Beauty and the Baron

Forever After Retellings, Book 1

By: Joanna Barker

Narrated by: Janna Fox

A penniless maid determined to save her father, a broken baron bent on isolation, and the undeniable draw between them that could lead to happiness—or disaster.

Rose Sinclair has run out of options. With her father in prison and their bookshop sold to pay his debts, she has no choice but to turn to Henry Covington, the Baron Norcliffe. But the baron has more than earned his harsh reputation, and Rose must face his wrath in order to save her father—and herself.

Since the deaths of his parents, Henry Covington has isolated himself from society, ensuring the solitude of his estate with his deliberate callousness. However, when the beautiful Miss Sinclair appears on his doorstep, begging for a chance to repay her father's debt to him, a moment of weakness finds him offering her a position—as a maid in his own house.

They both soon learn that first impressions are not to be believed. Henry is surprised—and intrigued—by Rose's optimistic charm, while Rose slowly uncovers Henry's true self, his compassion concealed behind the pain of loss and betrayal. But when a shadow from Henry's past returns, their newfound hope is tested. They must decide for themselves who to trust and what they will risk for their happily ever after.

©2019 Joanna Barker (P)2025 Love Letter Press

Nicely done

Compact and fun novella that is worth the listen. The retelling is cleverly done as a node to the story.

Such a quick, cute and simple story 💓

Thank you Joanna Barker for the gift audiobook through Audible! All thoughts are my own.

This was such a cute story. I am a huge fan of fairy tale retellings. I enjoyed seeing different takes on fairy tale. This one had a major theme of forgiveness. Rose Sinclair has no choice but to work off a debt her father got. She goes to work for a Baron to pay of the debt. I really enjoyed the narrator. They had a great accent and story telling ability.

Listen or Read if you enjoy:

💐Fairy tale retellings
💞Regency Romance
🦁Beauty and the Beast
🌟Grumpy/Sunshine duos
💓Forgiveness

Great beauty and the beast retelling!

Absolutely loved this story! I loved the beauty and the beast vibes and how it all played out. Loved Henry and how he came around! Such a great story!

Easy, clean Regency romance listen

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook that was gifted to me by the author. The narrator does an excellent job. It is a fairly quick listen, coming in around 3 hours.

This is a book in a series of fairytale retellings. Each novella length story, is a standalone book. This one is based on Beauty and the Beast. Spoiler alert : There are no singing dinnerware scenes. 😉

It is hard to have a complicated plot develop in the length of novella, but I felt that Joanna Barker did a good job of giving a well rounded story without making it feel rushed.

Loved it!

Great regency era retelling of beauty and the beast! I loved it. Super fun characters. I enjoyed how the author made this story her own-she added a fabulous mix of fairytale with wit and adventure.
The narration of this story was excellent!

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including Netgalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this
in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.