Thursday, December 19, 2013

Blog Tour Stop & Giveaway: Beautiful Failure by Mariah Cole







Title: Beautiful Failure
Author: Mariah Cole
Genre: New Adult Romance
Hosted by: Mary Elizabeth’s Crazy Book Obsession

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/ 18625288-beautiful-failure

Synopsis
If you're looking for a heartwarming story about a girl who falls deeply in love with a troubled boy who changes her life--a sob story with pretty metaphors and a million ways that'll tell you how "broken" she is, STOP. Don't read another word of this.

I'm not that type of girl.


My name is Emerald Anderson and I'm not going to bullshit you: I flunked out of college after my sophomore year, I've been fired from every job I've ever taken, and I've never had a fully functioning relationship in my life.

I wish I could say that I had a cheerleader in my corner, someone who says, "No, Emerald--You're great and you are good at something!" but I don't. My grandparents are completely oblivious to my life, and my mother's dying words to me were "You're going to end up just like me one day. A beautiful nothing."

She was right.


As I decide to start my life over and take two jobs that will forever change me--one from the inside, and one from the outside, I keep my mother's words close to my heart so I can keep the sexy and mysterious Carter Black away.

He's the first man who's ever pursued me, the first man who seems bent on finding out why I am the way I am, but he's wasting his time.

I'm not broken. I don't need to be fixed. I'm perfectly fine being a beautiful failure...

 Review


When I read that blurb, I knew I had to read this book, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. Beautiful Failure is an extremely impressive debut novel by Mariah Cole.

Emerald Anderson is the type of character that you'll either love or hate, depending on how she's written, and Mariah Cole made me love from the very beginning. Long story short, Emerald's failed out of college and has been forced to move from New York down south to live with her grandparents as she tries to save money to be on her own once again. Plagued with the memory of her dead mother, she keeps everyone at arm's length and only enters into relationships that will benefit her. Eventually, she finds herself in front of a judge, and is finally forced to try and get her act together, even though she has no desire to.

When Emerald lands a new job at a lucrative club, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it, but the way it's written? I freaking LOVED it! I loved how strong Emerald was, but we still got to see her at her weakest, her most vulnerable. The transformation that she goes through in the book is a truly beautiful one, and as much as I loved the girl in the beginning, I love who she was in the end. she didn't completely change herself, but she became the person that she's always had the potential to be. And I loved every second of it.

Along the way, Emerald meets the mysterious, sexy Carter Black, and although she's attracted to him, she has no interest in a relationship. Unfortunately for her, he's relentless in his pursuit, and it's not long before she's starting to fall.



I really, really, really enjoyed this book. In fact, I'll even go as far as to say I loved it. The only thing that I didn't care for were her grandparents, and they were such a small part that it didn't really take anything away from me. I absolutely fell hard for Carter Black, and I felt the same about Emerald, although I wanted to shake her a couple of times. But Carter? Holy Hotness! You must meet this guy for yourself!

"I'm not trying to be your Prince Charming or your knight in shining armor. You're too fucked up for me to even think about saving." <-- strong="">Sounds like an ass, right? Wrong! This was hot!!

Mariah Cole does an incredible job portraying real life issues in a beautiful way. Her portrayal of Emerald was the highlight of this book for me. You could feel the changes in her as they gradually happened. It wasn't overnight, and I loved that. My heart also broke for this girl. You could feel the pain radiating off the pages, and every time she refused to cry, I wanted to do it for her.

This is the first in a series, but there isn't exactly a cliffhanger. Read this book. I highly recommend it.

This was me at the end.


Special POV Scene
Walking inside of Starbucks, I expect to see the familiar bubbly blonde behind the counter, the one who

never bothers to ask what I want to order. She always greets me with a “Hello, Mr. Black! I’ll have your

grande coffee with two hazel nut shots right away!”

But today, there’s someone new. Someone with black hair who hasn’t even bothered to look up at me.

With her head down, she types a few buttons on the register and sighs. “Starbucks Bistro. What’s your

name and what do you want?”

“Is that the new greeting now?” I smile. “Did it change recently?”

“They don’t pay me enough to make conversation,” she says flatly. “What’s your name and what do you

want—Please?”

This is a first… “Carter…Carter Black. Grande coffee with a hazelnut shot and two sugars.”

She writes on the cup and quickly turns around, mixing the drink on the back counter. From behind, I

notice a small grey and black tattoo on her neck, partially hidden by her long ponytail.

What is that?

I’m admiring her ass when she suddenly turns around and gasps.

She blinks, staring at me with her lips slightly parted. She looks as if she’s about to say something, but no

words come out of her mouth.

Her mouth. Her fucking mouth.

Plump, pink lips. Bow shaped. Perfection.

“Are you going to give me my coffee?” I look into her dark green eyes. “Or do they not pay you enough

to do that either?”

“Three dollars and seven cents.”

I keep my eyes locked on hers as I hand her the card, wondering why I’ve never seen her in town before.

Once she hands me my coffee, I decide to ask why. “When did you start here?”

“Thank you for visiting Starbucks.” She rolls her eyes. “Have a nice day.”

I smile and bring the cup to my lips, never taking my eyes off hers. I can tell I’m making her

uncomfortable because she’s shifting her weight from foot to foot and blinking every few seconds.

“Is there something wrong with your coffee sir?” She purses her lips.

The coffee is actually the best it’s ever been, but I don’t want to leave the store just yet.

“It’s a bit bitter,” I say.

“No, it’s not.” She crosses her arms. “I just made it.”

“I’m pretty sure it is.” I hand the cup back to her. “Can you add some more sugar please?”

“There’s a condiment stand on the back wall. You can add it yourself.”

Is she serious?

I look at her nametag—Emerald, and prepare to really have some fun with her, but the familiar blonde

suddenly steps next to her.

 “Mr. Black, is there something wrong?” she asks.

“Not at all. I was just asking Emerald if she would add some more sugar to my coffee.”

“Oh! I got it!”

As she remakes it, I smile at Emerald—ignoring the fact that she’s scowling at me. It makes her look even

sexier.

“There you are.” The blonde smiles as she hands me the new coffee.

I take a sip of it and immediately regret having it remade. It’s good, but what Emerald made was ten times

better.

“Much better.” I look at Emerald one last time, deciding that I’ll be back at the exact same time

tomorrow. “Thank you ladies.”

Emerald rolls her eyes and mouths “Asshole,” but she quickly forces a smile. I debate whether I should

ask her to say that out loud, but I decide against it.

I’ll have plenty of time to see her this summer…

Author Bio
Mariah Cole is a Starbucks addict (hazelnut shots please!), New Adult author, and an incessant daydreamer. Known for pushing the envelope, she’s an avid reader of indie books and is always looking to chat with readers and authors alike.
Connect With Mariah

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