Audiobook Review: Pretty Scars by C.D. Reiss
You guys! I want to talk about Pretty Scars so much, as in spoiler, spoiler, and more 
spoilers, but I wont.
The story takes place between Carries’s past (1993) and present (1995). Carrie is one of eight of the Drazen children, and as the prettiest daughter, she is afraid that’s all people see her as: the pretty rich girl. But she’s so much more, she’s finishing up her degree in physiology and hopes to go to grad school, but figures her father (the rat bastard) won’t allow it because why does she need grad school when she’ll never practice because she is destined to marry some wealthy guy he says is suitable for her.
While leaving the subway with her friend she hears the most beautiful violin music playing, it’s a young man busking for money. She’s drops money in his “jar” and rushing by because she is in a hurry to get to her next class. He sees how much she leaves him and figures its a mistake and chases her. Their serendipitous meeting is the start of a modern day Romeo and Juliet (only better because they’re not stupid tweens who kill themselves). Carrie doesn’t want her family to find out about Gabriel because she’s afraid of what her father would do considering he would not see Gabriel as a suitable boyfriend for a Drazen.
Events happens after college graduation that prove to Carrie and Gabriel being together and she gives up hope and marries Peter (douche canoe) Thorne, a banker who works with her dad. The marriage is not a happy one, Peter is abusive but after hearing a very gifted cellist playing at the theater, Carrie is on a man hunt to find out who the mystery musician is. She’s convinced it’s Gabriel even though the name is different and she can’t see his face.
Pretty Scars is an emotional roller of a romance that left me thinking about days after finishing it. Largely in part to the writing but the narration work of Emma Wilder and Teddy Hamilton added the + to the A rating. Emma delivers most of the story through Carrie’s POV. Teddy comes in towards the end with a few chapters from Gabriel’s POV. Both narrations are on my auto buy list along with C.D. Reiss on my auto buy author list. The three of them made a powerhouse combo in this dark romance.
My Ratings
Story: A+
Narration: A+
About the Book:
In Carrie Drazen’s diamond-studded world, beauty is everything: a blessing, a commodity, and a curse. Her beauty got her past the velvet ropes and into high society, but it ripped her away from the man she loved and chained her to an unbearable life.
Then, in a single night, a song played by a mysterious and secretive musician carries her back to a past ripe with possibilities, when love could open any door.
Who is this anonymous performer?
How can a man she’s never met tell such a precise story of a boy she loved?
She needs to know. But sometimes masks exist for a reason, and this unveiling could scar them both.
Author: C.D. Reiss
Narrator: Emma Wilder, Teddy Hamilton
Series: Standalone
Genre: Erotic Romance
Audiobook Release Date: June 19, 2019
Publisher: Flip City Media Inc
Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
Source: purchased
Audio Speed: 1.00x
Jennifer
Purchase Info:
Amazon/Audible (affiliate link)