A Beautiful Liar by Beena Khan
Published: April 8, 2022
B. Khan
Pages: 362
Genre: Dark Romance
KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
Beena Khan is a storyteller that brings dark fairytales and myths to life. She writes grim and twisted fairytales with everything from enemies to romance and forbidden stories, including dark romance, mafia crime, romantic thrillers, and psychological and contemporary fiction that gives you a book hangover. Her books are painful, messy, dangerous, and raw.
Once upon a myth…
I’ve always been sheltered by my overprotective mother, hence the nickname given to me by my tormentors. “The nun.” As a geeky scholarship student at the ancient and prestigious Saint Eudora Academy, I craved freedom, so, I sneaked out into the nightlife for the first time to mend my broken heart. There, I met a pair of alluring blue eyes and our worlds collided leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.
It was a single night, and we both wanted to forget someone. He said, I have six months before he returns. Six months to tell my old life goodbye. In my drunk state, I agreed, and he declared us as betrothed. The next morning, I ghosted him.
Imagine my surprise when I see him at my academy six months later. He’s returned like a raging inferno to claim me.
The connection and recognition are still there. He was supposed to be a myth. The man before me now is different. He’s tortured, dark, and deadly like Hades. A sense of danger surrounds him, trapping me toward him. I don’t know what he is capable of until a favor from the reaper and a chilling murder forces us to bond.
I fear the unknown ahead of me when I finally unmask him. I’m entangled in a web of secrets and lies where money and power rule in his dark world. He says he collects souls, and now he is here to take mine.
Valerius Vitalli will never let me go.
“Everything that my world touched turned into dust.”
Annabella is intelligent, kind, and used to not being seen. Unless she is being bullied at the academy, her life is not as charmed as her peers, she isn’t rich, and her mother works very hard to provide. When a mysterious stranger sees her out one night, the last thing she expected would be to see him again.
This was different from what Beena has been writing, though not completely. There are still mafia elements, with mentions of characters we already know.
The academia portion really wasn’t as represented as I imagined, though large portions of the plot did take place on the campus.
I did like how the elements were used throughout this novel, the battle between darkness and light was well represented. I enjoyed how Beena utilized shadows and reflection throughout the book, it was quite beautiful.
Valerius was a dark, brooding character, which we have come to expect sighing this realm. He finds himself drawn to the light that is Annabella, who is essentially his opposite.
Their balance tilted back and forth well, and I think the way relationship escalated was balanced well with the age of the main characters.
The story was well written, and the emotions were well placed. The side characters all added periods of relief from the heaviness of the plot, which was well done.
I loved that when Annabella and Valerius had real, raw conversations that were so emotionally driven, and so passionate that it just field their fire for each other.
I am looking forward to how this story will continue to unfold. I am invested in this journey, and I have to know how it ends.