Beauty’s Beast (Beauty and the Rose #1)

This is the first book in a two parter. The first book is great but be warned….I am giving you a ending of book two spoiler! If you like books that end with your main character dying, then go for it. I listen to these for a HEA not tears. I cried for days and was seriously depressed. I have been married for 34 years to the love of my life and all this book did was make me anxious, sad and depressed for days about losing my spouse, my love. Be warned and go for it if this is what you want. I wish someone told me this upfront and I would not have bought this set!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Keep in mind that it is book one of a dark romance trilogy so be prepared for a cliffhanger. As the title suggests, this series is a modern twist on the Beauty and The Beast fairy tale. I felt that this was a well crafted, clever and enticing way to kick off this series. The characters are complex, the chemistry hot and the scenes sizzle. An engaging blend of intense emotions, suspense, drama, secrets, tension, twists and steam will quickly capture your attention and leave you craving more when that cliffhanger hits and leaves you gasping and needing the next book ASAP. I thought that the narrators did a terrific job and I felt their voices fit the characters well. This book features dual narration, which for me is always preferred and greatly appreciated. I can\’t wait for book two.

***I was given a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review*** Story and Character: I didn\’t feel particularly blindsided by anything because I read Stasia Black and Lee Savino\’s previous collaboration that retold Persephone and Hades\’s tale. Beauty\’s Beasts is in the same universe as Innocence. The combination of greek mythology and fairy tale was interesting and made the foreshadowing/plot twist easy to believe. Daphne is Beauty. Beast.. is well the Beast. And Apollo is thrown in the mix. Knowing mythology, you already can tell who the bad guy is. That set up kind of blends well with the subplot of Daphne searching for a cure to a disease that took her mother\’s life. I liked Daphne as a heroine. She\’s innocent for sure but that\’s because at the forefront she\’s passionate about her scientific endeavors. But later we discover the immense pressures she\’s faced with from the people around her. I like how, through the Beast, she is finding a nice balance between work and life, a self-rediscovering. I would say a lot of book one is driven by the Beast\’s insecurities and lack of trust towards Daphne (which causes a lot of miscommunication). But his behavior is explained so it feels less one-dimensional. I actually love the Beast as he wars with the person he is and the person he used to be. He wants to possess all of Daphne but knows that she wouldn\’t be the person he loves if he did that. Instead, he acts as her dom and dominates her body, and teaches her to embrace a new part of her that she didn\’t know. And those scenes were immensely hot. I think the thing that annoys me though is the Beast\’s notion of equating innocence/purity to virginity. I get that he would despise it if Daphne was sleeping with his nemesis, but even if it wasn\’t his enemy, Daphne is a wonderful and passionate person. Even if she slept with different people, having sexual autonomy shouldn\’t be considered dirty…But I\’m sure the authors know this and in the mind of the Beast, he is just that unreasonable and set in his ways due to his experiences–which is not out of character. There\’s a lot of questions that still need answering in the next two books. Like what happened to the beast, how? What is the cure to this disease Daphne and the Beast have been researching almost their whole life? Narration: I like the narration and the audio quality is professional. Kelsey-Ann O\’Dowd has a nice mellow voice that isn\’t shrill, and the maturity of the voice matches Daphne\’s age. Brian Meslar was putting on the Batman voice very thick. At times, it did sound ridiculous but I\’m hoping as his character changes, his voice will also become less gravelly. Kind of like a literal transformation you can hear.

I would tell my sweetheart just one more chapter. I love how she incorporates the Dom/Sub relationship into the Beauty and the Beast concept. I usually only listen to my books on tape in the car, but I couldn\’t wait that long to hear the rest of the book. I can\’t wait to listen to the next book. I was given a free copy of this audible, and this is my honest opinion.

Beautys Beast, an Audiobook by Stasia Black and Lee Savino was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!!!! Best story and Audiobook EVER!!!!! Ive wanted to read this story FOREVER and was able to get the Audiobook version. WOW!!!! Just an incredible WOW!!! A romantic, dark, romantic interpretation of Beauty and the Beast, this is the intensely romantic story of Daphne and the The Beast. She is working tirelessly to find a cure for the disease that killed her mother. Then, at a huge event, she is asked to meet someone.who takes her.and keeps her. Neither of them get what they expected.nor do they understand what is happening between them. He is keeping LOTS of secrets. Ends in a major cliffhanger This story is narrated by Brian Mesler and Kelsey-Ann ODowd.and what a duo!!!! They do a FANTASTIC job with these characters, the story, and the emotions woven throughout the book. Phenomenal job!!!! I am volunteering to leave a review for an Advance Reader Copy of this Audiobook.

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