I don’t normally read fantasy books, but my dad randomly gifted me with this gorgeous paperback, and he usually knows what he’s doing when it comes to book selections. We tend to read the same things, especially Texas noir and anything from BookPeople’s horror aisle, so this was somewhat of a surprise coming from him! In all honesty, I think it was the cover that did it.

At first, I was intimidated by the size of this thing. A 470-page tome is a commitment, y’all! Turns out, this was a super-fast read that I was able to knock out in a weekend. I was hooked right from the beginning when the kidnapped Harper landed in Emberfall, a fantastical land of lush forests, evil sorcerers and enchanted castles. It’s basically Fantasyland…only with lots of bloodshed and a man-eating beast.

This really is a creative spin on the Beauty and the Beast cannon. The main character is a departure from the book-toting, ball-dancing Belle. She has cerebral palsy and lacks the ballerina-esque grace and ethereal beauty that all the Disney princesses posses. She’s scrappy, street-smart and impermeable to the prince’s charms. I must gives the author snaps for keeping up with the times and giving the readers what they want: a tough-as-nails anti-princess protagonist! Move over, Prince Rhen, and leave it to the women to save the land of Emberfall! Ya Ya!

I also love how the author deviates from the Disney tale while also keeping with some of the themes. The prince is in a race against time (sans the falling rose petals) to save himself and his kingdom from doom. The trapped “Beauty” must rescue the kingdom and her family back at home. Inanimate objects take on a life of their own–only instead of singing teapots and candelabras, there’s wind instruments that relentlessly play the same songs day after day after day, and so on. If that’s not enough to throw myself off the highest castle turret, I don’t know what is!

Either way, this is a fantastic reimagining of and old tale that so many of us just can’t get enough of–myself included! I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve watched the animated classic. Only in this newest iteration, the beast is a tad more frightening than that fluffy, overgrown Chow dog looking thing in the movie.

Needless to say, I’m excited to dive into the next installment of this series. This is the perfect break from reality that I need these days. I couldn’t’ think of a better way to spend a Sunday than in Emberfall, where I can sword-fight with hot guardsmen and ride through the forest on a magnificent steed. Such fun!