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Beauty's Beast
Beauty
Fair of face and figure, Kristine is young, innocent, pure. Yet she has been condemned to the gallows for killing a man. The only one who can save her is a lord so infamous that some say he is the son of the Devil himself...
And the Beast
Erik Trevayne is called the Demon Lord of Hawksbridge Castle, but few know of the curse he lives under. Or the terrifying changes slowly gnawing away at his humanity. When he weds her, all he wants of Kristine is a son. But when he beds her, a wild hope is born—that love that can tame even the most monstrous of beasts...
Fair of face and figure, Kristine is young, innocent, pure. Yet she has been condemned to the gallows for killing a man. The only one who can save her is a lord so infamous that some say he is the son of the Devil himself...
And the Beast
Erik Trevayne is called the Demon Lord of Hawksbridge Castle, but few know of the curse he lives under. Or the terrifying changes slowly gnawing away at his humanity. When he weds her, all he wants of Kristine is a son. But when he beds her, a wild hope is born—that love that can tame even the most monstrous of beasts...
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 2, 2014
60 people are currently reading
838 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 193 reviews
November 16, 2020
This is the first variation of Beauty and the beast that I didn't like.
The blurb got me so excited, but the story was such a let down. The heroine willing to give up her baby to save Erik, the witch's and wizard's ridiculous antics, Hero's dead wife's forgiveness at the last minute, everything was a tad too melodramatic for my taste. And far fetched.
The Hero was the only thing that made me complete the book in spite of the inconsistent writing. 2.75 stars maybe? Eh, I'm not sure.
The blurb got me so excited, but the story was such a let down. The heroine willing to give up her baby to save Erik, the witch's and wizard's ridiculous antics, Hero's dead wife's forgiveness at the last minute, everything was a tad too melodramatic for my taste. And far fetched.
The Hero was the only thing that made me complete the book in spite of the inconsistent writing. 2.75 stars maybe? Eh, I'm not sure.
December 31, 2014
Ugh. Nope.
I thought Beauty's Beast would be super amazing, since it's a cross between Beauty and the Beast and The Phantom of the Opera, but it really let me down.
The characterization is shallow. Kristine is one of those young, innocent, pure, nice heroines who's good at everything she attempts, and whose luminous eyes and magic vagina immediately win over the brooding hero despite his determination not to love her. She doesn't know how to ride a horse, but soon she's an "accomplished horsewoman." She doesn't know how to dance, but soon she's attending the ball and getting all the steps right because she's looking into Erik's eyes. I stopped reading about the time she's throwing her own party.
The plot is shallow. My eyes kept glazing over because nothing. was. happening. There was sex, but it wasn't exciting or even interesting. Neither were Kristine and Erik's interactions.
I was determined to finish this since it's a Netgalley title, but I'm not putting myself through this. DNF at 42%.
I thought Beauty's Beast would be super amazing, since it's a cross between Beauty and the Beast and The Phantom of the Opera, but it really let me down.
The characterization is shallow. Kristine is one of those young, innocent, pure, nice heroines who's good at everything she attempts, and whose luminous eyes and magic vagina immediately win over the brooding hero despite his determination not to love her. She doesn't know how to ride a horse, but soon she's an "accomplished horsewoman." She doesn't know how to dance, but soon she's attending the ball and getting all the steps right because she's looking into Erik's eyes. I stopped reading about the time she's throwing her own party.
The plot is shallow. My eyes kept glazing over because nothing. was. happening. There was sex, but it wasn't exciting or even interesting. Neither were Kristine and Erik's interactions.
I was determined to finish this since it's a Netgalley title, but I'm not putting myself through this. DNF at 42%.
September 5, 2014
She was just going to give up her child to get Erik back? Bitch please.
July 24, 2014
I might be a tad biased because rarely a Beauty and the Beast theme book can disappoint me. Well, of course there are some that don't measure up. This one can be rate quite high in my list of B&B book by having some prerequisite tear-jerking and heart-aching moments for witnessing the hero's suffering and being in awe with the heroine who loves with all her heart.
We have Kristine, a convicted felon on death row, but later got brought by the mysterious Lord of Hawksbridge to be wed to him. After the initially shocked and frightened out of her wits, she decided to be the dutiful wife and hope that her future will be a bless one.
Erik Trevayne, known as Demon Lord of Hawksbridge Castle had been cursed to a slow transformation into a beast and losing his humanity day by day. However, he needs to fulfill his last duty before he can end his life, which is to sire an heir as per his promise to his deceased father.
In the beginning of their relationship, Erik only came to Kristine in the night and during their entire love making, he was fully clothed and wearing a mask. He never venture around the castle during the day and instead hide himself even from his own household staff.
Erik can't wait for his new wife to be impregnate so that he can stop seeing her anymore. He worried he might grown to care for her, which is something he can't afford to happen. Despite his spiteful attitude, he did manage to show his tender side on some occasion. Erik is the kind of hero that make you shed a few tears for the pain he is enduring. Honestly, whenever he start wishing for an impossible with his lovely wife, I kinda want to hug him and bawl.
I find Kristine's reaction to her new situation believable and not too far retched. She was afraid of her predicament and her new husband at first, but later she decided to seek some answer for herself. She grew to care for him over time and wish to ease his pain, but it seems like there's nothing she can do to help.
Although this book is not as erotic as I was hoping for, it was a heart breaking and touching story of a cursed man's journey in finding a woman who not only love him, but willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to free him. From the titled itself, the story is heavy with Beauty and the Beast theme. Plot wise there isn't much surprises or twist, but I still felt emotional engage with the characters and felt their despair and heartache and wondering how are they going to achieve their seemingly impossible HEA in the end. Fans of B&B theme story will not be disappoint.
Steam : Medium.
*ARC provided via Netgalley*
We have Kristine, a convicted felon on death row, but later got brought by the mysterious Lord of Hawksbridge to be wed to him. After the initially shocked and frightened out of her wits, she decided to be the dutiful wife and hope that her future will be a bless one.
Erik Trevayne, known as Demon Lord of Hawksbridge Castle had been cursed to a slow transformation into a beast and losing his humanity day by day. However, he needs to fulfill his last duty before he can end his life, which is to sire an heir as per his promise to his deceased father.
In the beginning of their relationship, Erik only came to Kristine in the night and during their entire love making, he was fully clothed and wearing a mask. He never venture around the castle during the day and instead hide himself even from his own household staff.
Erik can't wait for his new wife to be impregnate so that he can stop seeing her anymore. He worried he might grown to care for her, which is something he can't afford to happen. Despite his spiteful attitude, he did manage to show his tender side on some occasion. Erik is the kind of hero that make you shed a few tears for the pain he is enduring. Honestly, whenever he start wishing for an impossible with his lovely wife, I kinda want to hug him and bawl.
I find Kristine's reaction to her new situation believable and not too far retched. She was afraid of her predicament and her new husband at first, but later she decided to seek some answer for herself. She grew to care for him over time and wish to ease his pain, but it seems like there's nothing she can do to help.
Although this book is not as erotic as I was hoping for, it was a heart breaking and touching story of a cursed man's journey in finding a woman who not only love him, but willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to free him. From the titled itself, the story is heavy with Beauty and the Beast theme. Plot wise there isn't much surprises or twist, but I still felt emotional engage with the characters and felt their despair and heartache and wondering how are they going to achieve their seemingly impossible HEA in the end. Fans of B&B theme story will not be disappoint.
Steam : Medium.
*ARC provided via Netgalley*
January 18, 2021
I really enjoyed this beauty and the beast story. It was well written with characters you come to care about.
September 4, 2014
Just look at that cover art! the cover art definitely suckered me into reading it. When I usually get sucked in (outside of the description), especially a cover I particularly like, I'm not going to lie, I have expectations. Those expectations usually are HIGH expectations.
Unfortunately, while I tried to become immersed into this world Ashley's created, I couldn't help but feel frustrated at around 63% through---especially after reading this sentence:
Erik tried to free himself from the grip of Charmion’s awesome power.I didn't chuck the book at a wall, and instead re-evaluated what I just read.... in a constructive critique. You may not notice it, but if you look hard enough, it is there. Let me reiterate one more time----the cover art DEFINITELY sold me. The premise seemed interesting (I can't help that I'm addicted to fairy-tale retellings), and the setting appealed to my inner medieval fan. I mean who doesn’t love a good medieval fairy tale retelling? IT'S ALL ABOUT THE COSTUMES AND THEIR BLEAK LIVES. Needless to say, you will remember the cover far longer than the actual story. So I will limit my review to three main things: characters, plot, paranormal element.
Characters: Individually
That is Kristine throughout most of the book. The kind of character I was hoping for was an archetypal character, sort of the Lady Johanna Saving Grace who is cunning, clever, and just adapts beautifully to her present situation. Instead, Kristine is EVERY BIT A today's standard seventeen year old---as she ONLY thinks about how he saves her life. Reading it turned into this low-budget production of Phantom of the Opera in my mind. I get he saved her life (and aren't we grateful), but I didn't really care. Kristine did not make me care about her OR ERIK. I USUALLY LOVE THE HERO----and I was definitely going, I hope his POV is more interesting (which it wasn't).
Anyway, Kristine laments about her sheared locks because, of course, her beauty wasn’t in her brains----and she recovered from her hair quite quickly. Anyway, the point is in this retelling the character’s transformations----FELL FLAT. I can’t articulate well how this book drove me crazy. The high point was the beginning of the story, when the witch curses Erik. I don't even have enough room to start on Erik. It took him WHY COULDN'T HE HAVE UNDERSTOOD HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW WAS A BONAFIDE WITCH.
You know she wanted to do that to Erik. Anyway, Erik's mental facilities didn't quite add up to him not really being able to think EXTREMELY HARD AND DEEP about messing with a witch's daughter.... I get it though, you have power and prestige, and are sweet and gentlemanly---without ANY TYPE OF BEASTLY CHARACTERISTICS BESIDES YOUR SPERM COUNT.
