DNF @ 60%. Unforgivable insta-love and flat plot. Also strange tone, more like a serious pseudo-medieval romance. ( )

How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days
4 Star

A lovely and original retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

As one of the Embraced, children born during the convergence of two moons, Luciana Vintello is sequestered in a convent on the Isle of Moon until her father arrives with a shocking revelation - she must take the place of her deceased twin as the betrothed to Leo Benwick, Lord Protector of the Realm.

Leo, the Beast of Benwick, is a lightning magnet. Unfortunately, his "gift" makes it impossible for him to touch others. Bue when he meets Luciana, he realizes that she may just be the one person he can touch . . . if he can save her from the killers sent to assassinate her.

Both Leo and Luciana are very appealing characters and one cannot help but root for their romance given the sadness and loneliness of their childhoods. Moreover, Sparks thankfully avoids the annoying secret keeping trope that could have arisen from Luciana's secret identity.

The world building is very intriguing with all manner of supernatural creatures ranging from elves to dragons as well as a host of paranormal abilities from shape-shifting to harnessing lightening to seeing ghosts.

Overall, an excellent beginning to the series and I look forward to continuing. ( )

A new series starts. It’s a world filled with magic and elves, dragons and shape shifters. And oh yeah ... ghosts. Lots of ghosts.

In this first book, we get the story behind the divided kingdoms and the special island where special babies born with special powers go for safety. Luciana was such a child. She grew up at a convent with four other girls she considered to be her sisters. But all the girls realize there are secrets that they just don’t know. Luciana’s secret comes when a mysterious stranger arrives at the convent and asks to see her. The stranger turns out to be her father and he has brought along her twin sister, who has died and who Luciana now has to impersonate in order to save all their lives. Luciana has to take her twin’s place as the bride of “the Beast” without anyone being the wiser.

The Beast turns out to be nothing like she imagined and the two eventually fall for each other. But she’s keeping secrets about her identity and he has issues of his own the makes a real marriage between them impossible.

I was a pretty big fan of the Love at Stake series. But this new series had a bit of a slow start for me. But I will take into account that this is the start of a whole different world and a lot of the backstory needed to be established. Future books may move the story along a bit faster. ( )

Loved it.
There is some room for improvement, but.......
It flowed easily, loaded with humor and romance.
It has a 'Lemony Snicket' feel, but in the opposite. A series of 'Fortunate Events' that make you grin.
( )

Arc Review - I loved this story. Leo is the man and he compliments Lucinda well. This book was a solid 5 star ⭐️ read for me. I picked this up and could not put it down. Looking forward to more of this series. Will also try some of the authors earlier works. Would recommend for anyone looking for a great fantasy romance. ( )