Terrible Beauty

Molotov Betrothal, Book 1

By: Anna Zaires

Narrated by: C. J. Bloom

A family contract. A dark bargain. No escape.

Eleven years ago, I met him. A year later, I was betrothed to him. Now he’s come to claim me, slaughtering anyone standing in his way.

My husband-to-be is a monster from a family as ruthless and powerful as mine, a man who deals in violence and destruction...a man terrifyingly like my father. For more than a decade, he’s stalked me, shadowing my life.

I fear him. I hate him. Worst of all, I want him.

My name is Alina Molotova, and Alexei Leonov is a fate I can’t escape.

©2022 Anna Zaires (P)2022 Anna Zaires

i am completely hooked!

I love how she merged the past and current present love, love, love the narrator.

Just wow🔥💥☄️🔥

Anna Zaires has done it again. She never disappoint
This book is just wow 🤩 I. I can’t wait for the next one.

Just okay

I honestly think Terrible Beauty read like a prequel. I was hoping it would pick up from where Alina was taken and move forward, but instead had a lot of past and present. I love C.J. as the narrator but I’m hoping AZ makes it a dual narration for book 2 or whatever she has planned for Alina’s story.

What a beginning.

I loved the characters in this book. The audio actors are terrific and cannot wait for the third audiobook.

Flashback storyline-not as bad as feared

If your a fan of her other books don’t let the reviews scare you off. When I saw multiple people commenting on the “flash back flash forward” story outline, I was definitely concerned. I passed over this book twice before finally, reluctantly, with great reservation and trepidation did I brave the terrible flashbacks.!
You know what? It’s not bad🤷‍♀️ seriously I was sure I would hate the interruption of constant flash backs. One of my most hated things in literature is all those mini cliffhanger chapters! You know; just when your really into it the chapter ends and goes to someone else’s perspective or some necessary(boring) backstory etc..
Breath easy my friend! Despite bouncing back and forth every other chapter, the story flows and caused very little aggravation. Basically the flashbacks are the main story, progressively moving closer to the “now” throughout the book. The “now” chapters are very short , usually just a few thoughts or a sentence etc.. commenting on/discussing the event/ memory from the flashback.
I’m sure that still doesn’t sound very good..please excuse my less than convincing description..just trust me, take my word on this one and give it a chance. It’s a bit different but definitely worth a credit since it’s giving you all the necessary info to start you in to the next series.

•Good not great
•Necessary background to kick off next series
•Good narration
•Sex was almost all build up with very little actual sex. Decently hot scenes- expecting things to be better in next book(looking forward to it!)
•Cliffhanger ending with no next book yet!!!!-while extremely frustrating, it was more a “aww damn it!” Cliffhanger than a :”wtf wtffff omFG! KILL YOU *smash face on phone* how can I keep existing?” Type of cliffhanger….

—-unedited and typed on a very small dim screen…apologies, for whatever I can't see/reread.

My fave author

This is one of my favorites of hers. Can’t wait to start the next one! If you read any of Anna Zaire’s books before and liked it this one will not disappoint!!

Twisted Dark Romance

Alina and Alexei have won my heart! Wow! Their story was a page turner and I couldn’t put it down! Their twisted romance was intense. The back and forth between the past and present really helped set up why Alina ran away and hid with Nikolai. Alina’s fear of ending up in a toxic obsessive marriage like her parent’s marriage was so strong it caused her severe anxiety. Alexei was completely obsessed with Alina from the first moment he saw her so he pushed his way into her life and tortured her with his intense stalker tendencies. Alexei and Alina gave me Twist Me vibes. CJ Bloom solo narrates this story as Alina Molotova. She does a great job bringing Alina to life. CJ Bloom captures Alina’s fear, anxiety and slowing growing infatuation with Alexei, even though she denies it. I absolutely loved this story and I can’t wait to find out what happens next with their twisted dark romance.

A great start ...

but, her reluctant behavior is grating on my nerves. I hope she gets less irritating. I love the premise but her whoa is me attitude is getting to be a bit much.

A great story of cat and mouse

This was a great story but there wasn’t enough development in the present day. I suppose they both get their happy ending but I wanted to experience that in the story at the end. Please let there be a follow up story of them!

Not sure how to feel!

On the one hand, Anna’s writing is fabulous, as always! And CJ Bloom always wows with her narration.

That said, I’m not a huge fan of the back and forth between then and now with the chapters. I understand why she did this, however, and we definitely have a much better understanding of Alina and Alexi’s long and complex relationship.

I also don’t like that we are really only a few days past where the Molotov Obsession ended. I really wanted to be further along in the timeline. I understand that there is a lot of story to tell with these characters, but now I have to wait for the next book(s) to see how it all plays out.

With all that in mind, YES it’s worth a credit and I CANNOT WAIT for the next installment!