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Title and Author: Bella and the Beast by Olivia Drake
No. of Pages: 352
Series: Cinderella Sisterhood #4
Publication Date: November 3rd 2015 by St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Genre: Historical Romance, Regency Romance, Suspense
Book Review:
I picked up Bella and the Beast by Olivia Drake only because of the author, the blurb that promised a suspenseful story and the fact that it boasted of being a fairy tale retelling. The cover didn’t appeal to me right from the start. It doesn’t do justice to the story and makes it appear like an erotic read at first glance which isn’t true. This is a misleading cover and could have been better.
I enjoyed the suspense part of the story and while the romance is sensuous, I didnt like the hero who appeared as a brute and insensitive man at first and only in the later part that he redeems himself a bit.
The heroine is feisty and determined to solve the mystery of the map to the Pharaoh’s treasure, half of which had been promised to her father by the Duke of Alywin. Posing as a curator in the Duke’s home, her work is cut out for her. She is intelligent, resourceful and willing to work hard to uncover the map so her brother and sister come out of poverty. Her interactions with the Duke were supposed to be passionate and sensuous but in the first part they had me feeling angry because the hero looked like he thought he could get away with anything because he was rich and seemed to be taking advantage of the heroine’s plight. Only in the second half does the emotional angle come into play and the hero starts to look more human and not the unscrupulous and spoiled rich man he comes across at first.
The Cinderella fairy tale angle isnt done justice here and I think the whole fairy tale romance angle could have been handled better.
I have read Olivia’s books in the past and loved her writing. This book isnt one of her better works.
All in all, Bella and the Beast is an okay read that can be read once and has a good suspense and mystery angle. 3 out of 5 to it.
I received the book from the publishers via Netgalley and I am very thankful to them. The above review is my honest and unbiased opinion and in no way influenced.
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