Of Beast and Beauty by Chanda Hahn

From Goodreads:

Something evil this way comes. 

7 Vengeful Sisters

7 Fairytale Kingdoms

7 Daughters of Eville

Everyone dreams of marrying a prince—except for me. I am nothing more than a pawn in my adoptive mother's diabolical plot against the seven kingdoms. I was the chosen tool, her sharpened blade that would cut the deepest into the heart of the Kingdom of Baist. But like all deadly weapons, my wedding is a two-edged sword that could cost me my soul.

For I am Rosalie, one of the adopted daughters of Lady Eville, and it is my duty to enter into a loveless and hate-filled marriage with the narcissistic Crown Prince of Baist. My choices and heart are not my own to give. Yet even in the thick of dire situations, beastly vengeance can give way to beautiful attraction.

My Take:
Beauty and the Beast must be my favorite fairytale. Goodness knows I've read dozens of interpretations. This one by Hahn rates up toward the top. In fact, now I'm interested in the others in the series. 

She writes about complex characters who seem stuck in their roles, full of prejudice, and unbendable. And yet they learn, they grow, they change and learn to love. Magic plays a big part of the story throughout. I loved how strong the emotions of each character came through. My heart ached for Rosalie. I cheered whenever she stood her ground and put Prince Xander in his place. And even though we were never in Xander's point of view. Hahn did a great job giving subtle hints that let me know his true feelings, even if Rose didn't catch on. It made the push and pull, the ups and downs of conflict and tension between them even weightier. This is definitely worth your time if you like a Beauty and Beast story.

There are plenty of twists and turns, as well as unique plot points, that make this feel like a new story. And without giving too much away, I love how in the end they are both beauty and both beastly. There's a powerful lesson to be learned by the end of the story for all of us. 

I give the book a solid 5 and a PG rating. The physical attraction is handled well, and the closed door intimacy is between husband and wife.

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.
PG-14—somewhere between PG-13 and R. Not erotica, but at least a paragraph of on-screen sex
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