Once there was a prince, cursed by a witch to madness, and turned into a beast by a beautiful enchantress to save his mind. He moves to a remote country to spare his servants the pain of being rejected by their families, and then one day a woman falls through his ceiling…

I was quickly hooked. Elle has her own mission, and desires, and she isn’t going to let a broken leg stop her fulfilling the task that brought her here. She has her own reasons to hate the prince and they aren’t ones to be set aside. Severin is a complex character, with shades of good and bad and not entirely redeemed even when he is no longer a beast. This isn’t Disney. There’s a harder edge to this world, of invasions, politics, and affairs of state that keep the pages turning.

This takes the story of Beauty and the Beast and makes it its own, with distinct characters and original ideas that make it a unique tale. It is centered around a romance, but there’s also a fair degree of suspense, tension, and adventure to give it broad appeal.

The cover is fairly plain and, to be honest, I picked the book up because of the description. Inside the covers, the formatting is well-done, the spelling and grammar have no notable issues and I didn’t spot any typos or spelling mistakes. It is easily professional level, and very well presented.

This is suitable for a wide range of readers, and almost all ages although the politics might elude the youngest. A wonderful read that actually made me late for work because I could not put it down.