Can Beauty tame her BEAST?Isabella—Grady Williams is a national treasure, the youngest living Medal of Honor recipient, America’s scarred superhero. With tattooed arms sculpted from carrying M-16s, this bad boy has girls begging from sea to shining sea to get a piece of his action.When my father squanders away my college fund, I make a deal with this dirty-talking Devil Dog—I will pretend to be … Devil Dog—I will pretend to be Grady’s girlfriend for the Marine Corps Ball, and my dad will write Grady’s war memoir.
Grady is fearless. Hell, this badass jumped on a grenade to save his fellow Marines! As much as I crave him, I refuse to allow myself to become addicted to a dangerous man who will detonate my heart.
Grady—Isabella Cuesta is an angel who can see beyond my mangled skin, a pawn used to repay her father’s debt, a woman who makes me feel like a man instead of a monster.
But I no longer believe in fairy tales.
She’s mine until our contract ends. I’ll take her hard and rough, listen to all her hopes and fears, lay down my life to protect her.
This beauty will never let herself love a dangerous man like me—a man who has killed, a man who runs towards gunfire, a man who never backs down from a fight.
But without her love, I’m not a man—I’ll remain forever a beast.
Publisher’s note: This is a full-length, standalone novel. Happily Ever After. No cliffhanger. No cheating.
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What a great spin on Beauty and the Beast.
Isabella is out just trying to have more fun and escape the fact that her father has spent her money. But at a college party, she gets more than she bargains for. But when she meets Grady in a Hulk mask, and he takes care of her for the night, she is grateful. But will she make a deal with the devil to solve her own problems?
Grady is home from war and a vet that everyone loves to parade around. He has scars on his face that make him less than pleasant to look at and his PTSD can get out of control at times. So he only goes out when he thinks it is safe. While wearing a mask, he figures it is safe. But he never imagined to run into Isabella and to save her on top of that. But when he needs a favor, will she agree?
Can two broken souls heal each other? Can they see past themselves to see each other? This book shows that not all romances are pretty bows and flowers, they require effort and passion for the other person. Getting through the rough patches and storms, will lead to so much romance and steaminess, it makes everything worth it. I received an ARC of this book from the author and Hidden Gems.
First I have to say, I love military romance stories. “Beast” is a story I should have read and reviewed a long time ago. Somehow it got missed and for that, I apologize. This story is beautifully written of a war veteran that is terribly scarred, but longs for love. Isabella and Grady’s story is filled with a lot of highs and lows, but it is a story that will make the reader feel. Their romance is quick, but Grady will take some convincing that Isabella is truly in love with him. I enjoyed it greatly and read it straight through in one sitting. This is truly one not to be missed. Thank you Hidden Gems. My review is voluntary and my own. 4.5 Stars!
This is the first time I’ve read this article,,,,,
Grady “Beast” William’s was medically discharged from the Marine Corp for injuries he received saving some of his platoon,,, Isabella “Isla” Cuesta has a secret and gas left life in the public eye to protect it,,,, This was a good read,,,, there was action, adventure and some kinda emotional things,,,, and, of course, some good old fashioned steam,,,, grab it for a great read,,, I would so totally recommend this book to anyone,,,,
I got this ARC voluntarily to do an honest review,,,,
Wow! I love this story! This is book one in the Heroes Ever After series and it features Grady and Isa. This book is so well written that it felt like a movie playing in my mind. My emotions were all over the place. The characters were outstanding. Grady was a real hero and the way he was dealing with all that had happened to him was so honest. Isa’s reactions to him sometimes made me wince but it was true and didn’t feel staged or made up.
Bravo! Fabulous romance that had the sizzle factor jumping off the charts! This author is quickly becoming a new favorite. I can’t wait to read more.
Wow! Alana blew me away with this book. I literally could not get enough of this. It’s an amazing story about a hot Marine Grady and the woman he falls in love with Isabella. Their love story, gave me all the feels. These two together make this book so much more great. One of the best military romances I’ve read. Fantastic book.
Isabella meets a muscled up hottie camouflaged as the Hulk at a frat party and she’s instantly lusting after him. But when they go back to his place and start talking, she realizes he’s a war hero, a Marine recently come home after being badly injured when he threw himself on top of a grenade to save his best friend and other fellow Marines. He’s twitchy, he’s angry, and he lashes out a lot. He’s also severely scarred and maimed on one side of his body, leaving Isa feeling horrible for him. Her psychological background kicks in and she instantly tries to psychoanalyze him, causing even more frustration for him. How can she get him to see that she isn’t there because she pities him, but because she thinks he’s a sexy hero.
