Christina Lauren

Financial consultant Sara Dillon moves to New York City and, hoping for a causual encounter, meets British playboy Max Stella at a dance club, as they embark on a tumultuous affair that leaves Max wondering if he has met his match.

a novel

Beautiful stranger

Alma 

“Stand what?” He stepped behind me and bent to kiss the back of my neck.

“Seeing these pictures every day.” I pointed to his wall. “If they’d been on my wall while we were apart it would have hurt so much I would have gone fetal and subsisted entirely on Cap’n Crunch and self-pity.”

He laughed and turned me to face him. “I wasn’t ready to get over you yet. I was miserable, but would have been more miserable if I’d admitted it was over.”

And that’s what he gave me, a reminder that the glass wasn’t just half full, it was overflowing.

“I think that was the most fun I’ve ever had,” she whispered.

And I suspected I’d do almost anything to spend the rest of my life making this woman happy.

So maybe if I ever met this Andy twat I wouldn’t actually punch his smug face after all. Maybe I’d shake his hand for messing things up with Sara so epically that she moved to New York and stopped being the woman who did what she was supposed to do, and started to be the woman who did what she bloody well wanted.

Starting to love the player-turned-softie-for-her trope!!!

And fuck, for the first time in my life, I wanted to be someone’s only.

for the first time I understood how being out in plain sight with me had allowed Sara to be whoever she wanted to be. She could play. She could be wild and adventurous and take risks.

And so could I. Here, I could be the man who was desperately in love for the first time in my life.

Fuck. The woman could ask me to kneel and kiss her toes and I would do it.

I almost said it: I love you. The words got so close to escaping that I literally turned away from her, and walked over to the bar to fix myself a drink.

She nodded, lifting her drink and taking a sip, studying me. “No one here knows who I am, but still I’m the one wearing a wig and a mask.”

Smiling, I pointed out, “Historically you have been the one who wants to remain hidden.”

“You would do this for me? Let people watch us together?”

“I suspect I would do almost anything for you,” I admitted. And then, unable to see in the dark corner how my words affected her, I added, “The thought is probably just as much a rush for me as it seems to be for you.”

Was I being a pu**y for not taking her out to eat, for fear she might balk at this plan if she had too much time to think it over?

And while we watched, Sara showed Big Derek how to do a dance across the floor: two quick steps, two slow steps. She demonstrated how he was to quickly spin her counterclockwise around the room. Within one song, they were moving pretty good, and by the middle of the second, they were both cracking up, dancing together like they’d known each other for years.

Maybe that’s what it was about Sara. Anyone who met her wanted to know her. She wasn’t just appealingly sweet to me, with her innocence pushing through even given her basest fantasies. She was irresistible to everyone.

And in that moment, there was nothing I wanted to do more than punch Andy’s smug f**king face. He’d wasted his time with her, wasted her.

To say my interaction with Max at the park had been odd would be an understatement. I knew I’d overreacted, but honestly? So had he. Worrying about my reaction in the conference room? Chasing me down? What were we doing?

Finally experiencing the M in STEM💞😚😭

“I’m twenty-seven,” I reminded him. “You’re not being a pervert by checking out my boobs.”

“Twenty-seven,” he repeated, grinning. He acted like every bit of information I gave him was a pearl he could string on a necklace. “How many days is that?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What? It’s . . .” I looked up for a few seconds. “About nine thousand, eight hundred fifty. But more, actually, since my birthday is in August. About ten thousand.”

He groaned and pressed a dramatic hand to his chest. “Fuck. Numbers queen and stacked like that. I’m helpless against your charm.”

Shit. If Maxs gonna carry the panty tradition from Bennet, I will cry.

Minutes later I found Chloe and Julia, both of them ready to head home. Arm in arm we left the club, and only after we were in the limo, and I was silently reliving every second of what had just happened with that strange, powerful man, did I remember: I’d left my underwear on the floor at his feet, and the video of me dancing on his phone.

Anastasia Vogl

"Posh? Gifted in the penis department? Godlike?"

I’ve explored some new fav tropes of mine through this book, that I never thought I’d be into.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this relationship and it’s characters, and OBSESSED with Christina Lauren’s writing! 

Wowoowowowowow, wow.

This was it. 

I’ve explored some new fav tropes of mine through this book, that I never thought I’d be into.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this relationship and it’s characters, and OBSESSED with Christina Lauren’s writing! 

I enjoyed it so much.

The all-new scorching sequel to Beautiful Bastard! A charming British playboy. A girl determined to finally live. And a secret liaison revealed in all too vivid color. Escaping a cheating ex, finance whiz Sara Dillon’s moved to New York City and is looking for excitement and passion 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 that 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.

