Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast

by Kelsey Josephson

Author of strange steampunk and inverted fairy tales, Kelsey Josephson's stand-alone fairy-tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in a fantasy world with steam-powered airships, sentient automatons, and slow-burn romance.

An unconventional beauty, a tormented beast, and the ether that binds their fate…

After her own father sells her to the Ringmaster, Belle thinks she’ll spend the rest of her days performing strongwoman stunts until she succumbs to her ether-poisoning, a deadly condition that has disfigured her appearance and given her unnatural strength. A chance encounter with a beast by her solitary campfire changes everything.

With fractured memories of the horrific experiments that transformed his body, Beast’s only desire is to escape his creator. When he encounters the camp of the Circus Illume, a strange but kind woman awakens what’s left of his humanity...and unwittingly leads to his capture.

Belle hatches a daring escape plan to free them both, but freedom is fragile. With both the Ringmaster and Beast’s creator pursuing them, Belle and Beast must learn to trust strangers and the complicated desires of their hearts.

Genres: Steampunk, Fantasy

466 pages, Hardcover

Published November 16, 2023

About the author

Kelsey Josephson is a sci-fi fantasy author and member of SFWA and ALLi from the Midwest. She has a deep love for Universal Monster movies, all things related to Nikola Tesla, and iced coffee.

Her work includes Strange Happenings, a gaslamp fantasy series set in an alternate timeline, and Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast, which was an Ongoing Serial Finalist in the Laterpress 2022 Genre Fiction Contest.

Reviews

[Josette Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully written re-telling of Beauty and the Beast. I loved the steampunk element. The description of the airships was so good that I could imagine them flying through the sky. The battle scenes were harrowing and I was never sure who was going to win. Belle’s story was so sad. How horrible to be sold for some coins and then turned into a circus act. Being a circus act was bad enough but to be exposed to such horrific abuse, no wonder she longed for escape. the meeting between Belle and Beast was such a good way for them to meet. This book was filled with friendship, love, sacrifice, danger, despair and triumph. Definitely read this book.

[Nita · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Arc Review*

Steampunk and Beauty and The Beast retelling mashup! This is by far one of the most unique Beauty and The Beast retellings I've read to date. Belle and Beast have the most pure and sweet relationship. They truly had to fight for the happy to the very end. The only reason this wasn't a 5 star read for me is the last 20% of the book kind of dragged a bit too much.

[Joseph Lau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is loosely based on Beauty & the Beast (as the name would imply) but done on a faraway planet, in a steampunk universe.
The similarities between Beauty & the Beast and this book end quickly. Beauty is a circus “strong woman”, sold by her father to the circus ringmaster, and Beast is a creation of freak science. They come together through necessity, and bond as they seek to live free, as people.
The author puts a number of interesting spins on the traditional tale. Often in fiction, “based on…” is code for telling the same story, but changing a variable (such as location, or time period). This is a deep re-imagining, staying true to the bizarre science we enjoy in steampunk.
The characters are riveting – while Beauty and Beast are the protagonists, there is an enjoyable group who help them along the way. Romantic but without gratuitous sex, it’s clean for younger audiences. Originally a Kindle Vella, it’s a good book-length story.

[PAR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kelsey Josephson is an author of rather strange steampunk and inverted fairy tales. This novel is a stand-alone fairy-tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in a fantasy world with steam-powered airships, sentient automatons, and slow-burn romance.

An unconventional beauty, a tormented beast, and the ether that binds their fate. First Belle's father sells her to the Ringmaster, Belle thinks she’ll spend the rest her days performing strongwoman stunts until she poisoned to her ether, a deadly condition that disfigured her appearance and given her unnatural strength. She was left alone, cast from the circus, no longer the beautiful strongwoman. A chance encounter with a beast by her solitary campfire changes everything. Kelsey Josephson is an author of rather strange steampunk and inverted fairy tales. This novel is a stand-alone fairy-tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in a fantasy world with steam-powered airships, sentient automatons, and slow-burn romance.

With fractured memories of the horrific experiments that transformed his body, Beast’s only desire is to escape his creator. When he encounters the camp of the Circus Illume, a strange but kind woman awakens what’s left of his humanity...and unwittingly leads to his capture.

Belle hatches a daring escape plan to free them both, but freedom is fragile. With both the Ringmaster and Beast’s creator pursuing them, Belle and Beast must learn to trust strangers and the complicated desires of their hearts. This is the times in which they must learn to build their love, they must become a team. mates. I enjoyed this novel and would love to read the next in line. leaves you will so much to think about. One of those that will fill your gut and build you as a person, while having fun doing it. I received this novel from SoryOrigin. This is my true and honest review

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If the main characters weren't named Belle and Beast, I don't know that I would have pegged this as a Beauty and the Beast retelling. That said, it does embrace many of the quintessential elements of the traditional tale including the rose garden, an incredible library, and a slow-burn unexpected romance. The steam punk element was done beautifully and completely captured the essence and magic of that genre complete with airships, a fantastic fair, and a brilliant automaton.

