Stag

by Angela Blake

A Masquerade ball. A man in a beast mask.
This ballgown is going to get very, very dirty.

Rachel
I run a coffee shop on the East side. But the business is going under.
No business, no job.
The Masquerade Ball is our chance to find cash and fast.
Lots of rich dudes, with nothing better to do with their time.
So, there I am. Hair, makeup, silver ballgown. The whole nine yards.
And a tall stranger in a horned mask asks me to dance.
Turns out he’s got money too.
A handsome stranger and investor all in one night?
Sounds like a fairy tale…

Brendan
The ball ended.
I stumbled into my house, drunk on excitement.
It was definitely her! Those eyes, her smell…it was the same.
I’d woken up on my eighth birthday, with stag’s horns on my head, and red gold fur all over my body.
‘You’re a shape shifter, Bren. But you can learn to control it’. My mother had said.
And I wanted to for Rachel.
Because I wanted her. I had to have her.

The beast inside me was waiting to ravish her and make her mine. Maybe together we could break the curse.

From Top #300 Author Angela Blake...

**A fairytale, shifter-style romance. No cliffhangers. Very mature themes. And a HEA.

113 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 3, 2018

Reviews

[Shh I'm reading! · Rating 1 out of 5]

WTH kind of ending was that? Why was she ok with him being a creeper? Terrible.

[Julianne Macneil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of an arc program. I really enjoyed this fairy tale like romance between Rachel and Brendan. Rachel was working in her mother's café and caring for her mother who had MS. Her mother was emotionally abusive to Rachel and Rachel wanted to expand the café and hopefully earn some appreciation from her mother. Rachel's two best friends give her an invitation to a masquerade ball that will be where many important business investors will be in hopes of her finding someone to invest in the café. Brendan is a young businessman who attends the ball and meets Rachel. Brendan is a shape shifter and was led to believe his ability is from a curse and could be cured. Brendan knows Rachel may be the answer to his prayers and he asks her to dance. They have a connection and when Brendan agrees to talk about investing in the café if Rachel will travel to Ireland with him, they develop a relationship. I really enjoyed this story. I loved how Brendan always knew Rachel was special and I loved how Rachel accepted Brendan as he was. Good one.

[Caroline Doig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brendan at the age of eight had grown horns on his head and golden fur all over his body. Rachel owns a coffee shop but the business is going under so she goes to the ball to get some rich investors. While at the masked ball she meets Brendan and he asks her to dance. Brendan knows that she is the baby in the crib all those years ago that he felt the need to protect. Brendan knows that Rachel is the one that can help him with his curse so he takes her to where it all started Ireland. Rachel is not freaked out when she finds out the truth about Brendan and she will do everything she can to help him. The chemistry between the two is electrifying and I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s a kind or different retelling of Beauty and the Beast but with extras. I loved the characters Brendan because he has a big heart and Rachel who is a strong woman and who will do just about anything to help the ones she loves. I totally loved this book and I highly recommend this book it’s definitely well worth the read.

[HEATHER · Rating 4 out of 5]

5.0 out of 5 starsBeauty and the Beast Retold
Bysewsummoreon 3 March 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
This is a modern retelling of "Beauty and the Beast'. Brendan O'Brien was the last of a long line of men cursed by a witch to be part man and part stag. From the time he was old enough to sense Rachel he watched over her from afar, until one magic moment when he saw her at a Masquerade Ball dressed as Cinderella. Rachel had gone to the ball to network, hoping to meet prospective investors in her mother's coffee shop. Her attraction to him grew as their relationship flourished and when he told her about his curse she accepted him as he was. I enjoyed this story with it's fairytale ending and just the right amount of spice.. Both the main characters had lived a hard life, Brenden with his curse and Rachel with her uncaring, abusive mother, they deserved to live happy ever after as well.
I received a free ARC copy of this book and voluntarily left an honest review.

[Janet Denise Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

HORNS & FUR IN HIS BODY, SHE SEES DURING SEX

Angela Blake gets 3 STARS for her very entertaining story Stag with a wonderful story concept, however the few things that created a but what about, the description of her coffee shop in the am vs looking for investors & flying to a foreign country with a virtual stranger. Our heroine is a bit like Cinderella but with her mother being the cruel one, she finds her Prince who has a curse but can they love each other enough to just adjust to it. I love this part of the storyline and was glad I read it definitely ended the book with a smile! WARNING: 18 yrs & up SEXUAL CONTACT & ACTS
Bonus book with: Menage , Lots of SEXUAL INTERACTIONS, 4 LETTER WORDS Virgin camping with friends gets lost during thunderstorm & flash flood in mountains, two ex marines also displaced find her and the 3 spend around 3 or 4 days together exploring each other while waiting to figure out a way home or be discovered. Lots of hot action!

