A fresh twist on the classic story of Beauty and the Beast, Bellamy and the Brute proves true love really is blind.When Bellamy McGuire is offered a summer job babysitting for the wealthy Baldwin family, she’s reluctant to accept. After all, everyone in town knows about the mysterious happenings at the mansion on the hill—including the sudden disappearance of the Baldwin’s eldest son, Tate. The … son, Tate. The former football star and golden boy of Wellhollow Springs became a hermit at the age of sixteen, and no one has seen or heard from him since. Rumors abound as to why, with whisperings about a strange illness—one that causes deformity and turned him into a real-life monster. Bellamy wants to dismiss these rumors as gossip, but when she’s told that if she takes the job, she must promise to never, ever visit the third floor of the mansion, she begins to wonder if there really is some dark truth hidden there.
Tate’s condition may not be the only secret being kept at Baldwin House. There are gaps in the family’s financial history that don’t add up, and surprising connections with unscrupulous characters. At night there are strange noises, unexplained cold drafts, and the electricity cuts out. And then there are the rose petals on the staircase. The rose petals that no one but Bellamy seems to be able to see. The rose petals that form a trail leading right up to the 3 rd floor, past the portrait of a handsome young man, and down a dark hallway where she promised she would never, ever go…
As Bellamy works to unravel the mysteries of Baldwin House and uncover the truth about Tate, she realizes that she is in way over her head… in more ways than one. Can her bravery and determination help to right the wrongs of the past and free the young man whose story has captured her heart?
more
A unique Beauty and the Beast retelling perfect for Halloween – plenty of ghosts and mystery alongside the classic romance!
Amazing book but, it is a series so you know. It ends in a cliff hanger and it’s amazing!
A modern Beauty and the Beast. A really good story and characters. I enoyed it and couldn’t put it down until I had finished.
I’m a sucker for fairy tale adaptations, and this one handles characters and emotions quite well.
This was an unique blend of “Beauty and the Beast” with ghosts and a murder mystery thrown in. It’s also a YA (young adult) romance with a twist or two near the end, although the mystery aspect didn’t turn out to be ultra-deep or complex. Includes a somewhat surprising (and unnecessary?) instance of teen sex, but it was tastefully offscreen and without details. Bellamy, the main character, definitely put herself into some dangerous predicaments a few times to develop the plot.
Modern day Beauty?
The idea of the book is unique, that I’d say. But the execution is lacking somewhat, Bellamy’s good heart had to be said out loud and something about the characters’ interaction felt forced. The ending was satisfying, though.
A fun modern twist on beauty and the beast
4 1/2 stars
Let me start by saying this is a young adult/new adult novel. It has the feel of young love, spunky teens who do not listen, and a semi-supernatural twist to this tale. (It is only supernatural if you do not believe in ghost and unfinished business).
Bellamy is an amazing character. She is spunky, honest, and sweet. She loves books and looks past the outside of her “brute” to what’s hidden beneath shame and pain. I completely loved her. Did she make the wrong choices? Yes, no one at 16 is perfect so thank goodness for that. She did, however, learn from her mistakes and do better next time. Most of her mistakes were more personal, she kept something from someone to spare them, so though she suffered more because of it, they were spared at the time. Bad choice for good reasons. I liked that about her.
I loved Tate. He had a dark side, brought out by years of pain and suffering (only partly his own fault) but inside he just wanted to be…well not truly alone anymore. So he lashes out but in Bellamy, he doesn’t find someone willing to back down and give him his way. She lashes back and their verbal sparrings were often followed by apologies and revelations on his part. I especially loved when he owned up to his mistake and tried to make it right, what had started his curse. He showed courage when it would be easier to push it away.
The supporting characters were all just as wonderful, Tate’s family was fantastic. His siblings adorable and dealing with their own pain in their own ways. Secrets and curses kept them splintered and when it is all dug out they are able to heal and become a family again. It was sweet.
The romance was great because although it was a bit of the teen fall in love rather quickly thing in this version, what they go through together bonds them in ways most couples cannot say they have experienced. Their circumstances require them to be embarrassingly honest and open and so they see one another more thoroughly than most teen romance story couples.
The only thing, and I do mean only, that drove me nuts was scene changes. There were no spacings. I mean none. One minute she’s at work the next at home with dad….literally the next line. No even 1 sentence worth of empty space. No asterisks or anything to indicate a scene change either. It messed with the flow when you had to go back and be like did I miss a page or something only to find that no the scene changed without you knowing it. Other than that this book was a great read. I would love to see it turned into a series, the ghost problem resolving pair. It would be interesting to see how they handle future adventures such as these (as the ending sets it up so that we can be sure it will happen again).
Enjoyed it very much
It was okay for a young adult novel.
A coming of age story, with a strong female lead, interspersed with murder mysteries galore, and of course a love story.
This was mildly entertaining. Enough that I wanted to see what the mystery was & I was hoping that things would work out somehow for the main characters. However, it was not enough that I cared so much for the characters to continue with the series.
Fast paced, great characters, quick read
Very different story for Beauty and the Beast. I did like it a lot. I was not able to predict where this story would end up, which made it a great read!
Great book
Great book for a quick easy read between series..
This was a high school romance with a bit of a paranormal twist. Not my usual reading genre but I enjoyed it immensely. Lots of little plot twists kept me on the edge of my seat right to the very end. Awesome read!
Different and easy to read. Would like to read the second book in the series!
I really enjoyed this book, I will read more from this author
Reminded me of Beauty and the Beast, but with a big twist! Couldn’t put it down! Definitely a must read!