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?
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Starts out slow but turns into a book I’ll read and reread. Wonderful characters, nice to see black people featured in a romance. Kudos to the writer.
Predictable at times but in a very good way, the story develops and keeps you turning pages in hopes you are right at times while wishing not to be at others. This book will make you feel all the feels!
Fun book to read. Lots of twists and turns.
Great book for young adults. It kept me interested even though I am far from a young adult yet I really enjoyed it.
Really well-written YA novel. Not just a Beauty and the Beast retelling, the main characters have a mystery to solve, families to reunite and daily life to live. Couldn’t put it down.
This book was amazing. I couldn’t put it down. It was fast paced thrilling and action packed I loved it.
I always like the Beauty and the Beast story no matter how the change it or if it’s old fashioned or modern-day, but as much as I loved the Spunky main character, Bellamy, this story took a turn I didn’t like.
Great teen story. Could have done without the one encounter. Otherwise a really easy, fun read.
This is a fantastic book that pulls the reader in with an amazing story and keeps them in with the real to life characters.
A great new twist on beauty and the beast just a a teenage girl with a summer job, a murder mystery and two vengeful ghosts.
I thought this would be just another great beauty and the beast type of story. It was good but I am not a big ghost story fan. It was interesting how they portrayed beauty and the beast type of concepts, and working through emotions and mystery. If you like reading about ghosts and hauntings where they look like what happened to them, a little bit of mystery and romance, you will probably like this book. Otherwise, don’t check it out. 🙂
good story and re-telling of the fairy tale with ghosts thrown into the mix
This was a free kindle read which piqued my interest because it’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling, my favorite fairy tale. I loved her ideas and creativity with putting a modern spin on the tale, so much so that I was turning to my book at every possible minute. As soon as I realized there were ghosts involved I wasn’t thrilled, but I was pleasantly surprised with how it worked in the story. The mystery was intriguing and I thought the romance between Bellamy and Tate was cute until they slept together. In the 2nd half of the book, I didn’t love how everything wrapped up particularly with the mystery and too many things I didn’t find believable. 4 stars for the 1st half and 2 stars for the 2nd. Not interested in reading the next book.
A fun modern twist on Beauty and the Beast. Great read
This book sucked me in from the first chapter! I loved it will read again
It’s unusual but fun. I genuinely enjoyed this book.
A quick easy read with an interesting twist on Beauty and the Beast. I didn’t like that the trip to find more information *had* to be overnight, which was basically a vehicle to get the main characters to sleep together, which seemed to go against the relationship she had with her father. A few too many actions that went against the main character’s character for me to find the story believable.
This book was utterly refreshing. I love a little ghost story with my romance and the cherry on top was the mystery that unfolded. I LOVE that there were no steamy sex scenes that last the chapter long, but there was romance and tender moments. It is hard to find in books today. This is a book I can share with my daughter without scarring her. Great read!
After reading the first book I had to get the complete sears.
It’s a good, clean story with interesting characters.