Contempt

Contempt is a brilliant and unsettling work by one of the revolutionary masters of modern European literature. All the qualities for which Alberto Moravia is justly famous--his cool clarity of expression, his exacting attention to psychological complexity and social pretension, his still-striking openness about sex--are evident in this story of a failing marriage. Contempt (which was to inspire Jean-Luc Godard's no-less-celebrated film) is an unflinching examination of desperation and self-deception in the emotional vacuum of modern consumer society.

I had a plan to get through senior year. Get good grades, stay busy with clubs, don't forget to carve out time for Mom and Hannah, and most importantly, stay far, far away from Landon Atwater. That plan collapsed at the end of summer when my mom announced her surprise engagement... to Landon's father. Now, I have to live with the jerk who has spent years tormenting me. At school, I could make sure we weren't in the same classes and turn the other way if I saw him in the halls, but avoiding him gets a lot harder when I'm living in his seaside mansion. Especially because he doesn't want to be avoided. Landon has always loved taunting and controlling me, but now he has the ultimate advantage and he's not afraid to use it. Landon is the chaos machine that could blow up this newly minted family-and my mom's chance at happiness-and, unfortunately for me, he knows I won't let him. I was prepared to be on my guard at school, but I didn't plan to spend senior year avoiding capture in my own home. Unfortunately, it seems Landon has a plan of his own. And no lock on my bedroom door is going to keep him from accomplishing it. Contempt is book three in the Coastal Elite series! Readers first meet Parker and Landon in book two, Undertow. Contempt is intended for a mature adult audience, and anyone requiring trigger warnings is urged to read the author's note at the beginning of the book.

I had a plan to get through senior year. Get good grades, stay busy with clubs, don't forget to carve out time for Mom and Hannah, and most importantly, stay far, far away from Landon Atwater. That plan collapsed at the end of summer when my mom announced her surprise engagement... to Landon's father. Now, I have to live with the jerk who has spent years tormenting me. At school, I could make sure we weren't in the same classes and turn the other way if I saw him in the halls, but avoiding him gets a lot harder when I'm living in his seaside mansion. Especially because he doesn't want to be avoided. Landon has always loved taunting and controlling me, but now he has the ultimate advantage and he's not afraid to use it. Landon is the chaos machine that could blow up this newly minted family-and my mom's chance at happiness-and, unfortunately for me, he knows I won't let him. I was prepared to be on my guard at school, but I didn't plan to spend senior year avoiding capture in my own home. Unfortunately, it seems Landon has a plan of his own. And no lock on my bedroom door is going to keep him from accomplishing it. Contempt is book three in the Coastal Elite series! Readers first meet Parker and Landon in book two, Undertow. Contempt is intended for a mature adult audience, and anyone requiring trigger warnings is urged to read the author's note at the beginning of the book.