This.

This was incredible. If this has been sitting on your tbr for awhile, take this as your sign to pick it up now!!!
The world building was so descriptive and beautiful. You could get a clear vision while you read of the world put in front of you. The whole time I read I had a movie of sorts going on in my head.
The characters had incredible depth and growth. It was perfect. The prose was beautiful. Definitely recommend.

Phenomenal character development

The author is a masterful weaver of tales. From the first few pages, he takes you on a journey into another time and place and spins a web that catches you and transports to a far away land. Character development and details are skillfully written and he has proffered a love story for the ages. I couldn’t put the book down!

Read in two sittings!

Could not put it down! If you enjoy dark takes on old tales, this one is for you. Stayed up and read it entirely in two sittings (and I haven’t stayed up late to read a novel in YEARS).

beautiful and heartfelt

I cannot recommend this book enough. If you are a fan of romance, fantasy, beauty and the beast tales, or just good writing, you won’t be disappointed!

Love it!

I loved this so much! Not only was it a fascinating mixture of Beauty and the Beast with Tam Lin, it brings me joy with gender acceptance beyond the binary. The world-building is fantastic, the characters grow and change, and it is a gripping adventure/romance.

sweet

I loved this book, it was very sweet, and if you don’t like spice, don’t worry, it’s more like a green pepper. 👌🏻 I had trouble reading the old timey talk but filled in the blanks. 😂

Unique retelling!!

Book was recommended by a friend! And I loved it! Such a unique Beauty and the Beast retailing!! I loved the characters. Loved the old time talk, beautiful written! I need more retellings from the author

As a die-hard fan of beauty and the beast and its retellings i had high hopes for this from the beginning! It surpassed my expectations within the first few pages! It was everything I wanted and more! Im only sad I read it so fast and now it’s finished.

I’m a sucker for a good retelling, and this one felt pretty fresh. While the main elements we know are still there, the story contains a lot of unexpected details. Definitely hoping to see more from this author.

Excellent retelling of Beauty and the Beast

A tale as old as time… but not like this. I was hooked with the first chapter, forgoing anything else until I was done. The twists, turns, and unique takes on the expected elements is masterful. 11/10 would (and have) recommend.

Beauty and the Beast was one of my favorite movies when I was little, and this take on the story is one of the best I’ve ever read! The feels hit hard with this one.

Bravo!

Memorable characters in a refreshed setting, this is a unique and beautiful retelling of Beauty and the Beast with lovely prose.

A wonderful retelling of Beauty and the Beast from a different dark place. Couldn’t put it down.

It’s so well written and the characters are amazing to follow through a gripping, heartfelt story. I couldn’t recommend enough

I don’t even know how to start with this. Maybe I should start by saying I’m definitely not the intended audience for this because I’m not a big romance reader and typically go for fantasy series. I picked this up on a whim and went in blind and I was hooked by page 3 (literally). I think that says a lot about it honestly.

I don’t think I can accurately put into words how beautiful this was. Beauty and the Beast is a story that has been told so many times and has been twisted in all sorts of ways trying to be unique but this author found the perfect way to do that without deviating from the true meaning behind the tale. And also adding just enough personal touches that give the reader a “if you know you know” type of feeling… or maybe it was just me. The characters and their depth were so good. Their ability to work to understand each other and the relationship they formed was just so refreshing and beautiful to see when you live in a world with books filled with unhealthy depictions of love. This is my favorite version of a “beast” I’ve ever read. There are themes/discussions of past SA but handled so delicately that I wouldn’t even think a trigger warning is needed. Just amazing in every way.

Fairy tale retellings are usually a safe bet for me, but I was not expecting this to be such a refreshing spin on Beauty and the Beast. Somehow the author subverted every trope that retellings usually fall back on, while maintaining what was great about the original story. This novel doesn’t glorify toxic or problematic behaviors like a lot of recent “romance” stories seem to do lately. As I read, I continued to be pleasantly surprised by all the little details that I didn’t realize I’d been missing in other books; neither of the leads have conventionally attractive features or body types, they communicate and strive to be better for one another, I could go on and on! The story does mention some dark topics including S.A. but does so in a gentle and caring way that I did not find triggering at all. This is a book I will be rereading again and again. If you’re looking for something different from the usual, I highly recommend you give this one a try.