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Aurora Realm Fairy Tales #1

The Beast and I, Vol. 1: The Man Behind the Beast

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Dark. Magical. Powerful. Beastly.
Aslan McTavish is the Magical Beast King who rules the Forbidden Forest, one of the nine kingdoms in the Aurora Realm.


My name is Lilly, and I have lived in the basement of a manor all my life with my beloved mother, working away like a pair of slaves for the people who live in comfort upstairs. After my mother’s death, I am told that I am to be sacrificed to the magical beast who rules the forbidden forest, in return for the village’s protection, wealth, and prosperity.

Refusing to resign myself to my fate, I plan to escape, only to be caught again by none other than the beast himself, whose demonic mask and beautiful green eyes both frightens and fascinates me.

Now that there is no way out, I beg the beast to spare my life. When he easily agrees, I am pleased, but that is short-lived when he tells me, “I will not kill you, my sweet, but I will have your beautiful body to my every command. I will have your nectar whenever I desire.” It seems that now I am to be his cuddling companion.

Thus, begins story of the Beast and I.

Author Note: The Beast and I is an alternative retelling of the beloved fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, set in the Aurora Realm, where paranormal creatures reside, magical power and technology go hand in hand, and love is a forever thing.

The Beast and I is intended for adult readers only. The story is published in serialized volumes.

218 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 6, 2018

247 people are currently reading
466 people want to read

About the author

Alexia Praks

53 books635 followers
Alexia is a self-proclaimed hermit, puppers-loving girl who likes to write anything romance—be it contemporary, historical, fantasy, paranormal, or a combination of any of these. Currently residing in Aotearoa (land of the long white cloud), she spends seventy percent of her time watching anime and reading comics and the other thirty percent daydreaming about food and procrastinating. Whatever’s left she actually uses to write books that may or may not bring her a few precious gold coins to support her lifestyle.

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5 stars
97 (26%)
4 stars
84 (23%)
3 stars
96 (26%)
2 stars
54 (14%)
1 star
33 (9%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
Profile Image for Lila.
901 reviews197 followers
December 8, 2021
Very disappointed in this book!

I have read a lot of other works by Alexia Praks and I usually love them. This was horrendous, bordering on appalling.

It was incredibly childish and unconvincing. It felt as if it was written by a 15-year-old with no talent for writing.

I'm sorry, I expect a lot better from you, Alexia.
Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews126 followers
Want to read
July 3, 2020
🎁 FREE on Amazon & on iBooks today (7/3/2020)! 🎁
Profile Image for Moony (Captain Mischief) MeowPoff.
1,685 reviews149 followers
December 31, 2022
DNF 30%

It was my first book by this author and I had a hard time getting through it. The sex scenes were awkward and annoying.. I couldn't get past the fact that Lily had no idea what any of it was.. And kept questioning everything.. And it was so much "thing" and "womanhood" I could take.
Profile Image for Erin.
399 reviews
November 4, 2020
If there was a way to give this story a negative star rating I would.
The whole thing was a confusing fusion of fairytale and urban fantasy. If felt schizophrenic with its inability to be either modern or a fairytale fantasy story. All the mentions of Bras, Burgers and hairdryers really pull you from the supposedly fantasy setting.
But however this story’s worst offence is the romanticisation of sexual assault. Lilly’s character is naïve to the extreme and agrees out of a want to survive not because she was agreeing and CONSENTING to the act. Even later it is not properly explained to her what she’s agreed to and she is basically manipulated into the “relationship”.
This story was poorly written, but I have seen this story done right. If you’re looking for a fairytale, retelling or just some fun fantasy reading with fairytale elements you are better off reading things like ‘Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon’ by Kerrelyn Sparks or the Once Upon a Spell series (I highly recommend Bk 1 ‘Beauty and the Beast’) by Vivienne Savage.

There was a way to tell this story and this WAS NOT it.
Profile Image for Punkin.
983 reviews
November 7, 2020
??

That was it??!!! She was so childish literally. I just ... Blah. . . . . . . . .
16 reviews1 follower
November 3, 2018
Hey hai alexia😊thanks for replying.completed reading vol1.it's unique story and I loved it really amazing and can't wait to read all vol's. 😍❤👍
Profile Image for shannon  Stubbs.
1,959 reviews12 followers
January 13, 2022
Not bad

At first I wasn't sure I was going to like the story. As it went along it got better. It still left a few things unanswered like who was her mother? It had plenty of plot holes and steamy scenes just the way I like it.
25 reviews
October 29, 2018
Very good one!

