My daughter bought me this book for my birthday – and she knows what I like to read. Fairy tale adaptions are sooo much fun, and this take on Beauty & the Beast did a fantastic job.

The atmosphere of the book was exceedingly gothic, and the people and scenery seemed very French (to my uneducated eye). So the stage was set – and in comes Lucie, a girl looking to escape her step-father and find a way to earn her way in the most respectable of ways. She manages to find a job as a cleaning maid at Chateau Beaumont only to find that Chevalier de Beaumont is a monster of a person. He enjoys the misery and pain of others and looks only to further himself.

Enter the curse – the one we’ve seen many times. And suddenly the Chevalier is no more, and in his place is Beast. Lucie watches over Beast in a transformed state herself, but this is where the story takes a new and exciting turn of events.

I love how Lisa Jensen incorporated the roses and Beast’s love for them. I love the little twists and turns she put on the curse to make it unique and surprising. And I loved it when she introduced Rose. So we have two potential Beauties, which is not a way to make this some kinky ménage. It’s just a way to show Beast’s desire for companionship.

The ending was nothing like I expected at all. And I will also add a trigger warning for rape, suicide, and abortion topics.