Reviewer: Andrea
The Summary:
This fairy tale doesn’t end with a kiss… A spellbinding Immortals After Dark tale from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole!
The terrifying king of hell…
As a boy, Abyssian “Sian” Infernas had his heart shattered by a treacherous fey beauty who died before he could exact vengeance. Millennia later, a curse has transformed him into a demonic monster–just as she’s been reincarnated. Sian captures the delicate but bold female, forcing her back to hell.
Meets his match.
Princess Calliope “Lila” Barbot’s people have hated and feared Abyssian and his alliance of monsters for eons. When the beastly demon imprisons her in his mystical castle, vowing revenge for betrayals she can’t remember, Lila makes her own vow: to bring down the wicked beast for good.
Can two adversaries share one happily-ever-after?
As Calliope turns hell inside out, the all-powerful Sian finds himself defenseless against his feelings for her. In turn, Lila reluctantly responds to the beast’s cleverness and gruff vulnerability. But when truths from a far distant past are revealed, can their tenuous bond withstand ages of deceit, a curse, and a looming supernatural war?
The Review:
Beautiful, bookish girl. Once-handsome man transformed to a monstrous creature. Enchanted castle with a magic hand mirror. A deal to save the ones she loves. A countdown. Sound familiar? Yeah, I thought so, too.
I’m a big Kresley Cole fan. I’ve read nearly all of the IAD novels, and I mostly love them. This one was a little cheesy. I had no idea it would be a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but I should’ve got a clue when the novel begins in Disney World. The heroine, Lila, works as a princess at WDW, and there are Disney Easter eggs throughout the novel. I have nothing against a good fairytale reworked; in fact, I’ve read a number of them, but I like to know that in advance. It took a few chapters for me to catch on, but then it was completely obvious. I’m not sure if Cole is trying to play off the recent resurgence in the story since Disney’s release of the movie or if she had the idea first. Either way, this novel is definitely a retelling.
Having said that, I did enjoy the read and devoured the book in a day, but don’t be fooled by the fairytale thing–this novel is very mature. Abyssian is the damaged hero with a score to settle, and considering he’s the master of Pandemonia (a hell-like dimension), that damage makes him lethally dangerous in a charming sort of way. Lila is that feisty female that is pretty standard to Cole’s novels. If you love paranormal as I do, you might want to check this one out.