I always love to read the stories of your books. They are enchanting. When will the part 2 will be released?Your updates are always very slow. If you are gonna take years again to finish the series, it will be best if I wait till you complete it.
Profile Image for Anna McFarland .
464 reviews1 follower
July 8, 2020
Book 72 The Beast and I by Alexia X
No new title
Author X
Rating 3/5
Summary: Lilly has been locked away in the basement her whole life. When she turns 18 the villagers make her a sacrafice for the beast. She soon finds herself living in the enchanted castle with the beast and his servents.
What I thought of it: This story was like a mixture of Beauty and the Beast and the Phantom of the Opera with a twist. Lily is locked away in a basement by her father and grandfather ( why because her mother was not of noble blood so stupid). She then becomes a sacrafice to the the beast. However, he takes an interest in her (a sexual one) I think what I like about this story is that the writing style portays Lillys innocence and how sheltered she was. For example, she thought sex meant cuddling like when her mother would cuddle her. Kind of creepy. And how she doesnt even know what panties or bras are. ( I wanted to scream when she said a bra was confromtable and woman would say no to that) but what made the story not so beilvable of innocence is when Lilly could name the diffrent types of wood and know what things in the room are yet she didnt know how to brush her teeth or what a lot of food was. Since she read a lot of history books I dont see how she would know what mahogony is. The ending took me by surpise. I thought when Aslan took the mask off he would reveal a scar or something. Instead he actually turns into a beast. The only way he can look human is if he wears a mask. I think this book shows that even looks and apperences can be devecing but its the heart or the person that matters .
Profile Image for Sarah.
262 reviews2 followers
May 15, 2021
An interesting re-telling if a classic.

Lilly is naive and innocent when she's given as sacrifice to Aslan, the a forbidden forest Beast.

Her character develops a bit over the course of the book, but a lot of questions are left unanswered.

Aslan seems like a kind and benevolent king, however you don't get too know very much about him out his past.

Kind of anticlimactic, but overall enjoyable read.
Profile Image for Leslie.
2,112 reviews25 followers
December 15, 2020
Lily Might have the body of a woman, but psychologically, developmentally, she is still very much a child, and “The Beast” has no business having sex with her, especially since she doesn’t even know what’s actually happening!

I like that she doesn’t cure the curse, she just accepts him as he is.
Profile Image for Max  Pink.
328 reviews1 follower
November 2, 2022
1 Star

—Lily: I haven’t read a character this flat in a while. Someone so desperate to escape and have freedom is just immediately okay with being a beast’s prisoner interminably? I have no issue with a character with limited agency, but I need them to be a bit more than Just reactive. Also, she’s so sheltered that I’m a bit uncomfortable reading sex scenes with her. There is nothing sexy about her using the words “cuddle” “tummy” “panties” and “thing” (used to describe a penis). She’s never enthusiastically into what is happening to her. 3/10
—Aslan: A man who is 3000 years old and somehow incapable of having a coherent conversation. I know nothing about this man except he’s godawful at communicating with his sexual partner and is very controlling. 1/10
—Smut: Given Lily’s complete inexperience (and expressions of discomfort, concern, and fear) and Aslan refusing to speak plainly about things and also literally shushing her when she has questions…quite a few of these scenes read a bit rape-y. It gets better towards the end (when he decides to actually EXPLAIN WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE BACK 5TH OF THE BOOK), but none of this made me like our hero or want him with her. 1/10
—Plot: It’s kind of hard to have a plot when no one tells our protagonist what they are doing or why. When the end scene happened I literally said “Are you kidding me?” 1/10
—World: Lily’s village is bizarre to me. Why does the medieval-ish town just allow bigamy? Why is everyone super chill with sending a villager to their supposed death every few years? Generally, why the heck is everyone so mean? I get that we need to frame her being imprisoned in the magical world as a step up, but there are ways to do that without everyone being a cardboard villain.

