Book written by Lish McBride, published 2021.
Merit Cravan wasn’t about to marry the suitor that her mother had selected for her. She had her heart set on a young and handsome commoner . . . whom her mother was able to bribe away. It didn’t matter that Merit’s heart was broken or that this more acceptable suitor was old enough to be her grandfather, Godling Verity believed that Merit’s “beastly” behavior was deserving of appropriate punishment. Now cursed as a frightening beast, Merit has until her eighteenth birthday to either marry whom her mother chooses or for love. If she doesn’t, the beast lurking inside of her will be permanent.
Tevin DuMont is a con man. Painfully handsome and blessed with irresistible charm, his specialty lies in the honey trap—conning wealthy families out of their money through romantic relationships with their young daughters (he’s literally in the business of breaking hearts!). Tevin is the last person Merit should have anywhere remotely nearby. Then again, this isn’t love, this is a business transaction. On paper, Tevin’s main job is to be on the lookout for anyone like himself to help keep Merit from making the same mistake twice. Off paper, well, that’s where the story really takes off.
This is meant to be a gender-swapped version of “Beauty and the Beast,” but I found that it had more in common with the film, Penelope. I’m not complaining at all. Penelope is one of my favorite movies, so I enjoyed this one a lot. If you’re into the whole “good girls and bad boys” trope, you’ll like this one too.
There were two troubles I had, both with the imagery, and both very minor. First was Merit’s beastly form. I could picture her beastly features (claws, horns, tail, fur, etc.) very easily, but I felt I didn’t get a clear picture of her size. In other renditions of “Beauty and the Beast,” the Beast is always very tall and broad, so, naturally, I pictured Beast-Merit to have the same stature compared to Tevin. But there were a few interactions between Merit and Tevin that distorted that picture in my head because they indicated that she was still about the same size as her human form. It was like watching Merit shrink before my eyes. I don’t know if that one’s just on me, but it would have been nice for a little more clarification on that front.
I also struggled in the beginning to get a feel for the setting. Merit split her time between her family’s country estate and their home in the city, so in those settings, I was picturing something along the lines of Pride and Prejudice. But one of the first scenes with Tevin is outside a bar in the middle of a brawl, which gave me a more western vibe. I struggled to find a way to reconcile those two very different eras in my head. It did get better as the story went on, but I think I experienced a little culture shock there in the beginning.
This book contains minimal language and intimacy, and the most violent event is an accidental but fatal spill out an open window (no gory details). My age recommendation is for readers thirteen and up.
Spoilers and discussion topics are below! Happy reading!
"Sometimes love needed a gentle nudge, and sometimes it needed a boot to the behind."
I really liked that this version of “Beauty and the Beast” was more of a rom-com than the others I’ve read. The characters still dealt with more mature problems, like trauma from heartbreak and political espionage, so the story didn’t come across as childish, but it was a light and fairly low-pressure read. I like that I felt comfortable and confident right from the get-go that Tevin and Merit were going to end up together. It wasn’t endless drama or strictly romantic, but it was more about helping each other overcome past traumas and supporting each other no matter what. It was a story that sucked me in without stressing me out.
I really admired Tevin’s devotion to Merit. Once her curse was broken, he didn’t expect anything from her. He didn’t expect her to marry him or any kind of compensation for his help. He lets Merit propose to him, and I think that’s so empowering. Even though Merit needed a man to break her curse, she found the one that recognized her right to her own happiness and encouraged her own decisions. It’s so wholesome, it makes me want to squeal with joy.
One question I do have is why does a dose of bloom seem to only have a negative effect on Merit? If she takes too much, her curse worsens, and she always has an episode once it wears off. But Willa and Diadora take a tincture and seem absolutely fine after it wears off. There’s no indication that their curses are going to grow worse or more permanent with the more bloom they take. I don’t know if it’s because Merit’s curse is more specific in the details or if it’s just stronger. I just felt that a side effect like that would be more widely spread and discussed. This isn’t something that bothers me, just something I’m wondering about. What do you guys think?
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