A damaged man. A strange young woman. Secrets that can bring them together, or tear them apart.
“This is perfect for girls of all ages. There are valuable lessons throughout the story and the author makes sure to point the readers towards God.”
Ethan’s father did a number on him, to say the least. In his passing, he left Ethan a wealthy man, but a severely damaged one. More than one person has … God.”
Ethan’s father did a number on him, to say the least. In his passing, he left Ethan a wealthy man, but a severely damaged one. More than one person has considered him to be “beastly”. Annabelle is unique and could be his only chance at love, but she has secrets of her own. Can they achieve true forgiveness before their world collapses?
“My entire world got zoned out as I fell into the enchanting world of Ethan (the beast) and Annabelle (the beauty) and wow, I was just swept away! I LOVED how the relationship gradually grew…”
“If you love fairy-tales then you will love The Beauty Series!! I highly recommend these books to anyone!! The Beast here is a selfless hero and the villain(s) were quite a surprise.”
“I don’t want to spoil anything, so I will just say that I love the reason why Ethan is a ‘beast’ and that whole backstory was gripping. And I was cheering for these two, with the clever obstacles that kept coming up. If you are looking for a lovely romance story, you’ll love this.”
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A Monstrous Beauty: A Beauty and the Beast Retelling by Carol E. Keen
I have always loved the story of Beauty and the Beast, so when I read the synopsis of this book, I was intrigued to read it. The story itself is actually set for tween/teen readers and I do think they would enjoy it.
The story is definitely a twist on Beauty and the Beast, and an interesting one at that. I have not read the first book by this author that is supposed to be about Cinderella, but in this story I actually felt like I was reading the Cinderella story at times as it told of her sisters and their husbands and how badly they treated her.
While it was an interesting short book to read, the grammatical errors were a little much, including the fact that chapter 27 and 28 were the very same. Just feels like it wasn’t proof read. All aside, I did enjoy the story, and the faith in God she put in her main character, just wish it hadn’t ended the way it did. It left us not knowing quite a lot at the end.
I was provided a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. I was not required to give a positive review. This is my honest opinion of this book.
The description on the back cover is very accurate. It is a retelling of “The Beauty and the Beast.” It is a short book packed with lots of nuggets that remind us that beauty is only skin deep. It is true that many of us have scars no one can see. Ethan is very private and almost detached from the world. We know from reading the book he has physical scars. Those scars turn heads and frighten people. As I read the part about Ethan I thought about a man I saw recently. He was severely burned on part of his face and arms. Our eyes locked as we passed each other in the store. My heart was overwhelmed with the pain he has endured. For that brief moment as we looked as each other, God reminded me to look past the scars and see the scars on his heart. Not only did he have physical scars but emotional scars that for some reason God allowed me to feel. Ethan is much like the man I saw in the store. He was hurting inside but no one really thought about it. People were afraid of him because he looked different.
Annabelle was a beautiful woman but underneath her beauty, was the scars no one could see. I was outraged at how her family treated her . The author eludes to an incident that happened between Annabelle and a young man. I didn’t quite understand how it ruined Annabelle’s reputation and wanted the author to explore it in more detail. Her banishment from her home was sudden and I knew just where she would end up. It was predictable but I still took away valuable lessons from the story. We judge people by looks and we push people aside when they are emotionally damaged. I enjoyed the book, but felt there were a few things missing from the story which would have made the characters easier to understand. I do love the author’s writing but this one fell a bit short for me.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
Beauty and the Beast is my most favorite fairy tale. I adore everything Belle represents and believe she is a superior role model for young girls. She is educated, intelligent, a critical thinker, kind, compassionate, strong, courageous, and she sees beyond mere appearance to the heart within a person. She also bucks the system when it rationally and emotionally doesn’t suit her. She doesn’t do things just because everyone else is. These are all qualities I attempt to teach my own child on a daily basis. In fact, Belle is the inspiration behind my daughter’s name — Isabella. At home, I often call my daughter “My Belle.”
When I saw that Monstrous Beauty was up for review, I definitely jumped at the chance to read this book. Carol Keen did a good job of taking the popular Beauty and the Beast tale and making it her own unique story. I do appreciate that. This story is nothing like what we think of when we hear Beauty and the Beast.
I think that this book would be a good read for young girls in the tween and early-teen years. I think the insta-love quality would definitely appeal to that age group. Thinking back on who I was when I was 12-14, I easily would have devoured this story and fallen head over heels for Ethan. In many ways, his brokenness and his need to protect and take care of Annabelle would have made me swoon when I was that age. And, the message of seeing past the outside of a person to the heart within is a timely message ALL girls need during that very vulnerable time.
As an adult, however, I struggled a bit with this book. Annabelle has lost the strength Belle traditionally has in the Beauty and the Beast variants I have read and watched in the past. I can say this change in her character disappointed me. I am all for damsel-in-distress novels when they are done well, but that should never happen to a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Belle needs to be strong no matter what. I also struggled with the setting of this story. I am not 100% certain when this story takes place. There are carriages and fancy dresses, but there is also mention of antibiotics, and way too many moments of modern-age speech patterns. It confused me quite a bit and took me out of the story often. I do think the author could have done a better job in this area. And, the wedding scene does not make any sense at all. I could not follow the action — there is chaos at the chapel, no good explanation as to why, and then the priest hastily weds the main characters and tells them to go home. I was definitely left unsatisfied at the end of this story.
Overall, this story is fast-paced and easily read in one sitting. I believe the targeted audience is a tween/ early teen-age girl, and I do recommend the book to this age group. I am grateful to have read the book so I have one more novel to recommend to my Freshmen students.
I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the author via Celebrate Lit. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Monstrous Beauty
The book was good from start to finish. I got so involved with the characters, had me on edge of my seat wandering what was going to happen next. This is a fast reading book since it hard to put down and a short book but definitely had a complete story and very good one.
Ethan has a hard childhood and was scared it would affect his whole life. Annabelle has something happen that her sisters thought would ruin her life forever. Her life with her sisters reminded me of Cinderella.
I was fortunate to receive an complementary copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. I was not required to write an positive review.