[Christa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really really really (yeah, that many really's LOL) love the premise for this book. But I felt like it could be so much more. It has great bones and a fantastic story line, but not enough detail and the ending was sudden and left me going, huh, wait there needs to be more!! Some of the timeline was a bit confusing too but like I said overall it was cute, funny, sexy, and romantic with a bit of a mystery. It just needs more meat, more details and it would be five star. Well worth it to read though, because it is so sweet. The characters have great personalities that you will just fall in love with. Maybe the author could revisit it and do more with it. I know I will be reading it again because it is such a feel good story.

[Gladys · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. With a unique plot that's part fairytale and part shifter romance. Brendan and Rachel's story is sweet, emotional and steamy. These characters were just wonderful. Rachel is strong, kind, sweet and trying so hard to do the right thing, even in a bad situation. I found my heart aching for her. Brendan was just everything you could want in a hero and he had no trouble at all making my heart melt. Together they make such a passionate and romantic pair. I loved this book and I highly recommend it. I'm posting a completely honest, voluntary review after reading this book.

[Laila Viking · Rating 5 out of 5]

A modern twist of a fairy tale. Very well written with great storyline and plot. The characters are likeable, well described and nicely developed. It is a short read that flows nicely of the pages and captivates the reader. The main characters meet and have an attraction and amazing chemistry. But love not always comes easy. Often you have to get through som obstacles to have your HEA.
The story is different in the mix with both a twist of fairytale and the shifter. I like it. It is with lust, passion, chemistry, love, steamy scenes and romance. A pair that fate could not have chosen better.
Amazing read.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an interesting twist on Beauty and the Beast. As an 8 year old living with a curse but loved and protected by his mother, Brendan climbs through the neighbour’s window to try and console the crying baby. The baby girl stops crying and stares at Brendan until her mean angry mother comes in and chases him away but he knows he will never forget her beautiful eyes staring back at him. Years later Brendan finds himself looking into those very eyes at a Masquerade Ball. An enjoyably sweet and erotic tale. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Vivian Chrisman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cursed...

This is a quick read that combines Cinderella and Rapunzel with Beauty and the Beast. Rachel is all three rolled into one person. She even has two Fairy Godmothers. Brendan is the cursed hero looking for a way to break the curse. Of course there is a ball where they meet and an "evil" mother. Will there be a HEA? It is a sorta fairytale....

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Zeinab Dh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose to read and review this book. This is a sweet one. I liked how the shifter and fairytale were together in this one. The main characters Brendan and Rachel were fun to read and get to know.This book has love passion mystery and so much more to keep you reading. I liked how Brendan felt for her and how it evolved. Everything was well written and great flow of events. The sparks were sexy.

[Jessica's Review · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of an inventive storyline, if I have to admit. I feel like this author holds more promise in the realms of supernatural fantasy based romances, than more reality based contemporary romance. Not the greatest flow. Not strong in logic. Not great editing. But I can see where the author wanted to go with it, and I commend her creativity in that. A little bizarre, but kind of neat. A nice change to encounter.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young boy climbs in a window of a home he does not know because he hears a baby crying as he is talking to the little girl he is chased away, thus begins the making of a story that kept me reading until the last page. They meet years later but they do not know it, I know this is a story I will be rereading.I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[R.K. Tejaswi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the beauty and beast themed story, but I could say it as a exact retelling of the famous fairy tail, I loved this story alot. Stag has the exact essence, a curse, a beast, his love and a happily ever after. Angela Blake has done a great work in retelling this love.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Carmen Cadena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm

Ok well this is my first book from this author. It came from a recommendation from another author. I love shifter books this one just didn't do it for me. But, ehh just not my cup of tea. HEA?? Well yes but not a good one it's like yeah congrats the end. It was just ok the characters eh ok.

[Jo Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is all about a stag-shifter. Able to change at will, Brendan has grown up with his curse, hoping to find a cure he meets the now grown up Rachel, the girl he used to.watch over for many years. Their attraction begins and before long heats up. An enjoy a leading read, but very disappointed either swift abrupt ending, an epilogue might have rounded the story off more.

[poppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really hot quick read and I enjoyed every minute of it.It was really well written I was pulled right into the story if you enjoy a good adult fairytale then this is a must read I would recommend this book to all I just loved it

[Ilene G> · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gentle retelling of Beauty and the Beast

Rachel meets Brendan at a masquerade ball. They are attracted to each other. I like the gentleness of this story. Brendan is sensitive and kind. Rachel runs a coffee shop her mother owns. Both of them have insecurities.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This quick read is a twist on “Beauty and the Beast” meets “Cinderella”. Even though the story moves fast, it is easy to follow.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

arc review For honest review. Brandon was cursed as a stag when he was drawn to baby Rachel . This is a adult beauty and the beast with a little Cinderella.cute

[Susanne M.]

Couldn't rate this book. Just simply didn't like it! Couldn't finish! Authors......having a hot guy on a cover doesn't make for the perfect book. Proofreading that people have to stumble over, trying to imagine the correct wordage, or feel like they have to stop because the flow is disrupted isn't good. Quality of writing is so important. It's the difference between reading a grocery list and reading poetry. People read romance because they wish to spice up their own, or escape because theirs is non existent. Make it believable!