One of the key things that set this story apart from most Beauty and the Beast retellings was the airship captain they stumbled on, her sweetie, the mayor of a quirky small town and brilliant inventor in her own right, and the deliciously evil villains. I loved the way Belle's past, the mayor's past and their current predicament all twisted together with the villains to make an incredible intriguing story. Very well done. What could have felt forced flowed naturally as the tension and danger built, and the clocked ticked down. Belle being the mechanically minded strong-woman while Beast preferred to create in the kitchen was a fun twist too.

[Jim Collett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This steampunk romance uses elements of the classic beauty and the beast tale, along with elements from the island of Doctor Moreau. Both of the main creatures have been deformed by evil (Belle by work in the ether mines and Beast transformed from a human for unknown reasons). The tale has plenty of steampunk elements and a number of exciting encounters. It is free of excessive violence, though there are elements of pain and torture. The romance at the heart of the story is a frustrating one for the characters for much of the tale. Will Belle and Beast ever find safety and happiness? Read the tale to find out.

[TaniaRina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so much a retelling as a re-imagining
The author picked out elements of the beloved folk tale then tinkered with them until we have a re-worked version.

Some sage advice from the author:
Seek out the Beauty in every Beast.
Don’t let your gifts lead you off the path of morality and into the downward spiral of greed.

Fave line:
If you’re going to full-name me, at least add the ‘Captain’.


We need to get our butts in gear and start treating the earth and each other with proper respect – before the automatons take over!

[Raynbow Corleone · Rating 4 out of 5]

**ARC Review… ** Thank you @authorkelseyjosephson 📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚I fell for this book before reading it because I LOVE STEAMPUNK! So, to be able to read a book that would give Beauty and the Beast a retelling with Steampunk involved I was for it. Now this is not your typical Beauty and the Beast but hold on tight because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The description of places and things are always fantastic. For me it did take a minute to get hooked but once in, it was a wrap! I adored this book! Thank you again 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will grab hold of you in an unexpected way. I wasn’t completely prepared for the character development of this story but in the end enjoyed reading the story. In the beginning I admit I was confused but as the story unfolded I understood and found myself rooting for the characters to find their ‘magic potion’ that would heal them and help them feel as though they fit in
It was nice seeing them find love in the unexpected way.
This isn’t a typical read for me, however, I did enjoy it.
Contains romance, intrigue, peril & healing

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The basic story of this story is something I always go for. The steampunk characters and airships and mad science even better. The execution from serial to novel needed more editing a lot more editing not just in mistakes that made it into print but in rhythm and pacing and unneeded side quests.
I didn’t hate it but I’m glad I’m done reading it.

[Lynn Bloch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this steampunk retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Belle is not the beauty we all remember from the original. She is tough and willing to fight for those she loves. You are transported to this magical world and into Belle’s and Beast’s adventure along the way. This book is lovely and well written.

[Theplacesihavebeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really well written. It was original and entertaining. It had a few elements that I personally would rather not read. However, I still enjoyed reading this story and was engaged all the way to the end! This book contains some sensuality, and there is a close door scene near the end. It also contains LGBTQ characters (the minor characters seen most often).

[Rikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

For me I had a hard time getting into this book. For me it is a DNF. I love the tale of Beauty and the Beast and have enjoyed reading some reinvented telling of it. But this one just did not keep my interest. I will say for what I did read of it, it was beautifully written.

[BookWorm8503 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Beauty and the Beast retellings, so I definitely had to read this one. Wonderfully done, great characters, and interesting concept. I wasn't sure going in, but I was hooked fairly quickly. Not quite your typical Belle and Beast.

[Rachel Arthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t read a story like this before and it was so good! I loved The beauty and the beast when I was a kid and this is like the grown up version with a twist lol. I loved Belle and Beasts dynamic, seeing their characters and relationships grow. They were so sweet together ❤️

[Dayna Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly could not finish this book. It has a good idea behind it but it was too laggy for me to complete. The writing itself wasn't bad, but it just didn't capture my attention. It wasn't the book for me. But I hope others found it entertaining.

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took a bit for me to get into this story. Then as I progressed, I got hooked! It’s well written & leaves you guessing! I enjoyed the retelling of the Beauty & the Beast that I grew up on. I enjoyed every twist & turn.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was highly interesting and awesome. I would recommend it to anyone,who likes retellings.

[Divya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting steampunk style retelling of beauty and the beast. I really liked Belle's character and her interactions with the etherbeast was nicely done. An entertaining story.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly love the relationship between Belle and Beast, but my favourite parts were the side characters! Captain Charity and Maureen especially.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great characters, som exciting scenes, and some parts that dragged

[Joan Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank You Kelsey Josephson

A Delightful Quick Short Story. It has a lot of potential to make an interesting Novella.