Title: Beauty in the Beast
Author: Christine Danse
Publisher: Carina Press
Pub Date: March 05, 2012
ISBN: 9781426893360
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Source: Netgalley
Journeying by steam-powered sled to London's Frost Fair to perform, Tara and three friends are trapped in a blizzard in the woods. A gruff, handsome stranger offers them shelter-and wants one thing in return. Stories.
The travellers are glad to oblige. Their host, Rolph, is especially captivated by Tara's story of an orphaned girl raised by the Fae in the world of the spirits. Equally intrigued by Rolph, and aware of an electric pull between them, Tara encourages him to share a story of his own. When Rolph weaves a tale of a man who is doomed by his own folly to turn into a wolf at the full moon, Tara suspects there is more than a grain of truth in his words.
When the veil between the mortal and spiritual worlds is parted, and danger threatens, will Tara make the ultimate sacrifice to save Rolph?
REVIEW
I was instantly drawn to this novella because of the beautiful cover. It stood out and promised such a magical tale, but unfortunately, it didn't really deliver.
I felt that everything moved too quickly in this story and before I knew it I was at the end of the book. There was no time for me to really make a connection with any of the characters. Rolph is a mysterious stranger who Tara instantly feels an attraction for, but I just didn't feel it.
The secondary characters in the story felt like fillers. There was no real purpose for them being there. If they had been left out it would have made no difference to the story in any way. I also felt the stories that are told at the beginning of the book were just another way to fill the pages. They had no real connection to the rest of the plot, with exception to Tara and Rolph's tales, and even those didn't give much insight into who they really were.
I wish Tara and Rolph's romantic chemisty had been a little more developed. Just as their relationship started to grow, and just as I started to settle into the book, things took a confusing turn with otherworldly creatures and the truth about Tara's past. Although the ending was highlighted beautifully by Tara's unselfish sacrifice to save Rolph, I was still left wanting more.
If this novella had been developed with more depth to the characters and their relationships I believe it would have been a much more interesting read.
I have to give it....
Thank you to Carina Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review Beauty in the Beast.
Visit Carina Press and Danse Desirable for more details.
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