Monday, March 19, 2018

Beauty and the Beast by KM Shea

From Amazon (couldn't find on Goodreads):

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?

My Take (Slight spoilers):
First things first, although this is a gorgeous cover, it doesn't fit the book AT ALL. It is set in historical times, similar to the original fairy tale. And Elle never felt like what this woman portrays. She was always confident, even when frustrated with her new found situation. As time goes on, she starts to think she may have been wrong in her assumptions about Prince Severin, but she's never really this wilting demure girl.

My favorite part is Elle's secret. The thing she's lying about. I can't tell you, but it's what makes her such an awesome strong female lead. I also liked that most of the book I wasn't sure what kingdom's side she was on until the big secret is revealed. This is when we get to see why she thought Severin was a certain way in the beginning--because he was.

I also thought it was great that after the curse is broken, they don't get together right away. Remember that secret? Severin thinks it means she lied about her love! Men can be so dense!

All in all, I enjoyed the beautiful setting, the originality on the cursed nature of the servants, and the refreshing look at what true love is. The fact it isn't a fairy tale, but a choice and lots of hard work.

I give Beauty and the Beast by KM Shea a 4.5 and Clean rating.

1-5 scale and what it means:
1: I couldn’t even finish it / just plain bad
2: I hope I didn’t pay for this / disappointing
3: I didn’t hate it, but it was still missing something / forgettable but inoffensive
3.5: On the line between good and ok / like, not love
4: Solid mind candy / worth reading
4.5: So very close to perfection! / must read
5: I could not put it down and I’m still thinking about it! / a true treasure

Movie Ratings in relation to my review:
Clean--Hallmark movies, some kissing, no nudity, no sex on or off "screen"
PG--Some innuendo but nothing kids don't hear every day, sex is all closed door
PG-13--some language (swear words not related to sex), more talk about sex, heavy petting, removal of clothing on screen, but sex is closed door.

 R--swearing (F bomb, on “screen” sex, sometimes feels like the whole story is about the sex and not the relationship or some other plot, but not always

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