Reviews

Searching for Beautiful by Jennifer Probst

selinag24's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

wallflowerreader_l's review

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4.0

Wolfe <3 <3 <3
This story is...beautiful (see what I did there?...Ok, sorry, I'm really tired). Anyways, this book was as perfect as everything else I've read by this author.

The characters were amazing, the stories really well thought and moving. The topics this book dealt with are so heavy but it was done in such an interesting way. I loved it. Wolfe's past was heartbreaking and the relationship Gen had with David was described so realistically. I love that the author talked about this. I think it's an important topic. Moral abuse is real and I feel like we don't talk enough about it.

Apart from this, the love story was well written. The love between those two and how they deal with their feelings. Friends to lovers is one of my favorite trope so obviously I loved it.

More detailed review to come.

patriciadanisova's review

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5.0

4,5 hviezdičky.
Slabšie oproti prvým dvom knihám, ale super.
Toto bolo také presladené. Typický plot medzi najlepšími kamarátmi žena/muž. Ale pohoda. Moje romantické ja bolo v nebi.

jaimejustreadsromance's review

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4.0

This series is one of my favorites. I love that they are so quirky and fun so I couldn't wait to read another one. As expected, the writing was great and the characters were amazing but this book felt a little more serious and less quirky than the previous two.

I spent the first half of this book so pissed off and frustrated that I wanted to throw my Kindle. I really hate the David's of the world but I hate the people who keep them at God status even more. Why, why wouldn't Gen do something more to protect and stand up for herself. I just kept waiting for David to get what was coming to him but, for as much of the story that revolved around him and Gen, he suddenly just sort of disappeared from it.

It was then that the focus of the story was Gen and Wolfe's relationship moving into more than friendly territory, which was clearly a benefit to us the readers. I mean, Wolfe...how hot is he? That piercing though. The chemistry between Gen and Wolfe was palpable and the way they were each trying to work through their insecurities and broken pasts was heartbreaking. I could hardly wait for them to get their beautiful forever.
This wasn't my favorite in the series but it's still a great read and does a great job at teasing you about Arilyn's book! I can't wait for Searching for Always!

*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

shannon_cocktailsandbooks's review

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3.0

This review was originally posted on Cocktails and Books.

Joelle's Thoughts

Although Searching for Beautiful is #3 in Probst’s series, it is the first her books that I have read. I have seen from other review sites that devoted readers were excited that Wolfe was finally getting his own story. I can understand why. He is a likeable character—a lot of bad boy, but also a lot of heart. Wolfe’s character also elicits a lot of sympathy, one can’t help feeling sorry for him and what he went through as a child.

Probst does a commendable job developing all of the characters in this story. Even having never read #1 & #2 in this series, I felt like I “knew” Genevieve and her circle of friends. I also liked that Gen & Wolfe had a difficult time developing a relationship that worked for them. Their struggle was realistically portrayed, which I appreciate in a romance novel. There have to be some realistic elements in the story for me.

I know that fans of Probst will enjoy this book. While I wasn’t as attached to the characters as many other readers may be, it was good. Number 4 in this series should be interesting. I am curious to see what officer Petty’s story will be as I enjoyed the tension between him and Arilyn in this book!

 This book was reviewed by a member of the review staff at Cocktails and Books. The name of the reviewer can be found under the post categories.

caity1987's review

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4.0

This is a book of someone who thought that they had found the one but at the very last moment realized that they did not want said person. By the end of the book the main female character realizes that she had had the perfect man for a very long time and should have picked him first to begin with.

barkylee15's review

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5.0

4.5. Oooh this was a good one. Started it at 11:15 last night and had to force myself to go to sleep at 2:30. I wasn't even tired. I love when a book does that to me. I'm always a fan of the Friends-Lovers trope and this was no different. Boy, was it steamy!! The last quarter was a little too angst-ridden, but I still loved this story and cannot wait until the next one!!

rlp78's review

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5.0

I loved this book. I love the way the author ties in so many of my favorite characters from previous books. Wolfe and Gen's book has been a long time coming and the author just knocked it out of the park. I loved the friendships between Gen and her friends. Gen's friends reactions to her situation with David was perfect and exactly what women should do for each other.
And Wolfe. Oh Wolfe was amazing. While the "I'm broken and can't be with you" thing has been done to death I still found myself wrapped up in his struggle.

