In Julian's Rose, a recent college graduate, Lucie relocates to San Diego to escape the emotional wreckage of a broken relationship.
When her friend persuades her to try online dating, she connects with Julian, a charismatic entrepreneur who suddenly makes her feel alive again. What begins as a playful flirtation soon spirals into an all-consuming, fiery affair.
As their connection deepens, their sweet romance catches the attention of the tabloids—and Julian's dangerous enemies. Lucie is suddenly thrust into a world of luxury, secrets, and threats, only to realize that the billionaire she’s falling for may be hiding a much darker side.
When she crosses paths with Bradley, a sincere and kind-hearted car shop owner from Hawaii, she finds herself torn between the safety of Bradley’s genuine love and the intoxicating, yet perilous, allure of Julian’s world.
Julian’s Rose is a tale of a deep, fated bond, torn apart by external forces and haunted by personal demons. It sets the stage for the darker sequel, Julian's Curse, where readers can continue following their favorite characters after finishing the pages of this deeply personal story.
In Julian's Rose, a recent college graduate, Lucie relocates to San Diego to escape the emotional wreckage of a broken relationship.
When her friend persuades her to try online dating, she connects with Julian, a charismatic entrepreneur who suddenly makes her feel alive again. What begins as a playful flirtation soon spirals into an all-consuming, fiery affair.
As their connection deepens, their sweet romance catches the attention of the tabloids—and Julian's dangerous enemies. Lucie is suddenly thrust into a world of luxury, secrets, and threats, only to realize that the billionaire she’s falling for may be hiding a much darker side.
When she crosses paths with Bradley, a sincere and kind-hearted car shop owner from Hawaii, she finds herself torn between the safety of Bradley’s genuine love and the intoxicating, yet perilous, allure of Julian’s world.
Julian’s Rose is a tale of a deep, fated bond, torn apart by external forces and haunted by personal demons. It sets the stage for the darker sequel, Julian's Curse, where readers can continue following their favorite characters after finishing the pages of this deeply personal story.
The red light shining on the wall made it impossible to sleep. Without bothering to turn on the bedside lamp, I got up and walked to the blinds, pushing them apart to reveal a sight that was, to my surprise, somewhat familiar. The glow came from a tall white building, a historic landmark in my new neighborhood. Perched atop it shone large red letters spelling out EL CORTEZ, flickering through the heavy rain. Although I didn’t know what the words meant, the Spanish sign was a luminescent reminder that I was no longer in Seattle.
Despite my carefully planned future with him, I was over a thousand miles away from James. The two-day drive had expelled most thoughts of him, yet his most recent text message had brought back memories. He texted me in the afternoon, the first contact since our breakup. I could only speculate that he’d reached out because he’d learned of my departure. Hope you’re okay, Lucie.
To distract myself from his contact, I found companionship in the blustery sounds from outside. Accepting that peaceful sleep was unattainable, I finally turned on the light, maybe to wear myself out with preparations for the next day. I had given up on looking fresh-faced on my first day of work. Besides, there were only a few things a strong morning cup of coffee couldn’t fix—temporarily, at least.
A sudden boom of thunder stopped me in my tracks. I glanced toward the windows, lined with thick streaks of water. The glowing letters turned illegible, becoming nothing but fuzzy hues of red as the mist spread around them. The sky looked beautiful, but alien. I missed home, with its calm, constant rain. Nothing like this sudden storm.
San Diego had issued a flash flood warning—an unusual occurrence in a city known for its sunshine. To me, living in the rain was second nature. Here, it was a life-changing force, bringing iridescent colors to areas that had remained golden and dry for years. Rain in this new city was a reason to rejoice, but I couldn’t relate to its residents’ happiness. I was hopeful, at most.
To make use of the time, I searched my wardrobe for a suitable outfit and found a French blouse for the following day. My grandma had ironed it before my move. Running my fingers down the velvety-soft fabric made me homesick, but I knew she was proud of me for coming here. She’d always been my biggest cheerleader, except for Grandpa who’d passed away years ago. To complement the shirt, I dug up a shiny black pencil skirt from a pile in the shape of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I didn’t have much shelving space yet, so all my clothes were in a single built-in cabinet. The pile wavered and toppled, not unlike my earlier life in Seattle.
As I stretched my outfit over the bed, I wondered if the simplicity of the clothing would be to Ms. Hart’s taste. Would I ever fit into the world of glamor she embodied? I hoped to make a great impression on my first day, especially because my relationship with her would determine whether my move to San Diego would be permanent. Everything I’d read of Amanda Hart on the internet warned against taking this opportunity for granted. Despite my fears, I was determined to build something new and worthwhile in San Diego. I’d always had great ambitions, and it was to my detriment that I’d let James distract me from them. The more preoccupied I had been with helping him, the further away I had gotten from my dreams. It was time to find them again.
A ding from my phone interrupted my thoughts. I glanced at my outdated cell, yet another consequence of my unwise decision to date him.
Sorry, Lucie. I’ll always wish the best for you, but I deserve happiness, too.
It surprised me that he was still trying to write, but maybe it was an attempt to salvage his ego. Ignoring him was no longer satisfying. I, too, had things to say.
You hurt me. My fingers slid over the keys as I released some of my pain. The grief felt like molten lava gushing out of me. It wasn’t easy to forget. It wasn’t easy to forget what we used to be.
