Fans of Christian Romantic Fiction will love with this contemporary retelling of Beauty and the Beast. A smart and tender love story with lots of sizzle, set against the splendid backdrop of a sweeping, timeless mansion!
High-powered real estate executive, Belle Montrose has a lot riding on a deal—a deal that must take place else her career will crumble! Only one man stands in the way—the elusive Sebastian Blake, heir to the valuable Rosewood Estate. He refuses to sell to Belle’s client, even though Rosewood is on the brink of foreclosure. When Sebastian Blake cancels a conference call, Belle is furious! She jumps in her car and drives to his estate, determined to speak to him face to face. Never mind that it’s coming a blizzard or that she’s sick with the flu.
Sparks fly when Belle barges into Sebastian’s home and demands that he listen to her. Sebastian Blake is not only devastatingly gorgeous, but he’s formidable and beastly in the way he chomps Belle to bits with a severe tongue-lashing that cuts her to the core. In a rage, she storms out of his house, vowing to never lay eyes on him again, but a twist of fate, throws her right back into the den of the beast, where she finds herself completely at his mercy.
Sebastian Blake offers her a proposal she cannot refuse, and she’s drawn into his world—an intoxicating world of charm, romance, roses, and dancing. And try as she might, she can’t fight the incredible attraction she feels for Sebastian. Will she risk everything for the man whose beastly charm is captivating her heart, or will her head win out in the end?
Jennifer loves reading and writing clean romance. She believes that happily ever after is not just for stories. Jennifer enjoys interior design, rollerblading, clogging, jogging, and chocolate. In Jennifer’s opinion there are few ills that can’t be solved with a warm brownie and scoop of vanilla-bean ice cream. Jennifer grew up in rural Alabama and loved living in a town where “everybody knows everybody.” Her love for writing began as a young teenager when she wrote stories for her high school English teacher to critique. Jennifer has a BA in English and Social Sciences from Brigham Young University Hawaii where she served as Miss BYU Hawaii. Before becoming an author, she worked as the owner and editor of a monthly newspaper named The Senior Times. She now lives in the Rocky Mountains with her family and spends her time writing and doing all of the wonderful things that make up the life of a busy wife and mother.
This is my first book by this author and I knew from the book blurb that it was a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
Belle Montrose is a real estate executive who's determined to get Sebastian Blake, to sell Rosewood Estate. After he backs out of a planned conference call to discuss her client's offer, Belle is so angry she decides to drive from St. George to Park City, in spite of an impending blizzard and the fact that she's coming down with the flu, so she can talk to Sebastian in person.
Sparks fly when she meets with Sebastian because he overhears part of her conversation with Peter (her co-worker and finance'), they argue because her client wants to tear Rosewood Estate apart. It ends with her calling him a self-righteous and arrogant beast, and Sebastian telling her she's "certainly no beauty". Belle storms out, attempting to drive back to St. George in the blinding snow, hits a tree totalling her car before she even leaves the Estate, knocking herself unconscious. She awakens a few days later to find that Sebastian and Alastair (his butler, chef, and friend) have been taking care of her. Sebastian makes a deal with Belle that she stay at Rosewood Estate for two weeks so he can try and change her mind about the place. If he can't change her mind then he'll sell it.
I would certainly stay at Rosewood Estates for a couple of weeks learning to ballroom dance with Sebastian (who sounds like the total package), eating the wonderful food Alastair cooks, and have him teach me how to plan dinner parties and cook omeletts and scones.
I didn't really picture Belle and Peter as a couple even before I read that "she'd met him at work. And aside from their work they had very little in common." They're engaged, but they didn't seem very connected as a couple to me. "They'd not made the engagement public. She didn't know if she was ready for that yet. There was something about announcing it to the world that gave her the heebie jeebies." That's a red flag to me--who gets engaged and doesn't want to tell everyone?! So emotionally Belle was ready for someone she knew outside of work that had hobbies and other ways to spend his time. She could really learn a lot from Sebastian.
I liked this book and although I knew they would end up together, hey it's Beauty and the Beast, it's not smooth sailing and they have obstacles to get through (Sebastian has a slightly evil ex-fiancee stirring up trouble). I also love that Belle repairs her relationship with her father. This is a clean romance.
I did not know what to expect from this book when I started reading it, but I was pleasantly surprised. As a modern re-telling of "Beauty and the Beast", I thought it may be a little unrealistic but it actually had a believable story line.