Characters: Romantically
Honestly, think of the worst on-screen chemistry you've seen (Stewart & Hemsworth for me) and you've just about got the portrayed relationship. I mean, I know there sex was suppose to be awkward because of his V for Vendetta state (full amount of clothing and mask---and NO TOUCHING!!!!)---but come on. I mean, it just felt awkward---and I was wondering at the fit and logistics of their clothed coupling. It worked in V for Vendetta because V is amazing and Natalie is a badass---in Beauty's Beast----it just seemed like a HAWT mess.
Plot
The plot points where definitely plot points. This book would have been better off giving us some world-building lore than throwing us into this undefined state of random magic of white and black, some wolves that were there to make the story "add up" and validate Erik's turning----AND STILL FOR THE LIFE OF ME CAN'T FIGURE OUT why Charmon just didn't help her daughter deliver the baby. How could she foresee the "gender birth" of Erik's child with Kristine, but not get there in time to help her daughter. Did her daughter think her mother wouldn't have helped her?
Paranormal element RANDOM PARANORMAL-NESS. There were so many unanswered questions. Soooooo Erik meets a wolf that would be his ensuing mate if the curse goes through. WHICH DOESN'T HAPPEN BECAUSE YOU KNOW THEY WILL STOP HIM FROM TURNING. EVEN WHEN HE DOES TURN So, we geT----(i’m totally estimating) 10% of the book a paranormal element of "wolves are just randomly here in case you need us, but since you won't we'll be on our way...."
I wanted to bang my head and scold myself for getting hung up on covers. STOP IT, JESSICA! STOP IT!
In essence, the book did what it needed to. The cover hooked me in and the premise made me want to read it. The appeal is there for my avid paranormal romance readers and the appeal is definitely there for my lighthearted airport romance readers. The appeal is just not there for moi.
Thanks for the ARC NetGalley
December 9, 2014
I'm so over this book.
This will be a short-ish review, because I've wasted enough time on this book.
I was incredibly excited to read this book. I love Beauty and the Beast, I love Phantom of the Opera, so I should have loved this book. Instead, I was bored out of my mind. I cruised through the first 30% on sheer enthusiasm for the concept, then when I realized it showed no signs of reaching its potential, my progress slowed to a crawl. I could not get excited about this book anymore.
The concept:
Awesome. I loved it. There was so much potential all over the place in this book--a relationship because Erik and Kristine, character development for Charmion, other somewhat spoilery things that I won't mention. Plenty of room for an awesome story between the pages.
The execution:
Boring. So boring. So repetitive. It's like no one even read this book before publishing. There were literally repeated lines (not editing errors, just the same lines of dialogue reused) WITHIN THE SAME SCENE. Like, two Kindle pages apart, but still in the same scene, just the same old things being BEATEN TO DEATH. In some instances, the words were switched around to echo the same exact thing. I feel like if I had a dollar for every time Kristine obediently said "Yes, my Lord Husband" I could take the rest of the year off.
There was also a scene somewhere in the area of 70% Kristine completely contradicts herself. On one page, Kristine the martyr tells Erik she thinks he should do a spoilery thing once the transformation is complete because she wants him to be happy. IN THE SAME SCENE, two Kindle pages later, she tells him (paraphrased) "you have to believe we're going to beat this! You will get to do such and such a thing/we are going to beat this and you won't complete the transformation."
Nothing changed. There was nothing between those two pages to justify her jumping around like this, and it was not the only instance of this happening.
The characters:
Kristine started out okay, but quickly went downhill. She's the kind of formulaic heroine who does unimaginably stupid things when the plot calls for her to conveniently stumble across something. Definitely too stupid to live. She's pathetic. Cannot survive without her husband, who only married her to beget an heir and then basically treated her like a hole in the wall, but she inexplicably fell deeply in love with him despite/because of it, without really any other reason?
Obviously I did not connect with the love story. It was okay, but I wasn't invested in them, and by the time I was about 3/4 of the way through, I didn't even care what happened to them anymore.
Erik was okay, but... I wanted more out of him, too. Most of the "problems" in this book are of the lack of communication variety/problems they create for themselves.
Is it all worth it?
No. Unfortunately not.
Lastly:
"We can have other children!"
Hahahaha, oh my god, are you serious? Go die.
She's falling all over herself to hand her kid over to some stranger in hopes of maybe curing this man she has inexplicable love for? Obviously he's more important than her kid, and her own vehement beliefs that she would never abandon her child for a man (like her mother did to her) meant absolutely nothing. (And she did not struggle or even HESITATE in this decision. At all. There's a bullshit throwaway line about how it would break her heart, but it's...well, bullshit.)
Bitch, please.
I'm out.
**Free copy received from Netgalley for honest review.**
This will be a short-ish review, because I've wasted enough time on this book.
I was incredibly excited to read this book. I love Beauty and the Beast, I love Phantom of the Opera, so I should have loved this book. Instead, I was bored out of my mind. I cruised through the first 30% on sheer enthusiasm for the concept, then when I realized it showed no signs of reaching its potential, my progress slowed to a crawl. I could not get excited about this book anymore.
The concept:
Awesome. I loved it. There was so much potential all over the place in this book--a relationship because Erik and Kristine, character development for Charmion, other somewhat spoilery things that I won't mention. Plenty of room for an awesome story between the pages.
The execution:
Boring. So boring. So repetitive. It's like no one even read this book before publishing. There were literally repeated lines (not editing errors, just the same lines of dialogue reused) WITHIN THE SAME SCENE. Like, two Kindle pages apart, but still in the same scene, just the same old things being BEATEN TO DEATH. In some instances, the words were switched around to echo the same exact thing. I feel like if I had a dollar for every time Kristine obediently said "Yes, my Lord Husband" I could take the rest of the year off.
There was also a scene somewhere in the area of 70% Kristine completely contradicts herself. On one page, Kristine the martyr tells Erik she thinks he should do a spoilery thing once the transformation is complete because she wants him to be happy. IN THE SAME SCENE, two Kindle pages later, she tells him (paraphrased) "you have to believe we're going to beat this! You will get to do such and such a thing/we are going to beat this and you won't complete the transformation."
Nothing changed. There was nothing between those two pages to justify her jumping around like this, and it was not the only instance of this happening.
The characters:
Kristine started out okay, but quickly went downhill. She's the kind of formulaic heroine who does unimaginably stupid things when the plot calls for her to conveniently stumble across something. Definitely too stupid to live. She's pathetic. Cannot survive without her husband, who only married her to beget an heir and then basically treated her like a hole in the wall, but she inexplicably fell deeply in love with him despite/because of it, without really any other reason?
Obviously I did not connect with the love story. It was okay, but I wasn't invested in them, and by the time I was about 3/4 of the way through, I didn't even care what happened to them anymore.
Erik was okay, but... I wanted more out of him, too. Most of the "problems" in this book are of the lack of communication variety/problems they create for themselves.
Is it all worth it?
No. Unfortunately not.
Lastly:
"We can have other children!"
Hahahaha, oh my god, are you serious? Go die.
She's falling all over herself to hand her kid over to some stranger in hopes of maybe curing this man she has inexplicable love for? Obviously he's more important than her kid, and her own vehement beliefs that she would never abandon her child for a man (like her mother did to her) meant absolutely nothing. (And she did not struggle or even HESITATE in this decision. At all. There's a bullshit throwaway line about how it would break her heart, but it's...well, bullshit.)
Bitch, please.
I'm out.
**Free copy received from Netgalley for honest review.**
September 19, 2014
I really really enjoyed this book. It was probably the closest thing to reading a beauty and the Beast type story I've ever read at this point.....
"A rutting beast you were, a beast you will become. Not all at once, my selfish one. Day by day, the change will come upon you, until you have suffered for every tear my daughter wept, for every drop of blood she shed this day."
Erik Trevayne's life has been destroyed. He's only guilty of marrying a woman he really didn't love and getting her pregnant. In his defense, his wife begged him to have a baby with her, pleaded, until he finally relented. However, her and her child died during birth and even more terrible than that, his mother-in-law was an evil witch who had warned him against marrying her daughter, that having a baby with him would kill her. When the outcome came out just as she predicted she put a curse on Erik. A curse, that only his dead wife could break. So now he lives in the confines of his castle, just waiting for the curse to take over him.
Kristine's life isn't looking so hot right at this moment either. She's to be hung for the murder of a man. A man she indeed killed, but it was an accident acting in self defense. She's been held in a dungeon for weeks and has 100% accepted her fate. The suddenly a dark figure comes in, checks her out and she's told she will be married to him the next morning. Erik Trevanye. He has a huge reputation, and not a good one. However, terrified she may be, she's relieved to know she won't be killed now and swears she's going to make the most out of this marriage. Erik doesn't agree however. He claims he wants her only for a baby. And in his mind that is all he wants from Kristine, but something about her once he gets her home changes his opinion. He knows he can't get too close, but as time goes on the more he wants to be with her other than just a breeding practice in bed, and of course Kristine wants him more too. But she wants to know what's behind that mask as well.
This book isn't my typical read. I normally don't really like historical actually. It's not that I just straight up don't like them, I just usually like the more modern feel. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It actually didn't even read like a historical except for references like "My Lord, husband" or "my lady". I was constantly pulling for Erik and Kristine. They had a rough time at first. Mostly from Erik fighting Kristine at every chance. His tactic was complete avoidance except for at night when he would come to her room to try to knock her up and wouldn't even take his clothes off or let her touch him. Of course slowly but surely they get closer and closer. But Kristine is hell bent on being a good wife to Erik, she's falling in love with hm, and she only wants more. You know, what's behind the mask and such.
I actually loved how Kristine was with Erik. I loved how as they got closer they were with one another. So thoughtful, and supportive. Kristine was so strong and brave. I loved the characters in this book. THE ONLY THING negative I can say about the book was, we waited soooo long for them to be together, like really, and then the book just ended. Yes there was one small chapter, but I would've LOVEDDDD to have an epilogue. Something, to see how they are in their future. I mean they had jumped over major hoops to be together, I just wanted a little bit more of a reward for the torture to get there.
I highly recommend this book. Historical lovers will love it, but it doesn't read really like a historical so I think anyone would love it.
