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rainbow_goblin's review against another edition
3.0
Decent reimagining of the Beauty and the Beast tale, set in old-west-y Wyoming.
reads2love's review against another edition
5.0
It has been a while since I've read a book that made me so emotional. I love fairy tales, specifically the Beauty and the Beast re-tellings. This series, if you haven't started it yet, puts all the fairy tales together in a magical town called Everland in the late 1800s, so they have this old-west thing going. The appearances of so many known childhood tales sounds, at first, like it has the potential to run crazy with just name dropping or just taking their plots and changing a few minor details. But this story is well crafted and pays homage to the historical counterparts while taking on a life of its own.
Arabella Mayor is a struggling bookstore owner/librarian who is trying to take care of her son. Her second husband had three rules for her that she just had to live by: always be beautiful, always be proper, and never spill dirty secrets (they were more eloquently worded). So I, as a modern woman, at first thought she was kind of stuck up always being "proper" and thinking the things that she does about everyone's propriety. I had to keep reminding myself that this was still the norm for this era, but the other people in town don't seem to have that stick up their rears about propriety, so I think that is why it was a little off-putting. She has memories of being more carefree and I think she longs to let those out. She has done a pretty good job at raising her son, but i think the weariness she feels is so relatable as a mother.
Vincenzo Bellini is a retiring musician building a home for himself in Everland. He wants to be a recluse, but that just isn't going to happen in a small town. He was in an accident in the war and had his eyes removed and has scars on his face from the explosion. He thinks he's unworthy of friends or lovers. But he has a kind soul that comes out when he interacts with a few.
There is a moment that stopped my heart and made me gasp when this was realized and then as the rest of the story unfolded, there were tears and heartbreaking moments. I can't give anything away. I was just in awe of the story and am still recovering from the ending a few hours later. If you love Beauty and the Beast tales, read this.
I received a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.
Arabella Mayor is a struggling bookstore owner/librarian who is trying to take care of her son. Her second husband had three rules for her that she just had to live by: always be beautiful, always be proper, and never spill dirty secrets (they were more eloquently worded). So I, as a modern woman, at first thought she was kind of stuck up always being "proper" and thinking the things that she does about everyone's propriety. I had to keep reminding myself that this was still the norm for this era, but the other people in town don't seem to have that stick up their rears about propriety, so I think that is why it was a little off-putting. She has memories of being more carefree and I think she longs to let those out. She has done a pretty good job at raising her son, but i think the weariness she feels is so relatable as a mother.
Vincenzo Bellini is a retiring musician building a home for himself in Everland. He wants to be a recluse, but that just isn't going to happen in a small town. He was in an accident in the war and had his eyes removed and has scars on his face from the explosion. He thinks he's unworthy of friends or lovers. But he has a kind soul that comes out when he interacts with a few.
There is a moment that stopped my heart and made me gasp when this was realized and then as the rest of the story unfolded, there were tears and heartbreaking moments. I can't give anything away. I was just in awe of the story and am still recovering from the ending a few hours later. If you love Beauty and the Beast tales, read this.
I received a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.
luna_rondo's review against another edition
3.0
Quick, easy book to get through. Plot's easy as hell to see through, but that's not why one reads these books I would think.
codewoo10's review against another edition
5.0
Beauty - Everland Ever After
I am loving the Everland series more with each book! Beauty - Everland Ever After tells the fairytale love story of Beauty and the Beast s a historical romance set in Late 1800s Wyoming. The story deals with the issue of what's more important- outer or inner beauty? Caroline thank you for writing this series!
I am loving the Everland series more with each book! Beauty - Everland Ever After tells the fairytale love story of Beauty and the Beast s a historical romance set in Late 1800s Wyoming. The story deals with the issue of what's more important- outer or inner beauty? Caroline thank you for writing this series!
ahanson's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
elenajohansen's review against another edition
2.0
Bland. Predictable. Repetitive.
I could only take listening to Arabella whine about how worthless she was because she wasn't beautiful anymore so many times. Also her idea that she was "old" when she was barely past thirty--yep, you're a crone, get in the grave already.
I know her attitudes are meant to be warped by her second husband and his impossible standards, I get it. But it's tiresome to watch her vague attempts to unlearn those attitudes, and I'm not sure she actually succeeds all that well. It's weird that the one thing I actually truly liked about this was the way the second-chance romance ending played out: you're not the same person you were when I loved you then, but neither am I, and we fell in love again as who we are now. Honestly, I think that's beautiful, and something the second-chance-romance sub-genre could take to heart. But as lovely as that sentiment is, I don't feel like it's attached to a story line that deserves it. There's not much conflict aside from Arabella's and Vincenzo's prejudices about beauty and its relative worth; the external conflict amounts to some easily ignored nonsense about small-town propriety. It's shallow, unsubtle, and ultimately a poor reimagination of Beauty and the Beast.
I could only take listening to Arabella whine about how worthless she was because she wasn't beautiful anymore so many times. Also her idea that she was "old" when she was barely past thirty--yep, you're a crone, get in the grave already.
I know her attitudes are meant to be warped by her second husband and his impossible standards, I get it. But it's tiresome to watch her vague attempts to unlearn those attitudes, and I'm not sure she actually succeeds all that well. It's weird that the one thing I actually truly liked about this was the way the second-chance romance ending played out: you're not the same person you were when I loved you then, but neither am I, and we fell in love again as who we are now. Honestly, I think that's beautiful, and something the second-chance-romance sub-genre could take to heart. But as lovely as that sentiment is, I don't feel like it's attached to a story line that deserves it. There's not much conflict aside from Arabella's and Vincenzo's prejudices about beauty and its relative worth; the external conflict amounts to some easily ignored nonsense about small-town propriety. It's shallow, unsubtle, and ultimately a poor reimagination of Beauty and the Beast.
kateh3077's review against another edition
5.0
This was the first Time I had read a book by this author and I so glad that I did as her writing was very easy to read but also caught your attention immediately which is why I read the book in twenty four hours. It was a loose Beauty and the Beast Retelling set in the old West involving a twice widowed single mother and a blind disfigured famous viloinist. I enjoyed this book so much that I intend to buy two more of the books in this companion series.
All the characters were extremely well written and multi faceted which meant that they were easy to connect with for different reasons. This was also what made me want to read the other books in this companion series so I can get to Know all the supporting characters from this book a little better. I particularly liked how naturally the relationship between Arabella and Vincenzo developed and how she was happy to give it a chance even after discovering who he really was. It was also interesting to read about what had made them the people they were.
The world of Everland was well conceived and captivating so the combination of this and the development of the relationship between the two main characters was what made this book into such an amazingly captivating and engrossing read. I also loved the easy loving relationship that there was between Arabella and her young son. Even though it was such a short book the characters, plot and world building made it one that was hard to put down.
I gave this book a five star rating because I was so invested in the characters in the book that it made it an easy read. As well as the fact that I would not only recommend it to anyone that enjoys reading romance and retelling/imagining stories as well as buy it for anyone I know who I think will enjoy it for the same reason as those who I would recommend it to.
All the characters were extremely well written and multi faceted which meant that they were easy to connect with for different reasons. This was also what made me want to read the other books in this companion series so I can get to Know all the supporting characters from this book a little better. I particularly liked how naturally the relationship between Arabella and Vincenzo developed and how she was happy to give it a chance even after discovering who he really was. It was also interesting to read about what had made them the people they were.
The world of Everland was well conceived and captivating so the combination of this and the development of the relationship between the two main characters was what made this book into such an amazingly captivating and engrossing read. I also loved the easy loving relationship that there was between Arabella and her young son. Even though it was such a short book the characters, plot and world building made it one that was hard to put down.
I gave this book a five star rating because I was so invested in the characters in the book that it made it an easy read. As well as the fact that I would not only recommend it to anyone that enjoys reading romance and retelling/imagining stories as well as buy it for anyone I know who I think will enjoy it for the same reason as those who I would recommend it to.
snowbenton's review against another edition
4.0
An adorable Beauty and the Beast retelling set in 1800s Wyoming in a town full of fairy tale characters. Heart-warming, if a bit eye-rolling. A nice fluffy read.
becadreads's review against another edition
3.0
ehhhhh 2.5. Wonderful plot twist that I didn't see coming.
imzadirose's review against another edition
5.0
Well, hell. Beauty and the Beast IS my favorite Princess story and damn if this book wasn't beautiful. Made me cry too, which damn it, I don't like to cry. But it really was enjoyable, though one thing did bug me so I didn't like that part, but other than that, beautiful story!