Beauty
Mark
By
Jan
Moran
The second book in Jan Moran’s Hostile Beauty Series, Beauty Mark, is
the continued story of the beauty industry from the inside out, but this time
from the viewpoint of Scarlett Sandoval, a high-end corporate lawyer. Unlike the heroine in Flawless, Scarlett was
not born to privilege and did not live in one of those fabulous homes in
Beverly Hills, with locking gates.
Scarlett, our heroine, was raised in the
Barrio of Los Angeles. After the death of both her father and brother, she
became focused on success. It was only with brains, scholarships, and student
loans that she was able to move up and out to the Ivy League schools and law
firms. After years of hard work she
could finally see the coveted “partnership”.
Then the veneer of the glossy life and success started to crack in front
of her eyes.
With a stage set, once again for a fabulous
novel, Jan Moran did not disappoint her readers. It wasn’t until I read Beauty Mark that I
realized how much of the character’s personality ran over into even the writing
style of the book, itself. Where Flawless
had this polished elegant presence throughout the book and in the way Ms. Moran
wrote. You could feel the old world
elegance and prestige.
Not so in Beauty Mark. Even though our heroine was brilliant,
educated and, confident with the powerful people she worked with; there was
still a raw rough edge to her. You could
almost feel her Latino blood running hot, with the angst and turmoil running
just beneath the surface of the page.
This was felt both in the character’s persona and in the writing. I could almost sense that the writer’s pen
held a secret just waiting to scribble out across the page, but couldn’t quite
get there yet. Before it could,
something else would happen, forcing the heroine and the story to go another
direction.
The overlying love story that spilled into the
middle of a major life crisis for the heroine with no one less than the coveted
brother’s best friend, added even more edginess and angst to a bad situation.
He had also moved up in the world and became the head maître d’ at the Beverly
Hills Hotel Polo Club. How can a person
keep priorities straight and think clearly when hormones are out of control?
The depth of industry and workplaces issues
that were addressed within context, were handled wonderfully and with vivid
detail to what many women deal with on a daily basis. A job well done. A story well written, left this reviewer
eager for the upcoming offerings of this series.
Beauty Mark
is a definite recommendation to read, alone or as a part of the series.
A DRAWING FOR A FREE COPIES OF BOOKS
In celebration of the release of Beauty
Mark, Jan Moran is having a drawing for a free signed copy of her first
two books, Flawless and Beauty Mark. CLICK HERE to link to
the site to register for the drawing and to sign up for Ms. Moran’s newsletter. There is also a free book giveaway for Beauty
on Goodreads.
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