This book caught my attention because of the title and because I am a sucker for the Beauty and the Beast trope.
This story is one that brings things to a whole new level with some dark and steamy edges that I found delightfully compelling. I thoroughly enjoy fairytales, especially those with a romantic sprinkling along some crafty spice.
This book delivers all of that in a delectable retelling of a contemporary version of Beauty and the Beast that I know romantasy and urban fantasy fans alike will adore just as much as I do.
I am fifty-five years old, and I’ve been active in the BDSM lifestyle since my early twenties. My Safeword series was written because, at the time, most of the BDSM hitting the ebook market was clearly written by people who’d never felt the sting of a whip. I was certain I could do better, and eventually, after six attempts, I wrote something I thought a publisher might be interested in. Fifteen years later, I write mostly paranormal romance, but a fair amount of kink and power exchange still sneaks in. Vampires and werewolves aren’t known for submitting to others, after all.
The Beauty Series is actually three books, written as one long story: The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, Beauty's Punishment, Beauty's Release.
When I read the books, sometime around 1989, I didn’t know Anne Rice had written them. I only knew this was proof that yet another person felt the same as me about sex.
These books aren’t written as consensual sex, but they’re pure fantasy, so it worked okay for me then and still does today.
Before E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey and Sylvia Day's Bared to You, there was Anne Rice's New York Times best seller The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
In the traditional folktale of "Sleeping Beauty," the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss of a Prince. It is an ancient story, one that originally emerged from and still deeply disturbs the mind's unconscious. In the first book of the series, Anne Rice (author of Beauty's Kingdom), writing as A.N. Roquelaure, retells the Beauty story and probes the unspoken implications…
This was described to me as a Beauty and the Beast portal fantasy, and that sounded too awesome for me to pass up. I'm so glad I read it because it was as enchanting and mystical as I wanted it to be.
It also had some darkness, and the characters' resiliency against that darkness was inspiring. I loved how the female lead's disability was both a strength and an obstacle. I loved how the male lead needed to understand he was his own worst enemy.
This book taught me about myself through the characters' struggles, and that's always worthwhile.
A New York Times bestseller!
"Has everything you'd want in a retelling of a classic fairy tale." - Jodi Picoult
In a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Brigid Kemmerer gives readers another compulsively readable romance perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer.
Fall in love, break the curse.
It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the…
Intense action, desperate revenge, animal-like dragons,
and a battle-hardened heroine? YES PLEASE!
The world of Court of Dragons is simply
mesmerizing. I loved how the author took a mythological creature that has been
used over and over again and gave it a new, animalistic twist.
Between the
constant danger, the fiery heroine, and the tension-riddled romance, I could not
put this book down.
As a daughter of the Dragon Court, Wren knows three truths: never show weakness, pay the tithe, and never trust the elves.
When the enemy strikes on the eve of her wedding, Wren has no choice but to fight. Captured, she's dragged before the elvish king and given two choices.
Death or marriage.
She submits, biding her time as she plots and spies, determined to strike at the heart of the elvish royalty and take back her family's throne once more. But the more time she spends with her dangerous and achingly handsome husband, she finds herself wavering.
I like a good steamy emotional romance just like any other romance reader, but there’s nothing I love more than reading a romance that can make me laugh so hard I cry and then turn around and have a storyline with an unexpected twist that stomps on my heart a little before putting it all back together. Romantic comedies can be crazy and convoluted but I appreciate the fun release a good rom-com can deliver. That’s what I strive to provide through my rom coms as well. Relatable characters experiencing crazy life moments while finding their happily-ever-afters.
KB Cinder is totally my cup of tea and I want to be her best friend. Circle Jerk is a single mom meets neighborhood grump trope and it has all the feels! The one-liners and the laugh-out-loud scenes coupled with the romance and steam through this story make it the perfect book to kick back and relax with! Think Beauty and the Beast but with a single mom in a modern neighborhood. It’s not super long and can be read quickly.
KB Cinder is a hilarious up-and-coming author who should not be overlooked!
Moving sounded like a dream come true. New house, new job, new me, right? Not quite.
For one, I can’t totally reinvent myself with a kid in tow, so hair dye will have to do. Second, this new adventure brought Knox. You know, the neighborhood jerk and all-around A-hole, Knox Brighton? Or as my son calls him: The circle jerk. Hey, I laughed, too.
Anyway, Knox always creeps up at the worst times and leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Until one day, he didn’t. He put his tongue there instead.
I have always had a fondness for the quirky heroine because I find her so relatable! As a child, I was overly sensitive and obsessed with animals. I liked to read and draw, but was dreadful at organized sports, and for the most part I didn't feel as if I fit in with the expected social norms of my peers. The quirky heroines in books and literature comforted me, and showed me that first, I wasn't alone, and second, that I could find love and acceptance in a world with which I often felt out-of-step.
Beauty is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast which gives us a practical, irregular heroine who redefines beauty. I’ve reread this book multiple times because the magical setting, colorful descriptions, and character development are heartwarming and unique. This is a story of transcendent love between two people (some more human than others!) who come to know each other's thoughts and quirks thoroughly—and to love each other for them.
