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Refurbished Fairy Tales #3
Belle Lied
"Belle lied. If I have to hear her ridiculous story one more time, I swear I'm going to scream. Everyone knows her little fairy tale by now. Oh, the poor merchant’s daughter who selflessly goes to live with a beast and tames him with her beauty and sweet nature. Puh-leez! What a load of crock!"
Nolana has been living in her siblings' shadows for nearly her whole life. Honestly, she is used to it but things become a whole lot worse when her older sister's tale-telling gets Nolana kidnapped by a cursed king. Now she is trapped in a castle full of people who think she is lower than dirt and the constant companion of a madman who is only a man once a week! Well, mostly a man. He's still kind of furry, but at least he can talk!
This is a retelling of "Beauty and the Beast." Sort of.
Nolana has been living in her siblings' shadows for nearly her whole life. Honestly, she is used to it but things become a whole lot worse when her older sister's tale-telling gets Nolana kidnapped by a cursed king. Now she is trapped in a castle full of people who think she is lower than dirt and the constant companion of a madman who is only a man once a week! Well, mostly a man. He's still kind of furry, but at least he can talk!
This is a retelling of "Beauty and the Beast." Sort of.
216 pages, ebook
First published October 24, 2018
51 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
S.R. Nulton
27 books44 followersS. R. Nulton has a love of fairy tales, paddle boarding, and puns. In addition to writing, she has a degree in music from Cal Poly. In addition to being a total homebody, she is a voracious reader, descent line dancer, and a chocolate enthusiast. Her family collects people that share the same name, so she goes by Sarah Rose to avoid confusion. Do not confuse her with the other Sarahs. They are numerous. Lastly, she feels weird writing about herself in the third person. Therefore, Vin decided to spruce up Sarah Rose’s bio and agrees that it is strange to write about someone like this.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
February 14, 2019
It was very nice and cute
Full of heart and jokes, I loved the whole family and the main characters. A nice interesting retelling after reading so many Beauty and the Beasts. Reccomend for any age.
Full of heart and jokes, I loved the whole family and the main characters. A nice interesting retelling after reading so many Beauty and the Beasts. Reccomend for any age.
March 1, 2021
A unicorn
There were one of two typos, but this unicorn of a novel makes up for that. Normally I spend a ya romance novel wishing all the characters would go to therapy and make healthy life choices, and in this book they did? The ending was unexpected but perfect. It's the kind of way I aspire to respond to challenges. It was a fun clean read. Unexpected and delightful
There were one of two typos, but this unicorn of a novel makes up for that. Normally I spend a ya romance novel wishing all the characters would go to therapy and make healthy life choices, and in this book they did? The ending was unexpected but perfect. It's the kind of way I aspire to respond to challenges. It was a fun clean read. Unexpected and delightful
July 30, 2024
A wickedly twisted BnB retelling about Belle’s youngest & forgotten sister
Belle lied - she never was in any danger, the Beast was never cursed and never horrible to her
It’s a story within a story. Or actually a fae BnB retelling that happens because of and after Belle marries her prince.
What if Belle was a pretty little liar who loved to embellish things without a thought how the yarn she spins will affect her family? Say that father can’t afford xyz and he’s thought to be on the verge of bankruptcy. Say your sisters are ugly and envious and demanding to bring back riches and who would want to be nice to them in polite society? Forget to mention - due to childish rivalry - that there’s a younger, 4th stepsister and people treat her like she’s nothing. Until someone needs her unique ability to tend to animals that is.
I loved this twisted tale and adored young Nolana taming ancient Tier - the fierce and mad, cursed fae warrior king. It was a little bit of a cross between Taming of the Shrew and Doctor Dolittle, tbh. Loved their interactions, Lana’s no nonsense sensible attitude and it was just awww how Tier thawed over their morning trainings. Despite the premise of 1 sister’s tall tales, the book actually has a very strong sense of family - I loved how the sisters and elder brother and dad supported each other and cared how Lana fared. I even found compassion for Belle the liar as the author managed to turn her reasoning to understandable in one single scene, amazing!
