My New Fave Beauty and the Beast Retelling
By Grace Draven
I’m so happy I picked up Entreat Me to read and review. I didn’t read the blurb; I’d just seen it around on social. I’ve found a new favorite in the indie author business. Once I whittle down my TBR list, I’ll be picking up more of Grace’s books.
The plot, characters, writing, and romance in this story made it well worth my time in reading. I don’t find many books that focus on more seasoned characters, especially in the fantasy genre. I truly appreciate that aspect of this novel.
The author thought out the curse magic and made it both part of the world development and the character development. If there was one thing I wished I’d understood more technically, it would be a more specific resolution to the breaking of the curse. Regardless, that didn’t hurt my read.
All the feels!
Plot & Characters
The plot is well organized, one of the better renditions of the Beauty and the Beast trope I’ve seen.
Characters: I loved them all. Everyone had depth, down to Lou’s father’s mistress, who was a little more than a bit part.
Favorite Characters: Lou and Ambrose
Favorite Quote(s)
Old spitfrog, don’t bespell me off a cliff. You’ll kill Gavin’s favorite mount.”
Ambrose harrumphed, and a smile hovered on his lips. “That bit of horseflesh is the only thing saving you from a bad end, you foul harpy.”
-Lou & Ambrose's banter, Entreat Me by Grace Draven, position 885
Honestly, the banter between these two characters tickled me so much in this book. I love it when side characters shine like this.
Romance Elements
Swoon-worthiness
This was a solid, touching romance with all the feels. I especially liked the fact that it focused on more mature characters rather than the more common teens in today’s prominent fantasy (and even fantasy romance).
Heat
Entreat me was steamy, but just steamy enough. I gave it a 60% on the steamy scale. Keep in mind, I do not read erotica.
Fantasy Elements
Worldbuilding
Worldbuilding-wise, I didn’t feel like I was in the standard BatB world. This world felt fresh, if still medieval. I also enjoyed how the backstory’s politics around marriage to join lands drove the current story.
Magic & Magic Systems
The author tied a specific curse magic back to the BatB story in a new way. It really made me consider how I might incorporate a magic system based around curses into one of my stories (eventually).
Synopsis
The way this story begins, it seems that you’re going to be following the younger sister throughout the story, but that quickly changes. (Yeah, I didn’t read the blurb before I started the book. :)) The female main character is the much-older sister, Louvaen (Lou), and she’s a motherly figure in the story and a widow. When Lou’s sister flees home chasing love, Lou follows and meets “the Beast” character Ballard. Throughout the story, Lou only wants to protect her sister’s virtue, but she keeps running into Ballard.
The curse upon Ballard and his son stalls the marriage Ballard’s son and Lou’s sister, and the two end up dancing around each other in the castle until they give in to their desires. Naturally, the curse is lurking to wreak havoc on their budding love. It is a romance, so you can probably surmise the ending, but getting there was one of the better BatB rides I’ve been on.
Looking for more to read?
Check out my other book reviews here: Susan’s Book Reviews
OR … Check out my forthcoming novel: Raine of Fire.
Blurb:
Banished by his mother from Faerie, Raine Abarta wants nothing more than to entertain people on the streets of Wickney, Wisconsin. But when the daughter of a prominent senator stumbles upon his show, he’s drawn into her world and her mother’s murder.
When Raine takes his act down to the police department with intentions of helping solve the puzzle–or, uh, the “case”–he meets the ultra-serious Detective Kennedi Craine. To his dismay, she views him as nothing more than a charlatan, but when has that ever stopped him?
Kennedi’s latest case is open and shut, more of a paperwork and media hassle than a case. Senator La Point, after all, was holding the smoking gun over his wife’s lifeless body. So, when a random guy off the street walks in telling her she’s wrong, she sends him on his merry way. At least she thinks she does. As he keeps popping up, she begins to wonder if he’s on to something. And when he broaches a situation from her past, she just can’t leave him alone.
Raine helps her solve another small case, and she starts to wonder if there might be something more to both mysteries before her.
For lovers of TV shows like “Castle” and “Bones”!
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My Ratings
About the Author
Grace Draven is a Louisiana native living in Texas with her husband, kids and a big, doofus dog. She has loved storytelling since forever and is a fan of the fictional bad boy. She is the winner of the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice for Best Fantasy Romance of 2014 and 2016, and a USA Today Bestselling author.
Visit her at: https://gracedraven.com/home