Beautiful Stranger

definitely an interesting read . . . very fetish/exhibitionist positive
 
that specific club they went to . . . is that really a thing irl?? I'm scared to google it

Omg Max is so whipped for Sara, literally kisses the ground she walks on!! muhaha love to see it 

Taylor Swift's "Endgame" is the perfect song for this book!! that song reminds me of Sara and Max. I was so ecstatic finding a song that perfectly fit a book I'm reading

Sven Test

Ley Stanton

I would love to read a Christian Lauren book that didn't hurt my soul, but then it would lose one of the things that makes her books so dynamic. I didn't think anyone could have a more complicated relationship than Chloe and Bennett, I was wrong. I'm so happy that this is a continuing series where all of the characters (especially my favorites) are in all of the books because it gives you a more full idea of what the characters' lives are like. I'm not generally one for the 'happily ever after' and then 'the end.' I want to see their happily ever after.

Juliette

I enjoyed "Beautiful Bastard" a lot more than this book. It was good, but it took me a lot longer to fully get caught up in the book and read for long periods of time, so it took a lot longer for me to get through. I would still consider reading others in the series eventually though.

Paula Narvaez

This was sweet, easygoing, and cool... I think I'm in love with both Max and Sara lol

Destiny Rose Pluff

Max Stella needs to be a real person, everytime I hear that accent in my head it makes me melt! How can a fictional character make your heart melt?! Ugh British accents are my weakness I swear!

Clara hash

Find this review and more at 
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Y'all, I have a new book boyfriend and his name is Max freaking Stella. I loved this book so freaking hard. Like I said when I reviewed Beautiful Bastard, I am absolutely kicking myself for not reading these books sooner. Though, there is something to be said for a lovely Christina Lauren binge-read. 

What starts out as a one night stand ends up as so much more in Beautiful Stranger. I was hopelessly hooked on all things Sara and Max right from their first encounter. Their trysts were hot. But I loved more than than just the sexy times they shared. I thoroughly enjoyed just watching them interact with each other. Despite their unconventional start, it wasn't long before it was easy to see just how much they really felt for one another. 

One of my favorite things about this book (besides EVERYTHING) was the role reversal. In so many books, it's the woman who wants more and the man who holds back. Not here. Sara wanted to keep things casual and private (except, you know, when they were exploring their voyeuristic sides and taking photos) and Max, the former playboy and hot British man, was interested in more. I loved how this shifted the story a bit. I know the reformed bad boy thing can get tiresome after awhile, but it didn't AT ALL when it came to Max. I think that's partially because we don't actually SEE that side of him. It's not a secret, but we didn't have to watch it. Somehow that made it better for me. Sara's history was interesting, and while we didn't find out the truth until later in the book, I could understand why she was cautious about being seen with a man as much in the public eye as Max was. 

Beautiful Stranger had it all. It was funny, sexy and sweet. It was also a little more emotional than I thought it would be going in. There were definitely some teary eyes as I got to the end of the story. But, it all ended with a big smile on my face. Most importantly, I loved the characters in this book. Sara and Max were both fantastic. I enjoyed their character development throughout. I loved how they pushed each other. But, most of all, I just adored them together. As a bonus, Chloe and Bennett played a pretty large part in the book and I loved catching up with them. I'm definitely intrigued by Will and am excited to start Beautiful Player. This has quickly become one of my favorite series. 

I listened to the audiobook version of this, which was damn near perfection. Both Grace Grant and Jonathan Cole were fantastic narrators. I could feel the emotion of the story through each of them. While I'm sure this book would've been just as enjoyable if read in eBook or paperback format, there's a huge bonus in having a sexy British narrator. *swoons* So much yes. Loved this one!

Marlee

THIS.BOOK. Christina Lauren MADE ME NEED HOLY WATER. THE SPICE IN THIS BOOK IS TOP NOTCH LIKE IS IT EVEN SPICE AT THIS POINT 🌶️ 🌶️🌶️ 🌶️🌶️ 
I BECAME SO INVESTED IN THESE CHARACTERS I READ THE WHOLE SERIES INCLUDING NOVELLAS IN 2 WEEKS. LIKE MAX AND SARA ARE JUST SO WELL WRITTEN THE THINGS HE DID FOR HER. I HAD BUTTERFLIES THIS ENTIRE BOOK. THE WAREHOUSE SCENE ASDFGHJKL 
BRAVO BRAVO LOVED IT AND I WILL BE RE READING

PROCEED WITH CAUTION THE SPICE IS DETAILED AND DESCRIPTIVE AND NSFW

Alyssa Jacunski

Continuing on in my re-read (this time listen) to this series. I prefer Max Stella and Sarah to Bennett and Chloe from book one. Sarah is character that we met in book 1 (although we don't deeply know her). Max Stella is always on page six gossip in Manhattan and a very eligible bachelor and successful venture capitalist. 

This explores Max and Stella's first meeting, their exploration as a sex only and finally learning about each other and what they like, don't like and if they want more. This has some quite steamy moments, so yes expect sex scenes. This is the original Christina Lauren that I first fell in love with reading, and I'm so excited to keep going through the series. 

Trigger warnings for cheating (former, we don't watch it happen).

Beautiful stranger a novel

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