This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and normally I'm not a big fan of fairy tale retellings. In general, I prefer original stories - even though I've been known to watch a movie remake or two. But I liked the sound of the blurb, and I'm a fan of Rick R. Reed's writing, so I thought I'd give it a chance.

I'm glad I did. And this also teaches me a lesson that I need to take more chances with my reading!

The characters in the story are great. Beau is an artist and he has been told many times by the person he's painted that it's like he can see into their souls and paint their true selves. This makes for a believable premise for when he meets Beast, and how Beau so easily sees beyond his scarred face.

Beast himself is the gentle giant type, a really sensitive guy who's trying to hide his hurt behind a mask (literal and metaphorical). But when Beau sees him, he's touched. And scared for his heart.

This book contains lightning-fast insta-love, but since this is a fairy tale, I have no problem with that...not that I usually do :-)

I really like the setting, and how Rick Reed has managed to juxtapose the modern Seattle with a gay neighborhood and Vietnamese Pho places, with the fairy tale quality of the Beast's mansion. The reader is told that Beast lives outside of Seattle, but it feels like Beau ended up in a magical land with beautiful settings and starry skies, which helps the fairy tale feeling in this otherwise contemporary story.

The original Beauty and the Beast is a horrid fairy tale (like most old stories are), but this is a lovely adaptation. No one is being forced, no one is kept against their will. It's simply a story about a man who is able to see that real beauty is so much more than what the eye can see. I wish real life was like that.