My Brutal Beast

Cassandra lives an unfulfilling life. She works a boring job, is haunted by her past insecurities, and is constantly taken advantage of by her terribly horrendous friends. One night after her friends ditch her at a club, Cassandra is attacked. Along comes Raven to swoop her up and unalive the men who harmed her.

After his superhero moment, Raven takes Cassandra back to his place where he promises to never leave her wanting for anything again. Essentially a paranormal sugar daddy. He lets her quit her job and live the life she was always searching for.

I was drawn to this novella based on the summary and it definitely gave what it was intending. I just think a few things hindered my rating of this story. The first was the need to suspend all beliefs. I am fully aware this is a paranormal story and that is the point, but I was thrown off by the fact that Cassandra wasn't at all shocked he was a monster or that monsters exist. She just jumped on that like it was nothing.

Second, the tone of voice for both characters were so similar that it made it hard to differentiate their personalities. It unfortunately took away from the story. Since Raven starts off as this murderous creature, it's hard to believe he immediately shifted his personality to be a golden retriever stereotype in seconds because of a woman. I think if he still had a bit of an edge to him, the tone shifts would be easier to notice and strengthen their character development.

All things considered, this is a good, quick novella that I would recommend if you enjoy paranormal romance with a “touch her and you d*e” MMC who is sweet despite his physical attributes. It's short, sweet, and to the point. Be aware there are possibly triggering moments of planned SA and drugging so be cautious when picking this up <3

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.