This twisted fairy tale is the story is of Brielle, a 17 year old girl who lives with her grandmother and is training to be a healer. She has grown up with stories of the beast that roams the woods and she often has premonitions of death and even finds a mangled body in the woods. When Lord Kenrick shows up to hunt for the beast, Brielle is determined to help him. There is plenty of action, adventure and romance in this story, although if you don't like gore it might not be the book for you. The twist was interesting the characters were likeable. The ending was great and I appreciate that this was a standalone story and didn't end with a cliffhanger. This a good choice for anyone who likes their fairy tales with some action and some romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher as part of the early reviewers program in exchange for an honest review. ( )

This is a new twist on an old fairy tale theme; wicked witch curses young girl and only true love can break the curse. Although it's not set in modern times, it still follows that basic premise of the curse and the cure. However, true love's kiss isn't going to be enough to break this curse. Additionally, if the curse isn't broken by the girl's 17th birthday, she's doomed to die and be reincarnated for the cycle to start over again.

Although one automatically assumes the curse will be broken, it was a gripping story where the happy ending wasn't a foregone conclusion. The twists and turns kept you on the edge of your seat, wondering if they would break the curse in time to prevent the girl's death. The shocking revelations behind the curse came as completely unexpected surprises that added depth to the entire story.

The author did an excellent job with character development. Each character was very tangible and realistic, from the conniving, lying village girl to the evil and corrupted church leader. The story was so well-developed that it actually took quite a while to figure out exactly who the beast was and how the story was going to end.

While I wouldn't call this a romance, there was an element of romance to it. It's certainly not your typical love story or romance novel. This was more of a dark fairy tale with elements of the supernatural baked in than a romance novel, which I thoroughly enjoyed. However, in the end, love conquers all and, as in every good fairy tale, there's a happily ever after.

An absolutely riveting story that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys fairy tales, good conquering evil, love stories, fantasy, mystery, etc. ( )

At the start of reading this, I got the little red riding hood vibe. A young girl living with her grandmother in a cabin, out in the woods. And then let's throw in some murders of people having been ripped to shreds. There's the girl and her best friend, a handsome wanderer, an evil twisted liar of a girl in town, a handsome knight, a little magic thrown into the mix, a curse, and most importantly....the beast. Who is the beast? Where did this monster come from? Who will it kill next?
I thoroughly enjoyed reading every single part of this story, even though some made me cringe WHY!!! It was magical, it was gory. I LOVED it!! The twists kept me on the edge of my seat. I never saw it coming. No part of this was your predictable fairytale story. Absolutely enjoyable, as I finished reading this in 3 days. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy, romance, and mystery. 5 stars ★★★★★ ( )

This was a very good read. I felt attached the main character and the story, from very early on, which kept me really intrigued in the book, from start to finish. The author truly wrote and original story of fairytale magic, that brings to life all those magical feelings and intrigue we had growing up, but for a slightly older audience.

The book is written very well, and targets both the YA stage and adults alike, with lots of detail, twists, engaging characters and action. I love the blend of fast and slower pace, to really give you that feel for what is taking place in the world.

I loved the variety of characters, and found that Purdy really did well, not only to create such variety, but also to ensure that each character had a great level of depth and personality, to bring their persona to life.

Overall, this was an excellent read and one i struggled to put down. It is really lovely and one that should not be missed. ( )

Star Rating: 3.5 out of 5

The only reason that this book did not get a solid 4 stars is because the first half of the book took a little long to really get going. Honestly, it almost seemed like the first half and the second half could have had been two different books. The book revolves around a 16 year old girl by the name of Brielle who lives in a town where a beast is killing people.

A knight by the name of Kendrik comes in to town and everything begins to change. Brielle meets the knight and starts having visions of the two of them together and in love, which confuses her because the visions are so realistic and yet she knows that she has never met him before. To make situations even more confusing for her, she is in love with Raul a gypsy, and yet she cannot stop the way she feels whenever she is near Kendrik. She tries helping the knight find information on this beast so that he could slay it and protect the town, and during this time he began to have strong feelings for her. At the same time Raul is also finally revealing to her that he is in love with her as well, but her grandmother of course does not approve.

As this portion of the story plays out you also find that there is more going on than you thought at first. It turns out that Brielle is not just a love sick girl, she is actually having visions of each of the victims being murdered by the beast. She decides that she has to do something in order to help stop this beast. Unfortunately, the truth about this beast and Kendrik is far more than she could have ever imagined. That is the part of the story that really grabbed my attention, it was seriously the turning point for me. The story suddenly starts moving at a much quicker pace and you are left there in awe after every revelation. Brielle seems to go from a love sick girl to a strong woman who is trying to figure out a major secret in order to save the lives of future victims. You are then brought into a world where magic, curses, and evil is real. It really just became a much better book.

Pros:
Once you learn more about this beast the story really picks up. It moves the focus away from a girl and her two crushes and moves to a story with a bit more substance.
I loved the way the characters were written. I loved the grandmother, Rhyne, and Raul. They were written in such a way that I would really like to hang out with them. They added a nice element to the story that help balance out Brielle.
The actual lore of the beast was done very well! I loved that portion of the story, it really explained why the first portion of the book was the way it was.

Cons:
The romance portion was a bit over the top. Every time either Raul or Kendrik would make contact with her you were given a description of how their touch would pretty much set her body on fire and made her knees buckle. I understand why the relationship were extremely important but holy cow. I felt like it was a bit much.
The beginning seemed a little slow moving. The ending was fantastic but I feel like if they would have taken a little less time talking about Brielle's knees buckling with every touch we could have delved more into the lore behind the beast.

Overall:
While the beginning of the book was slow I still really enjoyed it and would definitely read other books by this author. As a YA I think it does hit the mark, but I would not recommend it for younger tween/teens. After all the A in YA does mean adult. There are some situations in the book that might not be appropriate for a younger audience.

The book itself is slow paced in the beginning. It seemed like it was just going to be a romance novel with a beast in the background, but thankfully it was not. It showed Brielle become a stronger young woman. It showed her becoming her own person and not caring what anyone had to say, I found that wonderful. But to be honest, if it weren't for the second half of the book I would not have rated it so high. The second half of this book really makes it worth reading. While there was a small continuity error (Brielle asking a character how he was alive.....and then a couple of pages later the same thing happening but with more information this time) it really was a good book. I would read this book any time over the book Beautiful Creatures. And if you did enjoy Beautiful Creatures, I think you would enjoy this for sure ( )