To Love a Beast

Once upon a Time in Texas

By: Karen Witemeyer

Narrated by: Cara Firestone

Beauty & the Beast in 1800s Texas.

Once known among New York's elite as the American Adonis, Everett Griffin now lives as a recluse in the wilds of Texas. The treachery of a former admirer left his face and his spirit riddled with scars, so he hides himself away, his only companions a trio of trusted servants and an oversized dog. Locals whisper of the beastly man who lives in the gloomy manor outside of town and his tendency to attack anyone who dares approach. Everett relishes his fearsome reputation and uses it as a shield to guard his privacy. Until a young woman as stubborn as she is beautiful infiltrates his sanctum and lays siege to his defenses.

When an injury to her father jeopardizes the family's book binding business, Callista Rosenfeld determines to fulfill the contract herself, and no insufferable client or woman-eating dog will deter her. Finding unlikely allies among Mr. Griffin's staff, Callista secures her position and sets to work transforming the manor's remarkable library. Her employer transforms as well, his ill-tempered growls subsiding to reveal a considerate, intellectual nature. Affection blooms as Callista and Everett discover hidden depths in each other, but the evil schemes of a vengeful hunter threaten to leave their love and their lives in tatters.

©2025 Karen Witemeyer (P)2025 Tantor Media

Fun story, bad narration

This wasn’t one of my favorite Karen Witemeyer stories, but it was still very enjoyable and fun to see how it paralleled Beauty and the Beast. The narrator was not very good at all and terrible with men’s voices.

Short & Cute

I adore this telling of "Beauty & The Beast." However, the narration was not to my liking.

Disney

This retelling of the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast was well done. It was clean, Christian, and uplifting. I really appreciated the way the story was integrated into a western late 1800’s - early 1900’s Texas timeline & background! It worked well with the fairytale! The character growth was also amazing, and I loved the happy ending!

Good story, lackluster narration

I always like Karen Witemeyer's stories, and I have especially enjoyed this series, however, I did not care for the narrator for this book. I missed Barbara McCullough narrating, as she usually does for this author's books. The narrator seemed to have very little vocal range when it came to male voices. (I can understand that narrating voices belonging to the opposite gender can be challenging, but I have heard narrators with more depth.) I also didn't care for her cadence/pace of reading. I enjoyed this retelling of Beauty and the Beast and had fun finding the little nods to the Disney story in the character names. I would still listen to another story if it was offered, but I might think twice if it was this narrator.

Great story, dreadful narration

I love the way the author honored the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, and yet made the story fresh in its historical Texas setting. Making the heroine a book binder was so perfect and believable.

Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the novel was greatly lessened by a terrible narration. Overacting and voice changes that made most characters sound ridiculous. If not for my love of Witemeyer’s fairy tale reimaginings, I would have stopped listening and skipped the book. I took no points off the rating for the narration since it isn’t the author’s fault.