Cruel Beginnings
Cruel World, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Michelle Sparks
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Blake Lockheart
About this listen
I’m not a girl who expects to be saved.
I gave up on fairytales a long time ago.
So when my knight in shining Armani stalks into town and delivers me from my tragic fate, I’m grateful.
Darius Prince shouldn’t be in the seedy strip club where I’m paying off my mother’s debts, one piece of my soul at a time. And he definitely shouldn’t be the one who claims me in exchange for a suitcase full of trust fund cash and a deal inked in blood.
His dark eyes shine with a hatred so deadly, I wonder why he wants me at all. Especially when I find out he thinks I’m somehow connected to his twin sister’s disappearance.
Darius doesn’t rescue me. Instead, he drags me into his web of tragic secrets and forbidden desires. He binds me so tight, I can’t find my way out of his grasp. Not that it would make a difference. Escaping my fate isn’t an option.
They say every ending is a new beginning. I just didn’t expect my beginning to be so cruel.
Proceed with caution: This isn’t just an enemies-to-lovers dark romance. Listener's discretion is advised. Cruel Beginnings features mature themes and content that may not be suitable for all audiences. For all content warnings, check the author's websites. Cruel Beginnings is book one of Darius and Birdie's story. It is a trilogy, and the books must be heard in order.
©2023 Lyra Parish, Lili St. Germain (P)2023 Lyra Parish, Lili St. GermainListeners also enjoyed...
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Cringy lines ruined it
- By Lenna Crosby on 12-01-24
By: Tessa Bailey
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Cruel Winter with You
- Under the Mistletoe Collection
- By: Ali Hazelwood
- Narrated by: Vivienne LaRue
- Length: 2 hrs
- Unabridged
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All newly minted pediatrician Jamie Malek wants is to borrow a roasting pan for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, that requires her to interact with Marc—her best friend’s troublemaking brother, who’s now a tech billionaire. He’s the one who got away. She’s the one who broke his heart. Outside, a howling blizzard. Inside, a crackling fire. Suddenly, being snowbound with the man she never expected to see again might not be such a bad way to spend a winter’s night.
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Endless insecurities and translation fails
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 11-12-24
By: Ali Hazelwood
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Verity
- By: Colleen Hoover
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Amy Landon
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.
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intriguing but skip if triggered by child abuse
- By Amazon Customer on 05-16-19
By: Colleen Hoover
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Holiday Hideaway
- A Short Story
- By: Mary Kay Andrews
- Narrated by: Eva Kaminsky
- Length: 1 hr and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Tilly Farriday isn’t feeling very jolly this season. Recently divorced and broke, she’s squatting in one of her rental agency’s properties until her new home is ready. The sprinkles on top of the burnt Christmas cookie that is her life? The new owner shows up early, forcing Tilly to hide in the attic to save her job…and what remains of her dignity.
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I ain’t afraid of no ghosts
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 10-31-24
By: Mary Kay Andrews
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The Plight Before Christmas
- By: Kate Stewart
- Narrated by: Joe Arden, Maxine Mitchell
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Clark Griswold was onto something...at least with his annual holiday meltdown. And since the last three weeks of my life have been riddled with humbug—another breakup, a broken toe, an office promotion I deserved and didn’t get—I’m not at all in the mood to celebrate nor have the happ, happ, happiest Christmas EVER.
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Gaslighting and games
- By FMC on 12-22-22
By: Kate Stewart
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How to Lose a Guy Before Christmas
- By: A.J. Pine
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt, Jason Clarke
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Original Recording
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After a snowstorm grounds her flight, Lucy makes a last-ditch effort to get home for Christmas using a rideshare app. She thinks she’ll be taking a road trip with a stranger...but the guy who shows up is someone she knows all too well. He’s the hookup she ghosted a few months ago, and now she’ll be stuck in a car with him for the most awkward road trip of her life.
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Nearly pitch perfect holiday romcom novella
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 11-17-23
By: A.J. Pine
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Resting Scrooge Face
- A Short Story
- By: Meghan Quinn
- Narrated by: Carly Robins, Aaron Shedlock
- Length: 1 hr and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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After a bad breakup, Nola wants nothing to do with Christmas, especially in her quaint hometown of Bright Harbor, Maine. Infuriatingly charming and cheery, Nola’s surroundings only worsen her sour mood. To make matters worse, Caleb, the boy who broke her heart years ago, is all grown up and still living in town. While doing her best to avoid him, Nola bumps into the local mailman, who gives her a mysterious letter. And when she finds that the writer is a fellow Scrooge, she can’t help but feel her spirit lifting.
