this cover!

“Fairy tales are never happy, sweet stories. They’re moral stories about overcoming the dark side and the bad.” –Joe Wright

Tarrah Anders has really swept me away with this novel. I have only read a few of her other titles and as much as I loved them all, this is my now all-time favorite from her. I will be making sure this book graces my bookshelves to be devoured again and again in the future. I may be a bit biased in the sense that I have an obsession with fairy tales. When I read the quote from Joe Wright as the precursor to this novel I knew that I was in for a treat and not once was I let down. Taking on the classic of Beauty and The Beast and spinning it into a modern day fairy tale to adore was not something that could or should be taken lightly and Tarrah Anders delivered!

In a hot, steamy, and fast paced novel we get the tale of Benjamin, Ben, and Bella. Ben used to be a man that everyone loved and wanted to be around. A set of unfortunate events finds Ben as the CEO of Adams Enterprises, his father’s company. His bigger than life persona comes out now in a gruff and off-putting way. He is known to fire someone just for breathing in his space at the wrong time. His attitude and quick to fire personality has him in a lurch and in need of a new assistant. He can’t seem to keep a good one around. Here is where we get to meet Isabella, or Bella.

“I run this place. That’s my job. I pay someone to do the other sh&t for me.”
Bella is a sweet small town girl, the farmer’s daughter. She comes off as timid and quite on the outside but Ben may just have found his match in Bella. She has his games figured out and knows how to handle his brash attitude.

“She’s beautiful.”

“What is it about her?”

During the Bella’s three month evaluation Ben tells her that she is doing her job and doing it well. He also uses this opportunity to TELL her to join him as his date for the Gala.

“Her performance would be better if she pleased me the way she does in my fantasies.”

“I’m a difficult person to work for, although you’ve seemed to be able to handle my moods. Is that a problem for you? My difficulty?”

“I don’t think you are difficult. I think you are misunderstood.”

“The Gala on Friday night. You’re attending, as my date.”

You see he needs Bella to attend to show to the world that the side of him that only she sees in him right now. Added bonus, he finds her absolutely desirable and the center of his deepest darkest fantasies too.

“She’s right. In the past, I have always hired a stand-in escort to attend events with me. It seemed the best solution to have someone who wouldn’t ask for more time or emotion than I would care to give, someone I could trust to be discreet, and someone who would be available to me if I so choose. I’ve never indulged in that benefit of the agreement, but the option was always there. I’d just needed someone who knew her duty was to smile and be present, so I wasn’t presented to the public as a complete recluse. Because, even though I do keep myself isolated, I need to maintain appearances for the benefit of my company. Sometimes those appearances include the image that I have a personal life.”

“Ben wouldn’t take the risk if it was just a fleeting moment of carnal weakness. There must be more to his attraction.”

The attraction between the two is seriously red-hot, steaming off the page and giving you hot-flashes as you read hot! Of course, no fairy tale is perfect right? There is a lesson to be learned and as in the realest of all fairy tales the road from the beginning to that happily ever after is paved with blood, sweat, and tears. Will Ben and Bella be able to grow this beyond an office romance fling? Can they find that happily ever after together? You will not be disappointed you picked up this beauty of a novel. I can’t wait to devour another Tarrah Ander’s novel as soon as possible!

“My anxiety is spiraling because I’m not completely sure what is in store for my future. Did I f@ck it all up by falling for my boss? Could I have ignored the feelings that I kept hidden from everyone? Did I just lose the single most important person in my life?”

“When Bella first came to work for me, I wasn’t living. I was just working; I was a drone. I was like a dying flower, but she repotted me, fed me and made me better than I was before. Bella renewed me.”

“Over the length of our relationship, we’ve teased ONE another with the nicknames of Beauty and the Beast. Its rung true from time to time, as I have been known to be a bit of a scary individual and she, well, she couldn’t be more beautiful.”

This was my first Tarrah Anders book, but it won’t be my last! She keeps the story moving so well that you don’t realize you’ve already consumed half of the book until you come up for air.

Bella and Ben were perfectly matched here. Ben knows he’s a difficult person (his exact description of himself was a tad less PG, but very funny) and he knows that his past made him this way. He lost his parents, his dream, a girl, and a friend, almost back to back, years ago. Because of this, he’s closed himself off and has worried about keeping his family’s legacy alive and well. While he succeeds in this, he is lonely and feels disconnected from life.

