Of Petals and Lies

by J.L. Jackola

What if Beauty’s villainous suitor didn’t die at the end? And what if his redemption came at the hands of a woman who had escaped her tower years earlier?

Genres: Beauty and The Beast, Dark Romance

310 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 28, 2024

About the author

J. L. has been creating fantasy worlds ever since she was a child. When she’s not weaving tales, she can be found logging miles in her running shoes, watching action movies with her family, or curling up with a good fantasy book. She resides in Delaware with her husband and their three children.
Adrift, the sixth book in her Unbound Prophecy series will be released on April 29th, 2022. The Unbound Kingdom trilogy, a spin-off from the Unbound Prophecy series will release beginning in June 2022.

Reviews

[Stephanies.books_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

This one was better than the first one.

There was more plot, which I did enjoy.

The story flowed nicely and was easy to follow. I liked the twists throughout, and the Villian gets the girl.

The smut did over take as some points. I do wish there was more connection between the MCs. As most of their interactions were sexual.

[SquidBooKs · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️ I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the author's writing. This is a spicy, dark and twisted beauty & the beast villain inspired redemption with a splash of Rapunzel. The love story built between Garrett and Eloise was satisfying, especially since common romantic phrases and terms weren't used. The writing felt unique and well thought out. This retelling/redemption story have made me a fan of JL Jackola. I am looking forward to reading more of her work!

[Magical Martini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book, much more than Of Candy and Betrayal. 5 ⭐️

~ The combination of a Beauty and the Beast and Rapunzel retelling was perfection.

~ I’ve always been a villain fan, I enjoy coming up with their backstory and figuring out why they are the way they are. And Garrets story was wild, I totally didn’t expect the twist of who his father was.

~ Eloise was a great FMC, I loved her spirit and how she made him a better man.

~ The only part that kinda annoyed me was that his friend was the one to tell him to go back and save her, I wish he had thought that on his own.

~ The ending was perfect, they have 3 kids and her mom (aka the enchantress and the stag) stopped by to offer him a rose. Full circle! 🌹

~ The spice was great, there was definitely a lot but it didn’t feel as overwhelming as the first book. I think the plot was explained much better and was really interesting too.

~ Overall, I enjoyed it a lot, it took me longer to read than it normally would’ve. Cuz I’ve been trying to catch up on my junk journal. Otherwise, I could’ve easily read this in like 2 days. Highly recommend!

[Savannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this combined retelling of Beauty and the Beast and Rapunzel. As soon as we started reading in Garret's POV I hated him but he defiantly grew on me and I am a sucker for a great character arc. Eloise was top tier strong female lead. I am loving these retellings and I cant wait for more!

[Angel Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a unique twist on a beauty and the beast retelling. It’s a villain redemption book with many twists. I love when a book has multiple twists yet it’s all cohesive and makes sense. The smut was also integrated in a way that wasn’t too much and let the plot shine.

[Juanita Pires-Hilario · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING

I absolutely loved this book! At first I was going to give up and then it got juicy haha!
I had so many questions and then all of a sudden the lies unraveled.

[Melissa King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great retelling! loved the mix of fantasy and spiceeeee!