Beautiful Monster

A Standalone Age-Gap Romance

By: Sara Cate

Narrated by: Aaron Shedlock, Virginia Rose

Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Playboy. Socialite. Frivolous and wicked.

Alexander Caldwell needs to settle down.

Hence the giant white house he just bought in the suburbs.

The one that backs up to the house filled with three single women living in it.

They all have their sights set on him...but it’s her he can’t get out of his head.

Alexander has absolutely no place getting involved with a teenage girl with the world in her eyes.

But he does.

Tortured. Lonely. Desperate to run.

Sunny Thorn needs to get out of her mother’s house.

To do that, she needs money.

Hence taking the job painting a mural in Alexander Caldwell’s pool house.

The man whose eyes follow her. The man with the sculpted jaw and commanding presence. The man who is way too old for her.

When Sunny has the chance to get out of Pineridge and start a future of her own, he should let her go.

But he doesn’t.

Beautiful Monster is a standalone age-gap forbidden romance from the author of the Wicked Hearts series.

©2020 Sara Cate (P)2020 Sara Cate

Well done on a challenging subject

Okay, I admit it: I cried.

Sara Cate pushed some buttons on a challenging subject but as the story evolved, the voice actors hit their stride.

No one believes 40-year-old Alexander will do right by 19-year-old Sunny -- least of all, Alex.

Aaron Shedlock brings a stellar performance as Alex fights his demons for the love of emotionally scarred Virginia Rose.

Wonderful story!😍

Wonderful story!

I’m really loving Sara Cate. This is only my second book by this author and I’m totally loving her style. Great storyline and fantastic characters with lots of chemistry. Intriguing and highly entertaining. The narration was absolutely perfect. They told this story well.
This is book 1 and can be read as a standalone. I know this because I accidentally read/listened to book 2 first lol, which btw is also a 5-star standalone.
I highly recommend this book.

Sisters Spotlight 💜

Good Age Gap Romance

If there’s one thing I love it’s a good age gap romance! Love when the older man tries to stay away but just CAN’T. A beautiful love story that felt so realistic with issues that you understand and relate to. I was so rooting for them. The author had me worried tho a little and made me tear up towards the end. I simply adored Alexander and his battles with himself. He truly wanted what’s best for Sunny. And Sunny who was wise and mature for her age was the perfect person for Alex.

The narration with Aaron Shedlock and Virginia Rose were perfect as Alex and Sunny! Looking forward to listening to more books from Sara cate!

Loved this story!

Sunny is 19 years old, innocent, and trapped with an abusive, alcoholic mother. Alexander is 40 and his mid-life crisis is driving him to leave decades of reckless sex and partying behind him. These two neighbors have an undeniable attraction to each other, but the age gap worries Alexander, especially when the newly minted adult Sunny still needs to grow up and experience her life. This a beautiful love story about two people who meet under circumstances requiring them to face their pasts in order to build their future. Nothing comes easy as they both learn to navigate love, family, and hope.

Intense

An emotionally charged book. I love the voices of Aaron Sherlock and Virgina Rose. Alexander and Sunny are broken. Alexander has many demons and Sunny's home life is bad.

Good story, but so different from Sara's SPC series. This book is worth your time to read,

Beautiful monster indeed!!

This is my first story by Sara Cate and I loved it❣️Alexander and Sunny’s age gap romance made me feel all the angst, insecurities, and labile emotions they encountered while pursuing a relationship that friends and family thought was doomed for failure!! Although Sunny was younger by many years than Alex, she was more mature in some ways when it counted the most! Her forgiving nature, loyalty, and openness to discuss things and allow herself to be guided through the unfamiliar aided in the success of the their relationship! Alex’s midlife crisis and toxic associations could have resulted in him remaining stagnant but thankfully he had the drive and inner monologues to do what he knew was the right thing to help him when making hard decisions. Everyone makes mistakes but it’s how you learn from them and live afterwards that make you who you are!! Aaron Shedlock and Virginia Rose did a fantastic job with narrating! Their performances highlighted the joys, disappointments, and everything in between which made my listening experience a great one!

Slow burn

I loved this book. I really connected to the characters especially Sunny. I could really relate to her relationships to her family. This is a slow spicy burn. The narrators did a great job.

Greattttt romance w/an age gap thrown in.

This was one of my very favorite SC books. It had a great story,and a great age gap romance that was very sweet.

A Gripping & Heartfelt Story! Outstanding Listen🎧

This is a terrific age-gap romance, the story grabbed my attention right from the start and captivated it the entire time. The characters are developed nicely, they are easy to relate to and connect with. Alexander “Alex” Caldwell’s life was out of control, too much partying, too many women including ones that are taken. He decides he needs a lifestyle change, moves out of city into a house in the suburbs. Unfortunately for him his next door neighbors are a newly divorced woman and her two daughters. They all have their eyes on him, the mother, who is a real piece of work, who starts to get a conniving idea in her f’d up head. But it is the youngest daughter who catches his eye, something about her calls to him. Sunny Thorn is not a happy go lucky 19 year old, her family situation is crap, her mother over drinks and her sister is always partying, not only telling her what she should NOT be doing but showing her as well. Sunny feels stuck in her life and she wants out. Alex is drawn to her and sees something in her, he also sees she is too young for him and he tries to do the right thing. After finding out her love for art and her talent he wants to hire her to paint a mural. She sees this as an opportunity to earn some money so she could move out and get away from the madness she calls home. The two of them get along great, but at half his age she is forbidden fruit. She does not agree and starts to develop feelings for him. I loved how everything plays out in this book, the push and pull, the struggle between right and wrong, plus all the emotions each deals with and topping it off is the chemistry between them. This book takes you on an emotional rollercoaster ride, the story is beautifully written. Sara Cate thank you for this wonderful story.

🎧📚🎧 And for the fabulous narration, Aaron Shedlock and Virginia Rose are the perfect cast to bring these characters to life. Their portrayal of the characters was spot on, they took each role and made it their own. Aaron Shedlock’s take on Alex was perfection, he grasped his persona, allowed you to hear all his emotions as he battled his inner demons and conflicts. Virginia Rose was the perfect Sunny, youthful with a maturity beyond her years. Both are talented voice artists and entertaining storytellers who are a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for another awesome listen🎧

So freaking good🥹🤍!!!

Not at all what I was expecting! I loved how it was the perfect amount of spice, love, and conversation! The character development was just perfection! I loved seeing how sunny was finally able to find and love herself! And ALEX wow! He was filled with so much self guilt and horror that he was a “monster”, but he really wasn’t. He was just lost and needed to find someone to show him what he was worth and sunny did that for him! 5/5⭐️ 4/5🌶! Narration was amazing too! 🤩