A review by wilybooklover
Codename Charming by Lucy Parker

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

A very charming, sweet retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with a strong dash of grumpy x sunshine!  I loved that it was in a royal setting but focusing on the staff instead of the royals themselves. I really enjoy heroes who are very grumpy and awkward (but not ever mean or cruel) and secretly very soft and gentle inside. Matthias is exactly that kind of grump. Pet was, as Matthias calls her, a human sunbeam. Their connection was very emotional and resonant, based on a deep level of care for each other. I loved how even though they were fake dating, none of their interactions were ever really fake, but I do wish the fake dating had ended sooner and we got more scenes of Pet and Matthias together for real. 

As always with this author, I did struggle a bit with the odd smattering of Americanisms that popped up every now and then. It's very jarring and grating, especially when all of the other slang and phrasing was spot on. There was also maybe one too many side plots when balanced against the romance, and the sheer amount of coincidences/fate also became a bit much by the end for my tastes.
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