Barbie & the Beast

by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

A Hairy SituationBarbie Bradley was swept off her feet--literally. One moment the twenty-something was traversing Forest Lawn Cemetery in the dead of night with her best friend, the next she was thrown like a sack of potatoes over a man's shoulder. True, she and Angie had come to this odd locale for a singles party, but this wasn't quite how she'd planned to get picked up.Hello, Dolly!Darin Russell found "Ms. Right" at work, which was surprising because girls in the cemetery were usually a tad, in a word, stiff. Not that this one couldn't stand to loosen up. She seemed particularly sensitive about being named after the Mattel toy, and before he popped the question he had to know how she'd react to his furry little secret. You see, though he had a tuxedo and a Porsche, he had more in common with the residents of the Miami Zoo than Ken. And if things went according to plan, Barbie was going to see his animal side.

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Romance, Shapeshifters, Werewolves, Contemporary

320 pages, Paperback

First published February 13, 2009

About the author

Linda is the author of contemporary, paranormal romance, and urban fantasy books for Kensington, Amazon Montlake, GothicScapes, Harlequin Nocturne, and Harlequin Desire. She loves more than anything to write, and has a resident Muse who loudly sings all these stories to her.

Linda swears that all of her books come loaded with good karma for the readers, for helping to support her writing dreams.

You can see all of Linda's books at:
www.lindathomas-sundstrom.com

and interface at

http://www.facebook.com/LindaThomasSu...

Reviews

[Morgan Faulkner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm the first here to speak about this book (it's not released until March 31) because I got to read an advanced copy for a library review site. I wanted to pass this information along because this book is truly f-u-n. Pure, unadulterated, female frolicky fun.

Besides the adorable title which attracted me immediately (who wouldn't like to find out who someone named Barbie's beast might be?), the book is a fast paced read, and made me laugh right out loud in several spots. Also, it's very romantic.

I went to Linda's web site and saw that she also writes darker books that I will now read, for sure. I have to say, though, that I recommend this light-filled, make you smile book to ALL women, of all ages.

What have I learned from this book? That names and toys from my own youth still make me very happy, and the happiness they brought me will never be forgotten. And also, this book is a reminder of that thrilling moment when I first met my own Mister Right. All wonders.

Sincerely.
Morgan F

[Julie (jjmachshev) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Barbie & the Beast" is a sweet and silly romance about about a twenty-something girl who meets the perfect man...who turns out to be just a bit more than a man. If I were the publisher, I would have marketed this fun book by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom as a young adult paranormal romance. The romance is G-rated with no bad language or violence.

The downside for me was the lack of any type of relationship building. Her disbelief was normal, but her reactions after discovering the truth were not. Additionally, there was no 'maturing' on the parts of the lead characters. It really did feel like a book written for teens.

[Vroom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was torn between giving this a two and a three, as the book was reasonably (read "barely") enjoyable to read. But it's not a very good book. The writing is poor, the characterizations. For me, a three star passes a certain level of being a decent read (not a recommended or a superb read, but a decent one); this didn't pass muster.

There's Barbie, a borderline whiny heroine, who has to become irrational in order for the plot to work, and Darin (like the singer Bobby), with too-long hair, rippling muscles, and the most egregious case of "how to have a curse that varies from minute to minute" in any werewolf book ever. On one single moonlit night (he gets 3 per month), he sets up a late dinner date (9:00, seriously?) and spends time hopping into and out of his wolfish form.

The first sixty or seventy pages of the book, by the way, occur as our heroine WALKS ACROSS A FIELD. Not literary greatness by any means.

If you see it in the library and you're a fast reader? Sure, pick it up. Maybe you'll finish it, maybe not. But it's not quite worth the "buy" recommendation, even if you're on vacation and see it reasonably priced in a used book store, a situation which, for me offers far lower standards in reading than I usually go for.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cute lighthearted romance. If you love Dakota Cassidy you will adore this. She is much less urban than DC in the sense that the language and references wont be as dated in 10 years but still that smart, sassy humour. Two thumbs up.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book. It was a quick read and I liked the details.

[marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was totally adorable! A super fun, sexy and light heartened read! Just lovely.

[JJBMocha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, enjoyed it so much! I'm not sure who I loved more, Barbie, Darin or even her friend and mysterious Walter. By the way what is Walter ........well I had to ask :)

[Paranormal Romance · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps it was not the smartest idea for the heroine and her friend to get dolled up in short skirts and high heels and head out into the cemetery in search of a party but admittedly the heroine was always an act first thinks twice sort of gal. Expect, that is, when it came to men. Her ex was a liar and it seems that no good men resided in Miami so it's up to the heroine to wait and look out of Mr. Right. That night in the cemetery she is kidnapped by a very strong male who has a voice to melt the panties off any women within hearing distance. Perhaps she is crazy and maybe it's not normal to be sexually attracted to one’s abductor but what the heroine possesses is people skills... that and a very odd sort of personality. The man who has her tossed over his shoulder claims to be protecting her and because his voice is so damn sexy, she wants to believe him. She can't see him so she can't tell if that face matches the voice but she is instantly compelled to him like she's never been compelled to a male before. The hero is in the cemetery to live out the next 3 days of the full moon under the curse of being a werewolf. He never expected to find ' the one' in the cemetery or for her to be so damn adorable and quirky but he trusts his instincts and knows that she is very special. They meeting and subsequent conversation is certainly awkward and bizarre but at the end of the encounter the hero is desperate for the heroine to give him a chance to get to know her. The heroine first declines the offer then on a whim, tosses out her number for him to find. Then she regrets that decision, then she's waiting by the phone for his call. She's confused is what's happening. She wants so badly to have finally found a decent man but she's scared that things are going too fast and that she is being overwhelmed by desire. Their date is hot and heavy paired with their typical strange conversations and just when she's seriously debating letting him go all the way, he disappears. Now she sees him with a blonde (she hates blondes!), he's keeping secrets, acting weird (well, weirder than usual). The heroine is angry that she was fooled once again. Now the hero must come clean with her about what he is else risk losing the woman destined to be his.

I was charmed by this book at first. I found the awkward and very bizarre interactions between the heroine and hero to be funny. In particular I loved the heroines off beat personality that saw her repeatedly talk to herself and rattle on about things only privy to her private thoughts. She was very degrees of Barbie, i.e. Combat Barbie when angry. Sexy Barbie when she was down for what the hero was offering. And other facets of the doll brands. She was alas NOT blonde- I hate it when these cover artists don't bother to read the freakin book their designing for else they would know what while her name was Barbie she was a brunette. I liked the hero who while a bit more we'll say 'normal' regardless of the fact that he spent the majority of the book furry, was just a strange as she was. He talked to himself, he acted crazy in his attempt to just get the heroine to let him see her. He carried on those odd and drawn out conversations about nothing at all. I was enjoying this banter UNTIL, I began to see that it was leading nowhere. Nothing came of this and all those long drawn out conversations were in the end pointless. There was no tension to speak of unless to count the heroine’s indecision towards her relationship with the hero. There was no villain unless you could the brief and blind-and you-miss-it, vampire attack. Nothing of consequence happened to make these characters feelings grounded in reality. The book took place in under 3 days and by the end they characters were love. In love after one sort of date that ended with the heroine piss drunk and the hero escaping to turn furry. After a few hours of contact which towards the end was wrought with arguing because the heroine saw him with another woman. I just didn't believe it. I can't like a book with nothing which I can take away with me after reading it. Sure, this book had humor but it was skin deep. Shame.

[Lynda Tatad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the premise of the book... especially with how a brunette Barbie (so the cover is incorrect in depicting the main character) ends up at a graveyard with her best friend Angie looking for a singles party they were told about, and Barbie ends up being grabbed by the graveyard keeper Darrin Russel, who liked how her voice sounded.

