Review: To Love a Beast by Karen Witemeyer Is Enchanting!
To Love a Beast by Karen Witemeyer is a clever retelling of the beloved fairytale that offers a fresh story while preserving the essence of the original.
Not only is the novel deeply engaging, but it is also inspirational. The author weaves the thread of faith throughout, and the reader will find themes of hope, forgiveness, grace, and redemption in its pages.
The book leaves a lasting impression, and readers will find themselves lingering in the world the author creates, unable to move on emotionally until they've fully savored every word.
What Is To Love a Beast About?
Callista Rosenfeld and her father operate a book binding business that is on the brink of financial devastation. When her father is commissioned to re-cover books in the personal library of the reclusive Everett Griffin, it comes at an opportune time--until he injures his hand. Determined to fulfill the contract, Callista travels to Manticore Manor herself where she meets the insufferable beast of a man who immediately attempts to send her away.
Callista stubbornly holds her ground and soon wins over Everett's staff with her sunshiny personality--she breathes fresh life into the gloomy estate. Even Everett is impressed with her expertise, though he remains aloof and emotionally impenetrable.
Unruffled by his prickly nature, Callista looks past the scars that mar Everett's face to see the man within, and the two slowly begin to connect over literature and art. Affection blossoms as they discover each other's hidden depths.
When an unwanted suitor poses a danger to Callista, Everett arises as her protector, only to find himself in grave jeopardy.
Can their love survive a brutal hunter's schemes, and will elite society even accept a commoner like Callista into their ranks?
Review: To Love a Beast by Karen Witemeyer
To Love a Beast is my all-time favorite retelling of Beauty & the Beast.
While the book isn't too long or overly complicated, it is deeply complex. The characters are wonderfully developed, spiritual truths are organically embedded, and the nods to the original tale are cleverly ingrained.
Everett's character arc starts when he is one of the most eligible bachelors in New York's high society who allows his good looks to define him and ends when he discovers his worth is in being a child of God. God looks at the heart, not the outward appearance.
Callista recognizes that Everett's hostility is a defense mechanism to hide his personal pain and that he is as scarred inside as he is outwardly. In that vein, she goes to great lengths to help him heal and is very sensitive to the needs he doesn't verbally express. As her loving-kindness draws him out, the reader's heart leaps with every emotional hurdle Everett successfully overcomes.
The book includes many sweet moments, and one of my favorites is when Everett allows Callista to enter his art studio where her sharp eye observes how his paintings encapsulate his own evolution. It's not easy for an artist to make themselves vulnerable by sharing their works, so this is a pivot point in the relationship. One of the paintings is titled The Last Petal Falls. It depicts a single, wilted rose surrounded by a pile of fallen petals, save one. One petal remains attached, unable to fall, and it serves as a metaphor for the pain that holds Everett back.
Callista remains keenly aware of every instance when Everett's insecurities arise, and she rushes to love and affirm him in tender ways that help him vanquish them all.
The romance is slow burn--the best kind! The reader feels the spark at Callista and Everett's every touch, glance, kind word, or sweet deed.
Many quotable lines are included in the story that are crafted to inspire. Here's a sample:
It's not the cover that makes a person love a book. A pretty cover might be admired and put on display, but it doesn't stir the heart. Only the story or knowledge captured within the pages can make one fall in love and return to a book again and again.
Your face does not define you, Griff. Your actions do. A woman of a discerning nature will see the man behind the scars. It's up to you to determine what type of man she will find when she does so.
The book is clean and wholesome with a thrilling and joyous ending. The reader will waver from wanting to savor each page to not being to resist the intense urge to devour it at a single sitting.
To Love a Beast is a beautifully written book that is felt deeply with the heart and one that you will want to own so you can return to it again and again.
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Review To Love a Beast by Karen Witemeyer
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