Not being familiar with most romance novels or the series that this is a part of, I find that this one was quite intriguing. I wasn't expecting the storyline that was incorporated and I must say I'm very happy that it was what it was. It was able to capture my attention on many levels, the science fiction, the conflict happening, and then finally the romance that develops. I suppose I didn't expect storyline at all and that's what I got, so it was a nice change in pace from the nearly plot-less romance novels out there.

In compliance with FTC guidelines, I won this book through the First-reads program on Goodreads ( )

The Beautiful Being, by Jessica Inclan, has an interesting premise and some clever spiritual insights, a different take melding together many creation stories we are already familiar with. Unfortunately, the plot gets lost in the romance aspect of the novel. Much of time spent explaining the attraction between Cygirian doubles would have been better spent adding dimension and detail to the plot. The romance is actually so cloying that is really takes away from the potential war and danger in the novel - a better balance could have been struck. That said, I have now read other novels by this author and not found this to always be the case so I will keep Jessica Inclan in my repertoire for fun, easy reads! ( )

I won this book from member giveaways. It didn't show the cover and the description sounded like sci-fi. The author mailed me this book, along with another one of her books, both autographed. Which was very nice. But I was immediately turned off when I saw the cover and realized that this was a romance novel. Not really my style.

So. It was okay. The story was kind of cool, but could have been developed better (although this might be an unfair statement since I did not read the first two books in the series). The whole thing had a sort of cheesy feel to it. Also, there were some biblical parallels being drawn, which seemed misplaced to me. Really, this took up over half the book, with Christ's (Edan's) temptation in the desert and God's (the Cygirians') creation of a planet and all the living things on the planet.

Perhaps if I were more into romance novels and biblical allusions I would have enjoyed this book more. ( )

I received this book as a part of the Member Giveaways program. I enjoyed this book overall, but sometimes struggled with the story line because I had not read the first two books in this series. Overall, I would recommend this book but only if you have read the first two in this series. ( )

Edan Mirav, leader of the Cygirian race must find a way to protect his people from the enemy who has killed generations of his family and his planet. Losing his parents when he was young the only family he has left is his 2 sisters. Unable to locate his double, the one person who will make his powers complete and his life whole, Edan has become overwhelmed with the task of survival. Giving up any hope that he would find her Edan tries to cope with the situation at hand. Wanting to be of use he goes out to work a bit in the desert. The small piece of land that the Upsilian people are allowing the Cygerians to live. In his darkets hour, there she appears, standing there in the desert, his double. The light to his darkness.

Ava Arangos has been freed from the source, where Cygerians had been held. She has decided that her life is fine and that she could live a decent life without her double. Her power may not be whole but she can be productive with her amazing gift of cooking. Ava immediately recognizes Edan for who he is. She is reluctant as she does not want to feel whole only to experience extreme loss.

The Neballats are a crude race. In their search for what they need they destroyed not only their own planet but Cygeria. Not caring who gets in the way of their ultimate goal. In their quest they not only destroyed their home but their bodies. The Neballats need the Cygerians to give them what they need and to restore their bodies. No matter what the cost.

Together Edan and Ava discover, with the help of a rebel enemy, that together they have the power to end all of the fighting and create the lives that they need and want. They need to show their people that as a whole they can push past the limitations that they created for themselves. The journey put them back into the hands of the enemy and to the discovery of who they are as a people and what the right thing is do do.

"The Beautiful Being" captures the universal need to find true love, that exceptional connection to another and belonging. Expresses the world today with it's teaching of hate and fear just for the sake of hate. Sheds light that we can come together as a whole and choose to do the right thing, look beyond, work together and create peace. ( )