Truth in the Dark

By: Amy Lane

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

"I am not beautiful...."

Knife's entire existence has been as twisted as his flesh and his face. The only thing beautiful in his life is his sister. When Gwennie is obliged to turn a suitor down because she fears to leave her brother to the brutality of their village, Knife is desperate for anything to ensure her happiness.

Her suitor's cousin offers him a way out, but it won't be easy. Aerie-Smith has been cursed to walk upright in the form of a beast, and his beloved village suffers from the same spell. Aerie-Smith offers Gwen a trousseau and some hope, if only Knife will keep him company on his island for the span of a year and perform one "regrettable task" at year's end.

Knife is unprepared for the form the island's curse takes on his own misshapen body. In one moment of magic, he's given the body of his dreams - and he discovers that where flesh meets spirit and appearance meet reality, sometimes the only place to find truth is in the darkness of a lover's arms.

©2010 Amy Lane (P)2015 Dreamspinner Press

Great!

A lovely, wonderful fairytale with some familiar elements but also unique and interesting. Not a lot of heat. More warmth than panting sexuality. You have to love both Naef and Aerie-Smith. Though Naef wasn't particularly lovable at the beginning, you can totally understand his bitterness and anger. I'm so glad he had such a loving mother and sister. This has been my favorite of the penny maker tales.

4.5 Stars!

Any additional comments?

This story is a such a fantastic twist on a fairy tale, but like the original fairy tales that were full of blood and horror and killing and hope and love and redemption.

This story is beautiful and special and wonderful and strange and fantastic.

The character of Naef (called "Knife" by almost all) is so hurt, closed off and untrusting at the beginning (with good reason) but by the end has blossomed into such a wonderful character who burrowed under my skin and into my heart.

Nick J. Russo knocks it out of the park with this one. I'll admit, I wasn't really sure about Naef's character voice in the beginning, but it grew on me, as much as the character did. I just LOVED the narration.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Beautiful!

This is a remarkable and beautifully written and perfectly narrated story!
I highly recommend it and the performance could not have been better.

Fantastic version of Beauty and the Beast

This is a wonderfully creative version of Beauty and the Beast. I have to say I enjoyed the audiobook more than the ebook. This is completely due to the wonderful performance of Nick Russo; he really knocked this one out of the park. In this version of the classic, Knife was born with a deformity and had been tortured by the people in his village all his life. A brutal assault on him as a child has made him into a dark and bitter person with everyone except his family. He has a fiercely supportive and protective family but has resigned himself that he would be alone all his life. That is until he is given the chance to make life better for his family by doing an "unspeakable task". Aerie-Smith (what a great name) is a noble that has the face and body of a lion. In this AU, that is unusual, but not so unusual he doesn't walk through the village and though people take note, they don't seem to react to it. Knife travels to Aerie-Smith's island and there begins Knife's journey of transformation. It is truly a wonderful take on this story and as I said, Nick Russo's performance is fantastic.

Beauty and The Beast meets Island of Dr. Moreau

Interesting take but even with the wonderful Nick J Russo at the helm my interest ebbed and flowed - I just couldn't quite get engaged. As I said, interesting but forgettable.