Diamonds in the Rough by Charmaine Pauls

ABOUT THE BOOK

A DARK MAFIA ROMANCE

Girls like me, we know how to survive.

We each have our own little ways, but we acquire those skills at the same tender age.

If you ask me how many times a person can die, I'll tell you many times. As many times as a man stabs you in the stomach with betrayal and wrings out your heart with lies.

Girls like me, we live.

We don't get a choice.

We step over the cliff and fall.

Eat, sleep, die, and repeat.

* Diamonds in the Rough is Book 2 of the Diamonds are Forever Trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger. Diamonds in the Dust (Book 1) must be read to follow the story. Diamonds are Forever (Book 3), which concludes the story, will be released on 15 September 2020.

Other novels in the Diamond Magnate collection:

Standalone Novel

Beauty in the Broken

Diamonds are Forever Trilogy

Diamonds in the Dust (Book 1) - 19 May 2020

Diamonds in the Rough (Book 2) - 14 July 2020

Diamonds are Forever (Book 3) - 15 September 2020

PURCHASE ON AMAZON

REVIEW

Diamonds in the Rough is the second story in the Diamonds Are Forever trilogy by Charmaine Pauls. Diamonds in the Rough ensnared me from the beginning. I could not set this early copy I received down. By the end, I was bouncing in my seat.

The men are very dominating, but the leads are not abusive to their women. It may upset readers sensitive to those topics, but I enjoy the depictions. Charmaine Pauls creates the most intriguing dark and sensual characters. 

After a tumultuous start, Zoe accepts her place with Maxime. His dominance becomes a passionate craving for her, and the couple begins the semblance of a relationship. When Maxime neglects to inform Zoe of crucial personal issues, Zoe has to determine what compromises she is prepared to make. 

Random Spoilery Thoughts: Maxime broke my heart. Zoe struggles, and when she finally reaches some peace with her complex situation, he consistently makes it worse. I believe this will be a harsh lesson for him, especially when those feelings he doesn't think exist smack him in the face. I absolutely cannot wait for the third Diamonds are Forever.

Diamonds in the Dust by Charmaine Pauls

ABOUT THE BOOK

A DARK MAFIA ROMANCE

Men like us, we see things.

We do things, things that make us unfeeling.

That's the price of power and money, of living la belle vie and running the French mafia. Then she came along like a pretty wildflower pushing through the cracks on a dirty pavement - fragile yet resilient, a breath of beauty among the filth. She was supposed to be just another job, a nameless person I was to pluck from her life and hand to my brother, nothing but a pawn in the gamble of our diamond business.

There's a psychological label for men like us.

We lack empathy and guilt.

We do things to have what we want, things that make flowers wilt.

* Diamonds in the Dust is Book 1 of the Diamonds are Forever trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger. Diamonds in the Rough (Book 2) will be released on 14 July 2020, and Diamonds are Forever (Book 3) on 15 September 2020.

Other novels in the Diamond Magnate collection:

Standalone Novel

Beauty in the Broken

Diamonds are Forever Trilogy

Diamonds in the Dust (Book 1) - 19 May 2020

Diamonds in the Rough (Book 2) - 14 July 2020

Diamonds are Forever (Book 3) - 15 September 2020

PURCHASE ON AMAZON

REVIEW

Diamonds in the Dust by Charmaine Pauls is the first in the Diamonds are Forever trilogy.  It also serves as a prequel to the Beauty in the Broken story, which for me, was a surprising benefit.  

This book is about dominance, as is a common theme by Charmain Pauls.  For this reason, it will most likely not appeal to everyone.  But what I love about her work is the emotional journey the characters traverse while coming to terms with their desires.  Her characters fight a battle of wills, but in the end, complement one another.  Once I start, I cannot put them down.

Maxime is dark, assertive, and seductive.  Zoe is struggling to come to terms with the severe changes in her life and her altering desires. By the end of Diamonds in the Dust, Zoe and Maxime have a long way to go, but I look forward to their journey.  