I’ll definitely keep tabs on the next books in the series as more twisted retellings are highly likely, given the bames and amazing personalities of the siblings - a warrior princess, a healer and a cinnamon roll brother. And let’s not forget the 70+ aunt who has finally found her fae prince!
Recommended for lovers of twisted YA fairytale retellings in a fae court setting, especially for lovers of Beauty and the Beast with strong, resourceful heroines well versed in martial arts.
Belle lied - she never was in any danger, the Beast was never cursed and never horrible to her
It’s a story within a story. Or actually a fae BnB retelling that happens because of and after Belle marries her prince.
What if Belle was a pretty little liar who loved to embellish things without a thought how the yarn she spins will affect her family? Say that father can’t afford xyz and he’s thought to be on the verge of bankruptcy. Say your sisters are ugly and envious and demanding to bring back riches and who would want to be nice to them in polite society? Forget to mention - due to childish rivalry - that there’s a younger, 4th stepsister and people treat her like she’s nothing. Until someone needs her unique ability to tend to animals that is.
I loved this twisted tale and adored young Nolana taming ancient Tier - the fierce and mad, cursed fae warrior king. It was a little bit of a cross between Taming of the Shrew and Doctor Dolittle, tbh. Loved their interactions, Lana’s no nonsense sensible attitude and it was just awww how Tier thawed over their morning trainings. Despite the premise of 1 sister’s tall tales, the book actually has a very strong sense of family - I loved how the sisters and elder brother and dad supported each other and cared how Lana fared. I even found compassion for Belle the liar as the author managed to turn her reasoning to understandable in one single scene, amazing!
I’ll definitely keep tabs on the next books in the series as more twisted retellings are highly likely, given the bames and amazing personalities of the siblings - a warrior princess, a healer and a cinnamon roll brother. And let’s not forget the 70+ aunt who has finally found her fae prince!
Recommended for lovers of twisted YA fairytale retellings in a fae court setting, especially for lovers of Beauty and the Beast with strong, resourceful heroines well versed in martial arts.
August 23, 2024
A wonderfully sweet and slightly silly retelling of Beauty and the Beast... Only Belle isn't the Beauty of this story. Her sister is.
All that stuff about a guy being cursed for being wrathful, only able to regain human form once he discovered how to love another? Yeah, Belle lied. And because of that lie, her younger sister Nola is kidnapped by the fae and tasked to be a cursebreaker just like Belle. The fae king has a similar curse, so surely someone from a family of known cursebreakers can fix this little case of fae king driven mad by constantly changing shape, right?
While I'm not a big fan of modern colloquialism in fantasy books, this one's tongue-in-cheek tone meant it never felt like I should take it too seriously. It's got modern humor and sass in a ye olde fantasy realm. The realm itself has so much going on in terms of customs and politics, that in itself makes the book feel deeper than just another retelling. It got that serious to silly ratio just right.
Only real nitpicks? Some repitition of words in sentences and paragraphs, as well as "quite" an "a bit" habit!
Nola's character arc about understanding her place in her family dynamic is wonderfully done. The side characters of her brother and sisters are so extra it's hard not to notice them and their stark differences. Also: Nola takes no trash, and no prisoners. Our fae king Tier isn't a terrible beast as such, but his shapeshifting has left him vunerable. Nola's first instinct on seeing him transform into a big cat? Let's get him exercised! I loved how their relationship progressed naturally through the book; a sort-of uneasy friends to lovers.
All in all a fun read and one I'd want to follow up with more from the series of interlinked indie gems!
All that stuff about a guy being cursed for being wrathful, only able to regain human form once he discovered how to love another? Yeah, Belle lied. And because of that lie, her younger sister Nola is kidnapped by the fae and tasked to be a cursebreaker just like Belle. The fae king has a similar curse, so surely someone from a family of known cursebreakers can fix this little case of fae king driven mad by constantly changing shape, right?
While I'm not a big fan of modern colloquialism in fantasy books, this one's tongue-in-cheek tone meant it never felt like I should take it too seriously. It's got modern humor and sass in a ye olde fantasy realm. The realm itself has so much going on in terms of customs and politics, that in itself makes the book feel deeper than just another retelling. It got that serious to silly ratio just right.
Only real nitpicks? Some repitition of words in sentences and paragraphs, as well as "quite" an "a bit" habit!
Nola's character arc about understanding her place in her family dynamic is wonderfully done. The side characters of her brother and sisters are so extra it's hard not to notice them and their stark differences. Also: Nola takes no trash, and no prisoners. Our fae king Tier isn't a terrible beast as such, but his shapeshifting has left him vunerable. Nola's first instinct on seeing him transform into a big cat? Let's get him exercised! I loved how their relationship progressed naturally through the book; a sort-of uneasy friends to lovers.
All in all a fun read and one I'd want to follow up with more from the series of interlinked indie gems!
June 29, 2025
Content:
Profanity: None I recall.
Violence: High mild. There are fights and deaths. Stabbing, curses, attempted poisoning, etc.
Sexual: Mild. There isn't much besides cuddles and chaste kissing. mild spoiler:
Triggers: Feeling inadequate/low self-esteem/not belonging due to mixed family.
This pulled me in pretty quickly, as it isn't about Belle at all, but her sister. Told from Nolana's perspective, she narrates in a modern way with the whole, "let me tell you how Belle lied and ruined everything". The language is not what you'd expect from the setup and content, while a bit jarring, it didn't detract for me, it was enough to make me wrinkle my eyebrows but I shrugged and kept going.
The curse on the 'Beast' in this was fun. I liked seeing what animal he was going to be every time he came into a scene. The fact that he was anything from a hedgehog to a pegasus was hilarious and awesome. It was fun to see how Nolana and the beast respond and connect to each other. It was a slower paced story, but never lagged. I actually had more of a struggle with the end when things gets more intense. That took me out of the feel goods. While I appreciated the realism of their relationship, it wasn't a very satisfying climax.
Also. Belle is a brat. I didn't like her. The rest of the siblings were great. That family puts the 'extra' in every personality they have.
Cute addition to this series.
Profanity: None I recall.
Violence: High mild. There are fights and deaths. Stabbing, curses, attempted poisoning, etc.
Sexual: Mild. There isn't much besides cuddles and chaste kissing. mild spoiler:
Triggers: Feeling inadequate/low self-esteem/not belonging due to mixed family.
This pulled me in pretty quickly, as it isn't about Belle at all, but her sister. Told from Nolana's perspective, she narrates in a modern way with the whole, "let me tell you how Belle lied and ruined everything". The language is not what you'd expect from the setup and content, while a bit jarring, it didn't detract for me, it was enough to make me wrinkle my eyebrows but I shrugged and kept going.
The curse on the 'Beast' in this was fun. I liked seeing what animal he was going to be every time he came into a scene. The fact that he was anything from a hedgehog to a pegasus was hilarious and awesome. It was fun to see how Nolana and the beast respond and connect to each other. It was a slower paced story, but never lagged. I actually had more of a struggle with the end when things gets more intense. That took me out of the feel goods. While I appreciated the realism of their relationship, it wasn't a very satisfying climax.
Also. Belle is a brat. I didn't like her. The rest of the siblings were great. That family puts the 'extra' in every personality they have.
Cute addition to this series.
April 13, 2022
Considering the ratings and review, I expected this book to be better than it was. I confess that I did not finish it.
(As a caveat, I used to work as an editor, and while I agree that none of us is perfect at writing, I tend to notice mistakes other people don’t notice. Usually, surface errors don’t bug me, but in this book, they did.)
Common grammar mistakes: tense shifts, spelling errors (Skylar is spelled Skyler at times), tropes, pronoun/antecedent irregularities, and so on.
I could have lived with those surface mistakes if the characters had been a bit more polished. I particularly didn’t feel a good connection to Lana because her personality was all over the place. Her internal dialogue (especially the personality of her thoughts) did not match her external dialogue (what she said). At first, Lana was a mild girl who wouldn’t even correct her sisters when they bashed their aunt, but then suddenly Lana was willing to verbally thrash the fey king when she didn’t like the dresses he’d given her . . . ?
There also wasn’t time to really know any of the characters. Things moved too fast, and the characters I met seemed a bit flat (I’m looking at you Skylar).
Hopefully you’ll like it more than I did. Hopefully it’s better the farther you go.
(As a caveat, I used to work as an editor, and while I agree that none of us is perfect at writing, I tend to notice mistakes other people don’t notice. Usually, surface errors don’t bug me, but in this book, they did.)
Common grammar mistakes: tense shifts, spelling errors (Skylar is spelled Skyler at times), tropes, pronoun/antecedent irregularities, and so on.
I could have lived with those surface mistakes if the characters had been a bit more polished. I particularly didn’t feel a good connection to Lana because her personality was all over the place. Her internal dialogue (especially the personality of her thoughts) did not match her external dialogue (what she said). At first, Lana was a mild girl who wouldn’t even correct her sisters when they bashed their aunt, but then suddenly Lana was willing to verbally thrash the fey king when she didn’t like the dresses he’d given her . . . ?
There also wasn’t time to really know any of the characters. Things moved too fast, and the characters I met seemed a bit flat (I’m looking at you Skylar).
Hopefully you’ll like it more than I did. Hopefully it’s better the farther you go.
November 25, 2020
Truly Imaginative
This story was refreshingly unique. I thought Tier, Nolana and each of her sisters were well-developed, interesting characters. The basics of the original fairytale are present just not in the expected form or format, which made it more interesting to me. It was fun that Nolana drove Tier to distraction early on, but then they became rather dependent in each other and scarcely realized it.
There are some beautiful observations on family and belonging expressed as Nolana's family comes to the fae court to help out, and Nolana struggles with feelings of inadequacy.
The Afterward gives some of the author's reasons and motivations for writing this tale, which was quite interesting. One's position in a family really does color one's perspective! All in all I enjoyed the story so much I've decided to check out more of her work.
This story was refreshingly unique. I thought Tier, Nolana and each of her sisters were well-developed, interesting characters. The basics of the original fairytale are present just not in the expected form or format, which made it more interesting to me. It was fun that Nolana drove Tier to distraction early on, but then they became rather dependent in each other and scarcely realized it.
There are some beautiful observations on family and belonging expressed as Nolana's family comes to the fae court to help out, and Nolana struggles with feelings of inadequacy.
The Afterward gives some of the author's reasons and motivations for writing this tale, which was quite interesting. One's position in a family really does color one's perspective! All in all I enjoyed the story so much I've decided to check out more of her work.
March 1, 2023
I LOVED this book. It was so cute and Nolana was a wonderful heroine.
There are so many great things about this book. My favorites are:
The romance, it was gradual. You got to see Tier and Nolana fall in love.
Nolana’s family. I teared up when Eric and Pearl were saying how important Nolana was to them and the family.
Nolana. She was wonderful. And her feeling like she didn’t have a thing,something special about her. It was so relatable. I mean who hasn’t felt that at some point in time. She was also brave, smart, and had a good amount of sass in her.
The writing was good too. The story flowed, and it just had that fairytale feeling to it.
Dislikes: nothing! There was not a thing I didn’t like about this book.
Content: clean romance, no swearing, nothing gory.
There are so many great things about this book. My favorites are:
The romance, it was gradual. You got to see Tier and Nolana fall in love.
Nolana’s family. I teared up when Eric and Pearl were saying how important Nolana was to them and the family.
Nolana. She was wonderful. And her feeling like she didn’t have a thing,something special about her. It was so relatable. I mean who hasn’t felt that at some point in time. She was also brave, smart, and had a good amount of sass in her.
The writing was good too. The story flowed, and it just had that fairytale feeling to it.
Dislikes: nothing! There was not a thing I didn’t like about this book.
Content: clean romance, no swearing, nothing gory.
August 3, 2024
Belle Lied is a cute retelling of beauty and the beast. However, it has much room for improvement. I really like the concept, but the whole book felt very disjointed. I was often left quite confused. There is one point where the two main characters go from being near enemies to friendly acquaintances over night. I wish the transition from enemies to friends was more gradual. The romance aspect also kind of felt like it just appeared. Furthermore, there were many times when I had to reread something two or three times, sometimes more, to make sense of what the author was trying to say. All in all, it was an ok read with a cute, clean story. However, I probably won’t read this again, nor will I likely read any of her others. It was simply too confusing.
October 25, 2024
What a crazy and unique twist on the Beauty and the Beast story! I really enjoyed the family in this story. They were lots of fun to get to know, and I love that they were included throughout most of the book. The worldbuilding was really well done. Even though I started in the middle of the series, I didn't feel like I was lost in any way. I will say the book blurb was a little misleading when it said the people in the castle treated Nolana like dirt. The servants were pretty much the only people in the castle until that one scene, and they basically worshipped her since she was their only hope of breaking the curse. Despite the blurb misunderstanding, the story was quite enjoyable. It was a squeaky-clean romantic fantasy, perfect for lovers of fairytale retellings.
January 10, 2019
Excellent installment!
Great 3rd installment in the series. Nulton is moving the story arc beautifully, and once again creates easily relatable characters. I feel her writing getting stronger with each book. The way she handled this retelling was fantastic and completely different than others I’ve read. The author is doing a great job! Officially subscribed to the Amazon Author page and eagerly await email notifications of her next book!
Great 3rd installment in the series. Nulton is moving the story arc beautifully, and once again creates easily relatable characters. I feel her writing getting stronger with each book. The way she handled this retelling was fantastic and completely different than others I’ve read. The author is doing a great job! Officially subscribed to the Amazon Author page and eagerly await email notifications of her next book!
May 13, 2019
Love these stories
The idea of the stories of people surrounding iconic fairytale princes and princesses is fantastic and wonderfully outside of the box. The one and only blemish in S.R. Nulton's stories is the lack of editing so sometimes the wrong word is writen and sometimes parts of sentences are repeated within a sentences. I wish I could go in and fix it because the stories are SO good that I want the stories to shine without stumbling over little grammar errors.
The idea of the stories of people surrounding iconic fairytale princes and princesses is fantastic and wonderfully outside of the box. The one and only blemish in S.R. Nulton's stories is the lack of editing so sometimes the wrong word is writen and sometimes parts of sentences are repeated within a sentences. I wish I could go in and fix it because the stories are SO good that I want the stories to shine without stumbling over little grammar errors.
June 8, 2020
Belle told a lie which had a ripple effect and now Nolana is paying the price..... It didn't sound very Beauty and the Beast but hey I have read dozens of variations so I gave this book a try and I'm so glad I did. Once again with Nulton's ability to turn a classic into something totally different while the reader still loves every minute of it! I want more! I think this series is great for those who love retellings and as mentioned in a previous review they just get better!
June 10, 2025
intricate
Wow! What an intricate and amazing retelling of Beauty and the Beast! With her stepsisters in the mix, it felt like there was a bit of a Cinderella complex in there too. I loved how the characters grew as the story progressed, and the ending was a wonderful happy ending to this romance! There was also a nice setting up for the next story in the series without being a cliffhanger.
Wow! What an intricate and amazing retelling of Beauty and the Beast! With her stepsisters in the mix, it felt like there was a bit of a Cinderella complex in there too. I loved how the characters grew as the story progressed, and the ending was a wonderful happy ending to this romance! There was also a nice setting up for the next story in the series without being a cliffhanger.
December 30, 2019
Good read
I enjoyed it. I thought the author was really creative. It was refreshing to read a retelling. I think my only beef and why I gave it a 4 star was it read more like a novel than a romance. And I was expecting it to be more romantic. They did t really display any romantic feelings until the end.
I enjoyed it. I thought the author was really creative. It was refreshing to read a retelling. I think my only beef and why I gave it a 4 star was it read more like a novel than a romance. And I was expecting it to be more romantic. They did t really display any romantic feelings until the end.
September 2, 2020
Great twist!
I really enjoyed this younger sister version of Beauty and the Beast. While it may seem a foregone conclusion that the sweet girl tames the erratic wild animalistic man, this story ignores what is assumed and expected, and best yet, makes it work! I took one mark ofjf this 5 star tale, due to a few editing issues that still need work.
I really enjoyed this younger sister version of Beauty and the Beast. While it may seem a foregone conclusion that the sweet girl tames the erratic wild animalistic man, this story ignores what is assumed and expected, and best yet, makes it work! I took one mark ofjf this 5 star tale, due to a few editing issues that still need work.
