A review by wandereaderr
Beautiful by Christina Lauren

5.0

“I’ve tried not to be too bitter about the close friendship between clarity and hindsight.”

I knew I’d be in for an emotional roller coaster when I realized that Beautiful would be the last book in the Beautiful series. It’s so hard to let a series go when you’ve been with it for so long and the stories are so personal to you that each and every character, whether they’re the protagonist or simply a character that passes by, feels like a close friend that you’ve had for years.

“Or maybe you’ve just happened upon the white, thrusting bum of your idiot boyfriend as he shags another woman in your bed, and you muse with the touch of sarcasm, Ah, so that’s why he never fixed the squeaky stair. It was the Pippa alarm.”

Obviously, Beautiful starts out with a bang. Literally. Another reason I knew the book would be emotional is because of probably my favorite protagonist, besides Hanna: Pippa. There’s something about the ones who get a shitty hand dealt in life and they still manage to be sarcastic and funny and amazing even if it is just a defense mechanism. Pippa is this wacky, outgoing, and absolutely hilarious woman who is very self-aware. There’s a scene that includes the quote at the very top of this review and it absolutely broke my heart. Pippa deserves the entire fucking world, okay? And when Pippa gets all insecure and sad, it HURTS!

“I’d cleared my schedule to go on a road trip to wineries with my sister and brother-in-law and their friends and a drunken woman I’d met on the plane.”

I absolutely love the plot of Beautiful. I have a thing for road trips in general, but a road trip that includes a list of stops at amazing wineries and ends with a week stay at a beautiful cabin? COUNT ME THE FUCK IN. There’s also the fact that many of your favorite Beautiful characters make appearances in this book. Beautiful is just a very fun, very nostalgic novel. It’s so amazing to revisit your favorite couples while also falling in love with a new one.

“I saw the shutters return but didn’t really curse them. It was his process—I knew it already: Give a little, close up shop. Protect.”

Oh, Jensen. It’s pretty humorous for the tables to have turned on him. Back in Beautiful Player, he was the one lecturing his sister to not be such a workaholic and to get out and live. Looks like it’s a family thing, because soon enough, Hanna is the one lecturing Jensen.

I really fell hard for Jensen. The broody, silent types always remind me of Derek Hale (Tyler Hoechlin) so I’m like instantly in love. Jensen has had a rough time with love, just like Pippa, so his walls make sense. Watching him open up with Pippa and to see her bring some color back into his life is incredibly heartwarming and will probably bring you tears of happiness. It did me.

“I want a fella who notices everything about you when you first meet, but would only notice everything that’s missing when you’re not around.”

Beautiful was a phenomenal ending to a vibrant, fun, and sexy series. Christina Lauren will forever be two of my all-time favorite authors. And trust me, the ending to Beautiful will simultaneously make you sob and satisfy you.