Beautiful Legend by Waverly Alexander

ABOUT THE BOOK

I’ve spent every day since I was seven hiding my past, trying to forget the attack that killed my mother and my sister.
The attack I barely survived.
Now, I never let anyone in.
Even the people who would consider me a friend.
They don’t know the real me.

Joshua barged into my life during my junior year of college.
Brooding, mysterious, and barely talks to anyone—Joshua Travin is allegedly as skilled in the bedroom as he is on the rugby field.
He’s everywhere I go, always watching.
Despite his obvious distaste for me, I find a familiar comfort in his green eyes.

MY REVIEW

Addison is just trying to get through college without any complications, namely, Josh Travin. He watches her. He stalks her. But she feels safe when he’s around. It’s unnerving considering Addison’s tragic past. He’s hot one minute and cold the next. Like he’s hiding something from her. And what’s with the feeling she knows him somehow? She’s had plenty of interest from other guys, but she never wanted any of them like she wants him. And most important of all, she trusts him which doesn’t come easily for her.

Addison’s kind and caring personality is first seen by her adoption of elderly dogs who are left at the shelter to die alone. As Josh says she is a hospice for dogs. It’s no wonder Josh fell for her the first time he saw her with her dog Remi. Allison is also very patient and tolerant of her insecure and downright nasty roommate, Laney, who is desperate to find someone to love her. There is more to that story that I won’t spoil. Josh is a troubled and lonely rugby player who has a secret that may destroy his relationship with Addison. He’s very alpha and protective of Allison, but he has a soft and loving side that is saved for her alone. They are a broken pair who deserve happiness.

My favorite character has to be Jeff, Josh’s gruff and funny cousin. His feisty banter with Addison’s other roommate Taylor is the best.

There is some suspense in this story that comes to a head at the end. It seems like someone is trying to scare Addison and her roommates and Addison is concerned it has something to do with the death of her family. It’s a shocking reveal that surprised this reader.

I recommend this moving and engrossing love story with intriguing characters and a gripping and revealing ending.

Thank you to Ms. Alexander for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

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EXCERPT

He pushed away from the sink and moved toward me, forcing me to press my back further against the door.

“You’ve been sulking around campus, popping up everywhere, glowering at me like I’m some horrible person.” I waved my hand at him, exasperated. “You act like I lured your sweet, old grandmother out to an alligator-infested swamp and nudged her in.”

He snorted, trying not to laugh, but I could see the flash of glee in his eyes. He smiled a real smile, one that reached his eyes and stretched his cheeks, showing his straight, white teeth and hitting me right in the gut with the realization that I’d seen that smile before.

“You’re not… ” he started, and I could see the thoughtful confusion etched in his features before he finished his thought by saying, “what I expected you to be.”

“What does that even mean?” I scrunched my nose in distaste at his words, which made me feel strangely inadequate. “Do I know you?”

“Nothing,” he said distractedly, his eyes studying my face intently like he was looking for something that just wasn’t there. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured so slowly and softly that my breath hitched in my lungs, and for a moment I forgot how to expel the air I need to survive.

I started to move again, but he closed in on me—close enough that I could feel his heated breath on my cheek, his chest not quite touching mine. His palms were flat against the door on either side of my head. His fiery stare sparked my nerves, not because I was afraid of him, but because I could feel the heat spreading from my cheeks, down my neck, and to my chest.

I pushed my palms against the hard planes of his chest, but he didn’t budge. “I’m leaving,” I said, but it didn’t sound convincing, even to me.

“Are you?” He smirked, pushing closer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Waverly Alexander lives on a farm with all of her rescue horses, donkeys, dogs, and a cat named Fairydust. She can’t pick her favorite trope, so she writes them all. When she isn’t watching 90’s dramas, she’s writing angsty college romance.