Review: A Beauty Dark and Deadly

A Beauty Dark and Deadly by Heather C. Myers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m a massive fan of Beauty and the Beast retellings. There are so many out there, and yet I never grow bored of them. It’s a tale that can be told in so many different ways. You always know how it is going to end, and yet you cannot help but enjoy the ride. Thus, I was more than happy to jump upon this one.

To begin, I would like to say a massive thank you to the author for allowing me to advance read this one. I ended up on her mailing list by some unknown means and since doing so I have downloaded a number of her books. Prior to reading this, I had only managed to read one of her books – Tempting the Flesh, also known as An Education in Royalty – yet I thoroughly enjoyed it. There was no doubt that I wanted to read more, and that I’m going to read more. Despite the length of my to-read list, I have a feeling the books I have will be read sooner rather than later.

Anyway, I should get back to this read.

As I’ve already stated, I love Beauty and the Beast retellings. What I have read very few of, however, is contemporary retellings of the story. Rather than having some kind of paranormal element to it, this one is pure real world Beauty and the Beast. It’s not some hidden inner beauty on behalf of the beast, either; it’s a case of the beast being the hidden aspect. In short, our beast is a monster. A suspected murderer, let off on technicalities. How could I not be pulled in after hearing such a thing? I love anything crime related, so of course I wanted to know more about this one.

From the start, the story does pulls you in. The building romance. The mystery of whether or not our beast is guilty. The building romance. Oh wait, I said that already. But it needs saying again. It was such a fun build up. I admit that things moved a bit too quickly for my liking – but I’m simply one of those people who always complains about quick building romances. I prefer the slow build. Whilst we do see the changes in our characters, watching as their views towards each other change and they change as a person, it all happens a little bit too quickly for my liking.

Nevertheless, I was pulled into the story. You never quite knew just how it was going to end. You knew certain things would make an appearance… but the ending was a lovely surprise. Honestly, I cannot begin to go into detail when it comes to the ending. Believe me when I say you will not be disappointed by the way it turns out. It was such a poetically beautiful way of ending things, something most authors would never do.

Without a doubt, having finished and enjoyed this, Heather C. Myers has ensured that I will be reading more of her books.

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