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Damsels of Distress #3
Beauty X Beast
Metal hearts and war machines. Fight for freedom… or surrender to fate.
Danielle Tinkersdottir, the shining star of Frontière, has always dreamed of earning a system-granted class that reflects her hard work as a tinkerer alongside her father. Her heart is set on becoming a magic engineer, but on her eighteenth birthday the System crushes the bookish heroine’s hopes, granting her the alluring power of an Enchantress.
Before she can adjust to this cruel twist, Baron Gasteel Leiter, a relentless noble tasked with recruiting for the kingdom’s war effort, demands Danielle's hand in marriage. When she refuses, Gasteel brands her father a traitor, offering the defiant bride three grim marry him, let her father die, or achieve the impossible—convince the System-Forsaken Battle Beast, the cursed Comte, to return to the war.
Danielle chooses the impossible. Journeying into the Comte’s lair, she faces a monstrous war criminal abandoned by the crown. Though her skills lie in beauty, her wit and determination will decide the continent’s the new Enchantress must either heal the broken hero of the kingdom, or awaken the sleeping monster and force him to fight for her future.
Only one thing can save the world from a brutal a beauty who sees beyond the beast.
Danielle Tinkersdottir, the shining star of Frontière, has always dreamed of earning a system-granted class that reflects her hard work as a tinkerer alongside her father. Her heart is set on becoming a magic engineer, but on her eighteenth birthday the System crushes the bookish heroine’s hopes, granting her the alluring power of an Enchantress.
Before she can adjust to this cruel twist, Baron Gasteel Leiter, a relentless noble tasked with recruiting for the kingdom’s war effort, demands Danielle's hand in marriage. When she refuses, Gasteel brands her father a traitor, offering the defiant bride three grim marry him, let her father die, or achieve the impossible—convince the System-Forsaken Battle Beast, the cursed Comte, to return to the war.
Danielle chooses the impossible. Journeying into the Comte’s lair, she faces a monstrous war criminal abandoned by the crown. Though her skills lie in beauty, her wit and determination will decide the continent’s the new Enchantress must either heal the broken hero of the kingdom, or awaken the sleeping monster and force him to fight for her future.
Only one thing can save the world from a brutal a beauty who sees beyond the beast.
342 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 22, 2025
About the author
Dakota Krout
73 books2,902 followersAuthor of the best-selling Divine Dungeon, Completionist Chronicles, and Full Murderhobo series, Dakota Krout was chosen as Audible's top 5 fantasy pick of 2017, has been a top 5 bestseller on Amazon, and a top 6 bestseller on Audible.
He draws on his experience in the military to create vast terrains and intricate systems, and his history in programming and information technology helps him bring a logical aspect to both his writing and his company while giving him a unique perspective for future challenges.
Publishing my stories has been an incredible blessing thus far, and I hope to keep you entertained for years to come! -Dakota Krout
He draws on his experience in the military to create vast terrains and intricate systems, and his history in programming and information technology helps him bring a logical aspect to both his writing and his company while giving him a unique perspective for future challenges.
Publishing my stories has been an incredible blessing thus far, and I hope to keep you entertained for years to come! -Dakota Krout
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 6, 2025
Be still my beating heart! This series is just getting better and better! Our heroine is sassy and has the best can do for myself attitude and I also honestly agree that staying home and reading to be away from shallow people is also my go to move. Anyone one else sing the "No one__like Gaston" or was it just me? That poor village will never recover from the egg loss. Now I'm sitting patiently and waiting for the next book and am so excited for when everyone will eventually meet!!!
August 25, 2025
I’ve enjoyed the first two of these retellings, but I’ve never really enjoyed Beauty and the Beast, and unfortunately this retelling didn’t do enough for me to bring it beyond its original. The reworking of the characters was solid and I appreciate the more apparent role reversal. Still looking forward to the next installment.
September 29, 2025
Twist on the tale.
This entry in the series is much more familiar from the titular fairy tale, but of course different as well. In this case, the beauty is running from disaster and the beast is covering for something else entirely. The love of father is still in there. As well as the charming nature of the main character. Throw in some LitRPG magic, and you have some fun.
This entry in the series is much more familiar from the titular fairy tale, but of course different as well. In this case, the beauty is running from disaster and the beast is covering for something else entirely. The love of father is still in there. As well as the charming nature of the main character. Throw in some LitRPG magic, and you have some fun.
July 28, 2025
I liked it
So this series is set in the CAL world, and each book is its own cast of characters. I liked the last one better. This was a fun read, but the bad guy was rather bland. I'll keep reading this series.
So this series is set in the CAL world, and each book is its own cast of characters. I liked the last one better. This was a fun read, but the bad guy was rather bland. I'll keep reading this series.
October 25, 2025
Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorites. I think I was hoping for quite a lot with this one, since it is one of my faves. It worked but I only found it alright. I'm sure the others will be just as wonderful as the first two for me.
May 14, 2026
It's far better than the Beauty and the Beast Live action movie of Disney. But if I put it put against the original animated movie, and beastly, it's in third place, and in that order. But still a creative take on the story!
August 1, 2025
I loved this author’s take on the classic fairy tale!
There were so many fun references.
There were so many fun references.
September 2, 2025
Solid
I liked the first one best, but this was much better than the last one. It was creative and different and kept me wondering what comes next.
I liked the first one best, but this was much better than the last one. It was creative and different and kept me wondering what comes next.
December 18, 2025
Romance:
January 13, 2026
Beauty X Beast
Danielle’s blessings have pushed her to be a paragon of beauty and grace. However, this is not what she desires. She wants to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a tinkerer. The locals were annoying, but not dangerous. That was before Baron Gasteel showed up and gave her a choice. Serve him as a recruiter for the mechanical genius who built a robotic army or become his wife.
These standalone litrpg fairy tales are a blast! The litrpg version of Beauty and the Beast is my favorite so far. The Beast and his story is so interesting. The residents of the castle are just perfect. Emily Woo Zeller did a fantastic job with the narration!
Content warning: none
Danielle’s blessings have pushed her to be a paragon of beauty and grace. However, this is not what she desires. She wants to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a tinkerer. The locals were annoying, but not dangerous. That was before Baron Gasteel showed up and gave her a choice. Serve him as a recruiter for the mechanical genius who built a robotic army or become his wife.
These standalone litrpg fairy tales are a blast! The litrpg version of Beauty and the Beast is my favorite so far. The Beast and his story is so interesting. The residents of the castle are just perfect. Emily Woo Zeller did a fantastic job with the narration!
Content warning: none
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews