Title:Black

Author :Aria Cole

Series:N/A

Release date:8 May 2016

Rating : 3 Stars

A beast, alone with the horrors of his past, the scar on his face a constant reminder of the man he’s become.A beauty, on the run with her life in a tailspin, finds herself on his doorstep seeking protection.Deeply misunderstood and dedicated to his life of brooding solitude, Maxwell Black is hesitant to let Elle McKellan into his home where his hideous secrets hide. But he’s unable to resist the allure of this desperate stranger. Soon the magnetism between them is undeniable, the temptation unbearable. Elle, reluctant to risk losing her heart to this dark and broken man, struggles against the sexual tension, only to surrender to the combustable heat between them. When Elle’s life catches up to her and threatens to tear them apart, Maxwell will protect the precious love he’s found by any brutal means necessary. Black is a sexy, modern spin on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale and is intended for mature audiences.

I understand if you think I am spoiled – when I read a comparison in a blurb calling itself a “modern spin on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale” that raises certain expectations in me.

While it is an instant “Must Read” in my eyes (that I devoured in one session) it is also has to follow very specific “laws”. And while “Black” by Aria Cole itself basically only suffers from its Insta-love and is otherwise a nice romance.

I also struggled the most with the comparison to Beauty and the Beast.

For a book to live up to this comparison there has to be not only a slow growing romance (that is so NOT given in this book) but also an intense chemistry between the two leading characters.

Also there are certain characteristics the reader expects to find at specific points of the plot.

As I said this is a nice romance with interesting characters but the use of a Tag like Beauty and the Beast is a double edged sword – that on one side might be drawing readers of a certain kind – but on the other it is raising an expectation that this book cannot meet – which might result in less positve reviews.

I believe the prospects of this story would be better without this comparison. Maxwell and Belle are strong yet vulnerable characters – dominant yet insecure so, if the Tag had been erased and the plot had given them more time to fall in love this could have been a beautiful story.

But HEY – this is only my very personal opinion and it might be the next person feels totally different – and as it is not a bad book by all means – you should give it a try.

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