Review: Imperfect Affections (Beauty in Imperfection #2) by Charmaine Pauls

Imperfect Affections: A Diamond Magnate Novel (Beauty in Imperfection #2) by Charmaine Pauls is LIVE!

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Audiobook: Coming soon!

Blurb
A DARK ROMANCE
Love is for people who don’t mind getting hurt. I vowed to never fall into that trap. I entered into war with my beautiful, corrupted, and dangerous husband. He warned me he always won. He told me I’d lose, but I didn’t want to believe him because there was too much at stake. What he didn’t tell me was that the battlefield is messy and bloody, and that no one walks away without scars.

Note: Imperfect Affections is the second book in the Beauty in Imperfection duology and concludes Violet and Leon’s story. The book releases on 21 June 2022.

Beauty in Imperfection is part of the Diamond Magnate Collection. You don’t have to read the other books to follow this story. Other books in the collection include:

Beauty in the Broken (A standalone novel)
Diamonds are Forever (A trilogy)
Beauty in the Stolen (A trilogy)

MY REVIEW

It's time for Violet's reckoning. She betrayed Leon and he's going to make her pay. But when he finds out why she betrayed him, he just may have second thoughts on how he plans on treating her, how he plans on taking his revenge. His feelings for her are complicated. He knows she sold him out. But he's starting to love her, starting to feel more than just some possessive lust and fascination. In his world, love isn't exactly the norm, though his brothers have found it with their partners. But can he feel it for the woman who betrayed him so badly?

Violet's been through it. Her mother never accepted her imperfections and it left scars on her psyche. Her stepbrother is blackmailing her into betraying Leon in order to protect that same mother. And now Leon is furious with her and his behavior is hurting her. What's a woman to do? Well, Violet does the best thing - she stands strong, and grows more than I ever thought she was capable. She isn't sure she loves Leon, her scarred heart might demand a bit of distance from her sometimes cruel partner, but at some point she's going to have have to make a decision - go all in with Leon, or flee.

Anti-hero, dark love, less than perfect behavior - all signature Charmaine, all present in this duet. Leon was definitely an anti-hero - sometimes cruel, definitely morals somewhere in the grey, but by the end I had fallen for him. Violet though, she was my favorite part of this story. She grew so much, changed and became the woman that peeked through in Imperfect Intentions. I was rooting for her backbone to show up and damn did it, and I think it made Leon even more fascinated with her. Their journey was a sexy, suspenseful and very intriguing addition to the Diamond Magnate world.

ARC received from author for an honest review.
Teaser graphics from author's Facebook page.