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No-sex, “enemies to lovers,” Christmas short story
- By Kate McMurry on 12-24-22
By: Meghan Quinn
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Nocticadia
- By: Keri Lake
- Narrated by: Aaron Shedlock, Stella Hunter
- Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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After watching my mother succumb to a mysterious illness, I promised myself two things. I'd find the cure for what ravaged her and leave the godforsaken city where she abandoned me. Four years later, I received an acceptance letter from Dracadia University, one of the oldest most prestigious schools in the country. Nestled on a secluded island off the coast of Maine, it's rumored to be haunted by the souls of the mental patients exiled there centuries before, those whose bones are said to make up the island's white sandy shores. And restless ghosts aren't even its most daunting peculiarity.
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Good but a slight miss
- By Destinyreadsbooks on 01-17-24
By: Keri Lake
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What listeners say about Cruel Beginnings
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jessica
- 11-08-23
What in the What?!?!?
This book is WILD! I’ve read dark, I love dark and this is DARK. The emotional rollercoaster of enemies to not quite lovers. The bully aspects that dominate the end of this book. Check your triggers!!!!! The storyline is very interesting and will be interesting to see where it goes from here. Birdie, poor poor Birdie. This girl cannot catch a break and yet she is so strong. Darius has an intense darkness to him. This whole island is massively F—-up. This was my first time listening to Blake and he did a great job conveying that intensity of Darius. This being a dual narrative he also had to do the female lines and for a having a deeper voice his female voice was great. Michelle is magnificent as always bringing out her characters form.
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- Molly Prevost
- 11-07-23
Just wow!
I could not stop listening!! Cruel Beginnings kept me on edge. Birdie is such a strong and fierce FMC! And I honestly couldn’t help but have a soft spot for Darius. Michelle and Blake did phenomenal with narration! But holy cliffy… I need book two asap.
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- Anonymous User
- 09-22-23
Be warn! Ooooooo
I highly recommend not listening until book 2 is out! The wait is killing me!.
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- Ana
- 09-13-23
Read the triggers warnings carefully
First, I will say that the narrators did an excellent job. Next, this book ends on a cliffhanger.
So, there was a bit to unpack with this story. There are some scenes, especially in the last 30 minutes of the book, which are difficult to listen to. It's so much more than a rape scene. It's the detailed collection of evidence and sex scene almost immediately afterward between the main characters. While everyone deals with trauma differently, these two characters didn't have the trust and intimacy to make it believable to me. I felt like the whole thing was rushed and incomplete.
I don't understand why these two characters went from hate to love. How? When? He went from insisting that she knew some information to suddenly being okay with the fact that she didn't. The earlier scenes were just swept under the rug. Also, the female lead was very confusing. Her actions and emotions were all over the place. She was suicidal one moment and then suddenly was "fine". Because of this, I didn't connect with the main characters.
I don't think I'll be reading another book by this author.
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2 people found this helpful
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- L V Red
- 09-16-23
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️DELICIOUSLY DARk⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️And oh so twisted!! I don’t write many reviews, but when it comes to Lilli , I feel I must!!
Definitely not for the faint of Heart! If you are looking for a feel good romance, this is NOT for you!! But if you want a wicked walk on the wild side, hide under your bed thrilling, and deeply dark ,heart pounding experience, this is it!! Thank you Lilli for another fabulous can’t put it down story!! Lyla Parish is new to me but I will delve in deeper with her after this !( and please hurry the f—k up with the rest of the story )!Yes it is a dreaded cliffhanger.
The narrators do a five+ star performance in bringing these tremendously twisted characters to life, which can’t be easy! Bravo!!
Worth a credit or coin? F—k yes!! All day long! Go ahead take a chance, and buckle up….you won’t be sorry!!
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- Mary E Goodhead Cardoni
- 12-12-24
DNF and why
Could not get past chapter one. This is just rape. And more rape. Could not stomach listening to more.
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