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Beautiful Bastard

Beautiful Bastard

a novel
Contemporary RomanceErotica
Pages
320
Published
2013
Language
English

Synopsis

Chloe Mills is an ambitious executive assistant finishing her MBA while keeping the Chicago offices of a powerful family media corporation running. Her one impossible obstacle is her boss, Bennett Ryan -- exacting, blunt, and recently returned from France to take a leading role in the family business. Neither expects the friction between them to curdle into a charged, combative attraction that neither will admit to. What follows is a contest as much as a romance: two fiercely driven people trading barbs, bending professional boundaries, and refusing to concede ground. The power imbalance between boss and subordinate, the constant threat of workplace scandal, and their shared stubbornness all complicate what grows between them. As desire collides with pride, each must weigh career and independence against what they stand to lose. Explicit and fast-paced, the story turns on the heat and antagonism of two equally relentless personalities.

Prose complexity
2/10

Vibe

SpicyTenseFunnyLighthearted
Enemies to LoversWorkplace RomanceForbidden LoveRivalsSlow Burn

Genres

Contemporary Romance Erotica Romance

About the author

C
Christina Lauren

Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings write together under the combined pen name Christina Lauren. The two met online in 2009 through the Twilight fan fiction community and decided to write a novel together in 2010, signing with literary agent Holly Root in 2011. Their debut, Beautiful Bastard (2013), began life as a Twilight fan fiction titled "The Office" before Simon & Schuster acquired the series. Since then the duo has built a career in contemporary romance and rom-coms, with titles including...

Characters

Chloe MillsProtagonist

An ambitious, whip-smart executive assistant pursuing her MBA who refuses to be intimidated by her exacting boss.

Bennett RyanProtagonist

A demanding, perfectionist executive newly returned from France to help run his family's media company; arrogant but magnetic.

Joel CignoliSupporting

A family friend who grew up with Bennett; his mother tries to set him up with Chloe, fueling Bennett's jealousy.

Henry RyanSupporting

Bennett's older brother, who along with their father treats Chloe like family.

All characters in Beautiful Bastard

Frequently asked questions

  • Did this book start as Twilight fan fiction?

    Yes. It began as a Twilight fanfiction titled "The Office," written by Christina Hobbs around 2009, before the authors reworked it into an original novel published by Simon & Schuster in 2013.

  • How much of the original fanfiction remains?

    The authors have said they reworked the story so heavily that only about 20 percent of the original "The Office" carried over into Beautiful Bastard.

  • How popular was the fanfiction before publication?

    "The Office" reportedly drew over two million online reads before being taken down, part of the wave of Twilight fanfiction that found print publication in the early 2010s.

  • Who is Christina Lauren?

    It is the pen name of co-authors Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, who met in the Twilight fanfiction community in 2009 and began writing together in 2010.

  • Was the book commercially successful?

    Yes. Published in February 2013, it landed on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists and was a Goodreads Choice Award finalist for romance.

  • Is there a screen adaptation in the works?

    A television adaptation of the Beautiful series has been reported in development, with Hobbs and Billings involved; as of reporting it had not been set at a network or streamer.

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