And then we get to the magical world, which is a bizarre mix of cat people, modern technology (like showers, wifi, iPads) and, of course, magic. The benefit of this is that we get to see how much wonder Lily has with technology. Unfortunately, I possess no wonder with technology, so this did nothing for me. 4/10 sheerly for the bizarreness.
—I was either bored, annoyed, or uncomfortable throughout my entire reading experience.
—The audiobook narrator, Keira Grace, was pretty solid. Otherwise, I might not have finished it.
Profile Image for Chalice.
3,681 reviews111 followers
May 17, 2021
The couple: Aslan and Lilly

Romance genre: fairy tale retelling
Part of a series: Yes (Aurora Realm Fairy Tales)
Length: 218 pages

Plot: Lilly and her mother have lived in the basement of Lilly's father's home for years. Her mother is able to leave the basement only to work, and then she goes back. Finally, Lilly is able to leave when she turns 18, but only to be sacrificed to the beast in the forest. To her surprise, the beast, who is a horrible, devil-looking creature (at least his face - his body is that of a very attractive man), doesn't want to kill her - he wants to "cuddle" her. Poor Lilly is so naive and innocent that she thinks he's trying to cuddle her, when really he's trying to cuddle her, if you know what I mean. And he likes to cuddle. A lot. Aslan takes her back to his castle, where all the people are so excited to see her. She is "his beauty" and reading between the lines, it seems she might be there to break a curse, hm? He eventually wins her over, just like in the fairy tale, but this story ends with the revelation that .

Character development: The characters were extremes - cuddle-hungry beast and extremely sheltered beauty. What was really interesting to me, though, was the juxtaposition of the worlds. Lilly was from a backwards village with no technology. Aslan is from a realm that has all the same modern technology and amenities as our world does. It's a little strange, especially every time someone in the realm talks about this normal stuff like hamburgers or certain clothing, and Lilly is like "wow, magic." So the world building needed a little cleaning up, I think.

Next book in the series: The Magic of the Aurora Light
1,271 reviews23 followers
August 5, 2021
The retelling of the Beauty and the Beast in an adult format where a girl who has been a slave to the people above her is now to be sacrificed to a beast who has promised the town prosperity in return for the sacrificial offering.

She tries to escape from the beast but is captured and makes him promise not to eat her. He does but wants her body anytime he wants. She is naive in the ways of man and so he shows her what he can do to her body to bring them both pleasure and how and what she can do to his body to bring pleasure to both of them as well.

There is so much that can be explored here and in this new kingdom and answers we’d like to know about Lily’s past- who her mother really was and who she really is as well! Those questions are left unanswered at present but hopefully this story will be revisited so we can get answers to those most important questions. Can Lily break the curse over the Forbidden Kingdom and Aslan in particular and even to her friends who have characteristics of cats or foxes in their faces. Are they all under the same curse and can it be removed?

I recommend this book for those who like an adult treatment to time old fairy tales. It shows beauty isn’t skin deep but is reflected in who that person is in his or her dealings with others.

I look forward to continuing this story at a later date.
Profile Image for Raven Lancaster.
53 reviews
April 17, 2022
No resolution. It just ends in the middle.

This story had such potential to be a great retelling of Beauty and the Beast if the author had followed through until the end. Instead she just ends with Lilly finding out what Aslan looks like without the mask. There's questions raised that never get answered, like how did he get to be that ,way? Is it a curse? Maybe a blessing because it's hinted things were bad before the enchanted rose. Why is the Aurora realm so vastly different? Why is Lilly so strong in magic and how does she know so many languages? None of these questions get answered. The story just gets chopped off like the author was bored or didn't know how to tell the rest. It was extremely disappointing in the end, but had been good all the way up to leaving us hanging. There's absolutely no mention anywhere in the book where it lists other books by the author of a sequel that tells the rest of the story.
Profile Image for Keri.
44 reviews1 follower
May 7, 2019
In this sweet and sexual retelling of Beauty and The Beast, Alexia did a fantastical job of creating the Forbidden Forest Kingdom where our hero and heroine have to face adversities from their past, present and future.

A strong start to the series where the storyline unfolds at a 'absolutely engaging and page-turning' pace. I loved the unique aspect - concept of Qi - behind the magic of the Aurora Realm. The story is full of sadness, love, magic intertwining with the mystery of Lilly and Aslan's past.

Their story would have been that much better if their cuddling came after they had gotten to know each other better and for Lilly to feel safer with Aslan. But I did like how they bonded throughout the story Swooooon~
Profile Image for BurgendyA.
390 reviews26 followers
February 28, 2021
This book was a really cute romance fantasy. Definitely had its touch of the erotics in between scenes with Lily & King Aslan McTavish  of the Forbidden Forrest. Oh by the way Lily is the Belle character in this adult fairy tale. This story is worth reading and author spins this adaptation beautifully. After I was done reading this book it left me wanting to read more. This is the first book that I've read from Alexia A - Alexia Praks. I know that I will follow the series since that's how great & intriguing the first novel was.