"A rutting beast you were, a beast you will become. Not all at once, my selfish one. Day by day, the change will come upon you, until you have suffered for every tear my daughter wept, for every drop of blood she shed this day."
Erik Trevayne's life has been destroyed. He's only guilty of marrying a woman he really didn't love and getting her pregnant. In his defense, his wife begged him to have a baby with her, pleaded, until he finally relented. However, her and her child died during birth and even more terrible than that, his mother-in-law was an evil witch who had warned him against marrying her daughter, that having a baby with him would kill her. When the outcome came out just as she predicted she put a curse on Erik. A curse, that only his dead wife could break. So now he lives in the confines of his castle, just waiting for the curse to take over him.
Kristine's life isn't looking so hot right at this moment either. She's to be hung for the murder of a man. A man she indeed killed, but it was an accident acting in self defense. She's been held in a dungeon for weeks and has 100% accepted her fate. The suddenly a dark figure comes in, checks her out and she's told she will be married to him the next morning. Erik Trevanye. He has a huge reputation, and not a good one. However, terrified she may be, she's relieved to know she won't be killed now and swears she's going to make the most out of this marriage. Erik doesn't agree however. He claims he wants her only for a baby. And in his mind that is all he wants from Kristine, but something about her once he gets her home changes his opinion. He knows he can't get too close, but as time goes on the more he wants to be with her other than just a breeding practice in bed, and of course Kristine wants him more too. But she wants to know what's behind that mask as well.
This book isn't my typical read. I normally don't really like historical actually. It's not that I just straight up don't like them, I just usually like the more modern feel. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It actually didn't even read like a historical except for references like "My Lord, husband" or "my lady". I was constantly pulling for Erik and Kristine. They had a rough time at first. Mostly from Erik fighting Kristine at every chance. His tactic was complete avoidance except for at night when he would come to her room to try to knock her up and wouldn't even take his clothes off or let her touch him. Of course slowly but surely they get closer and closer. But Kristine is hell bent on being a good wife to Erik, she's falling in love with hm, and she only wants more. You know, what's behind the mask and such.
I actually loved how Kristine was with Erik. I loved how as they got closer they were with one another. So thoughtful, and supportive. Kristine was so strong and brave. I loved the characters in this book. THE ONLY THING negative I can say about the book was, we waited soooo long for them to be together, like really, and then the book just ended. Yes there was one small chapter, but I would've LOVEDDDD to have an epilogue. Something, to see how they are in their future. I mean they had jumped over major hoops to be together, I just wanted a little bit more of a reward for the torture to get there.
I highly recommend this book. Historical lovers will love it, but it doesn't read really like a historical so I think anyone would love it.
September 8, 2014
Beauty and The Beast is my favorite Disney cartoon. Grumpy heroes are always so cute and Beast won my heart when he gave a library as a gift to Belle. So, whenever I stumble upon the retelling of this tale I am excited because I hope it will have that same spark, that same magic that will make me hum:
Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme…
On the surface Beauty’s Beast is a perfect retelling of the famous fairytale. Eric is cursed by a witch to slowly transform into the beast.
To fulfill a promise to his dead father and not die without an heir, he gets married to a young girl Kristine who is sentenced for murder. Kristine is so grateful to Eric for saving her from the death sentence and she tries to be a good wife to him. Slowly they fall in love…
What can go wrong? A lot of things:
1.) Since Eric is bent on having an heir pronto, he immediately starts to have sex every night with Kristine. She dutifully and silently lies. At the beginning a lot of times it’s bordering with rape for me.
2.) Descriptions of sex had a lot of archaic descriptions that belong to vintage historical romance novels.
"Desire rose within him, a desire to bury himself within her."
"Her womanly scent rose up to tantalize him, stirring his blood, his desire."
A lot of times I was not sure if Ashley Adams wrote about sex or farming.
"He would go to her tonight and plant his seed within her. If there was any mercy in the world, his seed would take root and he could leave here, leave her."
These two facts made my reading of Beauty’s Beast a boring and irritating task. I kept on reading hoping for some glorious moment that will make all my suffering worthwhile. For a glimpse of true Beauty and The Beast magic to appear. But it never happened.
There were a lot of things that could have won me over:
1. Eric’s fear about losing his humanity as the transformation to beast happens. Fear that he will lose his memories…
2. A lot of my favorite romantic scenes from Beauty and The Beast cartoon were recreated: he saving her from the wolves, she nursing his wounds, …
3. Paranormal elements in story, with witches and wizards and magic. Things go crazy & exciting as the conclusion is near…
But no. All Beauty’s Beast succeeded is to make me gnash my teeth and yell in my mind.
- At Kristine for being submissive, for not standing up for herself from the start.
- At Eric for sleeping with her and enjoying it, although he was conscious she didn’t want it.
- At Amanda Ashley for the outdated writing style.
At the end all I can say is – well at least it is over. But I don’t think I will have enough courage to brave another book by Amanda Ashley again.
Recommended only for fans of bodice ripper historical romance novels who don’t mind that there are witches and other magic in the story. This Beauty and The Beast retelling is not for all fairy tale lovers. Approach with caution.
Disclaimer: I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.
Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme…
On the surface Beauty’s Beast is a perfect retelling of the famous fairytale. Eric is cursed by a witch to slowly transform into the beast.
To fulfill a promise to his dead father and not die without an heir, he gets married to a young girl Kristine who is sentenced for murder. Kristine is so grateful to Eric for saving her from the death sentence and she tries to be a good wife to him. Slowly they fall in love…
What can go wrong? A lot of things:
1.) Since Eric is bent on having an heir pronto, he immediately starts to have sex every night with Kristine. She dutifully and silently lies. At the beginning a lot of times it’s bordering with rape for me.
2.) Descriptions of sex had a lot of archaic descriptions that belong to vintage historical romance novels.
"Desire rose within him, a desire to bury himself within her."
"Her womanly scent rose up to tantalize him, stirring his blood, his desire."
A lot of times I was not sure if Ashley Adams wrote about sex or farming.
"He would go to her tonight and plant his seed within her. If there was any mercy in the world, his seed would take root and he could leave here, leave her."
These two facts made my reading of Beauty’s Beast a boring and irritating task. I kept on reading hoping for some glorious moment that will make all my suffering worthwhile. For a glimpse of true Beauty and The Beast magic to appear. But it never happened.
There were a lot of things that could have won me over:
1. Eric’s fear about losing his humanity as the transformation to beast happens. Fear that he will lose his memories…
2. A lot of my favorite romantic scenes from Beauty and The Beast cartoon were recreated: he saving her from the wolves, she nursing his wounds, …
3. Paranormal elements in story, with witches and wizards and magic. Things go crazy & exciting as the conclusion is near…
But no. All Beauty’s Beast succeeded is to make me gnash my teeth and yell in my mind.
- At Kristine for being submissive, for not standing up for herself from the start.
- At Eric for sleeping with her and enjoying it, although he was conscious she didn’t want it.
- At Amanda Ashley for the outdated writing style.
At the end all I can say is – well at least it is over. But I don’t think I will have enough courage to brave another book by Amanda Ashley again.
Recommended only for fans of bodice ripper historical romance novels who don’t mind that there are witches and other magic in the story. This Beauty and The Beast retelling is not for all fairy tale lovers. Approach with caution.
Disclaimer: I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.
December 25, 2015
I'm a sucker for fairy tales & their retellings. This book seemed like some awesomeness, but it was pretty standard, nothing new here. The villain of the story was so over the top ridiculousness. The love story was super sappy cheesy & not in a delicious way.
July 21, 2014
4.5/5 stars
Amanda Ashley does a wonderful job of retelling this fairy tale with her own twists and in her own way. I love her writing style. It is so fluid; it doesn't get in the way of the story.
The Lord of Hawksbridge Castle, Erik, has been cursed into becoming a beast by his witch mother-in-law. (Yes, she's literally a witch.) She holds him responsible for the death of her daughter, Dominique. The change doesn't happen all at once. Over several years his body morphs into a wolf-like beast. Time is running out. Before his father died, he promised to sire an heir. Erik plans to fulfill his father's dying request and then put himself out of his misery.
Kristine is sentenced to die for murder. She killed a man who tried to rape her. She receives a reprieve when Erik obtains her freedom. (bribing a judge, I presume) She is taken straight from jail to the church to marry Erik. She knows nothing about him other than what she can see. His face is covered with a mask and he wears a glove on his left hand. To Erik, she is nothing more than a brood mare and this reader wonders if she felt like she was being raped again and forced
into this loveless marriage. Still, she feels obligated to Erik for saving her life and tries to get to know and love her enigmatic husband.
The story centers around Kristine showing love to the Beast and Erik trying to keep his true form a secret from her. He finds himself falling for her despite his efforts to keep his distance. She loves him so much, she is willing to do anything to reverse the curse and save her husband.
Her sacrifice is hard to swallow, and the solution seems a bit deus ex machina, but it was an enjoyable story that had me hooked from the very first scene. Best of all, I got my HEA.
I received a copy from Netgalley.
Amanda Ashley does a wonderful job of retelling this fairy tale with her own twists and in her own way. I love her writing style. It is so fluid; it doesn't get in the way of the story.
The Lord of Hawksbridge Castle, Erik, has been cursed into becoming a beast by his witch mother-in-law. (Yes, she's literally a witch.) She holds him responsible for the death of her daughter, Dominique. The change doesn't happen all at once. Over several years his body morphs into a wolf-like beast. Time is running out. Before his father died, he promised to sire an heir. Erik plans to fulfill his father's dying request and then put himself out of his misery.
Kristine is sentenced to die for murder. She killed a man who tried to rape her. She receives a reprieve when Erik obtains her freedom. (bribing a judge, I presume) She is taken straight from jail to the church to marry Erik. She knows nothing about him other than what she can see. His face is covered with a mask and he wears a glove on his left hand. To Erik, she is nothing more than a brood mare and this reader wonders if she felt like she was being raped again and forced
into this loveless marriage. Still, she feels obligated to Erik for saving her life and tries to get to know and love her enigmatic husband.
