Beautiful Mess

Blossom Beach Series, Book 2

De: A. James

Narrado por: CJ Bloom, Alex Kydd

I’m pretty in pink dipped in sunshine and sweet Southern smiles.

He’s blue collar wrapped up in a gruff summer storm with a scowl.

He also happens to be my ex-boyfriend’s dad.

Not only is Conway Levine grumpy, arrogant, and entirely too handsome for his own good, with the salt and pepper scruff lining his sharp jawline and his thick, corded arms, but he also had a front row seat fourteen years ago to a drunken night so mortifying I can’t look him in the eye without feeling the shame all over again.

Living in a small town makes avoiding him impossible, even more when you add in the fact that his daughter is friends with mine.

When a little tardiness and a whole lot of bad luck lands me partnering with him at our children’s school, I’m certain I won’t survive. Before I know it, the dread from having to work with him turns into a burning desire impossible to ignore when his once stone cold demeanor shifts into longing, heated stares, and somehow, he knows all the right things to whisper in my ear to get under my skin…and my dress.

Between his filthy mouth and stifling need to devour me any chance he gets, the chemistry we share between the sheets quickly becomes something out of my wildest dreams.

Except Conway doesn’t do relationships, and I’m not built for casual. But I couldn’t quit him even if I tried.

When all is said and done, will I be able to protect my already tattered heart or will it end up shattered into a million beautiful, messy pieces?

©2025 Ashley James (P)2025 Ashley James

..Small-Town Spice with a Sharp Edge 🔥

Beautiful Mess delivers everything you want in a steamy small-town romance: forbidden heat, hilarious tension, and a couple that absolutely sizzles on the page. A. James blends sass and steam perfectly in this story about second chances, unexpected connections, and messy, beautiful love.

The Story
Grace is sunshine with a bite—an independent single mom running her own bakery, full of fire, grit, and Southern charm. She never expected to fall for anyone, let alone Conway Levine…her ex’s dad.

He's broody, blue-collar, and built like a stormcloud with a filthy mouth—and once life throws them together at their kids’ school, sparks fly in every direction. Between their undeniable chemistry, whispered filth, and very off-limits history, resisting each other becomes impossible.

But while Grace wants more, Conway claims he doesn’t do commitment. The question is—when it stops being casual, will he fight for her… or break what’s left of her heart?

Tropes You’ll Love:
✔ Age Gap
✔ Ex’s Dad
✔ Single Parent x Single Parent
✔ Grumpy/Sunshine
✔ Small Town Romance
✔ Forced Proximity (school project)
✔ Slow Burn Turned Scorching
✔ Secret Relationship
✔ Dirty Talk & Spicy Scenes
✔ She Fell First (but he fell harder)

Final Thoughts
If you’re into dominant MMCs, fiery FMCs, and forbidden age-gap spice wrapped in small-town chaos—Beautiful Mess will deliver and then some.

Incredibly repetitive

I don’t know how I made it through this book. I thought it might get better… well it didn’t. Same repetitive scenes from chapter to chapter. Could’ve been cut down to a 1/3 of the book but I still don’t think I’d have enjoyed it. I listened on 7.0 just to try to torture myself less. I didn’t work. Book is just garbage. I won’t be continuing this series for sure. I wish I could send this back and recoup my credit. Even the narration isn’t great. It’s just a flat out BUST.

Terrible!

I can’t even begin to describe how bad this book is. I love a good age-gap but this was creepy & not even remotely cute. Additionally, the amount of errors in the audiobook is horrific. Conway is Conrad sometimes, PTA is continuously PTO & that’s just to start with. This book should be free on all platforms because I can’t believe I spent a credit on it. The only good thing was the duet narration - that’s it.

Didn’t Really Like The Premise . . .

This one was really hard to get into for me, honestly . . . That’s why it took me a while to finish it. To be honest, the whole “idea” felt a little bit creepy to me & I didn’t really LOVE the coupling of these 2 leads. First, I DID know what I was “getting into” before reading it, so the whole “ex-boyfriend’s dad” thing DIDN’T catch me completely off guard. HOWEVER, I didn’t quite like HOW it was all “executed” in this one, if that makes sense. Second, this is NOT my 1st “ex-boyfriend’s dad” trope; I read one other romance novel with this “trope”, BUT, I felt, that in that one, it was “handled” WAY better to feel a lot less “creepy”, I think . . . First, in THAT one, the “dad” had NO idea that woman was his son’s ex- before the 1st “meeting” (the woman & his son didn’t date as long) & the woman was older when they first met. So, unlike in this one, it didn’t feel as weird or creepy, I think. Whereas in this one, the main thing that kinda “creeped me out” was that Grace (the woman & the FMC) dated Conway’s (the “dad” & MMC) son for 5 YEARS & they started dating when she was 15!! So, I’m like, “Wait . . . Is she (the author) suggesting that Conway found Grace attractive at age 15?!?! Because that’s just DISGUSTING!!” Also, I found the reason was Grace “hated” Conway totally immature for her age, age 34 . . . It’s like, “Is she seriously STILL mad at Conway because he turned (rightfully, might I add) her down when he found her dunk at a bar at age 20?!?” I was like, “Woman, he did the RIGHT THING here!! C’mon, you, yourself, have a daughter now!! Imagine if this was YOUR daughter & an older guy did the RIGHT THING by taking her home & NOT taking “advantage” of her!!” I would be saying, “Thank you” to the guy, NOT hating him well into adulthood for that!! I mean, I understand that Grace was embarrassed by that at age 20, BUT, again, she’s 34 RIGHT NOW!! 😒 Also, the whole “baby girl” & “Daddy” nicknames felt creepy to me, too, especially given their age difference & given the fact that, you know, Conway, IS her ex-‘s dad & not the “daddy” of her OWN kids . . . !! Just say their names, for God’s shake!! Also, Conway’s son (the ex- in question) had NO reason to be such an a**!! Oh, and, the guy that voiced Conway in the audiobook just sounded like he was a heavy smoker or just had a sore throat the entire time, to me. I know it sounds mean to say that & I know it was supposed to be “s3Xy” or whatever, but to me, it just sounded like he had a cold the entire time he was “reading”. Also, there was “public play” at a school event AGAIN (this was there in this author 1st book in this series, too)!! Oh, and, I also felt that the final chapter/epilogue thing didn’t really “add” too much to the story, either—except maybe as “proof” that Conway & Grace as still together “6 months later” (OBVIOUS 🙄 . . . This is a romance novel with an HEA, after all . . . ) . . . All in all, sadly, I don’t think this author’s “style” is really for me . . . I gave her a chance (I read the 1st 2 books in this series) & I don’t think I’ll be reading/listening to anymore from her . . . Just is a little “too much” for me . . . 🥺

More like ugly mess

The mfc is so horrible, to everyone. Why the mmc falls for her doesn't make any sense. Complete Waste of time and credit.