My only real issue was
Spoilerthe resolution of the David situation. It felt like it wrapped up too easily. Not that I was hoping for more drama, I just didn't feel like it rang true. Obviously it didn't bother me enough to take away a star.
I can't WAIT for Arilin and Stone's book. Glad we don't have a long wait.

The ending was lovely, I just wish we got more of a glimpse into the future. I'm hoping that after the next book we see more. The author has been excellent at tying in snapshots of other couples' HEA so I'm confident we will see more of one of my favorite couples.

chroniclesofabookreader's review

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5.0

A friends to lovers tale that was so different from the usual. It has everything the normal story has, but the build up, the friendship, the slow burn was all-together unique. For Wolfe and Genevieve, everything changed the day she ran out of her own wedding.

"Something fierce and primal shook through her. Electricity pulsed between them, and suddenly Gen wanted his mouth over hers, all lips and tongue and teeth, until he possessed and claimed every part of her. She ached to open her thighs and take him deep. Dig her nails into his skin. Mark him. Surrender. F**k. What was happening to her? Her heart hammered. 'Wolfe.'"

Genevieve is a straight shooter. She's strong, independent, brave, and the type of woman you want to be friends with. But, unwittingly, she's been torn down. She's become the type to cave, to be forced, to be willed. She's lost herself in the scuffle and not by her own choice or doing. She's been led down a dark road and now she doesn't know anything about who she is. When she runs, it's something more than chance that it's Wolfe who finds her. And it's Wolfe who brings her back to who she is. Wolfe is a former model, now hotel magnate. He's rich, he's beautiful, he's dark. He's hidden from a past that haunts him. The only woman he's ever been able to get close to is Gen. It's a strictly platonic friendship that they both covet. But when he catches her running out of that church? Well, it's the beginning of the end.

"Drugged blue eyes stared back at him. Her breath came out in uneven pants from her plump lips. She was so damn honest in her responses, so willing to give him whatever he needed. 'Why am I feeling like this?' she whispered, clinging with a feminine strength he found sexy as hell.

'Don't know. Same thing you're doing to me.' He stared at her mouth, so close, so moist. 'I want to kiss you.'

'Oh yes. Just this once. Yes.'"

What I loved most about this book is that they were truly friends. Best friends. They didn't have that attraction that they felt with each other. It was true friendship. But little things here and there started to open their eyes slowly and eventually to the potential of more. It was a beautiful slow burn of a romance that held so much heat and fire. The passion that flared between the two made the book unputdownable. It was raw and wild. I loved the no nonsense-ness of Gen and how she was bold and wild. I loved that Wolfe was supportive and calm and so damn caring. He would be what any woman would fall in love with. He was beautiful, down into his soul. Jennifer Probst is a leader in romance. I read her early on in my reading career and she's always been a staple of mine. Her words are easy to read, her romances are wild and passionate, and mostly, you just love her stories. Searching For Beautiful was, put plain and simple, beautiful.

"[R]ight now he wanted to enjoy being her lover, tend to her, care, f**k, bruise, own, until every inch of her skin was forever claimed as his."

**Received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review**

melenareads's review

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5.0

This book resonated with me in many different ways. I loved the friendships, also the romance between best friends becoming more... but there is some baggage there that is not easy to know about (also, there was a situation at one specific moment that had me extremely frustrated, with an awful expression while I listened in public transport)... Still, I really REALLY enjoyed the journey.

I switched between listening and reading. The narrator does a great job with the audio and I would recommend both formats.