Before the Cursed Beast

The Before Fairy Tale Series #4

by Michelle Deerwester-Dalrymple

Sometimes our happily ever after isn’t what we expect.

My name is Salome, and I’ve lived with my magician guardian my whole life. Yet when my magical skills begin to emerge and appear more powerful than his own, his jealousy knows no bounds. He seeks to hide me away and banished me to the kitchens until he has a need for me.

In exchange for the opportunity to study under him once more, he makes me an offer – that I put a vague curse on a spoiled boy-king. If I do this, then I can once again resume my place by his side.

Only, the curse isn’t what I thought it would be. It is darker, more dire, and I hate that I am the cause of this handsome king’s misery. Instead of working joyfully beside my guardian, I vow to learn all I can, so that one day I might remove the king’s curse.

I do this out of guilt, but I also do it because I have fallen madly in love with this once-spoiled king. His kinder nature belies his beastly form. With his wolfish grin and gentle paws, he has stolen my heart. I will do anything to set him free from this curse. Anything.

I just need to keep this promise a secret from my guardian . . .

Or do I?

Discover this Beauty and the Beast fairy tale retelling today!

215 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 12, 2022

About the author

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Michelle is an author, college writing professor, mother, and wife living on the west coast. Follow her socials here: https://linktr.ee/mddalrympleauthor

This author also writes as M.D. Dalrymple
and Strawberry Chase

Reviews

[Arin Baur · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I was a little confused and upset I hate how her Guardian treats this young Woman! I thought he might be the guy she turns into a beast which in the case I don’t blame her I would too 😂 As I continue reading I fall in love with how the story gets and wish that Disney would make this part of the movie! It’s probably by far my favorite book in this series!! The author did a wonderful amazing job and I love the original beauty and the beast movie but after reading this book I want someone to make another version of the movie were it has this story in it and the young woman who started the curse gets a happy ending with the beast even if they make it a short story movie! By the way I feel the ending is bittersweet it had me close to tears happy/sad a little bit of both. If you liked the series before this book and are like me your love this one even more and won’t want to miss out with this one a keeper for sure!! .
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lauren Erzsebet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is emotional, heartbreaking, dramatic, powerful and unique.
Never before have I read a story that covers the actually curse on the royal that becomes the beast.
I loved that we can look deeper into why he was forced to live in pain and the backstory is fantastic.
I instantly felt sorry for Salome as she was tricked into changing someone's life possibly forever.
The evil man she assists is a cruel and self loving mage who doesn't like her progress in the magical world.
Faustin is devastated by the events that change not only him but those who served him.
My heart could never be whole after reading this and the utter despair Salome feels when she learns the truth.
A truly magical retelling that set my soul on fire and forced the tears from my eyes too easily.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Emily Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Salome and the King . . .

Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my most favorite stories, so this is a nice twist on that theme and I really liked it. Salome lived with a magician guardian who became outrageously jealous when his “student” has stronger magic that he does. But then he thinks of a way to trick her and make use of her skills by having her put a little curse on a boy-king who is spoiled, implying he deserves this. It was really a much darker curse the king has to suffer under.

Salome throws herself into studying under her guardian so that she can learn enough to remove that curse from the king. He is kind and gentle now, and she has fallen for him, beast and all. Will she be able to remove the curse? Will her guardian find out? And would ending the curse allow a future with the king, or is that just a hopeless dream?

[Jayne Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a creative and heartbreaking story! Adolphe was like a guardian to Salome who was teaching her magic. But when her skill reached a certain level, he changed into a controlling and degrading taskmaster. Promising her her heart’s desire, he tricked her into turning the new young king into a beast, literally. But the heart wants what the heart wants and she and the beast fell in love. This is a story about love. Loving someone enough to stand by them, and loving someone enough to set them free. It is a clever story wherein Adolphe gets what he deserves, and Salome does not. It is quick, attention grabbing and emotion evoking.
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I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[DeeDeeWReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me tell you, I LOVE a Beauty and The Best retelling story. This one was no different. I wasn't sure I was seeing where it was going in that aspect at first, but oh boy, when it did!!! We have magic, love, deception, and a tale as old as time here.

I don't want to give anything away, but you want to read this one. It brings what I would like to think is a little back story to our tale maybe. A 'what if this happened BEFORE' the tale we all know.

Keep an eye out, Before the Red Clock will be the next in this 'Fairy Tale' Reimagined series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Brenda Moser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great retelling of Beauty and the Beast but not in any way we were told before. It's a darker twisted version filled with magical spells, abuse, revenge, love and letting go. The author does a fantastic job pulling you into the story and had me glued to the pages right to the end. She brings strong characters and moves the story quickly and smoothly with her perfectly painted scenes. I loved this book and would highly recommend reading.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and freely given.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before the Cursed Beast by Michelle Deerwester-Dalrymple is a good, and enjoyable fantasy fairy tale retelling romance read of Beauty and the Beast. The story has a good story line. The characters are good, and they have good chemistry.
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I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Manisha Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beauty and the beast retelling story Romance. This book is a page turner storyline is wonderful and it's great characters are awesome this book is a definitely must read you will love reading this book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tonika Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENT. EXCELLENT. EXCELLENT. Salome made a great witch and I love this retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Debbie Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful fairytale retelling. The author has done an incredible job with the twists in this story, with the characters and with the retelling itself. It’s enjoyable, it’s entertaining and the characters have fantastic chemistry and I loved it!

