Review – Of Beast and Beauty by Chanda Hahn

Title Of Beast and Beauty

Author Chanda Hahn

Release Date June 18, 2019

Description from Amazon

Everyone dreams of marrying a prince—except for me. I am nothing more than a pawn in my adoptive mother’s diabolical plot against the seven kingdoms. I was the chosen tool, her sharpened blade that would cut the deepest into the heart of the Kingdom of Baist. But like all deadly weapons, my wedding is two-edged sword that could cost me my soul.

For I am Rosalie, one of the adopted daughters of Lady Eville, and it is my duty to enter into a loveless and hate-filled marriage with the narcissistic Crown Prince of Baist. My choices and heart are not my own to give. Yet even in the thick of dire situations, beastly vengeance can give way to beautiful attraction.

Initial Thoughts

I pretty randomly stumbled upon this book early in 2020. I did this crazy thing where I cleaned out my entire NetGalley queue for 2019 and basically didn’t have any new books to read in there until everyone got back from their time off around the end of the first week of January. So, instead of shopping my physical shelves, I decided to shop my digital ones instead.

Some Things I Liked

• Over-arching storylines. I loved that this book sets up the main plot for the series. There are seven Daughters of Eville and each will have her own story. I also loved that we could tell who was going to be who quite easily.
• Plot twists. There were so many amazing, edge of my seat, plot twists. This book was incredibly gripping and really kept me guessing. Despite being based on a classic tale, this story had all kinds of twists and turns.
• Gender bent. In a way, this story was a gender bent re-telling as the prince actually believed that his bride to be was the hideous monster. He is beastly in nature but believed her to be beastly in looks. Both Rosalie and her prince encompass parts of Belle and the Beast.

Series Value

The fact that only two books in this series are available is a great tragedy in my life. I would read about each and every Daughter of Eville without complaint forever. The writing is so wonderful and I love the dialogue. I can’t wait to continue with this series.

Final Thoughts

I loved this book. In all honest, I don’t remember how I stumbled upon it but it was so wonderful. I love the series and I actually started book #2 immediately after finishing this one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

• A Curse of Thorns by Nicole Mainardi – if you liked the Beauty and the Beast elements of this story as well as historically based world building, try this novel by Nicole Mainardi.
• Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge – again, if you liked the Beauty and the Beast vibes, try anything by Rosamund Hodge, but Crimson Bound is her version of the same classic.
• The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter – if you like the elements of different fairy tales woven together into a larger story, try this series by Gena Showalter. The next book in the series is due later this year.