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Lenore
"He didn’t hear her come in, but he smelled her perfume. She was wearing a mask."
Lost in the Louisiana countryside, Jake finds a half-ruined ante-bellum mansion inhabited by a mysterious lady who never shows her face. In exchange for room and board, he agrees to paint the house. In the process, he uncovers her secret, and finds himself increasingly fascinated by his enigmatic hostess, Lenore.
Comissioned for the catalogue of art installation inspired by Jean Cocteau's mysterious and 1947 film, La Belle et la Bete, LENORE takes you into the lush, overheated atmosphere of an aristocratic house and the strange life of its last descendent, a lady with a secret so terrible, it drives her to the brink of madness.
Formerly titled Reflection of Beauty, the title was changd to match a film being made of this short story called "Lenore"
Lost in the Louisiana countryside, Jake finds a half-ruined ante-bellum mansion inhabited by a mysterious lady who never shows her face. In exchange for room and board, he agrees to paint the house. In the process, he uncovers her secret, and finds himself increasingly fascinated by his enigmatic hostess, Lenore.
Comissioned for the catalogue of art installation inspired by Jean Cocteau's mysterious and 1947 film, La Belle et la Bete, LENORE takes you into the lush, overheated atmosphere of an aristocratic house and the strange life of its last descendent, a lady with a secret so terrible, it drives her to the brink of madness.
Formerly titled Reflection of Beauty, the title was changd to match a film being made of this short story called "Lenore"
ebook
First published March 6, 2012
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About the author
Alyne de Winter
25 books36 followersScribbler of dark fantasies exploring the ancient folk memories, night religions, psychic transformations, in historical, mostly European settings.
Gothic Faery Tales, Gothic Romance and Occult Thrillers are her preferred genres.
Though she always loved to read Gothic Mysteries and ghost stories, it wasn't until she unwittingly moved into a haunted house in London that Alyne began writing supernatural fiction. Her loves are castles, ruins, cathedrals, forests, Grimm's fairy tales, Shakespeare, folk ballads, ancient cultures, mystery religions, the British ghost story and mystery writers.... All things eerie and spooky.
H
Gothic Faery Tales, Gothic Romance and Occult Thrillers are her preferred genres.
Though she always loved to read Gothic Mysteries and ghost stories, it wasn't until she unwittingly moved into a haunted house in London that Alyne began writing supernatural fiction. Her loves are castles, ruins, cathedrals, forests, Grimm's fairy tales, Shakespeare, folk ballads, ancient cultures, mystery religions, the British ghost story and mystery writers.... All things eerie and spooky.
H
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 13, 2018
Should've been a full novel, or at least a novella, instead of a short story. The premise of a girl living in a decrepit Southern mansion believing herself a Beast due to maternal physical and psychological abuse had great potential, and was unique as Beauty & the Beast retellings go, but the author didn't know how to handle it and make the story worthy of the premise. It's poorly woven, full of plotholes, rushed, has unexplained plot elements, and worst of all, it ends way, way, way too abruptly, practically as the scene unravels. I'd suggest this be rewritten and reworked to be longer and better, why not? It'd not be the first short story or novelette that ends up so.
April 12, 2018
totally different take on one of my favorites..the roles are reversed i love that. the mystery was real i wante dto know what was up. it was short but it was really well done. recomeended.
August 27, 2019
I love Beauty & the Beast and always get so excited about reading or watching some new retelling or adaptation of this story. Unfortunately, this ebook was just a huge confusing disappointment.
The premise could have been a great starting point for a great story, but the whole thing was just poorly developed and a huge mess packed with plotholes and unanswered questions.
The characters had no chemistry and bearly any worthwhile interaction whatsoever happen between them, so the hint of romance added made no sense to me at all. And even with the justifications given, I still quite can't understand why and how this guy spent the amount of time he did in that creepy place.
The unexplained elements of this story just turn mystery and suspense into plain old confusion and made the whole thing into just a big question mark. And then, of course, there's the fact that the guy managed to solve a mystery/family secret that started years ago in a matter of days or better yet hours and then we get to the big abrupt ending which was the cherry on top of the undercooked bland cake.
The writing wasn't great or captivating and the overall book was boring and a mess, which is quite a shame because the premise could have led to such a creative and interesting retelling of this classic.
#OWLs (Ancient Runes: Retelling)
The premise could have been a great starting point for a great story, but the whole thing was just poorly developed and a huge mess packed with plotholes and unanswered questions.
The characters had no chemistry and bearly any worthwhile interaction whatsoever happen between them, so the hint of romance added made no sense to me at all. And even with the justifications given, I still quite can't understand why and how this guy spent the amount of time he did in that creepy place.
The unexplained elements of this story just turn mystery and suspense into plain old confusion and made the whole thing into just a big question mark. And then, of course, there's the fact that the guy managed to solve a mystery/family secret that started years ago in a matter of days or better yet hours and then we get to the big abrupt ending which was the cherry on top of the undercooked bland cake.
The writing wasn't great or captivating and the overall book was boring and a mess, which is quite a shame because the premise could have led to such a creative and interesting retelling of this classic.
#OWLs (Ancient Runes: Retelling)
July 24, 2016
Beauty and the beast romance with gender swap. Lush, beautiful writing and atmosphere, a bit of foul language and abrupt ending.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews