Beauty and the Beast
K.M. Shea
Timeless Fairy Tales #1
SPOILER WARNING for Arista's Thoughts
Where to Purchase: Amazon
Official Blurb: Once upon a time Elle made a mistake. A small miscalculation sends her through the roof of an enchanted chateau. Stranded until her broken leg mends, Elle is unwillingly forced to rely on the good will of the sour chateau owner —the cursed Prince Severin.
Prince Severin—the commanding general and staunch supporter of his brother the crown prince—is cursed to look like a beast until a maiden falls in love with him. He has given up all hope of shattering the curse, and has only disdain for Elle.
Unfortunately, the pair can’t seem to avoid each other thanks to the meddling of the chateau’s cursed servants. Eventually Elle’s playful manners and Severin’s hidden gentleness draw the pair together.
But not all love stories can end that easily. After all, Elle is not what she seems, and Severin’s life is placed in danger when hostilities flare between his brother and the monarchs of a neighboring country. When Elle risks everything to save Severin, will he be able to forgive her for her lies?
As a Retellling: Prince Severin is a Beast due to an enchantress's curse, and Elle is the daughter of a merchant who has fallen on hard times. However, she winds up in Severin's house not because of an extracted promise from her father, but because she is a really good spy and her kingdom is taking advantage of her family's debt to eek as much work out of her as possible. She had been assigned to spy on Prince Severin, and, belying her skill ... fell through a glass roof and broke her leg, forcing her to rely on his hospitality. All of his servants are immediately hopeful that she might, finally, be the girl to break their master's curse, and immediately start shoving the two together.
Arista's Thoughts: It's an interesting take on the tale and I appreciate that there is very little, if anything, that feels Disney about it. However, B&B is a very slow fairy tale, and this retelling removed most of the story's action - it opened when Elle fell through the roof, and there's no occasion where she gets to go home and have Thoughts with herself concerning the Beast. As a result, while I love that it got the fairy tale's themes and messages right, it dragged painfully in many places. Also, the plot twist concerning Elle's spy position was rather clumsily handled, and, I felt, played up too much for drama at the end.
Fairy Tale Romance - Beauty and the Beast
Twisted Tale
Magical
Traditional European
Alternative Covers:
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