Darin also has a little secret, on three nights of the full moon, he goes furry and hides out at the graveyard to keep his secret safe for those 3 nights. His voice turned Barbie on, too, and she couldn't believe that she wasn't afraid of this guy. I liked the 2 of them as a perspective couple, and I enjoyed some of the situations they had together.

What I didn't like was how much internal dialogue Barbie had with herself! She drove me nuts with how much was going inside her head... so there was too much thinking and not enough action in this story. I found myself skimming through a lot of that internal dialogue, because there was just too much of it! Enjoyed the ending, and it looks like Ang will have a story about her newfound relationship with "Walter" who was bachelor #2 in the Dating Game fundraiser she talked Barbie into doing. Don't know if I'll pick it up, especially if Ang is going to have the internal dialog thing happening as well.

[Linda Thomas-Sundstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi readers! This book was a top finalist in the American Title 3 contest from Dorchester Publishing and Romantic Times Book Reviews. It came out just when Dorchester Publishing was starting to have problems, and the book sat in their warehouse for a long time - until the recent demise of Dorchester altogether.

The book was just re-contracted in 2012 by Amazon's Montlake romance imprint, and has a new life! I am thrilled.

Yes, it's goofy, girly, frivolous paranormal romance fun, without a serious bone in its little body. So if you're looking for something totally light, and along those lines, I hope you'll give this one a try.

And though the book is not in print at the moment, (it's an eBook available at various sites) if you'd like to have one in print, please contact me through my website at:
http://www.lindathomas-sundstrom.com

Thanks and happy reading!
Linda

[Jacqueline J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story. It was light hearted and fun. I did think that some of the scenes were too long and therefore not a lot actually happened in the story. After all the first half of the book took place in 24 hours. There was one scene where she was drunk that lasted 50 pages (I counted). Some things were not explained as well as I would have liked. For example what was the deal with the spicy wine? It almost seemed as if it were drugged. But I just skipped over bits that didn't make sense and enjoyed the story for the light hearted fluff it was.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just plain fun. There was nothing deep or serious about the book--just a light-hearted, silly (in a good way!) romance with a paranormal side. I read it in one day! The main characters, Barbie and Darin, were endearing and I felt myself rooting for them to get together. If you're looking for a charming, easy-to-read love story, then I recommend this one.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took 200 pages of this book to make it through a chance meeting and then a first date. 200 pages. There were some cute, LOL moments, but ultimately there was so much inner dialogue to sift through that it didn't even out. The story itself was okay, but Barbie Bradley was a tiring character for me to read.

[Jae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barbie and her BFF, Angie, show up at a cemetery, having been told there's a party there where they can meet single guys. On the way, Barbie is scooped up and abducted by a large man with a sexy voice. He carries her away, much to Barbie's...delight? I don't know about you, but I'd have been screaming my head off and kicking, but I guess she thought it was simply an exuberant frat boy. Once she's returned (relatively) unscathed, Barbie and Angie agree to just go back to Barbie's apartment and eat Oreos. However, Barbie's girl parts are tingling, so she jots her phone number on a slip of paper and tosses it out of Angie's car as they're leaving.

When Darin inevitably calls, she tries to play coy at first, but then she agrees to meet him for dinner. Barbie ends up drinking too much and eating...I don't think she ate anything. Darin takes her home and pours her into bed, where the author then proceeds to devote about 20% of the book to elaborate foreplay (which goes nowhere) and Barbie's thoughts and feelings about it all.

