THE MISFITAuthor: J.L. Beck
Series: Oakmount Elite #5
Genre: Dark Romance, New Adult
Tropes: Misunderstood hero / He falls first / Dark romance / Fake dating / “Who hurt you” / Playboy VS Grumpy heroine / OCD/ADHD REP / Frienemies to lovers
Release Date: February 28, 2025
Golden boy. Party king. Trust fund brat.
That’s what they call me – Lee Sterling, Oakmount University’s favorite disaster.
Everyone thinks they know me, but they only see what I let them.
I’m the guy who can charm his way out of anything and never takes life seriously. But it’s all a ruse. They don’t see the mask I wear or the cage of family expectations slowly threatening to suffocate me.
Three months. That’s how long I have to find someone “suitable” to present at the Sterling New Year’s Gala, or it’s over.
I tell myself I can handle it, like I handle everything else – with a smile and a shot of bourbon, but deep down, I know I’m inching closer and closer to the edge.
Then I meet Salem Masters in a dark pantry at a party, and suddenly, nothing feels simple anymore.
They call her crazy, and broken. The girl who wears latex gloves and counts her steps.
I call her beautiful, careful, haunted.
One encounter and I’m obsessed. I need to know more about her. I need to know if she’s just like me.
When I discover we share a common interest, I convince her to be my fake girlfriend. She could use the protection, and I need to convince my family I’m normal…but when our fake relationship turns real I discover just how close to danger I am.
Because for the first time in my life, I want something that I can’t have, that I don’t deserve.
Who knew obsession could ignite so quickly?
The way that I have been waiting for Lee’s book I cannot even describe to you. And considering that he was the broken troublemaker of the group, is it any wonder? I have a thing for those broken bad boys.
Now I do have to admit that I had hoped this would be an MM or an MFM. But the more I read, the more I connected to him with Salem. Two broken souls healing each other.
If you’ve read this series, then you already know Lee and the trouble he’s caused. You know that this is a guy with an easy smile and quick humor that he uses as a mask to hide something. And in this book we get to the true depths of what that something is.
Salem is dealing with her own trauma as she’s trying to get some semblance of her normalcy back after something tragic. A fateful meeting in the pantry of a party changes the trajectory for both of them when Salem lands in Lee’s sight. He feels an instant connection with the girl who for the first time seems to see behind his mask to the man beneath. And when his parents start breathing down his neck about settling down and finding an appropriate wife, he decides they have a mutual benefit. He’ll help her find her new normal and protect her on campus and she pretends to be his girlfriend. Only there’s not much to pretend with their chemistry.
There were definitely some heavy themes in this story that I found the author handled really well. Lee and Salem are both broken in their own way but Lee’s past damn near broke my heart. This was a fake dating trope with plenty of spice that I enjoyed quite a bit. The ending was satisfying though a touch heavy on the sweet, though I didn’t mind all that much. While this has dark themes, it was more of a gray romance. But if you’re looking to dip your toes in the genre, this is a great one to start with.
JL. Beck writes steamy romance that’s unapologetic, meaning it makes no apologies for the way it rips you open and makes you crave more. Her heroes are alphas who take what they want, and she pairs them with heroines that bring them to their knees.
She loves writing about darkness, passion, suspense, and of course, steam. Leaving her readers gasping and asking what the hell just happened is only one of her many tricks.
Her books range from morally grey to dark and spicy but always end with a happily ever after. She loves to write across numerous tropes, but her favorite is enemies to lovers.
She started her writing career in the summer of 2014 and hasn’t stopped since. She lives in Wisconsin and is a mom to two, a wife, and likes to act as a literary agent part-time.
Visit her website for more info:
www.beckromancebooks.com
Connect with JL Beck:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJLBeck/
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Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@authorjlbeck
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2srbge9
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2tOVZl8
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8425041.J_L_Beck
Unapologetic Romance Book Club FB Group: http://bit.ly/2sWljZG
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