The beasts want to destroy her. The mirror-world won’t let her stay. The castle hides too many secrets. And when Marea finds out how to break the curse, is she willing to do whatever it takes to save two creatures of pure evil, to whom she is nothing?Marea Belle was doomed at birth. In Darkholm, having red hair means only one thing: Witch.After her parents are executed in a witch hunt, the only … hunt, the only thing that saves Marea is the chastity device that proves her purity. Spared the flames, Marea is dumped in a sack at the doors of a cursed castle; a sacrifice to appease the monsters within.
The denizens of the castle want nothing more than to devour Marea’s soul. The huge, terrifying beasts take her to an underground experiment room and make her their plaything. Somehow, she survives and escapes the monsters, hiding deep within the castle, where she finds a magic mirror which becomes her sanctuary.
Inside the looking glass, she falls in love with two men. But she can only remain there for a few hours at a time before she has to return to the castle’s inevitable horrors. No-one can escape the castle, and no-one can survive the beasts within. When Marea is forced to give herself to the beasts, she risks losing herself forever, but will her sacrifice be enough to break the ancient curse?
This full-length story is grim and a little complicated. This is a dark fairytale that tiptoes on the boundary between horror and romance. It is disturbing, bleak, and certainly not for the faint-hearted.
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This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast but with two hot, sexy men who act pretty beastly. Marea’s red hair marks her as a witch and her village happily sends her away as a sacrifice. Coal and Brendan are monsters and right from the start, they are horribly cruel. Marea has to learn and adapt, so that she can start to fight back and survive. There are rough scenes and dark parts, but Marea’s attitude and determination balanced it out and kept it from getting too dark for me.
This is loosely based dark retelling of Beauty and the beast.
I am a massive fan of this fairy-tale and do try to read anything with any similarities.
This one wasn’t really for me I am sorry to say I just couldn’t connect with the characters within in any shape or form the two males Brandon and Coal were so polar in their opposite behaviour in their good guise and bad that I couldn’t relate to either of the two extremes.
They seemed like caricatures of good and bad with no interesting qualities in either persona.
I also found the characters themselves to be pretty one-dimensional and I just couldn’t get a feel on Marea at all.
As I didn’t connect with this, I just couldn’t bring myself to even care about any of the participants of this tale.
I also thought the world building itself could do with some fleshing as well, I imagined that this was some sort of fantasy realm but in the past due to the chamber pots and descriptions used but then it would come out with modernisms like trolling and the milkman and I would think Yah what!!!!
Its not that this had dark material, I like dark I just never felt actually affected by anything like I was one-step removed, which is not good considering the horrific monsters these two men seemed to be.
I then, unfortunately, lost interest and found my self skimming this I am surprised I finished as usually, this would have been a DNF but as I was quite far in here, I persevered.
Cole and Brandon in my opinion never really redeem themselves and I wasn’t convinced of anyone’s feelings that includes Marea herself.
This was an imaginative idea and the writing itself wasn’t awful but for me this was a bit of a hot mess.
I really wish I could have liked this more than I did.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of Belles Betrayal.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
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To me, this was a dark read with tiny fairtytale hints of Beauty and the Beast notable twists. This author has a way with dark romances that’ll just suck you in to the world she creates. I definitely give this book 4.5 stars.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
Unexpected, twisty and definitely darker version of the Beauty & the Beast tale
—>>> Review Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars – Marea Belle is sacrificed by her village as the latest in the cycle of seven-year offerings made to the occupants of Castle. She discovers to her horror that she is no use to them, and finds solace in an unexpected place. There are dark and sadistic twists, and a lot of contrast between dark and light, good versus evil. Unexpected, twisty and definitely darker version of the Beauty & the Beast tale.
Belle’s Betrayal is a dark fairytale retelling, and I loved it! It veers off of normal fairytale and makes it a story unlike any other.
Marea is stuck. After witnessing her mother burned to death for witchcraft, the villagers use her as a sacrifice to the beasts in the castle. That’s right, beasts. While Marea learns more of herself, she’s also going through so much pain brought to her by the two beasts. When I say pain, I mean pain. They torture and hurt her so much. Yet in another world she finds love. Coal and Brendan have had many wrong things done to them. Coal being the more vicious one. Brendan being the more sedate one. These three go through so many trials to find a happy medium.
I really enjoyed Aria Adams take on a classic. She twisted it darkly and made it her own!
This is a strange, twisted messed up tale. Just when you think you know where it’s going it takes a sharp turn.
Strongly written characters and a dark brutal storyline – if this is what your into you will love this book
This is, without a doubt, the darkest fairy tale I could ever imagine reading! It is filled with fantasy and curses, witches and monsters, and one little will-o’-the-wisp.
The monsters are two men, Brendan and Coal, cursed into becoming horrifically evil beasts in order to survive. The heroine is a young girl, Marea, sacrificed by the villagers in order to appease those terrifying beasts, who reside in a nearby castle. At first, she has no idea that she is a witch, and is horrified by the discovery. Because of her circumstances, Marea is compelled to slowly learn to develop and control her newfound power. The trials and tribulations she endures are over-whelming. Will she be able to learn enough witchcraft to escape? Does she want to? Will she eventually help the monsters who use and abuse her? Do they want to be helped? Will there be a HEA? You will have to read for yourself to find out.
The story line is intense and powerful, complicated and compelling. It is dark and dirty, and if you have triggers—BEWARE! If not, jump right in for a tale like no other.
This may be a fairy tale retelling, but it sure as hell ain’t a fairy tale. It’s dark, at places it’s totally hopeless, it’s filled with monsters, and heroines who have to make choices they don’t want to make, let alone do. It’s excellent and it draws you in and keeps you fascinated and sometimes horrified.
Marea Belle has suffered in her life. Her mother was burned as a witch, and she has spent years being told that she’s a witch. The only thing that saved her is the fact that everyone knows that to become a witch you have to have sex with a demon and Marea wears a chastity ring that proves that she’s a virgin. That doesn’t stop the villagers from getting rid of her when it’s time for the 7 year sacrifice to the monsters who live in the castle.
Brendon and Coal are those monsters, and that name fits them. They need the sacrifice to keep their life energy going, and they aren’t afraid to get it in any way possible.
OMG, I mean, seriously. I knew it was dark, but I wasn’t sure how dark it was going to go, and there are some pretty dark scenes in it. Good thing I like the dark, right? I felt sorry for Marea more than once, because living in that castle was no fun at all, and she had a lot of things that she had to come to grips with. She had some terrible choices to make, the kind with the choices are bad and worse. The boys pretty much pissed me off the entire time, so there’s that. It’s a great story, even if it isn’t a fairy tale.