Review: Beauty in Deception: A Diamond Magnate Novel by Charmaine Pauls

Beauty in Deception: A Diamond Magnate Novel
by Charmaine Pauls

Release Date: April 28, 2023

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𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐀 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥)

“𝗜’𝗺 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗲.”

My life is governed by three rules.
𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵.
𝘐𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦.
𝘞𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴.

My life depends on playing the role convincingly. I’ve been trained for that role since the age of fifteen. For ten long years, I’ve been taught to be someone else, to respond to a different name, and to live in another woman’s shadow. Evie Warren is the most coveted mafia princess in the country, and I’m her double. I’m the decoy, her stunt girl, so to speak.

So when I break the first rule, I know it’s bad. I know it’s going to get worse when the man who carjacked my convoy gives me two options, telling me he hopes I won’t choose the second one. And when he calls me Evie, he confirms my worst suspicion. The attack was premeditated.

There can only be two reasons why he wants to take Evie. He wants her either for ransom or for revenge, and Bell Warren, her father, has more enemies than money.

𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝙃𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙪𝙜𝙖𝙧, 𝙒𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘏𝘌𝘈 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘿𝙞𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.

MY REVIEW

Christina has been acting as an identical double/decoy for the Warren daughter for years now, all to ensure the safety of her sister. She's resigned herself to this awful life, knowing she's not who's important. Then something (someone) comes along to alter the predicted course of that life, and she and her life are never the same after.

All Roman wants is revenge. He's got an axe to grind with Bell Warren, taking his daughter Evie is the only way to obtain that revenge. So why is he finding himself developing feelings for his new captive? Feelings beyond lust? But what will he do when he finds out she's deceived him and it will derail all his plans for revenge?

What a perfect introduction to the Diamond Magnate world! Roman is the kind of alpha anti-hero who lives in the grey spectrum of morality, and Christina is really one of my favorite heroines of Charmaine's. She's had such a hard life, taken captive and forced to live with her sister's safety hanging over her head, and yet it never turned her personality hard or cruel like the men surrounding her. She's my favorite part of this story. Her chemistry with Roman is sizzling hot, and I was rooting for them to have a happy ever after, even as I despaired for what was sure to come when he found out her secret. I fell in love all over again with the Diamond Magnate world while reading this, I'm about to go do a re-read now.

ARC provided by author for an honest review.
Teasers via author's Facebook Page.