We just clicked. What was I supposed to do? Tell you the second I slept with her? His response made my stomach churn. He had to be drunk and angry to talk to me like this. It didn’t matter what I remembered of us anymore. This new reality, him not being on my side, was becoming ordinary. James had a more sinister side, a side that had surfaced only when we’d broken up. I wondered if it had always been part of his character, but my naivety meant I just hadn’t seen it.
It wasn’t love that we had, James, I typed in frustration. It certainly wasn’t my definition of it. Our exchange was growing more emotional and hostile. I didn’t like the frustration he brought out of me.
Stop telling me that I never loved you because the universe put something cool in my life for once, and it wasn’t you. There’s always fault on both sides, Lucie.
He didn’t even know how to apologize without defending himself.
You need to understand I didn’t try to hurt you, he texted seconds later.
Despite the bitterness exchanged, he’d softened his last message. We’d built a connection in three years that was hard to sever. I suspected I’d have traces of him stuck in me like shrapnel for the rest of my life. I couldn’t erase those times, but I was going to move on. I suspected that deep down, James knew he’d made a mistake with Andrea. Whatever my gut feeling, though, it wasn’t tangible. The negative sentiments clashed with the deep love I used to feel. We used to be in such harmony that it felt, turns out falsely, unbreakable. His smile had become a smirk in my mind. James just didn’t admire me the same way anymore, and I saw him as a person capable of hurting me more than I could ever accept in a relationship.
Silence fell. I should have been glad it was over, but for the most part, I felt a throbbing heartache. I couldn’t rest, so I decided to spend the remainder of the night unpacking the rest of my luggage. I already knew what I’d find there—the box of my most cherished items from him—a timeworn shoebox that contained memorabilia of our relationship. It was impossible to throw it away before I moved. It represented everything good that had ever happened to me. I spread its contents out on the carpet for one final glance.
Among the box’s items, I found our photos from the Seattle Great Wheel, then the CD he’d made for me during my freshman year of college. On it, he’d recorded the piano song that he’d composed for me while I studied abroad in France. Amidst the other things, tucked inside a velvet pouch, was a silver ring in the shape of a heart. He’d given it to me as a promise ring, but I’d stomped on it during an argument. The heart never quite returned to its original shape, no matter how much I’d tried to bend the tiny wires. Did I hate myself more for breaking it, or him for getting me so furious that I’d destroyed it in the first place? He never forgave me for it, because it was a promise ring. We’d gotten into a terrifying argument that I didn’t want to think about, and James perhaps didn’t even remember.
Could I have helped him see the light at the end of his addictions? I had my faults, but I had tried my best to be there for him. Alcohol and drugs destroyed us, but I never foresaw another girl in our story. Andrea was wild, and she let him be who he wanted to be. I’d made the same mistake as countless other people: thinking I could change him. Abuse is never acceptable, Ms. Hart’s voice echoed in support. She’d given me a chance to embrace a new path, and I so badly wanted to deserve it.
On impulse, I grabbed the box, opened my apartment door, and rushed into the pouring rain toward the dumpsters in the back alley. I had a simple objective. Hopeful for whatever awaited me in my new home, I flung the box inside. Even if I wanted to return for it the next day, it would be submerged well below the rest of the trash. I wondered how something once so valuable could suddenly mean nothing to me, but it did. It had taken me this long, but the time it took to heal made it more meaningful. I drove thirteen hundred miles to dump it here and to find myself in the process.
Once the dumpster lid screeched shut, I went on to explore a well-lit alley that led me to a small communal area. Nobody was there at this time of the night, but I felt safe within the gated complex. The rain drenched me, washing away the loneliness, the misunderstandings, and all the cruelty of his words. In the distance, the Cortez letters, still visible in the mist, lit one by one, then flashed all at once. Their radiance spread across the night sky as it spun me closer to it, like a red thread of fate.
Lucie is starting over in San Diego, California after her ex-boyfriend’s addiction led to the end of their relationship. After her friend pushes her to try online dating, she connects with a mysterious man named Julian whose profile doesn’t reveal much–not even a clear photograph. Caught in a whirlwind romance after their first meeting, Julian is quick to claim Lucie as his own. Their chemistry is unmatched, but he hasn’t been completely honest with Lucie; he’s a high-profile billionaire with celebrity connections and gave her a fake name to conceal his identity. He initially wants to keep their relationship a secret, causing Lucie’s confidence to falter, but after he reveals their love publicly, she realizes that she underestimated his warnings. Her privacy isn’t the only thing in peril, and paparazzi aren’t the only ones chasing her.
While marketed as a dark romance, Julian’s Rose would be better classified as romantic suspense. The romance between Julian and Lucie is sweet and their intimacy is not explicit, nor does it explore dark or taboo acts. The dark themes are limited to the suspenseful aspects, such as someone stalking Lucie. Nonetheless, the love that grows between Julian and Lucie is heartfelt and magnetic. The main characters' development is well-crafted, and even minor characters like Bradley have depth. There are a few clues that lead me to wonder if this story is a fictionalized account of author Lucie Benton’s own life, such as the main character sharing the same name, the name of the magazine publisher in the book being similar to the novel’s publisher, and a claim in the synopsis that this is a “deeply personal story.” I would also wager that some inspiration was drawn from Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series based on the plot and a few easter eggs in the novel. I am very curious to find out whether one or both of these are true.
Julian’s Rose is a strong opener to a new series bearing the same name, especially as a debut. New adult and adult readers of contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and love triangles will enjoy this story of navigating a relationship under public scrutiny and enduring love despite separation.