A great take on Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame! Emerald is a college student majoring in dance but thriving in her role as a journalist for the college paper, trying to uncover a cheating scandal at the school involving her ex, Colin, and the championship winning la cross team. One night Collin confronts her, hitting her and in comes Phillip Quinn to run Collin off. Quinn, a former service member disfigured from battle, is a gentle soul, volunteering at the local homeless shelter that helped him out and working for a church close to campus. They have an instant connection and it's perfect!
Emerald faces challenges with both her dancing and reporting. With the admin censoring the truth and even threatening to expel her, she decides to quit the paper and take her story into the real world. Needless to say, chaos ensues and she's in for a wild ride. But Quinn is there to help and even with a few minor setbacks (because that's life) their relationship burns on to the fiery conclusion.
Lynn Stevens does a great job of putting you inside the character's head. She touches on a few of the hot-spot issues of today (prejudice and privilege) but in an insightful way where good wins in the end. (Because who doesn't want that?!) The romance was sweet then hot then scorching and the plot kept me wondering what would happen next. A great story and I highly recommend if you are looking for a quick,
fun read.