When the family business collapses, Beauty and her two sisters are forced to leave the city and begin a new life in the countryside. However, when their father accepts hospitality from the elusive and magical Beast, he is forced to make a terrible promise - to send one daughter to the Beast's castle, with no guarantee that she will be seen again. Beauty accepts the challenge, and there begins an extraordinary story of magic and love that overcomes all boundaries. This is another spellbinding and emotional tale embroidered around a fairytale from Robin McKinley, an award-winning American author.
I’m a book nerd and YA novel lover. While I do enjoy the occasional mystery or thriller, I unerringly find my way to the young adult aisle each and every time I go searching for my new guilty pleasure. I especially enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance. I find that these types of books are escapism at their very finest. It should come as no surprise that when I wrote my own book, I did not stray from my favorite genre.
I discovered this book as it was a finalist in the 2021 Rone Awards along with my own debut novel. I really enjoyed the imaginative premise of this book. The Zodia are real. Clawing their way from a long-forgotten tomb, they emerge, ravenous to claim everyone born under their star signs. What an inventive idea! When young Larken starts to fall for the powerful Aries, you know you’re in for quite the ride. I absolutely enjoyed this book and would recommend it to lovers of YA fantasy romances.
Some destinies are written in the stars. Others must be bought with blood…
The Zodia are real. Clawing their way from a long-forgotten tomb, they emerge, ravenous to claim everyone born under their star signs. Plotting to resurrect kingdoms no human knew existed, they are driven by a hunger for vengeance against the one who buried them: Aries.
Larken is a natural born sprinter, but even she can’t outrun the darkness closing in. A shelter-in-place order has been issued, causing widespread panic. Some brush the alarm off as a drill, until people begin to disappear... vanishing without a trace. Left…
I’ve always loved reading young adult fantasy books with forbidden romance and lush worldbuilding and classic fairytale elements like princesses, dancing, pretty clothes, and delicious food spreads. All these books offer fresh takes and twists, and tug at your heartstrings with the angst, the betrayals, the secrets, and the love. These are all immersive stories that transport you far away, to a different time, to a different land, which is exactly what you need sometimes to get away from this world and its craziness.
Nyx will do anything to save her people, including marrying the terrible Ignifex, the evil ruler of her kingdom. But there is more to Ignifex than she initially imagined, and as Nyx falls in love with him, she fights to find a way to save both her people and her love. This book portrays such fun banter between Nyx and Ignifex and poses a truly difficult riddle that is bound to break your heart.
If you're excited about the upcoming Disney film Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson, don't miss Cruel Beauty. The romance of Beauty and the Beast meets the adventure of Graceling in this dazzling fantasy novel about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny. Perfect for fans of bestselling An Ember in the Ashes and A Court of Thorns and Roses, this gorgeously written debut infuses the classic fairy tale with glittering magic, a feisty heroine, and a romance sure to take your breath away. Betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom, Nyx has always known…
As a planetary scientist and college professor, I love the adventure of finding something new, the wonder of strange worlds, and the magic of mysterious discoveries that behave logically in a way that I can figure out. Unsurprisingly, that is what I like in my fiction too. I also love a story that explores the nature of the interaction between people, particularly in friendship or romance (all proper of course—I’m an old-fashioned guy). The books on this list are all touchstones in my own journey into science and life, and I hope that you can find in them the delight, wonder, insight, and motivation that I have found.
This pick reflects changes to speculative fiction that had taken place by the 2010s, including common publication by smaller publishers and frequent mashups of multiple genres. With robots (okay, so they’re called automatons), werewolves, ghosts, and a steampunk 1800s feel, the story is quite different from others in my list, but it shares the mystery, the fun adventure, and the proper romance.
Lucy Pickett comes to a dark manor house, ala Jane Eyre, and must use all her deductive skills and biological knowledge to solve a mystery and perhaps exonerate the dark and dangerous Lord Miles. In this story, I not only found those elements of mystery, discovery, and relationship that draw me in, but I also found the motivation to begin writing again myself.
When Lucy Pickett arrives at Blackwell Manor to tend to her ailing cousin, Kate, she finds more than she bargained for. A restless ghost roams the hallways, werewolves have been reported in the area, and vampires lurk across the Scottish border.
Lord Miles himself is clearly hiding a secret. He is brash and inhospitable and does not take kindly to visitors—even one as smart and attractive as Miss Pickett. He is unsettled by the mysterious deaths of his new wife, Clara, and his sister, Marie. Could Miles himself be to blame for the deaths?
I’ve always loved fairytales. What little girl with a growing romantic heart doesn’t? By the time I was eight, I told people I was Cinderella because of all the work I did at home. An exaggeration, even for the oldest child, but still. My first prom dress, during a year I won’t mention, was reminiscent of Cinderella’s blue ballgown. As I became a writer myself, I noticed my stories held themes I learned from fairytales. Love, loyalty, courage, and a dose of magic. I simply add space or aliens to the mix.
I love when an author takes a character you think you know and adds layers of depth you never would have imagined. That’s what Shea does with Elle here. We all picture the Disney Belle--smart but with that feeling of needing to be rescued. This Elle is not that kind of beauty. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but I really appreciated the heartbreaking strength this woman had. She literally gives everything for her family, and once she knows his heart, Prince Severin.
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…