Bella comes to Ben’s world as his assistant and quickly proves that she’s not afraid of him. I loved Bella’s refusal to back down or compromise her work life for their personal life together. She brings Ben back to life in this loosely-based Beauty and the Beast retelling and makes the reader love her for her personality and stubbornness.

Overall, this was a quick and entertaining read, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it.

The Brute is a stand-alone novel by Tarrah Anders. This is my fifth novel by this author.

Benjamin Adams is the CEO of his company and doesn’t care who is next assistant is. After going through five within just a few month period, he’s sure she isn’t going to make it very long. But when he is introduced to her, he hides his attraction with annoyance.

“I catch a glance at the heavenly sight of her. Rather than allow the strange, ancient feelings simmering in my body to be reflected in my countenance, I feign annoyance.”

Isabella is great female lead. She doesn’t let Ben walk over her and she stands up for herself.

I love anything this author writes and when I saw she had a new book I just had to get it.

This a quick read with great characters who had all the charts chemistry.

I hope there is another book soon. Maybe a sequel.

The Brute by Tarrah Anders is an entertaining story about the redemption of one man.
Benjamin Adams was always known as the nige guy. Everyone agreed how friendly he was. But the something happened. He inherited his father’s company and the nice charming man everyone once knew disappeared. Left in his place is a monster.
Until she comes along. The one who could save him, help him become the person he wants was. However it is up to Benjamin to learn to set aside his anger and his need for revenge. And if he can’t? Then he may just lose it all.

I found this book highly entertaining and very easy to read. The characters were great – I found myself smiling at their interactions more than once. The story was well though through and well written. A very good read.

The Brute by Tarrah Anders is a steamy romantic story that you can’t help but fall in love with it. Following the story of Benjamin and Isabella. Benjamin is a tough, cold man who by all accounts is not someone that you want to mess with. At work Benjamin is all about business, all about pushing is employees to the next level, until it comes to Isabella. Isabella gets under Benjamin’s skin right away. Isabella has a way about her that makes it easy to get to him, handle him, wrap him around her finger. Isabella has serious kahunas, easily going toe-to-toe with the hardheaded man at every turn and loves it each day. Benjamin and Isabella have an immediate connection, and it only heats up from the get go. Will these two have a happy ending? Just how hard is Benjamin willing to work to get to Isabella’s heart? Anders is an old favorite of mine, her writing style is one that just grabs you from the get go and her characters will drag you under from page one until the end. If you are looking for a great read, with just enough steam to keep you hot under the collar, than this is definitely one to pick up today! I can’t wait to see what else Anders brings to her readers in the future!

Have I ever mentioned loving the tale of Beauty and the Beast? The Brute by Tarrah Anders has a slight taste and feel of this particular retelling.

We get to meet Ben and Bella, and with them the story of who they are – and who they become eventually. But what is so pleasing, is the simple fact of their journey and all that they have to transcend to get to their destination.

I definitely enjoyed the storyline, as well as a good amount of chemistry. I definitely was surprised by what this author had to offer her readers. This is a 4 Star Book for me and am looking forward to reading more from this author.

This is the first book I have read from this author and she blew me away. I love a good contemporary romance but this book exceeded all my expectations. I was hooked on this story from the very beginning. These characters made me read all through the night. It only took me a few hours to devour this incredible book.

Benjamin Adams is known to be cold and very hard headed. He used to be the opposite until some devastation took his life away. Ben is now the owner of his father’s company. He takes his work very seriously. Ben is known as the beast at work until he meets her. Isabella is not like any other woman Ben has ever met. She knows how to handle him and his moods. Isabella goes toe to toe with him when she thinks he is wrong and he loves that about her. Ben starts to feel more for Isabella which is his new assistant but does she feel the same way? Will Ben get his happy ending or will his past come back to destroy it all?

I absolutely loved this book. The storyline has it all romance, suspense, and compromise. You will fall in love with these characters right from the start. Ben is very cold and moody due to his past that he just can’t get over. When he starts taking some of his walls down he will turn into a Prince Charming. The way he treats Isabella will make you swoon. Isabella is a beautiful woman with a very good head on her shoulders. She is not afraid of Ben and she starts to actually like him. These two characters have some steamy scenes that will make your temperature rise. This talented author will keep you at the edge of your seat until the end. I loved how she put a spin on a classic tale of Beauty and the Beast. I can’t wait to see what this author will have for us next.

The Brute by Tarrah Anders
Rated 4 stars

Benjamin is a brute! He is owner of a company and is not a nice guy. Basically he is rude to the nth degree. He has no patience for idiots. Bella comes along and seems to be able to manage him. Once he meets her he starts wanting to see her outside the office.
I loved the changes in Benjamin throughout the story. He learned many lessons while being in a relationship with Bella. Bella was steadfast. A woman who knew what she wanted and went for it. Working and having a relationship with a co worker is tough. Let alone it being one being a boss and the other a subordinate. It’s hard to separate your time between office and home. What isn’t good is have one invade the other time. Then it’s a lose lose situation. These two handled it beautifully.
Nice story!

The Brute by Tarrah Anders was a great read. It’s a book about the beauty ( Isabella Dubois ) and the beast ( Benjamin Adams )

Benjamin has been thru a lot of heartbreak in his life. His parents died in a tragic accident and then he found out his fiancé was cheating on him with someone he never would’ve expected. Once his parents passed away, he had to take over his fathers company and his life had changed which lead up to losing his fiancé. He became angry and everyone who worked for him was scared of the big bad CEO.

He couldn’t keep a personal assistant for more then a month or so. He was tired of interviewing so he had HR do the interviews and boring process. Then he met his new assistant Isabella and right away he was attracted to her. He fought the desires towards her for months until he couldn’t anymore.

How would Isabella react when he tells her how he feels and what he wants from her. What will happen when Ben’s past comes literally crashing into his future and he finds himself in the same hospital again as he was when everything happened with Renae?

I thought this was a well written book and I enjoyed getting to know the characters.

The Brute by Tarrah Anders was an hot, steamy twist, modern take on a old fairy tail.

Not my first read from this author, so I knew going in, that the writing was going to be on point, witty and.. steamy. I was not disappointed. Told in dual POV, we are first tossed into Ben’s head. (Just to add in here, his last name is Adams, if you’re a die-hard Disney fan, like me, you’ll get this easter egg.) Ben, though does not have the appearance of a beast, has a nasty personality, and a walled up heart, making him unapproachable and standoffish. It’s made apparent in the first few lines that Ben is a thunder c|*|*|. He’s the type of person that, you just want to throat punch after he open his mouths. It is explained why he is so nasty, it a matter of, people tend to deal with lose in their own ways. As much as I didn’t like his show/mast of being a d|*|*|*|, I did very much loved, and enjoyed his character. (Truth be told, I didn’t want him to change..)

The only thing that I wold have liked to see more of was him being a Tbag. Everything was told to me as to how he was a professional jerk. But when the chance arose to really drive the point home, like in meetings with other humans, they were skipped over. Same with the initial intro to Bella, he was a douch, but again things were skipped a head a few months and, again I was told about their interactions, and didn’t see much of it before things got smuty.

Bella, I liked her well enough, but I felt she was a but too perfect. I don’t know, but I wasn’t fully on board with her as a character, or the main love interest. Ben out shined her, and I feel like the building blocks were their for Bella to be on par with Ben; but for me, she didn’t quite make it all the way up the steps. Don’t get me wrong, Bella was a great character and she did have her moments. But I believe that if some extra time was taken to showcase her’s and Ben interactions, before getting to the sexy bits( like them going toe to toe in a heated argument, or her soothing his moody jacka**ness), then it would have added that much more of a punch, and spark, to not only her as a a lead MC, but it would have made their growing affection more intense. (Kind of like how Bella snapped at Beast when she was cleaning his wound. That one scene was a game changer.)

Overall I very much enjoyed this different, non magical take on one of my favourite fair tale classic. I do have high standards when it comes to fairy take retellings, and even higher when the magic is taken out. I have to say that this piece, for me, was a 9 out 10. It not only kept the essence of the original, but made it realistic. Ben and Bella could be real people, their whole situation could have happened, and that alone makes this adaptation stand out and shine in a sea of similar books.

If you haven’t guested, this is a high recommend from me, it’s a quick read that’s perfect for late nights, or a hot summers day. Just keep some cold water handy, cause the sun isn’t the only heart you’re going to feel.

Happy Reading’

-E.A. Walsh