Black by Aria Cole is NOW LIVE!

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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.

Black is a contemporary version of the classic fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast.

Maxwell has been living isolated for years after a traumatic event that left him scarred in more ways than one. 

His subterfuge is his library, which is open to the public, and books are the only company he thinks he needs, or more so, that he trusts.

Books were the only things that had been with me through it all. I’d never found solace in people; I’d found nothing but pain and betrayal and lies. Books provided shelter and support and encouragement.

But deep down in his lonely existence, he wishes, longs for something more, or better yet, someone…

But sometimes, on the nights that my thoughts overtook me, I dared to hope for someone to share my life with. I dreamed of a girl with eyes that sparkled, a laugh that made me weak in the knees, and a heart so big she could fit mine in it. Someone who could see past the moody, abrasive demeanor, and the thousand quirks that made me a man unlike any other. 

Someone who could see past the scar and into my soul.

A revelation sliced through my heart. For the first time ever, I wanted to feel love. 

I’d just never found a woman brave enough to love a man like me.

But he could barely dare to dream for that. In reality, he had no hope that this woman existed, much less that she would ever cross paths with him.

But the proof that dreams do could true appears right at his doorstep…

Elle is on the run, lost and alone, she doesn’t realize she’s searching for something, or someone, to give her life a new meaning, a new direction, something to hold on too. And this brings her right to Maxwell’s library, looking for a job, but finding herself with a new task, breaking down the walls he, due to his dark past, has built around himself.

Elle knows all too well about painful pasts. If there is one person that can understand him, and see beyond his scarred, rough persona, it’s her.

I knew all too well about scars. How they were ugly and deformed from the outside in. Daunting slashes scraped across layers of delicate flesh. Maxwell wore his scar on his face, I wore mine on the inside. Mine festered and did not heal. My scars destroyed me and made me run; his seemed to have destroyed him and made him hide.

But healing a soul isn’t the easiest of journeys and it’s proven by the rough path they had ahead of them.

With so many mental roadblocks, even their strong instant pull is not enough, and with the secrets they both keep, Trust proves to be their biggest challenge.

Elle was such a sweet and loving character, a real mirror of the Beauty in the classic tale. Even with her sad past, she has an incredible amount of hope, and when she meets Maxwell, see can see right through his facade, that reflects a loneliness much like her own. With him, the first time in her life, she feels safe.

Their attraction was immediate, and shocking for both of them, but Maxwell is the one who truly struggles to give in. After so many years of isolation, and the nature of the tragic event from his past, it’s very hard for him to give trust to someone else, specially someone that, for him, seems to good to be true, and appear at a too perfect timing.

He hadn’t counted and didn’t believe in what Fate had reserved for him…

Even with all the drawbacks the couple had and the secrets they keep, which translate into a slow building relationship, something the had no change to fight was their physical pull, the insta-lust was immediate, and it wasn’t long before we got some sizzling hot, sexually charged scenes. Beware: a cold shower or a industrial sized fan may be needed! 😉

“So fucking sexy bent over, your pussy bared for me. You’re so fucking wet, sweetheart. Love seeing you so wet for my cock.”

They literally couldn’t keep they hands of each other, which is awesome and gives us a true erotic romance. And his beastly character sure did transport to those scenes scenes, in a very deliciously dominant way. And boy, did the man have a dirty mouth on him (and I freaking loved every word out of it)!

Contemporary fairy tale is one of my favorite genres, and I have to say I loved this approach. For a debut novel, it’s amazing the quality of the writing and character development. The story captivates from beginning to end, transporting us to that small town and that very special library, where most of the book develops.

Both characters were amazing, the storyline completely focuses on them, with almost no interaction with other people, and given it’s a short story, I think it was a smart decision. I just wished that it hadn’t taken that long for Maxwell to come to terms with his feelings and his error of judgment of Elle’s intentions (which caused me to hurt along with her for too long). I understand these distrust and roughness were made to go along with his Beast similarity, but by extending his reactions and sometimes far too callous behavior towards her in such a short story, caused, in my opinion, the shift of attitude towards the end to be less credible and too sudden. And don’t get me wrong he also had some sweet and tender moments.

“You’re the only thing that matters to me; protecting you, keeping you, being with you.”

But his suspicious mind and dark side were constantly fighting to take over. That idea would have worked perfectly in a longer story or for a shorter period, but here it became to forced. And don’t get me wrong, I love this type of read-in-one-sitting type of story and would not change that! Besides that minor lack of character development / too sudden personality shift, I adored and enjoyed the hell out of it!

Black was the perfect story to indulge in some erotic romance, and contains all the elements I look for in this type of book: insta-love / lust, an OTT alpha Hero, possessive and protective and some off the charts HOT sex scenes. It has all this, and so much more! Aria Cole delivered a fantastic debut book, and I can’t praise and recommend it enough, so much so, that I became an instant fan and my stalking following was guaranteed! I can’t wait to put my grabby hands on White!!!

My beauty.

My love.

My Elle.

ARC kindly provided by the author via TRSoR Promotions 

in exchange for an honest review

Cole is a thirty-something housewife who once felt bad for reading dirty books late at night, until she decided to write her own. Possessive alpha men and the sassy heroines who love them are common, along with a healthy dose of irresistible insta-love and happily ever afters so sweet your teeth may ache.

Aria’s new release BLACK is the first in her modern fairy tale series. For a safe, off-the-charts HOT, and always HEA story that doesn’t take a lifetime to read, get lost in an Aria Cole book!

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