A Tale of Beauty and Beast

Beyond the Four Kingdoms series, Book 2

By: Melanie Cellier

Narrated by: Esther Wane

Princess Sophia has helped her twin sister Lily save the duchy of Marin. But now Sophie faces an even greater threat when she sets out to free the cursed kingdom of Palinar from its beastly prince.

Alone, and with danger on every side, Sophie must navigate a magical castle and its even more mysterious master to discover the secret to breaking the curse. Except the more time she spends with Prince Dominic, the more she starts to question who exactly she's supposed to be saving.

With time running out for the trapped inhabitants, and the reappearance of an old enemy, Sophie may have to choose between saving the kingdom and following her heart. In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Beauty will have to use all of her strength and intelligence if she is to outwit her enemies, break a curse, and find true love.

©2017 Melanie Cellier (P)2018 Tantor

The tweaks in the storyline were interesting.

The different personalities and how they interacted was quite interesting. Developing the thought processes of the characters, including the flaws as well as their strengths.

Amazing story, funny man voice

This is an amazing “reimagining” of Beauty And The Beast! So many twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. And the performance of the reader was really well done! I quite enjoyed her tone, however when it came to doing the voice of the beast, it sounded very funny. But I guess it’s hard for a female to do a gruff male voice impression.

Classic Fairy-Tale Fun

I was so excited to snatch up this audiobook after finishing the first book in the series, A Dance of Silver and Shadow. And A Tale of Beauty and Beast was another enjoyable listen overall! I like Sophie's character and the unique personalities of the secondary characters she encounters on her quest. I confess the story didn't feel quite as original as the first book; it has a lot of the classic elements of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale and doesn't change it up as much as I might like, especially with the enchanted castle setting. And while I love how the narrator portrays most of the characters (her voice is generally quite pleasant to listen to, and she has some great accents!), I don't think her portrayal of Prince Dominic's deep voice worked for me. It felt a bit...much. However, I'm still a fan of this author and narrator, and I'd love to see more books in this series or the previous one turned into audiobooks! (Also, the ending of this story was definitely exciting, and I was happy with the conclusion!)

very different, but just as good

lovely book, kept me guessing, all the elements are here and they are wonderful.

AMAZING STORY!!!!

This story has so many twists and turns that aren't expected!!! Love when they take a story we know and love, twist it enough to change some pieces!!! The way the plot moves is very flowy! There wasn't any spot that was dull!!!!