Beautiful Stranger by Christina Lauren

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A charming British Playboy. A girl determined to finally live. And a secret liaison revealed in all too vivid color. Book two in the NYT Bestselling series. 

Escaping a cheating ex, finance whiz Sara Dillon's moved to New York City and is looking for excitement without a lot of strings attached. So meeting the irresistible, sexy Brit at a dance club should have meant nothing more than a night's fun. But the manner--and speed--with which he melts her inhibitions turns him from a one-time hookup and into her Beautiful Stranger.

The whole city knows Max Stella loves women, not that he's ever found one he particularly wants to keep around. Despite pulling in plenty with his Wall Street bad boy charm, it's not until Sara--and the wild photos she lets him take of her--that he starts wondering if there's someone for him outside of the bedroom.

Hooking up in places where anybody could catch them, the only thing scarier for Sara than getting caught in public is having Max get too close in private.

3:28am. That’s what time I finished Beautiful Stranger.

4:02am. That’s when I finally stopped giggling and re-reading the last chapter to go to sleep.

Yes I know; I have major issues. But Beautiful Stranger was more than worth the exhaustion I felt the next day, and the embarrassment of admitting that yes, I stroked the cover to this fan-freaking-tastic book as I fell asleep!

Beautiful Stranger is the story of Chole’s best friend Sara and her trial, tribulations, and triumphs with catching a cheating fianceè, dropping her old life, moving to a new state and the 6 foot 5 inches of Max. Our Beautiful Stranger. Our British accent having, sex God on a stick, gosh my body is ready! Beautiful Stranger. Whom, in case you didn’t notice, I was totally and completely in love with from the start. See I respect a man that knows what he wants and doesn’t hide behind his title or reputation. Even when he was faced with an unfamiliar and unsettling experience, he was always willing and able to face it head on. And that only added to how badly I wished I could pull a Blues Clues and jump in that book! But it wasn’t just the fact that this man oozed sex, even though that had me, it was his ability to sit down and have a civilized conversation with Sara. They actually TALKED like two adults! And for once we see a partnership!! Not just some dick-head making a tough relationship decision “for him/her’s safety/benefit”! I can’t have asked for a better male specimen to share my bed with….figuratively of course!

Then you have Sara. Ahhh Sara with your frustrating ways and somewhat predictable thought process. See, Sara just recently realized that the man she was engaged to and involved with for 6 freaking years was cheating on her. And she did what a lot of people would of. She dropped his ass, packed up and changed her scenery, permanently. So obviously when faced with a new city, a new job, and a new circle of friends she’d built a few walls up. That is totally acceptable. But in addition to those walls she developed a quirk that even I would blush at…if I was all girly…and not this fantastic caramel complexion. 😉 Our dear sweet Sarah is a exhibitionist. As in, she craves sex in public places. Now initially I read this and was a bit at odds with myself. How could this sweet, smart and scorned woman be so darn kinky?! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against kinks or adventurous sex, but when you paired this desire to have sex in plain sight with the somewhat shy tendencies of Sara, it didn’t add up. But as the book progressed and more of her background and personality seeped out it truly did make perfect sense.

But it wasn’t all sex and rainbows. There were times that legitimately aggravated me (he cheated on you for 6 YEARS and you “didn’t know”?!?!!) and some that downright pissed me off. However those moments where so few and far between, and so minuscule in comparison to how much I truly loved the characters, the plot, the growth and the sex (of course!) that I can’t help but give Beautiful Stranger 5 glowing stars.