[tburbr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another great addition to the series. I thought this was a great reimagining of a classic tale and I enjoyed this story very much.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mel's review of Before the Cursed Beast

My heart is broken. Salome and Faustin were great characters and I love them. But as the saying goes " if you love someone, set them free". This story proves this.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite fairy tales is Beauty and the Beast. This one a twisted retelling or reimagined story. It is an emotional and somewhat heartbreaking read that completely captivated me until the very ending. A spell with a loophole and a love that will never come of anything. Such a good read and definitely not what I was expecting but worth every minute of reading time.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this series. Although you may know the 'usual' version of this story, the author manages to tell the story from a different (but believable) perspective.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Beast’s First Beauty

Salome was the apprentice to a very powerful magician named Adolphe, and at first she had a young girl’s infatuation with her master. Adolphe was kind to her at first, or at least she thought that’s what it was, but before long his kindness turned to harsh words and long hours of thankless work. The gift of teaching her that he had been so free with at first, turned to rarely deigning lower himself to anything on her behalf anymore. The old man who cooked for Adolphe was the only one with soft words or kindness in her life at all, and she knew enough magic to keep the old man’s pains away and so they cared for each other. Old Souris treated her like the daughter he never had, and she treated him like the father she never remembered.

Adolphe tricked Salome into helping him to curse the new young king by telling her that the young King Faustin was spoiled and unworthy of his crown. Salome was so excited to be learning magic again, it never occurred to her to find it strange that he would choose to apprentice for such an important spell. Why would he use Salome when he wanted to curse a king?

It was Salome who delivered the curse, and somehow amazingly the spoiled young king stayed his hand from delivering blow of retribution when Salome returned and admitted that it was she who cursed him. King Faustin agreed that he had been a terrible and angry king, but that his entire castle had been cursed and that they did not deserve to be punished with him.

Salome finds that she can see through his beastly exterior to the kinder man beneath and falls in love with him.

This is a different sort of Beauty and the Beast story, but in a way, it’s the same story. That’s all I can say without this being one big spoiler, but it was a clever twist. I love the story of Beauty and the Beast, so I must read each and every incarnation of it that comes along. This was sort of a prequel.

[Sara Eames · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book in the "Before the..." series. In fact, this is the best so far. I thoroughly enjoy this series of books and look forward to reading more as they come out. Highly recommended

[Kat M · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was another great entry in the Before series, the author has a wonderfully done style with these fairy tales.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Judy Gittleson Hendrickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Salome was learning the spells from her guardian Adolphe, but she grew more powerful than he put her to a task that would destroy her. Recite a spell he found that would turn the young king into a beast. Salome and Faustin had fallen in love but it would not come to pass. Only someone else would be able to break the spell.
The characters are wonderful. The storyline is unique from the angle of the witch who cast the spell. Loved the chemistry and the magic. How she found Belle was interesting. The ending works right up to the start of the fairytale. I loved the story and I want that library. Well done.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Victoria Crockford · Rating 5 out of 5]

another twist

A fantastic take on how the beast was turned and a hidden love story. Once again, a gripping story from this author which I enjoyed beginning to end

[Sammi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever wondered how the beast was cursed and why. Or the backstory of the hag who cursed him. This shares the story of the beast from the perspective of the hag from before Belle appears, all the way back to when he was cursed.

I really love back stories of characters and even if this is not the true back story I love it all the same. There were some differences within the story but some answered questions that were begging to be answered.

It's a lovely short read for a Disney lover and there's a few other Disney stories in the book series.

[Sherryl Sants · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting perspective!

This is one of my favorite fairy tales. The author built up to the twisted ending in a very clever way!

[kortni.readsbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read books #1 or #2


This was a GREAT Beauty and The Beast retelling.
It is very dramatic, it's powerful, it's emotional.
This dark and twisted retelling will keep you turning pages.

[Tonia Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking, poignant, entertaining... Just a few words to describe this book. I loved this beginning tale of how the beast became the beast. I was sad and disappointed that Salome was created in such circumstances and forced to break her own heart but how else would we get the rest of the tale? I love the world this author created and love to hate the villain. The TRUE villain. But it definitely is now a favorite fairy tale.. though don't expect a HEA as one can't happen for the real tale to begin, now could it?

*I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review

[Michelle Deerwester-Dalrymple]

Sometimes, our happily ever after isn't what we think it will be.
A cursed beast . . .
A love story . . .
but her name isn't Belle . . .

Discover a world of twisted fairy tales that break all the rules we know about happily ever after!

[Deanna Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book! It was a bit slow going at first. As an English teacher I tend to get caught up on some of the typos, but they weren’t bad enough as to confuse the reader. The plot development was great as was the character development! I gave it 4 stars for the first 4 or 5 chapters. It took me a hot minute to understand what was going on.

[Heather W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series continues to be one of my favourites, with well written characters and great pacing. They have a unique and interesting take on classic fairy tales and disney stories, I love them and can't wait to read more

[Lindsay Spears · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this whole series!! I did however feel that before the mirror could of been a bit better compared to the slipper, Beast, and Mermaid but still loved all the back stories with the villains and how they came to be the characters we grew up reading ❣️

[Cecilia Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Narrated by Salome, this version of Beauty and the Beast provides a back story of the Enchantress.

[Kristie L Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series of fairy tales told from a different perspective

[Chrystal Checketts · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only complaint about this book is that it ended. I loved this story, I wanted to keep reading and find out what happens next.