October 20, 2020
Fun, easy read. I liked the beast taking on different shapes.
It was unrealistic that everyone in her family was so much better than everyone else in the castle. The speech about prejudice seemed out of character for the king. Everyone was too trusting at the end with the new queen making a truce.
It was unrealistic that everyone in her family was so much better than everyone else in the castle. The speech about prejudice seemed out of character for the king. Everyone was too trusting at the end with the new queen making a truce.
Read
August 9, 2024I dnf'd this at about 25%
I started out immensely enjoying this. The fairytale vibe, the bit of sarcasm. It was cute, and fun.
However, when the MC is whisked away, the tone of the story completely changes and I felt like I couldn't get a handle on the MC's personality anymore either. I skimmed for a while to see if things would pick up again, but it just didn't work for me.
I started out immensely enjoying this. The fairytale vibe, the bit of sarcasm. It was cute, and fun.
However, when the MC is whisked away, the tone of the story completely changes and I felt like I couldn't get a handle on the MC's personality anymore either. I skimmed for a while to see if things would pick up again, but it just didn't work for me.
June 5, 2020
So far this has been one of my favorite in the series. I feel like if I elaborate on that though it'll give stuff away. Totally worth the read, it was a page turner for me and it was paced well. I finished the book wishing for more books with those characters. Great read!
Read
October 13, 2020A unique retelling
A unique retelling that I really enjoyed. There are certain side characters that I would have liked more background information on. Although, due to something mentioned in the epilogue, I suspect one of them will be featured in the next, or a future, story.
A unique retelling that I really enjoyed. There are certain side characters that I would have liked more background information on. Although, due to something mentioned in the epilogue, I suspect one of them will be featured in the next, or a future, story.
August 24, 2021
Loved it
I loved this Beauty and the Beast twist. It’s actually kind of ironic considering I didn’t care for book description and so only recently picked it up on my second read through of the series. I enjoyed the story so much, though, and am glad I finally gave it a try.
I loved this Beauty and the Beast twist. It’s actually kind of ironic considering I didn’t care for book description and so only recently picked it up on my second read through of the series. I enjoyed the story so much, though, and am glad I finally gave it a try.
February 25, 2022
Fabulous twist to an old tale!
I laughed out loud numerous times. It also managed to distract me from the beginning of the war with Ukraine when my heart was top heavy from the news. But it felt uplifting, and wholesome, but just an escape. Thank you , author Nulton!
I laughed out loud numerous times. It also managed to distract me from the beginning of the war with Ukraine when my heart was top heavy from the news. But it felt uplifting, and wholesome, but just an escape. Thank you , author Nulton!
July 15, 2023
Love the Animals!
Great read, very funny and such good advice. Its the background story of beauty and the beast with a twist to the story that has nothing to do with the fairy tale. Good read!
Great read, very funny and such good advice. Its the background story of beauty and the beast with a twist to the story that has nothing to do with the fairy tale. Good read!
July 24, 2024
Loved this book! Well written, easy read. As a fan of Beauty & the Beast it was fun to see the character from a different perspective. The characters were developed well & the world was interesting. Definitely recommend!
January 13, 2021
Interesting take
Each book in the series has continued to improve. I have liked each story and appreciate how they build on each other, though they are definitely separate.
Each book in the series has continued to improve. I have liked each story and appreciate how they build on each other, though they are definitely separate.
February 17, 2022
Quirky, clean fairytale romance
Nolan's finds her place and helps save an empire. I love her spunk and her relationship with the Fey King. My favorite book in this series.
Nolan's finds her place and helps save an empire. I love her spunk and her relationship with the Fey King. My favorite book in this series.
March 24, 2022
This is such a great Christian Beauty and the beast Retelling. It’s a quick fun hearted, clean romance for anyone looking for something like that this is the book for you.
June 3, 2022
Great cast of characters, really enjoyed seeing the family members be a big part of the story too.
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October 23, 2024DNF 32% It had a lot of potential. I liked the voice of the FMC, but the writing overall wasn’t developed enough.
October 24, 2025
I'm loving these twisted retellings! The heroines are sassy and and the books are full of humor.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews