~ BOOK REVIEW ~ Savage Beauty ~ by Casey L. Bond
Title: Savage
Beauty
Author: Casey L.
Bond
Genre: YA Epic Fantasy, Fairy Tale
Retelling
Editor: Stacy Sanford/ The Girl with the Red
Pen
Cover Designer: Melissa Stevens/ The Illustrated Author
Design Services
Blurb:
Once upon a time, a beautiful
queen was cursed by a dark faery. That curse, inherited by twin princesses,
Aura and Luna, binds their lives in the strangest of ways. At an early age, the
girls were more than sisters. They were the strongest of allies until a combination
of jealousy, anger and dark magic tore their relationship to
shreds.
Aura took everything from Luna: her home, her family,
and her love by murdering the prince who’d chosen her instead of
Aura.
Luna wants revenge, but she’s running out of time. She
must sever the magical bond tying her life to Aura’s before their eighteenth
birthday or be bound to her forever. In desperation, she seeks help from a dark
fae prince, but the price is steep – a piece of her soul.
Fate is a real witch. Luna was willing to give up
anything to stop her sister, until Prince Phillip of Grithim, the brother of
the only man she’s ever loved, falls into her life. Neither of them can fight
their attraction, despite their
guilt.
With Aura hell-bent on destroying everything she holds
dear, Luna must decide whether she wants revenge or Phillip. She can’t have
both, and in the end, this may be a battle both sisters
lose.
**Savage Beauty is a fairy tale retelling of Sleeping
Beauty... with fae witches. :)
My Review:
5 out of 5 Stars
This is by
far one of the best fairy tale retellings I’ve read! In fact, I’m a much bigger
fan of this version than the original (although it would definitely be too
scary for a Disney movie). It’s like
Briar Rose and Maleficent were twins, they were both able to practice magic,
and neither were even close to the people you grew up thinking they were – in fact,
the complete opposite.
What I
enjoyed the most about this story is that there was so much depth to it. There were layers upon layers of emotions, relationships,
character development, beautiful story development…the list goes on. I was completely enthralled from the moment I
started reading. My heart broke for Luna
time and time again, as we learned more about her story and her life. Yet at the same time, I admired her strength
in continuing to take was thrown at her from those she didn’t know all the way
to those she loved the most. Even with a
heavy curse looming over her, along with these burdens, she found a way to
build a life where she may be able to be happy.
She didn’t give up finding ways to save herself.
I really
loved how many layers there were to every character we met – even down to each
sister’s familiar. I really got a great
understanding of what Luna was dealing with, because even as a reader I never knew
who I could trust. Also because the
story was written from several different character perspectives, you start to
wonder if any of them have all the right information, and if there’s a
possibility that some events were misunderstood. It makes you want to sit them all down in the
same room and have a chat, but at the same time know that’s a VERY dangerous
idea – hence Luna’s entire predicament.
Although I’ve
already mentioned it, I can’t express enough how incredible the depth of this
story is. This isn’t a story that was
rushed through when it was written. It
was well thought out, it was far from cut a dry, and because the relationships
were so complicated, I was both happy and sad about the ending – and it was
poetically beautiful. It was truly everything
you would look for in a good story. It
was way more than a fun fairy tale retelling.
It was moving, it certainly wasn’t black and white, it was unpredictable,
and it was a story that overall sucked me in from beginning to end.
Award-winning author Casey L.
Bond resides in Milton, West Virginia with her husband and their two beautiful
daughters. When she’s not busy being a domestic goddess and chasing her baby
girls, she loves to write young adult and new adult fiction.
You can find more information about Bond’s books via the
following links:
Website: www.authorcaseybond.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorcaseybond
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorcaseybond
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/caseyb007
Bond-Tourage: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1032678336804562/
Buy
Link:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2Eqsz3u
“I was going to try to hike out of here in the morning.
I’m glad you woke, actually. I was hoping you could give me directions?” I
would have asked her to lead me to the edge of the dark forest, but she wasn’t
what I expected. She hadn’t hurt me yet, but it was clear that she didn’t want
me in her home. And I didn’t want to push my luck by staying any longer where I
wasn’t welcome.
“Do you have any idea what today is?” she countered.
My God, she was beautiful. I shook my head to clear it.
What was significant about today? I had no idea.
“It’s the first day of autumn,” she said dryly. “The
equinox. The fae will celebrate. They’ll be hunting in the forest today, and
some are very fond of the taste of human
flesh.”
Well,
damn.
I stared at her pointed ears and gulped. “Are you fond
of it?”
Her lips curved into a cruel smile. “Not particularly.”
“Should I leave tonight then? Before
daylight?”
“It’s midnight. While some are already celebrating,
others are already in the wood, waiting for some unsuspecting prey to waltz by.
I watched an unfamiliar emotion roll over her features.
“You’ve been my guest, you say? Have you poked your nose anywhere it doesn’t
belong?” Her eyes narrowed as she waited for my response.
“I’ve eaten from your garden, slept in your chair, and
washed in your creek. I’ve made friends with Cat, whom I will continue to call
Cat until you divulge her name. And I’ve tidied things a little. I promise to
send food to replace what I took from your garden as soon as I get
home.”
“You cleaned my
house?”
“Just the kitchen and sitting room. I kept this door
closed as much as I could. It won’t quite shut, and the other door is
locked.”
She
flicked her eyes at the small gap in the bedroom door and then smiled at me. “I
know you weren’t in there.”
“How?”
“Because if you had picked those locks, you wouldn’t be
standing in front of me now.”
She left me and Cat behind as she walked out of the
room, her footsteps completely quiet. I looked down at my furry friend and she
looked up at me and then followed her master. It felt wrong to stay in the
young woman’s bedroom, and since I didn’t sense an immediate danger from her, I
followed Cat, dabbing at the stinging wound on my
neck.
A growl came from the main room just as I stepped into
it. “You moved my things.”
“I told you I cleaned,” I defended.
“Yes, well you shouldn’t have touched my things! Now,
how will I find what I need?” She scowled at the shelf and the spices arrayed
on them.
“They’re in alphabetical
order.”
“Alphabe—” Her word faded away as she took in my
handiwork. I thought she liked it until she gripped the counter and swiveled
her head toward me. “Perhaps now is the perfect time for you to walk through
the dark forest.”
“Do you overreact to organized spices and kindness very
often, or are you just cranky because you woke from your nap?” I snapped,
immediately regretting the words. I wasn’t a coward, but neither did I want to
die at the hands of a fae witch.
To my surprise, she didn’t gut me. Instead, a slow smile
stretched over her lips, as brilliant as I’d imagined. Not that I’d imagined
she had those small fangs...
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