Princess and the Beast is the newest
title from Chance Carter's Bad Boys series. This book is about
Deacon, a man who grew up on the rough side of Boston. He had a
horrific childhood, including being raised in an abusive home. Life
was never easy for Deacon (aka Beast) and he learned quickly that he
would have to fight to survive. Deacon is fighter and good at it.
In this story, he works as a bouncer at a club in Miami.
Savannah was raised in Boston, but
unlike Deacon, she was raised in a wealth home. All isn't as it
seemed though. While she had never known hunger or having to do
without the necessities of life, she was raised in a home lacking
love. The behavior of her father made her wary of wealth. She had
watched, firsthand, how her own mother slipped away and die after
being in a hopeless, loveless marriage.
On the surface, Deacon and Savannah are
light years apart. He is a large man sporting tattoos and an
appearance that would make the most sensible of men cause to use
extreme caution. Savannah is a gentle, shy woman who is still trying
to make her own life away from the influence of her father. Yet,
when you look closer at them, they are both struggling with their
pasts. They each have gone through a form of abuse as a child that
has helped to shape them into the person they each have become.
Deacon works at a night club as a
bouncer. When he sees Savannah arrive with her friend/room mate,
Olivia, Deacon ushers the girls in. He is taken with Savannah,
though sees her as a bit of a shy mouse. Savannah surprises both
Deacon and herself when she finds the boldness to flirt with Deacon.
Their relationship is super-nova hot and they have a wild 24 hours
together before all hell breaks loose. Trouble comes when a man at
the club, who has sadistic tastes when it comes to how he treats
women, takes notice of Savannah and wants to take her as his own.
Now, Deacon must fight to save Savannah and her friend, Olivia, from
being the next victims of this man's cruelty.
I loved the story as well as the pace
that it was told. I never felt that it was taking too long in one
area or another. The story was very well written and held my
attention from the first page. I hated having to set it down and
couldn't wait to pick it back up again when my work was finished.
Intermittently through the story, we
also are treated with a side story involving Grady. Grady is a
member of the Brotherhood, whom we were introduced to in Chance
Carter's earlier titles of this series. The Brotherhood are a group
of men who have formed a “family” that is intensely loyal to each
other and will use whatever means are necessary to right the wrongs
that come at their family. Each of the Brothers are total bad ass.
Yet, for how scary they may be to others, they are extremely
protective and loving to their women.
Grady get involved with a woman at a
bar who is trouble on legs. He makes a mistake getting involved with
her, but later, he tries to do all he can to help her overcome her
demons. His story is very touching and I cried as I read how his
story ends. I hope that there will be another book in the future
with Grady getting his “happy ever after.”