So I rate this book with two thumbs up and five stars. I would recommend anyone to read the book or listen to the audio book. I've done both and loved it so much. I am so glad that my friend Daisy recommended this book to me.
338 reviews14 followers
July 29, 2022
O mare țeapă! În general nu-mi repovestirile, dar mi s-a părut interesantă ideea unui shifter pe post de bestie. Sunt foarte dezamăgită: lumea ei este în Evul Mediu, lumea lui are toate facilitățile moderne, pornind de la pastă de dinți, uscător de păr, termos la Wi-Fi! Toate prin magie. Și, desigur, minister de finanțe și minister al muncii. El vorbește ca un golan și râde ca prostul, ea pare o gasculita prostuța care confirmă bancurile cu blonde. Un fel de 'hai cu prostul să-ți dau proasta'. Nici un fel de explicație despre cum a ajuns el bestie, nici un cuvânt despre ce se întâmplă după ce ea îl vede ca lup. Am zis deja că a fost țeapă, da? :(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for alcreads (Aila).
104 reviews1 follower
October 25, 2020
CAUTION: Dub-con

I’ve had this one on my Kindle for quite some time and since I was in the mood to.read some steamy fantasy romance, I picked this one up.

Indeed, there was some steam, however, I just can’t look past the mild dubious consent from Lilly. She has been sheltered too much; she barely knows anything, so she just caves in to her 'primal' instincts. I got quite uncomfortable reading the steamy scenes.

Also, the system of Forbidden Forest wasn’t really for me. It's basically just a futuristic/tachnological fantasy world.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Virgen Literaria.
61 reviews
August 5, 2025
Honestly I am very concerned Lilly doesn't know what sex is and it purpose until almost the End, AND the fact the whe she's like calm she clearly states she doesn't want to feel how her body biologically reacts she Aslan is "cuddling" her make it worse! And also, no one respects her because she's her but because she's "Lord Aslan's beauty" pisses me off. And and it's so weird the mix of modernism with fantasy. I read this because it's supposed to be the precuel of The Magic of the Aurora Light (I haven't read it yet) but I don't think it adds anything interesting.
Profile Image for Maria do Socorro Baptista.
Author 1 book27 followers
December 20, 2021
Uma clara reescritura do clássico A Bela e a Fera, de uma forma que não me agradou muito. Por mais que eu ame fantasia e contos de fadas, a forma como a relação entre a fera e a bela se dá neste narrativa não me parece correta. Quando alguém é ingênua o suficiente para não saber o que são relações sexuais, mesmo que já tenha acima de 18 anos, ser seduzida e colocada na posição em que se encontra a jovem Lily não passa de uma violência disfarçada.
Profile Image for Scholastic Squid.
498 reviews1 follower
August 7, 2022
This book exists.
I’m unsure how I feel about it.

I’m not sure I liked the magical world compared to the village outside the realm. Also, I’m not sure the point of a lot of what happened? And then the ending just ended? I get that she’s like a child in a new world but why would she have learned several languages for no reason???
Profile Image for Damita Perez.
546 reviews3 followers
May 2, 2025
A dark, romantic twist on Beauty and the Beast, The Beast and I follows Lilly, a servant girl sacrificed to a mysterious forest creature. What begins as a tale of fear and survival evolves into one of emotional connection and self-discovery. With a rich atmosphere, a hauntingly tender romance, and a strong heroine, this story captivates from beginning to end.
266 reviews1 follower
October 28, 2020
Excellent

An excellent reimagining of Beauty and the Beast. I’m a huge fan of the Grimm fairytales, not the Disney versions!!
This had all the dark and dirty that truly brought the original stories to life.
270 reviews5 followers
June 9, 2021
Very Enchanting Storyline

This book is definitely geared towards 18+ readers. The author did a fantastic job on creating a moving and loving story that will capture the hearts of many!
113 reviews9 followers
September 19, 2021
What a fun little alt fairy tale! Spicy sex, adorable innocence, just a nice little escape. Note, the female lead is entirely sheltered, but that's part of the story. The writing can be a little repetitive, but not poor editing, just style.
Profile Image for Tami Winbush.
Author 3 books29 followers
August 3, 2022
A 3.5 if the truth be told

The way the young girl's naivety was portrayed was rather annoying at times but it was cute nonetheless. Remove the rather rated R scenes and this would be a good children's fantasy book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews

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