51. To Love A Beast. (Once Upon a Time in Texas #1) Karen Witemeyer. 2025. 229 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, historical romance, Christian romance]
First sentence: Everett Griffin strutted through the halls of the Union Club like a thoroughbred stallion on the auction block--for that's what he was. New York's Golden Boy. The American Adonis. The bachelor who would barter his handsome face along with his freedom for the right price. A very high price.
Premise/plot: To Love a Beast is a historical retelling of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast--minus everything that makes a fairy tale an actual fairy tale--the magical, fantastical elements. The 'beast' Everett Griffin is a scarred man who has essentially run away from trauma and is now living in Texas. The 'beauty' Callista Rosenfeld is a book-loving bookbinder who works alongside her father in their book-binding business. When his health falters, she takes his place with an important new client, Everett Griffin. She'll spend a few months at his home rebinding his library--rebinding several books a day in leather with artistic designs as well. Slowly but surely, this Beauty will fall for the Beast.
My thoughts: I listened on audio as that was the only way my library offered it. It is narrated by Cara Firestone. I was not a fan of Cara Firestone's narration. I didn't care for how she portrayed the different characters with her voice acting. It was often rough-going. Overall, a very monotone, almost lifeless rendering of a story that I am almost sure would have been all kinds of awesome if read by another narrator or in print form. (Though I did hear that the font size of the print edition was small.)
I am a BIG, BIG, BIG fan of Karen Witemeyer's books. I definitely enjoyed this one. I'm very glad I read it. It is not my favorite and best of her fairytale retellings. It is solidly good however.
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