Beauty in the Broken by Charmaine Pauls

ABOUT THE BOOK

A DIAMOND MAGNATE DARK ROMANCE NOVEL

Six years ago, Harold Dalton framed me for theft and sent me to jail to steal my diamond discovery. He gave his daughter to Jack Clarke in exchange for the excavation rights. Today, I’m walking free, and I’m coming for him with a vengeance. Six years of cruelty make beasts out of men. I’m going to take back what he stole from me, and more. I’m not interested in his properties or shares. I don’t want his small change. I want his biggest asset. Beautiful, mentally unstable, Angelina Dalton-Clarke.

Worth billions, she’s the wealthiest widow in the country, and also the craziest. Her self-harming tendencies had Jack declare her incompetent before he put a gun to his head and blew out his brains. Lina isn’t allowed to touch a cent of her riches. Her father manages her finances. He has all the signing power. As her husband, that chore will fall to me. But if she thinks I only want her for her money, she’s sadly mistaken.

PURCHASE ON AMAZON

REVIEW

Lina's circumstances have nearly crushed her will at the beginning of Beauty in the Broken. Damian shackles Lina to him convinced this is the only way she will stay by his side. Charmain Pauls does a fantastic job of balancing her dark romances, and Beauty in the Broken is no exception. Lina and Damian begin their relationship emotionally crippled, often using sexual intimacy to elicit an emotional bond. They are flawed but find strength from one another. With the emotional give and take between Lina and Damian, they repair the damage inside of them. Be warned the consent is sometimes suspect, and a strong dominance theme is at play here. This scenario fits the characters well. I believe it advances their development and leads to a magnificent place. In the end, their roles are balanced, and they are both better for it. I enjoyed reading an advanced copy of Beauty in the Broken by Charmaine Pauls. I would highly recommend giving it a try.

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice writing as A. N. Roquelaure

 ABOUT THE BOOK 

Before E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey and Sylvia Day's Bared to You, there was Anne Rice’s New York Times best seller The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty

In the traditional folktale of "Sleeping Beauty," the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss of a Prince. It is an ancient story, one that originally emerged from and still deeply disturbs the mind's unconscious. In the first book of the trilogy, Anne Rice (author of Beauty's Kingdom), writing as A.N. Roquelaure, retells the Beauty story and probes the unspoken implications of this lush, suggestive tale by exploring its undeniable connection to sexual desire. Here the Prince awakens Beauty, not with a kiss, but with sexual initiation. His reward for ending the hundred years of enchantment is Beauty's complete and total enslavement to him . . . as Anne Rice explores the world of erotic yearning and fantasy in a classic that becomes, with her skillful pen, a compelling experience. Readers of Fifty Shades of Grey will indulge in Rice’s deft storytelling and imaginative eroticism, a sure-to-be classic for years to come.

Praise for The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty:

"Articulate, baroque, and fashionably pornographic." —Playboy

"Something very special . . . at once so light and yet so haunting." —The Advocate

 REVIEW 

Being a fan of Anne Rice, I have always been curious about this book. In an effort to read a "fairy tale retelling," I decided to give the story a try, and I am not sure how I feel having just finished the reading. What I am sure of is this, this is a BDSM fetish story. I don't know how it compares to what one gets out of the experience in reality. I only speak as someone with a mild curiosity on the subject. I was as uncomfortable with this story as I was excited by it. I understand the fixation. I can concede how willing participants might gain insight and restraint from the act, but the humiliation and degradation the love slaves suffered in Claiming of Sleeping Beauty was periodically hard to take. But I did read all the way to the end. Only to be handed a big stinking cliff hanger. Now I have to decide how much I want to know where the tale is going and if it is worth more titillating discomfort. So, this story is not for everyone. If you are easily offended by dubious consent or severe treatment, just don't read it. If you are interested, be ready for an in-your-face journey. Would I recommend it? Yeah, maybe, but still not sure.