Viktor Prinz
When an IED hit my unit, it set off a chain of events that transformed me. Gone is the easygoing and charming man whom everyone flocked to. I’m no longer the whole man I used to be, and I’ve accepted this darker side.

Isabel Marchant
In my twelve years as a physical therapist, I’ve never been tempted to cross the line with a patient. That is, not until Viktor Prinz answers the door in his nearly-naked state. Seeing past the grief, I find the first man to make me want more.

Can Viktor find the strength to accept the cards he’s been dealt? Or will he run this beauty who stands up to him out of his life, never to return again?

 

Goodreads

 

Tough and sweet. Soft and firm. Heaven and hell. Beautiful modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Viktor is his own worst enemy and drowning in self loathing after he has been dealt a really crappy hand at life. Isabelle is brought into his life as a physical therapist to help him be strong enough to take on a prosthetic leg. Right from jump he is incredibly mean to her but you immediately feel where he is coming from. It pulls at your heartstrings. Belle comes in strong as can be and does not show him any pity, and this is right where you will fall in love with her. They are both attracted to each other at the very beginning and the angst continually builds throughout this story. I worry about short stories because sometimes I feel there isn’t enough of the actual story but this author took this story and packed everything into it beautifully! The characters are relatable. The situation is heart wrenching. The feelings are strong and full of intensity. And in the end with the HEA….it is all summed up with the symbolic rose from the original story. This is the first book that I have read from AJ Renee but won’t be the last. Beautiful!

 

Amazon

BookBub

 

AJ Renee is the author behind the St. Fleur series, Beauty Unmasked, Winter’s Surprise, Surviving Paris, and Finding Love at the Falls…. She’s a military wife and mother to three young girls. She graduated from the University of Central Florida with her Master of Science in Criminal Justice and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology while working at the library.

She loves to write steamy romance with suspense and a happily ever after. When she isn’t writing or interacting with her readers, you can find her spending time with her family or reading. AJ enjoys traveling, researching family history, and all things New Orleans.