Darin, who's on the verge of changing (and why he agreed to a date on the night of the full moon is anyone's guess) abruptly leaves, leaving Barbie confused and angry. She goes to the cemetery, where they first met, to confront him. It was about this time that I decided Barbie was so egregiously stupid that I could not believe she'd made it to adulthood. And she was a teacher! After stumbling around in the cemetery (and miraculously avoiding being murdered), Barbie sees Darin with a blonde and assumes the worst. Turns out it was his sister, but of course, we had a ways to go before he could explain and she accepted it. In the meantime, Barbie is all butt-hurt and leaves, refuses to speak to Darin, won't answer his calls, and yet is stupid enough to let Angie talk her into another boneheaded folly--this time, to go on a Dating Game of sorts at the local country club. Cue more misunderstandings, petty jealousy (Jealousy?! You only went out with him once!), a near-attack by a vampire, another trip to the cemetery, and good lord when is it going to end?

This was meant to be a lite, humorous paranormal romance, and on its surface, it was. I simply couldn't get past how dumb this woman was. Oh, but Darin made her tingle and spark and sizzle like no one else (she was a 24 year-old virgin, for the love of fudge--what did she have to compare it to?), and Barbie just couldn't stay away from him. Finally, when they got it on (in the cemetery, on the ground), the author glossed over it. Excuse me?! Aren't you the same person who wrote chapter after chapter of licking and nuzzling and touching and heavy breathing on their first date? Since I slogged all through this dreck, I should have been rewarded with a hot, explicit sex scene.

Sigh. The book was funny at times. The foreplay was hot. However, I just can't get past how naive and clueless the female lead was. Giving it two stars.

[John BAMFORD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blind date for the Millennium

I liked this version of beauty and the beast..
Barbie is beauty, Darin is Beast/Werewolf
Enjoyable fun and spooky .

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute, sweet romance with a hard to believe intro for this odd couple.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barbie Bradley was hoping to meet a single guy and even though she was a little reluctant to her best friend’s idea of trying a singles event at a graveyard, she figured she could at leave give it a try. But before she even makes it to the party she swept off her feet by a mysterious man, literally. I’ve got some mixed feelings about this story. I felt that sometimes some conversations or descriptions went on too long while other times things were glossed over and went too quick. A lot of times I also found myself questioning Barbie’s choices, they didn’t really seem believable. Besides that, I really did enjoy the humor in this story and thought this was a cute story. I may not be looking in the right spot, but I am hoping that there’s a companion story that tells of Barbie’s best friend and what she was getting up to during this story. Overall, I did enjoy the story and will continue to read Linda Thomas-Sundstrom for some funny, lighthearted paranormal romance.

[Rachael Davila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Linda Thomas-Sundstrom's light hearted paranormals. Barbie & The Beast delivered a fun story, where literally the heroine is swept off her feet by the hero. The characters were fun to read and I'm hoping Linda will write more about Angie. I had some trouble with all the description and in the head writing. But overall, I liked the story.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a crazy, light-hearted paranormal romance. It's fun and fast-paced and even frivolous at times, and yet ultimately the two people who meet up in this story have issues to face, and need the right person to face them with. Dating has never been so much fun. I laughed alot. Plus, who wouldn't want to meet this particular werewolf?

[Lucieisbigmuffin fisher]

it was so tuching [cry cry sob sob:] Barbie murders ken and its such a happy moment!!! no only someone who has all day sitting on a chouch oh waitttt thats meeeee oh no im going to do some sit-ups!!!!!

[Shh I'm reading! · Rating 1 out of 5]

Promising first couple pages and then it fell flat. They spent way to much time talking in the cemetery. By the time they actually made it to a date, I was over them. I stopped reading around 105 pages because the action never picked up.

[SheLove2Read · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started out OK but the farther along I got into it, the more it seemed to drag. The author I think wanted this to be a comic romance but it just didn't seem to hit the mark.

[Bunny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible book she gets so wasted on their first date she tries to sleep with him.

[Danyelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and ironic

barbie the doll is blonde and the size of a stick and the girl on the cover is to but the girl on the book is plus sized and dark haried lol

[MH · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deserves between two and three stars.

[Aqua Woodard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright. Had trouble getting into plotline and characters.

[Moonlight Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Please read our full review at www.moonlightreads.com.

[Tamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a cute story, but no where as good as I had hoped.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was very funny.