Beauty and Deceit

A Beauty and the Beast Faerie Tale Retelling

By: Carol Beth Anderson

Narrated by: Carol Beth Anderson

Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Beauty and The Beast meets The Bachelor and The Selection.

Aeryn is hungry, perpetually exhausted, and short on hope. Ever since her merchant father lost everything to pirates, the 22-year-old has worked endlessly to meet the needs of her impoverished family. But it's never enough.

That all changes when a mysterious faerie invites her to a competition hosted by a Fae beast looking for a wife. Tor, the castle-dwelling creature, is wealthy enough to provide for Aeryn's family, and she's desperate enough to say yes.

The castle is beautiful, straight out of Aeryn's dreams. Tor is more suited to her nightmares, with his red eyes, long claws, and rat-like tail. But looks can be deceiving....

Then there are the other contestants, nine powerful faerie females. Aeryn is a mortal. How is she supposed to compete with their otherworldly beauty—and thwart the curse magic some of them wield?

The complicated situation quickly turns impossible for Aeryn. As her romance with Tor progresses, she also finds herself drawn to Wyatt, the castle gardener. He's nothing like the powerful Tor, yet Aeryn's feelings for him keep blurring the lines between friendship and attraction.

Winning Tor's heart is the only way Aeryn can save her family. But can she fend off the attacks of powerful faerie females, ignore her growing desire for Wyatt, and let herself fall for a monster?

If you like fairytale retellings, bookish heroines, love triangles, and a little bit of steam, you'll love Beauty and Deceit.

This story is romantic with mild steam. The intimacy is open door, but with minimal explicit detail. Written for NA (new adult) audiences, appropriate for ages 16 and up.

©2023 Carol Beth Anderson (P)2023 Carol Beth Anderson

Thoroughly modern take on tale as old as time

Thoroughly modern take on tale as old as time. This was a fun story that poked holes in all the fallacies of both Bachelor type shows and BATB retellings. It starts with a very familiar take on BATB that puts our Beauty (in this case Aeryn) into the castle out of desperation for her father and love for her family. It quickly segues into a setup very reminiscent of one of those find love TV shows - complete with hidden cameras in the form of a secret the mirrors hold.

While the beginning is trope filled and often silly or catty as the competition progresses, the book gets a lot more depth and becomes more interesting - we begin to get to know the remaining contestants and their motivations. We learn more about the curse and how and why it was set, Aeryn begins to discover a lot about herself in trying to deal with this situation she finds herself in that changes her in ways she never imagined - or perhaps makes her more who she truly is.

The ending was amazing - this curse takes a whole lot more than just some "true love's kiss" to break! Which is probably a good things because there are a lot of really good kisses in this book and it would have been a shorter read if breaking the curse was that easy ;)

Read by the author - Carol Beth Anderson does an amazing job bringing her characters to life and is a joy to listen to!

twist on retell

Beauty and the Beast bachelor style, this story has Aeryn thrown into a competition to win the beast's (Tor) heart but along the way falls for Wyatt.

Amazing Fairy Tale Retelling

I was entertained by this creative re-imaging of the fairy tale of "Beauty and the Beast". I enjoyed the pun, by the use of the word faerie, instead of fairy. I was impressed by the extensive worldbuilding. I liked the characters. I liked the unexpected twists and turns that changed the original story, but still managed to keep some of the original elements also. Carol Beth Anderson's narration was great, and she brought her characters to life by providing each of them a voice. Her performance kept my attention. I was given a free copy of the audiobook, and I have voluntarily posted this review.

Creative storytelling

I absolutely loved it. A Beauty and the Beast inspired story with a theme resembling The Bachelor mixed with magic and the fae. I wondered how it was going to progress when it was about halfway complete. I very pleasantly surprised and entertained with the continuation of the story. I wasn’t ready for it to end and lived every minute of it!!

A delightful retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I was offered a review copy of the audiobook for Beauty and Deceit from the author but having read several of Carol Beth Anderson’s other books/stories I knew I would be entertained and most likely transported to a fantastical place.

I’m glad to say I was right on both counts, and I have to say I truly enjoyed this retelling of one of my childhoods fantasy tales. The author’s retelling of the story was done in such a way that it was not only a fresh take on the original, I found myself spell bound by the imagery she created. I also found myself questioning if the gardener and beast weren’t one and the same or if they were separate entities, and to avoid a spoiler, read or listen to this story and find out for yourself. Lately I’ve listened to a few books where the author narrates it themselves and in some cases, it is not as successful as I’m sure they hoped, but in this case, I believe Carol Beth Anderson’s intimate knowledge of the story makes her narration so much richer than it would have been with a different narrator.

If you enjoy fairy tales and enjoyed the original Beauty and the Beast, you really owe it to yourself to give this a listen, who knows you might not just get entertained, you may even get transported to a place in your life when things were so much simpler like this septuagenarian.

