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Black by Aria Cole is NOW LIVE!
ONLY $0.99

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Blurb
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 combustible 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.

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Excerpt
BLACK Copyright 2016 by Aria Cole
“You’re only twenty-one?” I ran a palm through my hair, thinking how I’d already had my dick between her legs, tasted her on my tongue. Jesus, she’s just out of high school. “How can you be so calm? Jesus, I nearly fucked you on my desk. Why didn’t you tell me you were only twenty-one?”
“It won’t make it any less true the more times you say it.” Her eyes flashed. “And we’re not that far apart.” She shrugged, then popped a bite into her mouth.
“Not that far? Ten years seems pretty far to me,” I bit, never feeling so goddamn old as I did sitting next to her in all her pretty, youthful glory. Jesus, she was beautiful. Why was she even here with me? The angry bastard with the nasty scar? I didn’t deserve her.
“Hey, chill out.” She plucked a bite from the plate and held it out for me. I snagged it between my teeth and chewed, never breaking eye contact. Her eyes glistened with amusement as she watched me, her full lips tipped in a Cheshire grin.
“Fine. But maybe don’t tell anyone your age for now,” I ground through my teeth before tightening my palm at her thigh again.
A soft chuckle fell from her lips. “Who would I tell? You’re my only friend.” Her palm covered mine as she threaded her fingers through mine. “What’s with the hands on me all the time thing, anyway?” Elle uttered just as she took another sip of her beer bottle. A girl who drank beer, the walking embodiment of a man’s dream come true. She was so cool, calm, and collected, I could certainly take a play or two from her book.
“Let’s them know you’re mine,” I ground, still uncomfortable with the fact that she was so much younger than me.
“Yours?” She almost spit out her beer with her chuckle. “That’s a little soon, don’t you think?”
“Not when you know,” I answered simply. The silence fell and I knew her mind was probably on fire with thoughts again. “Listen, I don’t want anyone else thinking they have a chance with you. This shows them not to fuck with my property.” I squeezed at her thigh, thinking I’d explained myself sufficiently enough.
“Your property?” Elle hummed as she pushed her half-eaten plate of food away before downing the rest of her bottle. “Your property?”
Oh shit.
“Elle!” I hollered, my thick thighs pushing the table across noisy tile when I stood hastily. “Elle!” I took long strides out the door, feeling at my neck the burn of judgment from everyone in that small place. Fuck this. This was why I didn’t go out in public.
“Goddamn it, slow down!” I boomed down the sidewalk where I saw her clutching her purse and leveling me with a glare. Jesus Christ, this woman was going to be the death of me. “Don’t run from me like that again, hear me?” I cupped her elbow and pressed her body against the cool brick of the building. “You are mine.” I ran my nose up the curve of her neck and nipped at her soft earlobe. “Even if you don’t know it yet, I can feel it,” I grit and thrust my hands into her mass of wild waves, pulling her head to mine and fucking her with my tongue. She returned the gesture, but with more ferocity than she’d ever shown before. I yanked at both of her thighs and pulled her limbs around my waist, angling her against the wall, my cock nestled right between her legs, right where he liked being.
“I’m not yours,” she uttered in protest as she nibbled at my bottom lip.
“The fuck you aren’t.” I gripped at one thigh, my other hand trailing between us to find the slick skin under her skirt and beneath her panties. “And this.” I pulled my thumb through the silky hot flame of her pussy and brought it up to my mouth, letting her arousal glisten across my full lips. “Proves you’re a liar.” I sucked her sweet honeysuckle musk off my thumb, then pulled her lips to mine again, crushing her with bruising force as I tasted her, desperate for more. Always desperate for more when it came to sweet Elle.
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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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