Benella is concerned with two things-avoiding the two village boys who torment her and scrounging for food to help feed her family. Unfortunately, the best wild fruit and vegetables are near the walls of the estate, a dark misty place inhabited by an unforgiving beast.
When her tormentors lock her behind the massive gates, Benella knows her fate is sealed. Yet, the fate isn’t one she expects. Her … Her encounter with the beast starts a bizarre cycle of bargaining for her freedom, a freedom the beast seems determined to see her lose.
A classic fairy tale with a new twist, the Beauty and the Beast saga begins with Depravity.
Intended for mature readers due to sexual situations and moderate language.
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This series is absolutely amazing!!! M.J. Haag is such a creative and wonderful author!!! I have read this series twice on my Kindle and loved it so much I wanted it in Paperback as well!!! I have read other series of hers and love them so much as well! I highly recommend this author and all of her books to all of my friends! I can’t wait to read her next creation in the Beastly world!
I can only describe my love for this book using the word devoured. I completely devoured it. In a time of fairytale retellings, this stands out as unique, different, fascinating, and turbulent. It does not hide the harsh realities of life for a woman in the time period. Nor does it hide the shady parts most people wish to avoid. It’s not gone into great a detail but it is there.
Knowing this does not stop Benella from doing what she must to protect her family, her two very undeserving sisters, and her far too lenient with them father. Her kindness must come from him because he seems to know most of what goes on in his house but overlooks it hoping his daughters will fare better in life.
Benella is a fascinating girl. She is strong, not physically but mentally. She absorbs books and is intelligent. But she is just as comfortable outside foraging for food, setting traps, cleaning the catches. A very well rounded character with a lot of whits and a lot of compassion.
The beast even seems drawn to her and tries everything to convince her to stay. Food, clothing, even providing refuge. This book does not tell us why he is drawn to her. her cheekiness and lack of fear of him might have something to do with it in my opinion. He finally puts her in a situation she cannot refuse.
A good, quick read. The story is good. There is sexual content that range from normal to uncomfortable and all of it awkward, thus only 4 stars. If you have read 50 Shades of Grey then you can read this. The main character, Benella, reminds me of Katniss Everdeen with her serious, non-damsel personality which is great. Damsels are not my thing. Her dad is a very sweet, humble man. Her sisters are selfish and snobbish.
Great start to a wonderful remake to the beauty and the beast!!! Not the same infact more raw and real life drama!
I absolutely loved this beauty and the beast spin off and i don’t even like romance novels
I really didn’t know what to expect from this telling of Beauty and the Beast but I have to say, so far so good. It has the classic setup where our Beauty’s sister’s are selfish while their father struggles, leaving Beauty to pick up the slack and care for her father. She is an innocent but not as innocent as you think. Her heart is pure but she is a red blooded young woman. I like this trilogy so far.
This was such an intricate and captivating take on the classic Beauty and the Beast story. I love the way Melissa Haag takes me in a direction that I don’t expect to go. Her characters are full of depth and you immediately get a feel for them. I’ve always loved this story, but she ramps it up into an adult version that draws you in and doesn’t let go. Although it includes some adult situations, I found it more readable and intriguing. It is filled with danger and magic, gives you chills and makes your heart pump. I couldn’t put it down, and I didn’t want it to end! Of course, as is her way, there will be more than one part to this story. I am so looking forward to the next one! I hope, she’s already started it! Thank you, Melissa, for another entertaining read.
Benella lives in a small village with her father and two sisters. Benella is the forager of the family. She sneaks up to the Beast’s estate hoping to find food for her family. Two of the boys that live in Benella’s village torment her. They throw her across onto the estates ground so the beast will kill her. Only the beast spares her.
This is the first book in three of the retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Haag has a different twist on this story which I love. There isn’t any romance between the the beast and Benella in this first installment. Already half way through the second one and I can’t buy the third one until next week. Damn.
MJ Haag has written an awesome adult version -Beauty & the Beast inspired story (that’s one of my favorite Disney movies when my daughter was a child). I really enjoyed this 3 book series. Would highly reccomend this series. I’ve re-read them 3 times. Some of my favorite books, & I don’t normally re-read books! Looking forward to more books from MJ Haag! Very enjoyable, couldn’t put the books down!
Excellent adult retelling of a classic!! Well written storyline and characters!!
Nice twist on a classic tale.
This book is amazing, the story of beauty and the beast has been told so many times but this one keeps you on your toes! Yes, there is a cliffhanger but the whole series is worth it. Love this author too, the way she creates the characters is amazing.
Took me a whole night of not sleeping
I began reading and was unable to put it down, I read this whole book till I finished rushed to Amazon and buy the rest because I gad to know what happend next!
Do I recomend yes!! Is it super steamy Nope not in the least, this is a great twist on a fairy tale I love, with its own unique little spins where this story line gave a new turn to a clasic
When I saw the cover of this book I was immediately intrigued. From the font choice to the mystery background with ominous trees and a large estate I had a good feeling this book was going to be full of beautiful, dark mystery. I will say that I was surprised at how young the girl is on the cover. This book is so much like Beauty and the Beast and yet so different at the same time. I didn’t feel like I was just reading the same old story. It was a beautiful, creative retelling which took me as a reader into the setting based on the vivid detail. It is similar because there is a young girl who is hopefully set to break a curse on a vain man and his estate with a bit of magic involved. Yet, this retelling is darker and has adult situations. There is a much heavier focus on Benella’s family (father and two sisters) compared to the original Beauty and the Beast. This book was so easy for me to gobble up. I was visiting family during the time I was reading it and I stole moments in the morning, between spending time with them, and late at night. It may have taken me a day to finish because I had to steal moments to read. I was hooked, am hooked, and can’t wait to finish the entire series and move on to more of M.J. Haag’s books. There were no elements in the writing I found distracting. This book was so very well-written and was an amazing change of pace from some of the other books I have read recently. I love when I can’t find one thing wrong with the writing. The storyline was well-thought out and all subplots were addressed appropriately. I found not one grammatical error. OH WHAT BLISS! I really enjoyed how realistic the non-magical references were in this book. The story was so incredibly down to earth. I loved how as a reader I really could feel the struggle Benella’s family had in making ends meet. There are so many different characters with their individual struggles, but for each one it was clear the setting was a difficult one. Without giving too much away, I really appreciated seeing the struggle of only being able to afford two different pairs of clothes and sometimes go without eating. The book took it to another level by adding in characters who take advantage of the struggles of others. All around, the struggles were so beautiful written. I have not read any other M.J. Haag or Mellisa Haag. However, she has earned a spot near the top of my list of favorite authors. Her writing is amazing and I am excited to finish this series and start The Tales of Cinder. And more and more and more!
So I got this first book for free, and I did something unprecedented for me. I paid full price for books 2 and 3 before I even finished it! Normally with these serial stories, I wait it out and buy them when they go on sale. I knew that I was already in love with this character, and I would never have the patience to wait that long. So in the end, the $5 I have in this story is well worth it since I’ve read it three times in a month. In fact, if you stuck all three in a paperback, I might buy that too because this is one of those stories I had to have for my very own! I’ve read a lot of Beauty and the Beast stories, and this one is definitely not for the kids but its fabulous!
Not entirely what I expected but it is good retelling of Beauty and the Beast, a start.
This story lacks the bare bones of a romance. They don’t fall in love, don’t resolve their differences. It must be a prequel, but even so still falls short of being a complete story.