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Let’s cut to the chase: Vi Keeland’s Beautiful Mistake is drop-dead sexy, breathtakingly romantic, intricately layered, jaw-droppingly unpredictable, and deliciously satisfying. It stands out in the vast and overwhelming sea of contemporary romance and will, undoubtedly, be on my Best of 2017 list. If I’ve adequately piqued your curiosity, do not waste another moment before starting Beautiful Mistake. If you need a little more convincing, allow me to expound.
Strangers Rachel Martin and Caine West collide when she tells him off for cheating on his wife with her best friend. She delivers quite the passionate and rousing set down but soon discovers her wrath was just unleashed on the wrong man. Caine’s not the suspected cheater – he’s just a devastatingly attractive man, who happens to be at the same bar as said cheater and wearing a similarly colored shirt. Oops. Rachel doesn’t stick around to acknowledge her mistake or apologize, believing she’ll never see him again.
Karma delivers a comedic punch when she shows up (late) to her music class at Brooklyn College to begin her new position as a teaching assistant, and she meets her new boss – Professor Caine West. While they begin their new relationship on an awkward footing, Caine’s not offended or angry over her mistake but rather finds the situation amusing and admires her spirit. But he is concerned about her problem with punctuality. He’s known around campus as a bit of a hard ass and not the most friendly, touchy-feely person.
Rachel is, of course, mortified by her mistake, and she’s extremely attracted to Caine. She realizes she’s in for a long and complicated fifteen weeks working underneath him, especially because she finds herself really wanting to be underneath him. Caine acts professionally and he’s a bit of a closed book, but it becomes obvious he’s attracted to Rachel. He’s drawn to her hilarious and bitingly sarcastic wit – playfully calling her “wiseass” – and he’s captivated when she begins to reveal a softer, intuitive and more vulnerable side. They both share a passion for music, and their exploration of this mutual love creates a poignant bond between them and also provides a means to get to know each other on a very personal level.
The chemistry between Rachel and Caine simmers, and Keeland masterfully turns up the heat slowly, purposefully building the sexual and emotional connection that draws the reader into their burgeoning relationship and invests us in its outcome. Both Rachel and, especially, Caine fight their mutual attraction and attempt to keep their guards up for the obvious reason that any relationship between them would be frowned upon by the university. But they also both have less obvious and more complicated reasons for their reluctance to drop their defenses, open up, and give into the magnetic pull between them.
Keeland breathes life into Caine and Rachel’s characters through insightful flashbacks and well-placed hints into both their pasts and their current psyches, and this gives them dimension and makes them relatable. Each interaction, moment, and exchange are carefully constructed pieces of a complicated puzzle that slowly creates a picture and tells a story that is mesmerizing, brilliant and unexpected. I could not put this book down waiting for each twist, turn and revelation.
While Beautiful Mistake is exactly what you might assume – a fun, sexy, entertaining, and heartfelt romance – it is also a beautiful, complex and layered story that is truly original. This book has it all, and I look forward to re-reading and taking the journey again. If I ever do find myself on a deserted island with only books as my companions, I believe I will be just fine if I am surrounded by books like this one.
Buy Now: Amazon/Barnes & Noble/iBooks/Kobo
Grade: A
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 17/07/17
Publication Date: 07/2017
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
Every year I experience a wave of sadness when I realize I am too old to attend summer camp. I used to be a CFO, but I can never escape accounting because someone always needs a number cruncher. I am a Texan happily living in California.
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I’m still on the fence with Ms. Keeland. I don’t dislike her books…but I just haven’t fallen hard for any of them.
The cover is bizarre.
Is anyone else not in the least attracted to that cover? I’m certainly not.
I see it and I think, “Huh, he waxes.”
Nope. And he doesn’t look anything like any of the music professors I ever had at university!!
I think the book’s going for a new adult cover, and given the age of the heroine, this is perhaps meant to be a new adult book.
I was amazed to see that this book does not come in e-book form. I went to Amazon to download the first few chapters, but couldn’t. I won’t buy a book now, unless I can do so. Whatever was the author or the publisher thinking?
The above link took me to the kindle version and I was able to download a sample with the first 4 chapters.
Lynda – sometimes the self-published books don’t get assigned an ASIN until really late so we can’ t always link to the e-version. However, this one IS available in Kindle format and you can buy it HERE. I’ll amend the review.
Blackjack, that was the first thing that crossed my mine as I read the review.
Yeah, co-workers having an affair is a scenario that is frowned upon in many places but people are adults and can sort that out for themselves. Boss/underling relationships, however, are just not tolerated today. I have TAs and when I put this above scenario into my own context, it makes me feel icky :(
I definitely do not think this book would work you.
Hmm, I like academic novels but as a college teacher, I have to say that having an affair with a teaching assistant is not just frowned upon. It falls more into sexual harassment territory. I know teachers and TAs who have gotten involved romantically but never during the assignment together, and even afterward, it’s not viewed very well by others and can lead to serious employment issues, especially for the person who has power over the underling. I’m not sure I could buy into this idea.
You might like one of the Willoughby Close books set in Oxfordshire by Kate Hewitt. I just read one with a personal assistant to an Oxford don.