Beauty's Songbook

by R.J. Vickers

When ten and ten years have swiftly gone by,
These five luckless children will come back to die.

So goes the curse of Castle Fayne. Desperate for a child, the queen of Fayne Forest unleashes an ancient, evil magic, which casts her home into shadow and promises the doom of her son and four other children born within the castle walls. Any soul who leaves the castle will be drawn inexorably back…and unless the curse is undone, it will claim five innocent lives.

Raised as a lost princess, Madeia has waited all her life for the day she returns to claim her throne. But a blizzard descends on her company as they travel to the city, and she finds herself lost in the woods.

Bastian has never fit in with the cheerful family of minstrels who raised him. Incurably tone-deaf, with a voice that scares away geese, he must leave the nest to find his place in the world. Warned of a dark curse, he promises to stay far away from the woods.

Lonely and isolated, Cormath has owned a blacksmith’s shop ever since he left home. When strangers start showing up on his doorstep to utter strange warnings, he welcomes them in. None of them can remember how they got to his home; the last they can recall, they had stumbled across a castle deep in the woods.

Raised by a witch of Fayne Forest, Camille is confident she understands the magic of the forest—and the curse that drove her from Castle Fayne. She returns to the castle as her time runs out, ready to save the day. But something far more dangerous than she expects is lurking in the woods.

Born of the curse, Dessa is the only child in Castle Fayne. She has seen what the Beast is capable of. But she cannot talk. As the five children of the curse, now grown, begin reappearing outside the gates of Castle Fayne, she knows the hour is late. The curse is upon them at last.

Genres: Fantasy

309 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 19, 2016

About the author

R.J. Vickers is the bestselling author of the Natural Order YA fantasy series, the Forbidden Queen epic fantasy series, and several other standalone fantasy novels set in the world of the Kinship Thrones. 

Originally from Colorado, Vickers now lives in New Zealand with her husband, where she enjoys hiking to backcountry huts, writing at adorable cafes, crocheting blankets and amigurumi, and baking delicious treats. 

She is also an avid traveler, and spent most of 2019 exploring southern Africa and eastern Asia before continuing to Europe. 

She loves harvesting landscapes and cultural ephemera from around the globe to enrich her fantasy world--New Zealand, Finland, Alaska, Namibia, Hawaii, Ireland, and South Korea all make cameos in her imaginary lands. 

You can learn more about her writing and travels at www.rjvickers.com.

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beauty's Songbook by J.R.Vickers is an enjoyable read for a fable type story. Although it is an original story it does have bits of the story that is similar to others. Worth the read.

[Bretta Beal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

I truly enjoyed this book. I kept me captivated from page one. I couldn't put it down and suddenly realized I had read the entire book in one evening.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beauty's Songbook
OR
Wake Me Up Wake Me Up Inside (x5)

So that was... fine. There were a lot of set pieces that I liked, the middle was great and very engrossing. The curse was kind of a fantastic as a construct and I liked the setup overall.

BUT...

Well, honestly, all of my major problems come from the fact that the book has a real love affair with Madeia. It helps if you realize the book is basically HER story, except that the book claims to be the story of five different characters. I read assuming it was the story of those five. Instead, it was Madeia's story, when it came down to it.

And Madeia was... fine. She's not a bad character, let me be clear, but she's not the kind of character that I have strong feelings for. She's well constructed, I want to be clear. And I don't dislike her character, even! I just didn't like her character as much as some of the other characters, so a lot of my critique here is going to sound like I'm harshing on Madeia.

But Madeia was fine. Problem is, for me, with my tastes, she's only just fine.

So the actual problems I have with the book:
The beginning was slow and I felt like we spent a disproportionate amount of time there (with, yes, Madeia). That part of the story dragged for me and given how much time is spent with other character's backstory, yeah, it feels disproportionate. Bastian, for example, gets like, no book time.

And then the ending was just... not at all satisfying for me. I thought the build up was going somewhere else, so when it went where it did... I was pretty disappointed, honestly. The place I thought the book was going seemed pretty neat! But then it went somewhere else and the place it went was just like??? Okay??? We're here???? In bummer town???

Which, in retrospect, I've realized is because it's Madeia's story. But it would have been nice if the book had told me that in the first place instead of making me wait for Camille to do some cool magic or Bastian to do basically anything plot relevant at all.

[Debbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting rendition of Beauty and the Beast, told from the point of view of 5 different people who are all under a curse and slated to die at a certain time. The characters are interesting and the book is a quick read. Don't expect the traditional Disney version though; the young people in this book are real, engaging, and you'll want them to survive the curse!

[Jan Seides · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent storytelling!

I would have preferred happily-ever-after, but no lessons are learned thereby, I guess. I loved the characters, and was emotionally invested (ie: I cried when characters did not receive their hearts desire. And when they did.)

[Diana Castro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and enjoyable. Good story and interesting characters just wish the curse was explained a little more, I feel like I missed something

[Terri Thetford · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this a bit disappointing. Although an easy read, it was hard to get through. The plot kind of meandered and the ending was rather abrupt and left a lot unresolved. Not recommended.

[Jen Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. The last two chapters is what catapulted this from 2 stars to 3 stars.

[MYZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short and sweet fairytale that I really enjoyed reading. It's more of a novella than a novel but a good read nonetheless.

[suan fulbright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable fairy tale

This is very well written, best story I have read in a long while. I hope the story continues soon.

[Amy Lentricchia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! When the author invited me to read her book, I did not expect to find a text of such high quality! Many self-published books are poorly written (I hate to say this as a soon-to-be-self-published author myself), and I was anticipating more of the same. Was I pleasantly surprised to be wrong! R.J. Vickers has crafted a detailed, well-researched, and beautifully written tale that reveals both the author's talent as a writer as well as her expertise on the subject matter. The fact that she was traveling in Europe comes through in the story, as she includes subtle and realistic details about Finland that show first-person knowledge and appreciation of the landscape and, more importantly, of the genre itself. I love how the story is told from various perspectives, and it's clear Vickers is passionate and skilled in her craft, as dialogue, pacing, and storyline are thoughtfully and precisely balanced throughout. What a pleasant surprise and enjoyable read. Great for teens! Highly recommended!

[Lane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This read was different from my typical selection. I received a free copy from Kindle Scout. I voted for this book because the summary was interesting and the cover is captivating.

The book is written in several characters' pov. I think it adds depth to the story to see things from the eyes of others. This is a steady read, not fast paced at all. I think the most time was spent on Madeia. I was turned off by her at first, but quickly changed my mind as events unraveled. I would have liked to know more about the curse and the beast. I know magic was involved, but felt something was missing near the end.

Overall, this was weell written and well thought. I definitely was not expecting the fairytale that I got. Definitely darker with a flicker of light at the end. I liked that this was a clean read with no bad language and no adult situations. I would recommend this for high school and up due to its dark nature.

This book did not draw me into its world, but it was an okay read. I did not struggle to finish it. I do not see myself reading this again. 2.5-3 stars

[ToriLynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

Quite entertaining. A little lost on the ending, I'm not sure how the curse was actually broken, but quite a different take on the tale.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a little different fairy tale than I've read before. It has wonderful, poetic descriptions and great stories about Raven Blackskirt and midwinter's celebrations. I tried to see if Raven Blackskirt actually existed as a legend, but was unable to find references to it. I loved all the fairy tale and myths of the story. The characters were varied and not who you (or they) thought they were. My only complaint was the dialog at times felt a bit corny and unrealistic for the situation. Regardless, the tale is well-written and interesting.

I received a copy of this book through the Kindle Scout program.

[Lilmissmolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beauty's Songbook has one of the most beautiful covers I've ever scene! As someone who regularly buys books, especially unknown authors, I hope this gets picked up by many. This story is a wonderful fairy tale written in the a way that old time fairy tales were written, with curses and all. I look forward to reading more by this author. I received a copy of this e-book from the Kindle Scout program.

[C.A. Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book Beauty's Songbook. It's a wonderful fairy tale. The characters jumped off the page and swept you away into another world. If you love to read, then you have to add this to your must read list.

[Cinda Scallan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, wonderful story


This book draws you in, makes you care about the characters and has an unexpected ending. I really enjoyed it. If you like fairy tales well told and well written stories, " Beauty's Songbook" is written for you.

[Julie Bird · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little disjointed, not a good flow to the story, but an interesting curse fairy tale.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Kindle Scout book nomination. Overall, an ok story. I wanted to like it more, but the implementation of the various storylines was too jarring for me. The initial concept was interesting, which is why I picked it in the first place. I was expecting a different telling of the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, which was the overall storyline. But, the details regarding the curse and everyone involved was too convoluted.