The Bachelor: Fae Edition

I received an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first time that I have listened to an audiobook narrated by the author. It was a superior experience. The narrator didn't have to guess how to pronounce the names or interpret the emotions. Anderson put so much heart into narrating which took the listening experience to a new level.

I always get nervous when a book claims to be like other books I've read because I set certain expectations and the book often falls short. This book met and exceeded those expectations. If Beauty and the Beast had a baby with The Bachelor, that would be this book. (I can't comment on The Selection. It's still on my TBR.) The author does an excellent job covering the typical controversial issues that are involved when a male dates multiple females. It's not all sunshine and insta-love.

This book is well written and is able to transport the reader into the story. The ending was exciting. I rooted for the romance. It made me feel giddy. This book had me smiling, laughing, and crying just a smidge, only because I was so enraptured by the characters' feelings. I also feared for the character when I thought it might nig work out for them. It was hard to stop listening to the audiobook because I was so hooked.

I felt like there was a decent amount of character develop for the FMC, which I always enjoy.

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because it did have a personal trigger for me. Which, somewhat diminish my own enjoyment for a few chapters.

I recommend this book/audiobook to adults (18+) who want to read "The Bachelor" done in a whimsical fae setting.

This book contains: Relationships: f/m, f/f, and a male dating multiple women, bullying, violence, poverty, sexual content (both on and off the page)
-On page content has minimal detail.

Beauty and the BEAST fairytale retelling

I was captivated from chapter one. I absolutely loved this Beauty and the Beast retelling. The author was the narrator and she did an amazing job.(⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) There was intrigue, magic, betrayal, suspense and Love. I loved competition that was like the bachelor. It had the perfect amount of twists and turns and spice(🌶️🌶️). The HEA is not the one you would expect. 😳 but it is the one you will hope for. I am a sucker for an adult retelling of a fairytale 🧚🏻‍♀️and this one was a knockout for me. I would recommend it to everyone who loves this genre. 🤌🏼 Bravo Carol Beth Anderson!! 👏🏼🫶🏼

Freaking Fantastic 😍💋❤️‍🔥💞🤩🔥

Aeryn,Tor and Wyatt well they have an amazing and interesting story. Aeryn ends up in a bit of trouble that leads her to Tor's front door 🚪. She is the last contestant in a contest she just found out about. Tor is looking for someone to love 💞 him for who and what he is right now. Yet Wyatt has become content with his life the way it is right now. I'm glad 😊 she ended up with the right one in the end!!!!😍❤️‍🔥💋💕💘

Fun fairytale retelling full of intrigue, suspense

I enjoyed this fun fairytale retelling that was full of intrigue, suspense, betrayal, and love. I guessed many of the plot points early on, but it was still fun watching them play out. I wasn't sure how an HEA would happen with the FMC torn between what she "should" do versus what she wanted to do, but the ending was very satisfactory. I do feel a bit of wanting, still. It seems one of the major characters did not get an HEA, and I would like to see the author pen another story to make that happen.

I thought the author did an excellent job narrating the story! I have heard authors as narrators before who did a disservice by narrating their own audiobook. Ms. Anderson, however, gave the story and characters a full scope of emotions and voices. Very well done and enjoyable to listen to.

I enjoyed the story and will definitely listen to it again.

I received a free copy via StoryOrigin and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

Enjoyed

I am basing my rating on several points: world building, characters, plot, execution, and narration. I thought the world-building was done nicely, not so heavy-handed that it was pages of description, but given in small bites with enough detail to get a good sense of the story's world. The main characters were unique, and I was able to get a good feel for their words and actions (i.e., no one seemed to act grossly out of character). I found it difficult at a few points to stay sympathetic to the MC, and sometimes she was WAY too dramatic, but I believe some of that was in part an illustration of her youth and naivete (I'm hoping). The secondary characters were more like foils to the main characters, but they were still individuals with distinct characteristics. The plot was a fun take on the beauty and the beast trope, and I enjoyed anticipating what could happen with this sort of setup (sorry for being vague; I'm trying to make sure not to spoil any parts!). The executive of the plot was a little clumsy at times, but that could also be attributed to the character at those points, emphasizing their fumbling and uncertainty. Lastly, the narration was (I'll be honest) surprisingly good. Too often I've heard authors narrate their own work and it takes away from the overall enjoyment. However, Carol Beth Anderson handled the narration well and sounded like a pro (I didn't research if she is a pro narrator as well). The character's voices were distinct in sound, nuance, and even cadence, including the male voices. The pacing was good as well. Overall, this was a good listen. There were a few points where I experience second-hand anxiety so much I had to stop listening for a bit - in my opinion, that's a good listen when it can evoke actual emotional response.

I received an ARC of this audiobook and voluntarily chose to leave a review.