Publisher: Afterglow Productions
Date of publication: January 2nd, 2014
Series: Crowns of The Twelve
The Subtle Beauty—Book 1
Moonlight—Book 2 (review here)
A Piece of Sky—Book 4 (review here)
The Rose in the Briar—Book 5
Ashes—Book 6
In The Mean While—Book 7
Genre: Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Young Adult, Beauty and The Beast, Retellings, Romance, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fantasy Romance, Magic
Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo |Apple Books
Goodreads synopsis:
A cursed prince. A vain beauty. Glory is the seventh daughter of Balthazar, High King of the Twelve Kingdoms. Glory hopes that – of all her sisters – she can escape the fate of a loveless marriage. But on the night she plans to elope with the royal falconer, her world comes crashing down: Her father announces Glory’s betrothal to Eoghan of the Blood Realm – a prince no one has ever seen. The prince is said to be a recluse, cursed and deformed by the gods for the sins of his power-hungry father. Yet when Glory is trapped in Blackthorn Keep she discovers that not everything is what she expected. An insulting gryphon, a persistent ghost, and a secret plan to usurp the prince keep Glory reeling.
In this retelling of BEAUTY & THE BEAST, can Glory overcome her vanity to learn that what she wants isn’t what she needs—and save the cursed prince?
I enjoyed reading this book. The first chapter (where we meet Xander and Aowynn) hooked me. Put it this way; I finished the book in a day, which never happens these days.
The combo of it being a retelling of a fairy tale and the fact that it takes place in Ireland made me love it. The author included Gaelic phrases and put a directory at the end of the book so you could reference it.
The Colin/Eoghan/Glory triangle was heartbreaking. I did like seeing Glory’s character change. It was a huge transformation.
Oh, and Colin got what was coming to him; just saying.
The ending made me cry. I mean, who wouldn’t? It was the perfect ending to the book.
If you enjoyed reading The Subtle Beauty, you will enjoy reading these books: