“Beast- A Tale of Love and Revenge” by Jensen was a solid DNF for me. Basically Lucie is pissed that the prince raped her. He’s turned into a beast. And then Lucie falls in love with him (as a beast)/forgives? Nope. I don’t need this story y’all. Sorry if it’s a harsh critique.
It starts with Lucile starting her new job as a servant in Chateau Beaumont where the rules and warnings are strict…
Alrighty well chapter 2 was a bit annoying with how many exclamation points were used.
Yikes. Chapter 3 was a bit flat and dry and the prose had a lot of filtering words and telling instead of showing which made me feel distanced from the characters and their stories. And each man just seems disgusting at this point.
The scene breaks feel abrupt in time in time jumps.
And then on page rape to main character. Without a trigger warning. No thank you.
DNF
I fast forwarded to the author’s note and the end and am not interested in going back to retry it. I would’ve considered the concept if rape wasn’t involved.
Here’s the blurb:
They say Château Beaumont is cursed. But servant-girl Lucie can’t believe such foolishness about handsome Jean-Loup Christian Henri LeNoir, Chevalier de Beaumont, master of the estate. But when the chevalier’s cruelty is revealed, Lucie vows to see him suffer. A wisewoman grants her wish, with a spell that transforms Jean-Loup into monstrous-looking Beast, reflecting the monster he is inside. But Beast is nothing like the chevalier. Jean-Loup would never patiently tend his roses; Jean-Loup would never attempt poetry; Jean-Loup would never express remorse for the wrong done to Lucie. Gradually, Lucie realizes that Beast is an entirely different creature from the handsome chevalier, with a heart more human than Jean-Loup’s ever was. Lucie dares to hope that noble Beast has permanently replaced the cruel Jean-Loup — until an innocent beauty arrives at Beast’s château with the power to break the spell.
Cassie Swindon 