The story centers around Kristine showing love to the Beast and Erik trying to keep his true form a secret from her. He finds himself falling for her despite his efforts to keep his distance. She loves him so much, she is willing to do anything to reverse the curse and save her husband.
Her sacrifice is hard to swallow, and the solution seems a bit deus ex machina, but it was an enjoyable story that had me hooked from the very first scene. Best of all, I got my HEA.
I received a copy from Netgalley.
November 2, 2014
Ms Ashley was an author I didn't know, and was happy to discover through NetGalley. Unfortunately, that was before I read Beauty's Beast. I thought this was going to be a PNR or a fantasy romance book. Imagine my disappointment when I found myself faced with a YA fairy tale. Let's be clear, this is not a Grimm fairy tale, this is the sanitized Disney version. With an Harlequin Present twist (the one were the pauper marries the billionaire...)
[My question, we already had the cartoon, did we need the book too? I digress.]
I would be a liar if I didn't admit that from midway onward I skim read the book, the other option was admit defeat and DNF it. It had nothing I could appreciate. There was no world-building, the characters were so cliched and flat to be almost unacceptable, the plot and its twist eye-boggling.
The Disney fairy tale wasn't in the magic, the beast, and the HEA. The feeling came from the never ending unbelievable details. She has to be hanged for murder of a Lord, no less, but he pays her freedom. She has killed a man for rape, but has no problem in being bedded by a stranger 5 weeks later. He basically pins her to bed every night, fully dressed, never touches her, never shows her anything but usage, but hey she feels at first sexual desire, than love. She never rode a horse, but jumps on one and rides. She never went to a ball, but she learns in a night. As I said fairy tales. (The devil is the details, or so they say.)
All the story completely lacked any world-building, we were in a magic land with lord and ladies (not the Fae, the human ones), with some witches (two of the Disney variety again) and 4 werewolves whose role wasn't clear. No rules, no world. Nothing. I'm not sure I understand who was the target market of this book.
So I'm sorry to say I was bored to death, and that I didn't enjoy reading Beauty's Beast. But it may be the right book for fans of Harlequins Nocturne line or of the fluffier side of PNR where the emphasis is on romance and the rest isn't that important.
ARC Courtesy of Zebra via NetGalley
[My question, we already had the cartoon, did we need the book too? I digress.]
I would be a liar if I didn't admit that from midway onward I skim read the book, the other option was admit defeat and DNF it. It had nothing I could appreciate. There was no world-building, the characters were so cliched and flat to be almost unacceptable, the plot and its twist eye-boggling.
The Disney fairy tale wasn't in the magic, the beast, and the HEA. The feeling came from the never ending unbelievable details. She has to be hanged for murder of a Lord, no less, but he pays her freedom. She has killed a man for rape, but has no problem in being bedded by a stranger 5 weeks later. He basically pins her to bed every night, fully dressed, never touches her, never shows her anything but usage, but hey she feels at first sexual desire, than love. She never rode a horse, but jumps on one and rides. She never went to a ball, but she learns in a night. As I said fairy tales. (The devil is the details, or so they say.)
All the story completely lacked any world-building, we were in a magic land with lord and ladies (not the Fae, the human ones), with some witches (two of the Disney variety again) and 4 werewolves whose role wasn't clear. No rules, no world. Nothing. I'm not sure I understand who was the target market of this book.
So I'm sorry to say I was bored to death, and that I didn't enjoy reading Beauty's Beast. But it may be the right book for fans of Harlequins Nocturne line or of the fluffier side of PNR where the emphasis is on romance and the rest isn't that important.
ARC Courtesy of Zebra via NetGalley
August 4, 2014
This is a paranormal romance based on the beauty and the beast fairytale, my favorite theme.
It's quite a good romance, it starts really well, there are fantasy elements from the beginning when Eric is cursed into becoming a beast. Although I didn't care much for Eric or the reason he was cursed.
The transformation of Eric happens slowly, but he fears he is running out of time and he needs an heir to fulfill his promise to his father. Where would he find a women willing to marry a half beast?
Kristine is on death raw for murder and would do anything to save herself, even marry a total stranger who wears a mask.
As a romance this was good, the relationship development in the beginning between these two was written well, it's gradual and slow. Kristine was well written as well, her reactions and actions towards things made sense and were not rushed or unbelievable.
But unfortunately as the book progresses and we see more fantasy and paranormal elements things change. It starts to feel rushed and things happen that needn't be there, other scenes needed a little more explaining. Even the conversation between the characters starts to be stiff and flat.
It had a potential but it fell short.
I think it needed a bit of editing and a bit of concentration on just one side of the fantasy elements.
This review is for a free copy courtesy of Kensington Books via NetGalley.
It's quite a good romance, it starts really well, there are fantasy elements from the beginning when Eric is cursed into becoming a beast. Although I didn't care much for Eric or the reason he was cursed.
The transformation of Eric happens slowly, but he fears he is running out of time and he needs an heir to fulfill his promise to his father. Where would he find a women willing to marry a half beast?
Kristine is on death raw for murder and would do anything to save herself, even marry a total stranger who wears a mask.
As a romance this was good, the relationship development in the beginning between these two was written well, it's gradual and slow. Kristine was well written as well, her reactions and actions towards things made sense and were not rushed or unbelievable.
But unfortunately as the book progresses and we see more fantasy and paranormal elements things change. It starts to feel rushed and things happen that needn't be there, other scenes needed a little more explaining. Even the conversation between the characters starts to be stiff and flat.
It had a potential but it fell short.
I think it needed a bit of editing and a bit of concentration on just one side of the fantasy elements.
This review is for a free copy courtesy of Kensington Books via NetGalley.
July 19, 2014
I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is a retelling of the classic tale of Beauty and the beast. This book will tug at your heartstrings! Make sure you have some tissues near by. I really enjoyed the story and was pleasantly surprised by just how much this story grew on me. The only reason I did not give it five stars was because of how young Kristine was. I have read a couple of historicals where the heroine starts off young but 17? That was way too young! Other than that pretty good hope you enjoy!
October 8, 2014
If its a fairytale retelling, I'm there. Love the fairytales, but particularly if its Beauty and the Beast. I was prepared for this new to me author to weave some enchantment. And...she did. The atmosphere, the magic, the character portrayals, the doomed romance was all there. This was no weak shadow of the classic story; this was a well conceived adult version of it.
The story begins with Erik's wife, Dominique, dying along with their baby son in childbirth. He didn't love her, but he cared for her and grieves her passing. Unfortunately, Dominique's mother is a powerful witch who blames Erik entirely for this loss. She curses him to slowly become the rutting beast she feels he was for marrying Dominique against her wishes and getting her delicate daughter with child. Only Dominique's forgiveness can reverse the curse and Dominique is dead so his fate is sealed.
Kristine awaits the final moments of her life in the bowels of the prison where she is a condemned murderess. She had only been defending herself against rape, but she is alone, penniless and powerless so she is not believed. In her final hour, a mysterious cloaked man comes and chooses her to be his wife. Soon she learns that it is the Demon Lord himself, Erik Trevayne, who is now her husband. So many wild speculations are passed around about him since he hid himself away from society four years before at the death of his wife- a death he is rumored to have caused. He comes to her in the dark of the night remaining covered and never allowing her to see or touch him. He claims to only want one thing from her, a child, and then she will be free of him.
Erik is already half-way turned to the beast that Charmione cursed him to be, but he wants one lasting legacy. His father was disappointed that Erik's favored older brother passed and disappointed that he was stuck with Erik as his heir, but in one thing, he would like to please him. He never wants to be close to anyone again so he chose the pitiful young waif condemned to death and will get her with child so he can be assured that his father has the heir he wished for and then Erik will go off on his own to die.
Only, as the days progress, Erik realizes that Kristine is nothing like he imagined. He goes to her nightly, but silently watches her from the shadows as she settles in to her new home. She brings light and joy to the old castle again. Slowly he is captivated by her even as he refuses to satisfy her justifiable curiosity. He gives in to her wish to be near him and to do things together. He wants to feel some happiness before he loses it all when he becomes the beast.
Kristine's feelings grow for Erik even as her curiosity about his appearance and what is wrong with him remains unsatisfied. He will do anything for her or give her anything to make her happy, but that. She knows that whatever afflicts him brings physical pain, but also he carries around a great burden too. Not many months later she is with child and her fears are realized when Erik withdraws from her. Now more than ever she must discover his secrets and help him before it is too late.
As I have said, this was not just a light retelling of the old tale. This was a fantasy and a fairy tale in its own right. It was amazing in its scope and tone, the way the characters and their situation was painted and the growing tension as this one paced out slowly and steadily. The romance was beautifully done so that I was made to feel Kristine's bright hope and Erik's slow loss of hope even as he learns to love. The evil witch was truly evil and I really wanted her to get a painful, deserved ending the way she made Erik suffer so much even beyond the curse.
For much of the story, I was fully engaged, but then the author tossed in a few extra plot lines and I could only wonder what the point was beyond trying to stir up more drama that seemed pretty unnecessary on top of what was already going on. The intro to the werewolf family and the potential rival for Kristine just didn't work for me. Story didn't need it and, as I said, it felt just so contrived. The sideline with the wizard and Erik's mom was similar, but as it wasn't really to do with Erik and Kristine I tolerated its inclusion better. There was one action on Kristine's part which was made in desperation that didn't set well with me. I won't say what it was because it would be a spoiler, but it lessened her in my eyes. This stuff didn't ruin the story for me, but it did prevent me from being perfectly satisfied.
In the end, I was pleased with my venture into this strong and slightly spicy fantasy romance tale. I would recommend this one to those who enjoy fairytale retellings, fantasy romance and historical paranormal romance.
My thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
The story begins with Erik's wife, Dominique, dying along with their baby son in childbirth. He didn't love her, but he cared for her and grieves her passing. Unfortunately, Dominique's mother is a powerful witch who blames Erik entirely for this loss. She curses him to slowly become the rutting beast she feels he was for marrying Dominique against her wishes and getting her delicate daughter with child. Only Dominique's forgiveness can reverse the curse and Dominique is dead so his fate is sealed.
Kristine awaits the final moments of her life in the bowels of the prison where she is a condemned murderess. She had only been defending herself against rape, but she is alone, penniless and powerless so she is not believed. In her final hour, a mysterious cloaked man comes and chooses her to be his wife. Soon she learns that it is the Demon Lord himself, Erik Trevayne, who is now her husband. So many wild speculations are passed around about him since he hid himself away from society four years before at the death of his wife- a death he is rumored to have caused. He comes to her in the dark of the night remaining covered and never allowing her to see or touch him. He claims to only want one thing from her, a child, and then she will be free of him.
Erik is already half-way turned to the beast that Charmione cursed him to be, but he wants one lasting legacy. His father was disappointed that Erik's favored older brother passed and disappointed that he was stuck with Erik as his heir, but in one thing, he would like to please him. He never wants to be close to anyone again so he chose the pitiful young waif condemned to death and will get her with child so he can be assured that his father has the heir he wished for and then Erik will go off on his own to die.
Only, as the days progress, Erik realizes that Kristine is nothing like he imagined. He goes to her nightly, but silently watches her from the shadows as she settles in to her new home. She brings light and joy to the old castle again. Slowly he is captivated by her even as he refuses to satisfy her justifiable curiosity. He gives in to her wish to be near him and to do things together. He wants to feel some happiness before he loses it all when he becomes the beast.
Kristine's feelings grow for Erik even as her curiosity about his appearance and what is wrong with him remains unsatisfied. He will do anything for her or give her anything to make her happy, but that. She knows that whatever afflicts him brings physical pain, but also he carries around a great burden too. Not many months later she is with child and her fears are realized when Erik withdraws from her. Now more than ever she must discover his secrets and help him before it is too late.
As I have said, this was not just a light retelling of the old tale. This was a fantasy and a fairy tale in its own right. It was amazing in its scope and tone, the way the characters and their situation was painted and the growing tension as this one paced out slowly and steadily. The romance was beautifully done so that I was made to feel Kristine's bright hope and Erik's slow loss of hope even as he learns to love. The evil witch was truly evil and I really wanted her to get a painful, deserved ending the way she made Erik suffer so much even beyond the curse.
For much of the story, I was fully engaged, but then the author tossed in a few extra plot lines and I could only wonder what the point was beyond trying to stir up more drama that seemed pretty unnecessary on top of what was already going on. The intro to the werewolf family and the potential rival for Kristine just didn't work for me. Story didn't need it and, as I said, it felt just so contrived. The sideline with the wizard and Erik's mom was similar, but as it wasn't really to do with Erik and Kristine I tolerated its inclusion better. There was one action on Kristine's part which was made in desperation that didn't set well with me. I won't say what it was because it would be a spoiler, but it lessened her in my eyes. This stuff didn't ruin the story for me, but it did prevent me from being perfectly satisfied.
In the end, I was pleased with my venture into this strong and slightly spicy fantasy romance tale. I would recommend this one to those who enjoy fairytale retellings, fantasy romance and historical paranormal romance.
My thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 9, 2015
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: A retelling of Beauty and the Beast as well as Phantom of the Opera, this book – while promising – just didn’t work for me due to a slow pace and lack of character depth.
Opening Sentence: Erik Trevayne, seventh lord of Hawksbridge Castle, stood at his wife’s beside.
The Review:
When Erik’s first wife died, her mother placed a curse on him, telling him he would slowly turn into a beast. The curse is now halfway complete, with the left half of his body completely covered in fur. He still has a promise to keep to his father though: to produce an heir in order to carry on the family name. His plan is to marry, get his wife pregnant as quickly as possible, and then kill himself before the curse is complete. Erik decides to go to the prison to find a wife, thinking a woman saved from death would not care who she married. There, he finds Kristine, a woman literally hours away from the gallows. They quickly marry and begin the process of trying to beget an heir. Something unexpected happens though: Erik begins to care for her and she for him. The curse is still slowly making its way through his body though, and they are having no luck finding a way to break it. Is Erik doomed to become a beast now that he’s finally found the woman he loves, or will they find a way to break the curse?
I’m not always interested in fairy tale retellings, but the description for this book had me intrigued. Then, when I realized it was a retelling of Phantom of the Opera as well as Beauty and the Beast, I found myself getting excited. Unfortunately, the book never really delivered. It moved very slowly, the characters were not well developed, and there were many cases of repetition, which made reading feel very tedious. Needless to say, I was actually happy when the book ended because it meant I could move onto something else.
As I said, the characters weren’t well developed and felt very two dimensional. Kristine is the heroine who is absolutely beautiful and excels at everything she attempts. Erik is the tortured hero convinced that no one could ever love him. And that’s about it. Neither character is really developed much beyond that. Thus, the love story is very hard to get sucked into. In addition to the lack of character development, the love story was just hard to believe in general. I was given no evidence as to why Kristine was suddenly enamored of Erik. He visits her room a couple times, and all of a sudden, she’s fascinated with him. I have no idea where the love came from, and that made it very hard to enjoy myself as I was reading.
Overall, I’m very happy to have this book behind me. I wish I could find something positive to say about it, but I just did not enjoy it at all. I haven’t read any Amanda Ashley books before, so I can’t say how this one measures up to her other works. Unfortunately, due to my experience with this tale, I probably won’t be trying any of her other books.
Notable Scene:
“Look at me, Trevayne.”
Unable to resist the power in Charmion’s voice, he looked up, felt himself impaled by the hatred blazing in her witch-black eyes. Her heated gaze trapped his, holding him immobile so he could neither move nor look away.
“A rutting beast you were, a beast you will become. Not all at once, my selfish one. Day by day, the change will come upon you, until you have suffered for every tear my daughter wept, for every drop of blood she shed this day.”
“No!”
She nodded once. “As I have said it, so it shall be.”
FTC Advisory: Zebra/Kensington provided me with a copy of Beauty’s Beast. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: A retelling of Beauty and the Beast as well as Phantom of the Opera, this book – while promising – just didn’t work for me due to a slow pace and lack of character depth.
Opening Sentence: Erik Trevayne, seventh lord of Hawksbridge Castle, stood at his wife’s beside.
The Review:
When Erik’s first wife died, her mother placed a curse on him, telling him he would slowly turn into a beast. The curse is now halfway complete, with the left half of his body completely covered in fur. He still has a promise to keep to his father though: to produce an heir in order to carry on the family name. His plan is to marry, get his wife pregnant as quickly as possible, and then kill himself before the curse is complete. Erik decides to go to the prison to find a wife, thinking a woman saved from death would not care who she married. There, he finds Kristine, a woman literally hours away from the gallows. They quickly marry and begin the process of trying to beget an heir. Something unexpected happens though: Erik begins to care for her and she for him. The curse is still slowly making its way through his body though, and they are having no luck finding a way to break it. Is Erik doomed to become a beast now that he’s finally found the woman he loves, or will they find a way to break the curse?
I’m not always interested in fairy tale retellings, but the description for this book had me intrigued. Then, when I realized it was a retelling of Phantom of the Opera as well as Beauty and the Beast, I found myself getting excited. Unfortunately, the book never really delivered. It moved very slowly, the characters were not well developed, and there were many cases of repetition, which made reading feel very tedious. Needless to say, I was actually happy when the book ended because it meant I could move onto something else.
As I said, the characters weren’t well developed and felt very two dimensional. Kristine is the heroine who is absolutely beautiful and excels at everything she attempts. Erik is the tortured hero convinced that no one could ever love him. And that’s about it. Neither character is really developed much beyond that. Thus, the love story is very hard to get sucked into. In addition to the lack of character development, the love story was just hard to believe in general. I was given no evidence as to why Kristine was suddenly enamored of Erik. He visits her room a couple times, and all of a sudden, she’s fascinated with him. I have no idea where the love came from, and that made it very hard to enjoy myself as I was reading.
Overall, I’m very happy to have this book behind me. I wish I could find something positive to say about it, but I just did not enjoy it at all. I haven’t read any Amanda Ashley books before, so I can’t say how this one measures up to her other works. Unfortunately, due to my experience with this tale, I probably won’t be trying any of her other books.
Notable Scene:
“Look at me, Trevayne.”
Unable to resist the power in Charmion’s voice, he looked up, felt himself impaled by the hatred blazing in her witch-black eyes. Her heated gaze trapped his, holding him immobile so he could neither move nor look away.
“A rutting beast you were, a beast you will become. Not all at once, my selfish one. Day by day, the change will come upon you, until you have suffered for every tear my daughter wept, for every drop of blood she shed this day.”
“No!”
She nodded once. “As I have said it, so it shall be.”
FTC Advisory: Zebra/Kensington provided me with a copy of Beauty’s Beast. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
September 4, 2014
Beauty
Fair of face and figure, Kristine is young, innocent, pure. Yet she has been condemned to the gallows for killing a man. The only one who can save her is a lord so infamous that some say he is the son of the Devil himself...
And the Beast
Erik Trevayne is called the Demon Lord of Hawksbridge Castle, but few know of the curse he lives under. Or the terrifying changes slowly gnawing away at his humanity. When he weds her, all he wants of Kristine is a son. But when he beds her, a wild hope is born—that love that can tame even the most monstrous of beasts...
Review:
This book was not what I expected, yes I expected a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, but I did not expect it to be so emotional.
The story is of Erik, who is cursed by his former mother-in-law after the death of his first wife in childbirth. She curses him to slowly turn into a beast for every tear and drop of blood that came from her daughter...and the only way to save him is for the dead daughter to forgive Erik. Erik has locked himself away in his castle for almost 5 years, when he decides to take Kristine as his bride and fulfill the promise of an heir he made to his father. Kristine is about to be executed for killing a Lord in self defense and agrees to become Erik's wife. At this point Erik is half beast already and does what he can to get Kristine with child and keep himself emotionally removed from her, so that he may kill himself once Kristine is pregnant.