Belle is a dedicated real estate agent trying to convince the "beastly" owner of Rosewood Estate to sell his valuable property. Sebastian's financial woes are such that he may indeed need to sell his home if he cannot find an investor. Sparks fly when Belle and Sebastian first meet at his home. Leaving his estate fuming, Belle is involved in a car accident nearby and is taken care of by Sebastian and his butler/cook Alistair (a loveable character). When she recovers, Sebastian strikes a deal with her. She is to spend two weeks in his home. If she could see the true value and beauty of the place, she would then help him find an investor so he could keep his home, rather than pursuing a sale. She agrees to play along with the charade until her time is up, then coerce him to sell.
During her stay at Rosewood, she falls in love with Sebastian and the relaxed lifestyle which is Sebastian's world. His world is the opposite of her hectic, work obsessed life. Belle did try at first to resist Sebastian's good looks and charm. I liked it when she stood up for herself each time he became a little domineering, refusing to be bullied by him. Most of the time though, Sebastian was warm and charmingly attentive.
The romance between Sebastian and Belle was sweet and clean. My only disappointment in the book was that Belle was already engaged to her co-worker Peter when she met and fell in love with Sebastian. I don't mind reading about love triangles, but I prefer those involved to all be unattached. Otherwise, it becomes cheating and even in a fairy tale setting, it is morally wrong. No one deserves to be cheated on. She should have broken up with Peter first!! Despite this fact, it was still a very entertaining book and I do recommend it to those who love clean romance and fairy tales.
I was given a free copy for my honest opinion. I was very excited for this book because I love Beauty and the Beast stories. I felt like this book was taking forever to get interesting and was sure it must be about four hundred pages long. Thankfully, it started moving and getting interesting. I enjoyed the many different personalities involved and the little twists that continued to fall into their path. They finally saw what was there all along and admitted it.
Wonderful and fun retelling of Beauty and the Beast
I really enjoyed this modern take of one of my favorite stories, Beauty and the Beast. I was so enthralled when I went to the movie theaters and watched Disney's newest release. I sat in my seat mesmerized by the music and by the colors. But most of all by the characters of the story themselves. Belle is the epitome of goodness and kindness and love. The Beast could be said to be the epitome of selfishness and greed and in a sense vanity. Yes it is a story, and a story geared towards young children to teach a lesson but it sure is very applicable to adults too! How different would our lives and the lives of everyone around us be if we were all the same as Belle? Seeing past the outer shell and into the heart and giving love and encouragement? I love that thought and that is one part why I have always loved this story. The Christmas after the movie came out I got the soundtrack, the movie and a few other items that were all beauty and the beast. Haha. I think I drove my family crazy because in a very short amount of time I had it all memorized and quoted it often.
Ok enough about my love for Disney's version and the fairy tale, let me talk about this version. I am an avid reader and read lots and lots and come across authors sometimes by chance or from someone telling me about them. This time my sister called me and said she had just gone out with her friends for a girl's night and she met a new friend. She told me they were talking and found out that she was an author. My sister told asked about her books then said oh I'll have to let my sister know she loves read. Well that was a month or so ago and I finally got around to trying one of her books (yes I'm sure you figured it out, the author is Jennifer Youngblood).
I'm very glad I did and encourage anyone debating about this book to take the plunge. It was fun and lighthearted and a fast, clean read. I enjoyed the modern aspects and that it kept to the basic storyline of B and the B.
Belle is trying to make a real estate deal go through but when the owner of the estate refuses to follow through she ends up traveling to where he is and demanding he talk to her. They argue and she storms out in the middle of a blizzard and gets in an accident. Sebastian (the beast) rescues her and takes care of her until she is recovered. Belle thanks him and agrees to spend time there trying to understand why Sebastian refuses to sell the estate. Of course she refuses to let it deter her from her mission in securing the deal because her investor has promised something big if she does.
Sparks, or I should say fireworks, fly as Belle is being shown and taught the inner workings of Rosewood estate. It is usually used as a finishing school and so Sebastian and the butler Alastair teach her etiquette, dancing, how to host a party and several other lessons. Belle falls in love with rosewood and of course someone else. :-) It follows the traditional storyline so I'm sure you all can guess who.
There are little stumbles along the way but truly it was a fun tale to read. I enjoyed it! I read the blurbs for the other books by this awesome mother daughter duo and am really looking forward to reading those as well!
I loved this book! It's been a long while since I've read such a beautiful romance. I admit there were a couple of corny parts, but what real romance doesn't? It was exciting & tense & filled me with joy. The kissing scene was intense. Wow!! This story will definitely be one I reread.
