Enchant: Beauty and the Beast Retold
by Demelza Carlton
Synopsis
A beastly prince. An enchanting beauty. Only love can break the spell.
Once upon a time...
The wicked King Thorn forced the enchantress Zuleika to cast a terrible curse. She fled his court to travel the world, helping those who need her magic most. Until a search for her merchant father's lost ships leads her to an enchanted island, where Prince Vardan, the island's ruler, is afflicted by the most powerful curse Zuleika has ever encountered. She's not sure she can reverse the spell, but she's determined to try. After all, a prince who fights pirates can't be all bad...no matter how beastly his appearance.
Together, can the enchanting beauty and the beastly prince break the spell?
Romance a Medieval Fairytale series:
Each book is a standalone, so they can be read in any order:
by Demelza Carlton
Synopsis
A beastly prince. An enchanting beauty. Only love can break the spell.
Once upon a time...
The wicked King Thorn forced the enchantress Zuleika to cast a terrible curse. She fled his court to travel the world, helping those who need her magic most. Until a search for her merchant father's lost ships leads her to an enchanted island, where Prince Vardan, the island's ruler, is afflicted by the most powerful curse Zuleika has ever encountered. She's not sure she can reverse the spell, but she's determined to try. After all, a prince who fights pirates can't be all bad...no matter how beastly his appearance.
Together, can the enchanting beauty and the beastly prince break the spell?
Romance a Medieval Fairytale series:
Each book is a standalone, so they can be read in any order:
- Enchant: Beauty and the Beast Retold
- Dance: Cinderella Retold
- Fly: Goose Girl Retold
- Revel: Twelve Dancing Princesses Retold
- Silence: Little Mermaid Retold
- Awaken: Sleeping Beauty Retold
- Embellish: Brave Little Tailor Retold
- Appease: Princess and the Pea Retold
- Blow: Three Little Pigs Retold
- Return: Hansel and Gretel Retold
- Wish: Aladdin Retold
- Melt: Snow Queen Retold
- Spin: Rumpelstiltskin Retold
- Kiss: Frog Prince Retold
- Hunt: Red Riding Hood Retold
- Reflect: Snow White Retold
- Roar: Goldilocks Retold
- Cobble: Elves and the Shoemaker Retold
- Float: Enchanted Horse Retold
- Steal: Forty Thieves Retold
- Call: Pied Piper Retold
Review
I am addicted to Beauty and the Beast retellings! And this audiobook was no exception. If you, dear reader, are a frequent visitor of my blog, you'll know that I am a big fan of two main genres: horror and romance. Something I am not as versed in is fantasy. Enchanted falls somewhere between romance and fantasy. Something that readers/listeners need to remember is that this tale is also an ADULT version of Beauty and the Beast and will, therefore, have adult elements in it.
Now, the story is enthralling and I enjoyed reading a mature version of my favorite classic fairy tale. The tale was a true page turner and it had me wanting to read more and more. Truly, I will be looking into the other works by Demelza Carlton.
One thing you must know is that this book does contain a rape scene and that is definitely something to take into account if it is a trigger of yours.
I wish all books had trigger warnings for what they contain: rape, emotional and physical abuse, etc. And some, thank heavens, do. Other's do not. This is something I go into knowing already. I, thankfully, do not have many triggers, but I have also known how to deal with unexpected uneasiness with years of being a reader, horror aficionado, and a Masters clinical psychology graduate. HOWEVER, I recognize that not everyone is like me (you'd think this was a universal thing for people to know about the, um, world, but unsurprisingly, it is not) so, there is a nifty website called Does the Dog Die that will help you figure out if any of your triggers are in any books, movies, etc. you want to enjoy. Don't see your trigger? Request it!
Here's the part where I talk about some controversy I've found in some of reviews of Enchanted in other places. So, MAJOR SPOILERS ahead.
I am addicted to Beauty and the Beast retellings! And this audiobook was no exception. If you, dear reader, are a frequent visitor of my blog, you'll know that I am a big fan of two main genres: horror and romance. Something I am not as versed in is fantasy. Enchanted falls somewhere between romance and fantasy. Something that readers/listeners need to remember is that this tale is also an ADULT version of Beauty and the Beast and will, therefore, have adult elements in it.
Now, the story is enthralling and I enjoyed reading a mature version of my favorite classic fairy tale. The tale was a true page turner and it had me wanting to read more and more. Truly, I will be looking into the other works by Demelza Carlton.
One thing you must know is that this book does contain a rape scene and that is definitely something to take into account if it is a trigger of yours.
I wish all books had trigger warnings for what they contain: rape, emotional and physical abuse, etc. And some, thank heavens, do. Other's do not. This is something I go into knowing already. I, thankfully, do not have many triggers, but I have also known how to deal with unexpected uneasiness with years of being a reader, horror aficionado, and a Masters clinical psychology graduate. HOWEVER, I recognize that not everyone is like me (you'd think this was a universal thing for people to know about the, um, world, but unsurprisingly, it is not) so, there is a nifty website called Does the Dog Die that will help you figure out if any of your triggers are in any books, movies, etc. you want to enjoy. Don't see your trigger? Request it!
Here's the part where I talk about some controversy I've found in some of reviews of Enchanted in other places. So, MAJOR SPOILERS ahead.
I have read books with rape before and a lot of what matters to me as a reader is how the rape is treated throughout the story. Some readers had issues with the Beauty of the story, Zuleika, having a sex scene toward the end of the story because she had been raped and had been a virgin. Look, everyone is entitled to however they feel, but let's get one thing straight, in fiction and in reality, someone being raped, man or woman, does not mean that they cannot enjoy sex. It also does not matter if they are or were a virgin. An individual can enjoy sex despite what they have experienced if they WANT to enjoy sex. Do all survivors of rape enjoy sex? No, I wouldn't expect them to, just I don't expect all people who have NOT been raped to enjoy sex. See what I'm getting at here?
A book is not inappropriate only because you say it is. And that's where I will leave that.
A book is not inappropriate only because you say it is. And that's where I will leave that.
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