I honestly thought this was going to be just an erotic retelling of a fairytale, but was I pleasantly surprised to start reading this and find it a very emotionally driven story. While this is a love story, I would say the the love scenes are more on the sensual side. There were large parts of the story that left me teary-eyed. I felt so bad for Erik, he lost his wife and child and then he really lost everything else including his life. Later in the story when he realizes that try as he might, he wants to stay with Kristine and their baby and it seems as all hope is lost is so heartfelt and sad. Erik is still gruff and stubborn with everyone, but the author does a good job of making him well-rounded. I thought Kristine was well written also. She wanted so much for Erik to love her and have that intimacy that a husband and wife should have that made me sad for her. But Kristine has to have some back bone, she fought off and killed a man trying to rape her and then she is willing to make a huge sacrifice to save Erik's humanity. Now, don't get me wrong it is not all woe is me. It has lots of great things going for it, it is historical, it has action, romance and some magic. I really did not want to put this down once I started reading it and I didn't :)
This is the first time I have read this Author but will definitely read more her work!
Excellent re-telling of Beauty and the Beast!
4.5Stars
Fair of face and figure, Kristine is young, innocent, pure. Yet she has been condemned to the gallows for killing a man. The only one who can save her is a lord so infamous that some say he is the son of the Devil himself...
And the Beast
Erik Trevayne is called the Demon Lord of Hawksbridge Castle, but few know of the curse he lives under. Or the terrifying changes slowly gnawing away at his humanity. When he weds her, all he wants of Kristine is a son. But when he beds her, a wild hope is born—that love that can tame even the most monstrous of beasts...
Review:
This book was not what I expected, yes I expected a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, but I did not expect it to be so emotional.
The story is of Erik, who is cursed by his former mother-in-law after the death of his first wife in childbirth. She curses him to slowly turn into a beast for every tear and drop of blood that came from her daughter...and the only way to save him is for the dead daughter to forgive Erik. Erik has locked himself away in his castle for almost 5 years, when he decides to take Kristine as his bride and fulfill the promise of an heir he made to his father. Kristine is about to be executed for killing a Lord in self defense and agrees to become Erik's wife. At this point Erik is half beast already and does what he can to get Kristine with child and keep himself emotionally removed from her, so that he may kill himself once Kristine is pregnant.
I honestly thought this was going to be just an erotic retelling of a fairytale, but was I pleasantly surprised to start reading this and find it a very emotionally driven story. While this is a love story, I would say the the love scenes are more on the sensual side. There were large parts of the story that left me teary-eyed. I felt so bad for Erik, he lost his wife and child and then he really lost everything else including his life. Later in the story when he realizes that try as he might, he wants to stay with Kristine and their baby and it seems as all hope is lost is so heartfelt and sad. Erik is still gruff and stubborn with everyone, but the author does a good job of making him well-rounded. I thought Kristine was well written also. She wanted so much for Erik to love her and have that intimacy that a husband and wife should have that made me sad for her. But Kristine has to have some back bone, she fought off and killed a man trying to rape her and then she is willing to make a huge sacrifice to save Erik's humanity. Now, don't get me wrong it is not all woe is me. It has lots of great things going for it, it is historical, it has action, romance and some magic. I really did not want to put this down once I started reading it and I didn't :)
This is the first time I have read this Author but will definitely read more her work!
Excellent re-telling of Beauty and the Beast!
4.5Stars
September 4, 2014
I really wanted to like this. Who doesn't like a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, right? The first bits, where Kristine is being prepared to be executed for killing a man, just plucked at my heart strings. Then, that wedding night, ouchie for sure! She's just such a sweet little thing, just wants to be loved, and wants to pour her love out on a deserving person.
The many many many times we heard about his left hand/paw...the many many many times we got the back story repeated...wore me down. I found myself skimming many times as the back story and their angst was repeated. Now, I read this as an advanced copy, and hopefully an editor took a red pen to the repetitive narration. I'm thinking about creating a new hashtag to my reviews: #NaNoWriMoEffect. That means that the author was just repeating themselves to get more words into a manuscript.
I also felt there were some "what the heck" moments. While poor Erik is nearly changed, he comes across some werewolves! Good timing, that. AND one of the lovely female wolves says that if the change doesn't stop, she'll be there as his mate. This sort of came out of the blue sky.
Let's get to the bad witch. She's the mother of Erik's first wife, and when that poor dear died, along with his son, in childbirth, she curses him to the beastly change. But she wants it to be meted out slowly. She was a really good BAD GUY. You can come to hate her easily.
Then there's the GOOD WARLOCK. You can really like him. But why was the question of Dominique's father never put to him? I kept thinking it should be.
The end is all tied up in about five paragraphs. Rushed doesn't begin to cover it.
Now, I know you're wondering why I am giving this a THREE BOOKMARK rating. That's because the premise was good and it touched my heart. When I started skimming the repetitive narrative, I liked it much better. I liked how, once she got over being a total 17 year old girl and NOSY beyond belief, Kristine found a backbone of STEEL. She didn't just wait at home for help. She stood up for who and what she wanted. I like that. I do recommend the story, as some might not be bothered by the repetitive nature of the narration (are you tired of me saying that so many times?). I did find myself rooting for Kristine to find her HEA. You might, too.
Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington ~ Zebra, for the opportunity to read Beauty's Beast
The many many many times we heard about his left hand/paw...the many many many times we got the back story repeated...wore me down. I found myself skimming many times as the back story and their angst was repeated. Now, I read this as an advanced copy, and hopefully an editor took a red pen to the repetitive narration. I'm thinking about creating a new hashtag to my reviews: #NaNoWriMoEffect. That means that the author was just repeating themselves to get more words into a manuscript.
I also felt there were some "what the heck" moments. While poor Erik is nearly changed, he comes across some werewolves! Good timing, that. AND one of the lovely female wolves says that if the change doesn't stop, she'll be there as his mate. This sort of came out of the blue sky.
Let's get to the bad witch. She's the mother of Erik's first wife, and when that poor dear died, along with his son, in childbirth, she curses him to the beastly change. But she wants it to be meted out slowly. She was a really good BAD GUY. You can come to hate her easily.
Then there's the GOOD WARLOCK. You can really like him. But why was the question of Dominique's father never put to him? I kept thinking it should be.
The end is all tied up in about five paragraphs. Rushed doesn't begin to cover it.
Now, I know you're wondering why I am giving this a THREE BOOKMARK rating. That's because the premise was good and it touched my heart. When I started skimming the repetitive narrative, I liked it much better. I liked how, once she got over being a total 17 year old girl and NOSY beyond belief, Kristine found a backbone of STEEL. She didn't just wait at home for help. She stood up for who and what she wanted. I like that. I do recommend the story, as some might not be bothered by the repetitive nature of the narration (are you tired of me saying that so many times?). I did find myself rooting for Kristine to find her HEA. You might, too.
Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington ~ Zebra, for the opportunity to read Beauty's Beast
August 30, 2014
A dark and emotional retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Beauty's Beast was a wonderful romance. I really liked this book. It had romance, magic, deep emotions, and enough suspense to keep you turning the pages. I thought it was a lovely read.
Kristine was a likable heroine. She was smart about her situation, determined to judge Erik by what she saw of him, rather than the rumors she heard about him. And, when the time came for finding answers, she didn't leave any stone unturned. I thought the was great and I liked her.
Erik was also wonderful. His emotions were very well portrayed. His despair and hopelessness about stopping the curse and his reluctant caring for Kristine. He was a good man who was put in a bad situation and was trying to make the best of it without hurting anyone. I thought he was just adorable.
The romance was lovely. Kristine and Erik were a sweet couple who slowly grew to truly love each other. And, they definitely had chemistry. I thought they were a delightful couple.
There were a couple of things that didn't hit the mark for me. 1) It says right in the beginning, when Erik's mother-in-law was cursing him, that the curse would only be broken when her daughter (his late wife) forgave him. So I don't understand why he didn't find a medium or a necromancer or something to call up Dominique (the aforementioned late wife) and ask for her forgiveness (even though he didn't do anything wrong. She died in childbirth, something every woman knew was a possible outcome when they got pregnant during this time). I don't get how that didn't occur to him at some point in the 4+ years that he had been cursed. 2) During the last third of the book, a lot of elements suddenly came up that felt unnecessary. I was already into the story. I didn't need the sudden inclusion of a wizard, a wicked witch's lair, and a wolf pack with an overly friendly female wolf. I would have liked it better if it had just stayed focused on Erik and Christine and them actually trying to figure out how to break the curse (again, not sure why no one though about calling up Dominique). Despite both of these issues, though, I still enjoyed they book. Though it did knock down a peg, it was still a great book.
The plot was fast paced and I was hooked the entire way through (even in the problematic last chunk). I really liked how the emotions were portrayed, particularly Erik's clear despair at slowly turning into a beast. I really enjoyed the story and the ending was lovely.
Beauty's Beast was a wonderful romance that I really enjoyed. Emotional, dark, and romantic, this book was lovely. Romance lovers, this is a book you'll want to check out.
*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Kristine was a likable heroine. She was smart about her situation, determined to judge Erik by what she saw of him, rather than the rumors she heard about him. And, when the time came for finding answers, she didn't leave any stone unturned. I thought the was great and I liked her.
Erik was also wonderful. His emotions were very well portrayed. His despair and hopelessness about stopping the curse and his reluctant caring for Kristine. He was a good man who was put in a bad situation and was trying to make the best of it without hurting anyone. I thought he was just adorable.
The romance was lovely. Kristine and Erik were a sweet couple who slowly grew to truly love each other. And, they definitely had chemistry. I thought they were a delightful couple.
There were a couple of things that didn't hit the mark for me. 1) It says right in the beginning, when Erik's mother-in-law was cursing him, that the curse would only be broken when her daughter (his late wife) forgave him. So I don't understand why he didn't find a medium or a necromancer or something to call up Dominique (the aforementioned late wife) and ask for her forgiveness (even though he didn't do anything wrong. She died in childbirth, something every woman knew was a possible outcome when they got pregnant during this time). I don't get how that didn't occur to him at some point in the 4+ years that he had been cursed. 2) During the last third of the book, a lot of elements suddenly came up that felt unnecessary. I was already into the story. I didn't need the sudden inclusion of a wizard, a wicked witch's lair, and a wolf pack with an overly friendly female wolf. I would have liked it better if it had just stayed focused on Erik and Christine and them actually trying to figure out how to break the curse (again, not sure why no one though about calling up Dominique). Despite both of these issues, though, I still enjoyed they book. Though it did knock down a peg, it was still a great book.
The plot was fast paced and I was hooked the entire way through (even in the problematic last chunk). I really liked how the emotions were portrayed, particularly Erik's clear despair at slowly turning into a beast. I really enjoyed the story and the ending was lovely.
Beauty's Beast was a wonderful romance that I really enjoyed. Emotional, dark, and romantic, this book was lovely. Romance lovers, this is a book you'll want to check out.
*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
September 4, 2014
A Fairy Tale Re-told!
Beauty's Beast is Amanda Ashley at her very finest. Newest release and stand alone this is Amanda’s own re-telling of the ultimate story of love and devotion against all odds, the infamous Beauty and the Beast!
Lord Erik Trevayne and Kristine Arrington are in a battle against evil which will compel you to read until the last page is turned. As the second son of the Lord Hawksbridge Castle, Erik had no ties to the estate, as the spare there was no love lost between father and son, for his brother Robert is the heir to all his father owns. Although Erik felt his father a wise man and respected him, unforeseen circumstances forced a deathbed promise, to Erik is was more a curse. Fulfilling that promise brought another curse upon Erik, this time from the village witch Charmion, …”for every tear my daughter wept”…..the haunting memories of his last remembrance of his late wife Dominique continue to plague him. Kristine Arrington, filthy and cold, housed in the prison dungeon facing the gallows for what is being called a brutal crime committed against Lord Valentine a peer of the realm, (regardless of his reputation as a notorious rake) must come to terms her life will end at such a young age. Faced with keeping his promise, honor-bound Erik Trevayne, now known by all as the Demon Lord of Hawksbridge Castle, is desperate to once and for all rid himself of the curse set upon him. Erik hopes to find the answer in one doomed soul destined to die. With time continuing its fast march forward can Erik control himself long enough to accomplish what is required and keep his stone-cold heart caged safely within? This captivating story will hold the reader spell-bound (literally)!
Beauty's Beast is Amanda Ashley at her very finest. Newest release and stand alone this is Amanda’s own re-telling of the ultimate story of love and devotion against all odds, the infamous Beauty and the Beast!
Lord Erik Trevayne and Kristine Arrington are in a battle against evil which will compel you to read until the last page is turned. As the second son of the Lord Hawksbridge Castle, Erik had no ties to the estate, as the spare there was no love lost between father and son, for his brother Robert is the heir to all his father owns. Although Erik felt his father a wise man and respected him, unforeseen circumstances forced a deathbed promise, to Erik is was more a curse. Fulfilling that promise brought another curse upon Erik, this time from the village witch Charmion, …”for every tear my daughter wept”…..the haunting memories of his last remembrance of his late wife Dominique continue to plague him. Kristine Arrington, filthy and cold, housed in the prison dungeon facing the gallows for what is being called a brutal crime committed against Lord Valentine a peer of the realm, (regardless of his reputation as a notorious rake) must come to terms her life will end at such a young age. Faced with keeping his promise, honor-bound Erik Trevayne, now known by all as the Demon Lord of Hawksbridge Castle, is desperate to once and for all rid himself of the curse set upon him. Erik hopes to find the answer in one doomed soul destined to die. With time continuing its fast march forward can Erik control himself long enough to accomplish what is required and keep his stone-cold heart caged safely within? This captivating story will hold the reader spell-bound (literally)!
September 11, 2014
Condemned to the gallows, Kristine is stunned when she is rescued by the Demon Lord of Hawksbridge Castle and is married to him that very day and she can only hope that her love can tame even the most monstrous of beasts in this riveting paranormal fairy tale romance.
This steady to fast paced and smooth flowing plot captivates readers with a surprisingly different spin of a classic fairy tale. The author brings the story to life with well written scenes and details that capture the imagination and the suspense and drama draw the readers in and make them feel as if they are part of the story. The characters are strong, compelling and grab the reader’s attention from the very beginning.
Kristine is determined to make the very best of her marriage even if all Erik wants is an heir, hides his face and doesn’t allow her to touch him. Little by little she comes to care for him and their passion grows and by the time she finds out his secret it’s too late…she loves him and will do whatever it takes to save him. The reader can’t help but get caught up in the emotionally gripping tale and all the drama and magic of the romance.
The historical setting adds the perfect ambiance to the story and you can practically feel the evil oozing off the pages when in the presence of their enemy who is very determined to make them all suffer. I must say that even though I love Amanda Ashley’s books I was a bit worried about this one, but once again the author came through and wrote a fascinating story with some interesting twists that kept me completely caught up in the story from beginning to end and I must admit to being quite surprised by the end.
This steady to fast paced and smooth flowing plot captivates readers with a surprisingly different spin of a classic fairy tale. The author brings the story to life with well written scenes and details that capture the imagination and the suspense and drama draw the readers in and make them feel as if they are part of the story. The characters are strong, compelling and grab the reader’s attention from the very beginning.
Kristine is determined to make the very best of her marriage even if all Erik wants is an heir, hides his face and doesn’t allow her to touch him. Little by little she comes to care for him and their passion grows and by the time she finds out his secret it’s too late…she loves him and will do whatever it takes to save him. The reader can’t help but get caught up in the emotionally gripping tale and all the drama and magic of the romance.
The historical setting adds the perfect ambiance to the story and you can practically feel the evil oozing off the pages when in the presence of their enemy who is very determined to make them all suffer. I must say that even though I love Amanda Ashley’s books I was a bit worried about this one, but once again the author came through and wrote a fascinating story with some interesting twists that kept me completely caught up in the story from beginning to end and I must admit to being quite surprised by the end.
September 9, 2014
I was prepared to enjoy this story a bit, but I wasn’t prepared to fall in love and be unable to put it down. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairytales, and this retelling was done beautifully and with enough uniqueness that I was waiting anxiously for what would happen next.
Kristine is an innocent young woman, who is hours away from the gallows, when she’s saved by the mysterious Lord of Hawksbridge. I loved Kristine because even though her marriage starts off a bit rough, she’s determined to make her marriage work. I love her for her courage, and her willingness to let Erik hide his issues, and not press him even though the curiosity is killing her.
Erik, was a good guy, he didn’t deserve the curse, and I think by allowing us to be in his point of view, the author endears us to him. At times his actions are very brutish and fitting with his curse of becoming a beast, but because we get to see his remorse and his true feelings, and I fell a little in love with him too.
The curse isn’t broken in the way I expected, and I liked that the author kept me guessing. I was very satisfied with the ending, and I would easily re-read this story again.
I received a copy for the purpose of review. I was not compensated for my review.
Kristine is an innocent young woman, who is hours away from the gallows, when she’s saved by the mysterious Lord of Hawksbridge. I loved Kristine because even though her marriage starts off a bit rough, she’s determined to make her marriage work. I love her for her courage, and her willingness to let Erik hide his issues, and not press him even though the curiosity is killing her.
Erik, was a good guy, he didn’t deserve the curse, and I think by allowing us to be in his point of view, the author endears us to him. At times his actions are very brutish and fitting with his curse of becoming a beast, but because we get to see his remorse and his true feelings, and I fell a little in love with him too.
The curse isn’t broken in the way I expected, and I liked that the author kept me guessing. I was very satisfied with the ending, and I would easily re-read this story again.
I received a copy for the purpose of review. I was not compensated for my review.
September 1, 2014
I have several of Amanda's books and I am glad I chose to review this one. I like her fantasy-paranormal stories. This is a nice version of Beauty and the Beast. Erik Trevayne never wanted to become Lord Hawksbridge. His first wife died with her baby during childbirth. Chairman, her mother, is a witch and puts a curse on Erik for killing her daughter. Go ahead 4 years and he (spoiler) finds a girl, Kristine, to marry and get his heir. His curse is affecting him and he doesn't want to become close to Kristine. There are lots of tense moments between them. No spoiler but there is a twist or two near the end. I fell in love with Kristine and Erik. They were just so vulnerable. Please read this book. It's hard to put down. Enjoy! I have this book for an honest review for NetGalley.
August 18, 2014
Erik was cursed by his mother-in-law at the deathbed of his wife and newborn child, and has given up on life. If it wasn´t for the promise he gave his father - to marry and make an heir. Not wanting to make a connection to anyone, he shops for his next wife - in jail.
Kristine is facing a death sentence for murdering the man trying to rape her and has given up on everything when the man in black appears with a chance to live. Can she take it? And what is his secret?
Historical romance, suspense, magic and smutty fluff in a great combo.
ARC is provided by author/publisher for an honest review
Kristine is facing a death sentence for murdering the man trying to rape her and has given up on everything when the man in black appears with a chance to live. Can she take it? And what is his secret?
Historical romance, suspense, magic and smutty fluff in a great combo.
ARC is provided by author/publisher for an honest review
August 24, 2014
I like Beauty and the Beast retellings but not this one. One of the biggest things going against it was a totally lack of any world building. I'm assuming it took place in England because of the main character's title and that it took place sometime before 1900 but that is absolutely all you know about the world. I need some sort of world building to explain why all the powerful witches and wizards are running around and no one seems the least surprised or frightened.
Also I think this was supposed to be angsty but I just didn't feel it at all. So just meh for e.
Also I think this was supposed to be angsty but I just didn't feel it at all. So just meh for e.
June 15, 2016
3.5 stars
I wasn't impressed by the story. The first pages were kinda boring and expected. I mean it was the expected hostage part. Well kind of hostage.
The magic, especially when the wizard was involved made me roll my eyes. So, why 3.5 stars?
Because of the feelings. It may be just me because I can relate to Kristine and because of the wolf-lord but I found a part of my life in the story.
I think I will write a detailed review as soon as I have my computer back.
I wasn't impressed by the story. The first pages were kinda boring and expected. I mean it was the expected hostage part. Well kind of hostage.
The magic, especially when the wizard was involved made me roll my eyes. So, why 3.5 stars?