Grady is suffering from severe PTSD, depression and is feeling worthless. He doesn’t feel like the hero everyone says he is. But when he meets a hot girl at a frat party down the street from his apartment, he starts feeling something other than rage and depression. But is Isa really who she says she is? Why does she seem familiar? Did she really spend the night with him out of pity as he fears?
I could really see the potential in Beast. I think the author has got the basics down, she just needs to polish the dialogue a bit and develop her characters and their backstories more. I ultimately liked both Isa and Grady but I didn’t feel the connection with them that I had been hoping for. Probably because they weren’t fleshed out very well, and Grady was an ass for about 90% of the story, then does an abrupt 180 near the end. Still, because I could see the potential, and I liked the basic story, I can’t rate it lower than 3 stars.
A new twist on Beauty and the Beast
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review. This is my 10th book by Alana and I love an author who writes in dual point of view. Isa goes with her best friend to a college frat superhero theme costume party where she meets Grady as the Hulk. Things are going well with Isa and Grady until fireworks go off. Grady has PTSD so hits the ground with Isa underneath him. Grady leaves thinking he blew it with Isa, but Isa follows him. After incredible sex, Isa leaves Grady thinking she will never see him again. When Isa finds out her father took her college funds to pay back bills, Isa tries to go back to Dancing Under the Stars but is turned down. With her last hope, Isa asks Grady to consider writing a book with the help of her father. Grady agrees to the book deal, but stipulates that Isa has to spend a week with him and go the Marine Ball as his date in Hawaii. Everything is going great during the week, until Grady gets a message from a fellow Marine about a news story about them that destroys everything. Isa tells Grady that he needs to go through therapy to help himself before Isa leaves. Will Isa and Grady find their way back to one another? You have to read to find out and won’t want to put your Kindle down.
This adult version of Beauty and the Beast. Grady, a war hero who is broken, literally meets Isabella, a beautiful woman with heartbreak and secrets of her own. Can these two come together to help heal lone another? This is such a well written and beautiful story.
Title: Beast
Author: Alana Albertson
**RECEIVED A FREE COPY FOR HONEST REVIEW**
This is the first book by this author I have read. It is a modern retelling of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast. Many can relate to the Beast because he is a scarred Iraq Vet. Not only does the author deal with the physical manifestations of the Beast but when dealing with wounded warriors PTSD and Survivors Guilt and other mental issues are part of the experience. I feel the author used tact, love, and honor in regards to the wounded Vet character.
That being said I do have to say Beauty and her issues really weren’t dealt with. They were touched on then glossed over to focus on the Beast. Not sure why Beauty’s problems get glossed over since she suffers from many of the same internal demons as the Beast.
It was a decent book. Not terribly written. Not sure I will go for book 2 which is the military version of the Little Mermaid.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I’m loving Alana’s take on the princess stories. Add in the Beast is a Marine hero, I’m game! I absolutely loved this! I felt for Grady and Isa both. Both with very different pasts but both suffering in their own way from PTSD. Both wanting love but thinking it’s not in the cards for them.
Grady could be an incredible jerk but then do a 180 and be so sweet!
Isa is one strong woman to be putting up with Grady and his remarks but still try to stick around for him.
I read this in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down and wish there was more of them!
Audible Review:
Overall: 4*
Performance 5*
Story 3.5*
“The narration really brings this story to life.”
What did you love best about Beast?
I enjoyed the damaged hero who finds his true love storyline. I liked Grady’s progression through the book, thanks to having Isa by his side. He had a lot of issues, that were quite understandable, but it was nice to see him come to terms with some things. I liked that Isa stood up for herself when it came to Grady, and that she was able to see through him to the real person. I liked how she didn’t let the trouble her father caused to bring her down. She just pulled herself back up and did what she had to do to move on.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
I’m not sure that there’s anything I would necessarily change, it’s not up to me to tell an author that she needs to change things in her story. I will admit I had a little trouble with Grady in the beginning and almost gave up on the book. Our first introduction to him was fine, and I was intrigued by his character. But then soon after he kind of turned me off, with how abrupt and demanding his was, a little too “alpha” in a sense. He did win me over again, though, as the story progressed and he opened himself up.
What does Sonja Field and Aaron Shedlock bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Aaron and Sonja were incredible! I loved that this was a duet narration, because I really can’t get enough of Mr. Shedlock. I borrowed this book purposely because he was the narrator, I had never heard of it before. I think they both did such fantastic jobs giving these characters life.
***Borrowed through Audible Romance Package