A wonderfully sweet and entertaining twist on Beauty and the Beast.
A decade ago the home Sebastian's mother raised him in was an exclusive finishing school. Now, his mother is gone and he is in danger of losing Rosewood Estates. But Sebastian's anger over his predicament may be blurring his ability to to find a solution before it's too late.
Hard working Belle Montrose is determined to get the Rosewood property at any cost. So when the owner refuses to discuss it with her she makes the drive to personally confront the man. She just doesn't expect the arrogant beast to turn her down flat again, or for an accident to leave her stranded in his care.
As a temporary deal is made the two are thrown together and both eventually have a change of heart. But will misunderstandings and evil naysayers destroy any chance for this beauty to tame her beast?
This is a delightfully modern twist on the Beauty and the Beast story. I've never read any book by Jennifer Youngblood or Sandra Poole, so this was a sweet surprise. It was fun and charming. I enjoyed getting to know Belle and Sebastian. Their characters were interesting and held my attention. It was easy to read and flowed smoothly. I think I'd love to visit a mansion like Rosewood. After all, I could use a little etiquette in my life, and learn dancing, Wow! I might just have to pick up more books written by these two authors. I was given this book by the publisher which did not influence my review in any way, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
The whole creation of the romance was quite boring and a little weird. It didn't get better until more than halfway through the book when her fiancé finds out. Blaire was just a seriously annoying character who acted and thought like a spoiled 12 year old. It would've been better if her conniving plans had actually mirrored that of an adult. And the ending... how is it supposed to work? She now owns the company 4 hours away but she's going to turn Rosewood into her new project. Too many loose ends for my taste.
4 stars I received a free copy of the clean novel Beastly Charm by Jennifer Youngblood and this review was given freely. A modern day adaptation of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast. Jennifer combines multiple romances and rivalries, a tribute to a fairytale, winter snow storms, love at first sight, a struggling school of edicate, a real estate brokerage firm, and illnesses in an interesting story which revolves around Rosewood mansion.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 "f"); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG Modern retellings of Beauty and the Beast can be difficult when magic is not the cause and solution of the beast's beastliness. I think Youngblood came up with a great modern situation for this fairy tale, one that is somewhat possible and believable. Overall, though, I think the story was hindered by how quickly Belle and Sebastian transitioned from misunderstanding and disliking each other to falling in love.
It's hard to rewrite a classic well...but they've done it. The drama of the classic story mixed with real life scenarios makes for an entertaining read. They build the tension between the characters without it getting inappropriate.
Love Jennifer Youngblood books. Never boring. It was a sweet love unfolding. The book is good and clean. No sex or swear words. Belle and Sebastian were a great couple. Would recommend to all ages.
This was a delightful book with similarities to Beauty and the Beast. However it had its own unique story well crafted, with a uniqueness of its own. It will keep you rooted to your chair til the very end. Clean romance and Gods faithfulness to trust in Him.
This modern day telling of Beauty and the Beast was a fun read. I loved the twists in the plot. The characters were likable. There were a couple of misused/misspelled words that detracted a bit but all in all, it was a fun read.
I love everything Beauty and the Beast. When I was offered this book for free, all they had to say was “Beauty and the Beast” and I was like, “sign me up!”
It was very interesting to learn all of the Rose, dancing, and finishing tidbits.
Don’t let the name fool you. It’s the sweetest love story with a lot of glitches There are many quotes you might want to write down. No tears, just pure grit and determination, of course, in a mannerly manner
This is another great book by Jennifer Youngblood. Based on the title of the book, I was not real sure that this wasn’t just an altered version of “beauty and the beast”… and I was a little skeptical about reading it. However, I found the storyline to be very engaging and humorous. Recommended.
I really enjoyed this story. Belle and Sebastian didn’t seem like they would get along well. At first. Things became more interesting as time went on. It seems that there are other things in life than just working all the time. I look forward to Rea more by this author.
I loved this feel good story. The characters were exceptional, the romance was awesome and retelling of Beauty and the Beast was so fun. A great story if you just want to get away for a while.
I enjoyed this modern day spin on Beauty and the Beast. I loved Alastair and his patience, faith and wisdom. Sabastein and Belle had great chemistry. I enjoyed the back story of the roses. This is a fun cozy retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales.
I enjoyed this retelling of Beauty & the Beast. The beauty & the beast are much nicer than the original story. I received a free copy from the author. This is my voluntary opinion.