Because of the feelings. It may be just me because I can relate to Kristine and because of the wolf-lord but I found a part of my life in the story.
I think I will write a detailed review as soon as I have my computer back.
August 8, 2014
This was a really cute beauty n the beast! I enjoyed it a lot. I loved Kristine she was a good h. I will look for more from this author.
July 3, 2015
I'm going to have to make a shelf for books Im glad we're from the library...
March 25, 2017
An amazingly vivid and creatively written rendition of the Beauty and the Beast legend! Took a lot of different twists and turns that I wasn't expecting, but an otherwise excellent read!
April 9, 2016
Originally posted on the blog: What the Cat Read
Here at What the Cat Read, we love a good retelling of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. We also enjoy retellings of The Phantom of the Opera, too. So imagine my joy when I discovered that Ashley’s book has elements of both between its bindings! Yup, I got two for one with this novel, and while there were a few things that kept me from absolutely loving the story, I still enjoyed enough of it to give it four paws. Honestly, Ashley has a great book here which I think fans of paranormal romance, fairy tale retellings, and those just looking for a fun read will enjoy. =^.^=
So first things first, I absolutely loved Ashley’s take on Beauty and the Beast, and mixing in elements of Phantom was a genius move, whether intentional or not. Erik and Kristine…I do so love those names. But it isn’t just names that Ashley took from Phantom, it was also Erik’s mask: black silk which covers one half of his face and a portion of the other side. Yeah, okay, so she’s not a soprano and he’s not a mad genius who kidnaps her into his underground lair, the names and mask were enough to make me happy. Add in the impulse on Kristine’s part of see what is beneath the mask and some dialogue between them which feels like it came from Phantom and I consider it a win. As for the Beauty and Beast spin, placing Erik under a spell which slowly causes him to change into a beast made me even more sympathetic to him than I’ve been to the beast in previous adaptations. And given that he really doesn’t deserve the curse to begin with and that he can’t break it by simply finding someone to love him in return like in the original fairy tale, well, let’s just say that this was definitely a unique way of approaching things.
I liked Kristine. She’s strong, determined, doesn’t hesitate to fight for her safety or her desires, and generally struck me as being easy to relate to. Yeah, she’s seventeen and I can understand those folks who had issues with her being that young, but I do tend to look at age as being a state of mind and once upon a time, seventeen would not have been considered inappropriate for what happens to her in this story. Erik is a brooding, secretive, tortured man who in my opinion didn’t deserve the curse his mother-in-law placed upon him. I felt for him in this book and hated that he didn’t feel like he could turn to anyone for compassion or understanding. On the other paw, I really got tired of his continually bemoaning his fate, and that was more the fault of Ashley rather than Erik. If I were in his shoes I’d probably be upset every time I caught a glimpse of myself and realized how much had changed so quickly. Still, it would have been nice to see more fire in him, more effort on his part to put up a fight rather than just give in and slowly let it happen.
The romance between both characters was interesting. It was slow to develop and I liked that when it truly formed it wasn’t in your face and over the top. Erik’s request that Kristine not touch him lent those moments they were together a sense of mystery and sensuality. Now, I’ll admit that I wasn’t overly thrilled with Erik’s original reason for marrying Kristine, but again, I can overlook it and accept it on grounds that at one point in time stuff like this was common. The fact that they did eventually find love between them also holds true for their type of relationship. I wouldn’t go so far as to call this a historical romance, but there are elements of it here and I’m okay with that.
So what didn’t I enjoy about the book? Well first off there was a lot of bouncing between character perspective within scenes. One minute you’d be in Kristine’s head and the next you are looking through Erik’s eyes. I get that this is an acceptable style of writing, but I personally do not enjoy sudden “head hopping.” It makes it hard for me to shift gears when I’m immersed in one character’s point of view only to suddenly find myself in the other…it’s very jarring and I don’t like it.
Another issue that I had was the ending which was way too simple and unsatisfying. I probably would have given this 4 paws and a tail wave of appreciation had it not been for the ending. I don’t want to say what happens because that would be spoiling things, and I really do feel that readers should give this book a try, but I do feel that it is necessary to say that the ending was rather anticlimactic. Ashley does a great job of writing a great many suspenseful scenes, but the moment that that talent really should have shown, it wasn’t there. I’m not saying that I have a problem with Happily Ever After endings, I don’t, but I do have an issue with simple solutions to a problem and antagonistic characters. I got to the end and promptly asked “What the…Did I really just read that?” Sigh, so much potential, and yet such a let down.
The last problem that I had was the werewolves. Seriously, why go to the trouble of introducing a pack of werewolves if you aren’t intending to do anything with them? All the other characters served a purpose in the story, though I still question the need to bring in a white wizard on top of everything else, but the werewolves really didn’t serve a purpose. Okay, you could argue that they are there to comfort Erik and provide him with the knowledge that he doesn’t have to be alone once the curse complete, but given that they are working to find a way to break the spell, I don’t understand why they needed to be included in the first place. Unless there is the hope of a story spinning off from this that involves them later, the book could have been just fine without them.
Regardless of these issues, Beauty’s Beast is an intriguing read and probably one of the most unique retellings of my favorite fairy tale that I’ve read this year. I really do feel that readers would enjoy this book and I’m curious to see if Ashley intends to make a series out of this, either by writing about the various characters in this book or by simply continuing to write fairy tale adaptations set in the world she’s created in this book. She definitely leaves room to go either way if she so desired.
Here at What the Cat Read, we love a good retelling of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. We also enjoy retellings of The Phantom of the Opera, too. So imagine my joy when I discovered that Ashley’s book has elements of both between its bindings! Yup, I got two for one with this novel, and while there were a few things that kept me from absolutely loving the story, I still enjoyed enough of it to give it four paws. Honestly, Ashley has a great book here which I think fans of paranormal romance, fairy tale retellings, and those just looking for a fun read will enjoy. =^.^=
So first things first, I absolutely loved Ashley’s take on Beauty and the Beast, and mixing in elements of Phantom was a genius move, whether intentional or not. Erik and Kristine…I do so love those names. But it isn’t just names that Ashley took from Phantom, it was also Erik’s mask: black silk which covers one half of his face and a portion of the other side. Yeah, okay, so she’s not a soprano and he’s not a mad genius who kidnaps her into his underground lair, the names and mask were enough to make me happy. Add in the impulse on Kristine’s part of see what is beneath the mask and some dialogue between them which feels like it came from Phantom and I consider it a win. As for the Beauty and Beast spin, placing Erik under a spell which slowly causes him to change into a beast made me even more sympathetic to him than I’ve been to the beast in previous adaptations. And given that he really doesn’t deserve the curse to begin with and that he can’t break it by simply finding someone to love him in return like in the original fairy tale, well, let’s just say that this was definitely a unique way of approaching things.
I liked Kristine. She’s strong, determined, doesn’t hesitate to fight for her safety or her desires, and generally struck me as being easy to relate to. Yeah, she’s seventeen and I can understand those folks who had issues with her being that young, but I do tend to look at age as being a state of mind and once upon a time, seventeen would not have been considered inappropriate for what happens to her in this story. Erik is a brooding, secretive, tortured man who in my opinion didn’t deserve the curse his mother-in-law placed upon him. I felt for him in this book and hated that he didn’t feel like he could turn to anyone for compassion or understanding. On the other paw, I really got tired of his continually bemoaning his fate, and that was more the fault of Ashley rather than Erik. If I were in his shoes I’d probably be upset every time I caught a glimpse of myself and realized how much had changed so quickly. Still, it would have been nice to see more fire in him, more effort on his part to put up a fight rather than just give in and slowly let it happen.
The romance between both characters was interesting. It was slow to develop and I liked that when it truly formed it wasn’t in your face and over the top. Erik’s request that Kristine not touch him lent those moments they were together a sense of mystery and sensuality. Now, I’ll admit that I wasn’t overly thrilled with Erik’s original reason for marrying Kristine, but again, I can overlook it and accept it on grounds that at one point in time stuff like this was common. The fact that they did eventually find love between them also holds true for their type of relationship. I wouldn’t go so far as to call this a historical romance, but there are elements of it here and I’m okay with that.
So what didn’t I enjoy about the book? Well first off there was a lot of bouncing between character perspective within scenes. One minute you’d be in Kristine’s head and the next you are looking through Erik’s eyes. I get that this is an acceptable style of writing, but I personally do not enjoy sudden “head hopping.” It makes it hard for me to shift gears when I’m immersed in one character’s point of view only to suddenly find myself in the other…it’s very jarring and I don’t like it.
Another issue that I had was the ending which was way too simple and unsatisfying. I probably would have given this 4 paws and a tail wave of appreciation had it not been for the ending. I don’t want to say what happens because that would be spoiling things, and I really do feel that readers should give this book a try, but I do feel that it is necessary to say that the ending was rather anticlimactic. Ashley does a great job of writing a great many suspenseful scenes, but the moment that that talent really should have shown, it wasn’t there. I’m not saying that I have a problem with Happily Ever After endings, I don’t, but I do have an issue with simple solutions to a problem and antagonistic characters. I got to the end and promptly asked “What the…Did I really just read that?” Sigh, so much potential, and yet such a let down.
The last problem that I had was the werewolves. Seriously, why go to the trouble of introducing a pack of werewolves if you aren’t intending to do anything with them? All the other characters served a purpose in the story, though I still question the need to bring in a white wizard on top of everything else, but the werewolves really didn’t serve a purpose. Okay, you could argue that they are there to comfort Erik and provide him with the knowledge that he doesn’t have to be alone once the curse complete, but given that they are working to find a way to break the spell, I don’t understand why they needed to be included in the first place. Unless there is the hope of a story spinning off from this that involves them later, the book could have been just fine without them.
Regardless of these issues, Beauty’s Beast is an intriguing read and probably one of the most unique retellings of my favorite fairy tale that I’ve read this year. I really do feel that readers would enjoy this book and I’m curious to see if Ashley intends to make a series out of this, either by writing about the various characters in this book or by simply continuing to write fairy tale adaptations set in the world she’s created in this book. She definitely leaves room to go either way if she so desired.
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