The Beast Within by Serena Valentino

Tale as Old as Time. The Prince has everything, wealth, status, hunting skills, a best friend, and girls who swoon over him. When he breaks the wrong girl's heart, Circe, a sibling of the Odd Sisters, makes sure he pays. Circe casts a curse on him to become a beast until he learns to love and be loved in return. As the days pass, he notices strange things about his appearance, servants going missing, and an overwhelming dread filling the castle. He tries to break the curse by betrothing Princess Morningstar from the next kingdom over. However, his ugly attitude towards her seals his fate. What will it take to break the spell?

It was refreshing to read from the prince's POV! As someone who could relate to a misunderstood creature as a child, it was nice to delve deeper into his backstory and learn what made him so callous and cursed. The book was evenly paced, the dialogue was natural and kept the reader wanting more. Again, I wished Serena had described the castle in detail. There were some colors here and there, but most of it was like Fairest of All. All tell, hardly any showing. I did love the way she described the topiaries, though, and the rose garden. I would have loved it if she included smell more.

10/10 stars

For my Christian readers, I rate this PG for mild swearing.