Review: A great story!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 25, 2013
I was given a free ARC copy of Phoenix: The Beauty in Between for an honest review. This book has to be my favorite out of all the Beautiful Series. I can relate to this book a lot more than I would like to say. Lilliana said in her foreword that “Paige’s story has forced me to look at all of my own hurt and pain.” Let me tell you that reading this story had forced me to look at my past but I am glad to be where I am because my past has made me into the women I am today just as this story begins.Paige’s story is not an easy one. It starts before A Beautiful Forever (Beautiful #2) She was treated differently than her older brother and younger sister. With no love during her childhood she becomes the black sheep in her family. One day coming home from a friend’s house she finds $200, a bag and note saying “This isn’t your home anymore.”Paige than starts couch surfing until seen meets Tahila. That’s where her life begins to spiral out of control. Her 16 birthday comes around and Tahila gives her E. She says the funniest quote” I’m legally allowed to have sex. So you present me with an illegal drug to celebrate-isn’t that what they call Irony?’ Tahila says “It’s what they call symbolic.”Drugs are never easy to describe because they just make everything perfect but Lilliana described Paige’s feelings perfectly. “This intense bundle of emotions is flowing through my body and starts to overwhelm me, making it difficult to breathe…Never in my entire life have I ever felt this good. Smiling genuinely for this first time in my living memory.”From that moment on she becomes someone else. Falls in love with the wrong guys, changes her name a couple of times, and becomes friends with the wrong people. Especially Braden. After a huge fall in life she comes to the conclusion of “Trusting people is what got me into this mess.”I enjoyed this book! Yes it can be read as a standalone but its part of a bigger picture. It helped me understand her standoff ish attitude that she portrays in the other books. I am so glad she gets her Happily Ever After which can be found in A Beautiful forever.Thanks Lilliana for sharing Paige’s story in depth. I will continue looking forward to the other Beautiful Series!