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Beautiful: A Tale of Beauties and Beasts Kindle Edition

4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

A TALE OF BEAUTIES AND BEASTS

Eimear is Faerie. She left the land of her birth to find a place where she felt like she could belong. She finds herself in the World, a strange place, where she is the only magical being, and she begins to build a life for herself. But when she encounters Finn, supernaturally beautiful but thoughtless and selfish, she gets angry. In a fit of rage, she casts a spell on Finn. It’s a spell that she can’t undo, even when she discovers that she’s ruined Finn’s life.

Finn is wealthy, arrogant, and cruel. He didn’t think twice about insulting Eimear until it was too late. Now, exiled from the only home he’s ever known, he is forced to make his own way, for the first time ever. He does have support- if he wants it. Eimear wants to assuage her guilt by helping him.

In an isolated place, thrown together initially out of desperation and need, Eimear and Finn find a way to live together. That alliance eventually blossoms into friendship, and even love. But before they can have their happily ever after, Eimear must go on a perilous journey that will force her to confront everything that she ran away from when she left Faerie.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07DMR32YP
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 4, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 380 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 335 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

About the author

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Fran Laniado
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Fran Laniado’s work, fiction, and nonfiction have appeared in several publications such as Toasted Cheese Literary Journal, Synchronized Chaos Magazine, New Works Review, and more. Beautiful is her first published novel. She lives in New York and enjoys theater, yoga, sitcom reruns and lots and lots of books!

Visit her online:

Website: http://franlaniado.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FranWrites11

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FranTheAuthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/franlaniado/

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
14 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoy the book's readability and engaging characters. They find the story sweet, suspenseful, and a fairytale retelling with an emotional depth. The characters develop over time, making the reader feel present with them.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

6 customers mention "Readability"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read with engaging characters. They enjoy turning the pages and anticipating the story's next twist. The tale is described as sweet and suspenseful, providing a different reading experience from their usual reads.

"...The result is a sweet and occasionally suspenseful tale, with a loving character development and a great deal of wisdom...." Read more

"...its community original and fascinating making this book a good solid read for an afternoon...." Read more

"...The result is the reader turns the pages with great anticipation waiting for the storyteller to give us more and she does...." Read more

"...but the simplicity works well, and the characters are complex and appealing." Read more

6 customers mention "Story quality"6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story's quality. They find it engaging and describe it as a tale rather than a novel. The book is described as one of the best fairytale retellings they've read, with redemptive themes and suspenseful moments. Readers appreciate the loving characters and enough differences to keep the story fresh. Overall, they describe it as an enjoyable fantasy adventure with a fairy tale feel.

"...The result is a sweet and occasionally suspenseful tale, with a loving character development and a great deal of wisdom...." Read more

"...For me the story was at its best when dealing with Eimear and her coming of age story, whether that be in negotiating the human world or when she..." Read more

"...I also appreciated the nod to the original story when Eimear suggests she go find a “beauty” for Finn to help break the spell...." Read more

"This was a very different read from my normal. It felt more like a tale than a novel, a tale where we are told what the characters feel and do the..." Read more

4 customers mention "Character development"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the character development. They say they become present with the characters and are sad when the story ends.

"...result is a sweet and occasionally suspenseful tale, with a loving character development and a great deal of wisdom...." Read more

"...Quite the contrary, I had become so involved, so present with the characters that when the story ended, I didn’t know what do with myself...." Read more

"...The style is spare, but the simplicity works well, and the characters are complex and appealing." Read more

"...The storyline is compelling and the characters are vivid...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2020
    Fran Laniado’s Beautiful begins in the land of Faerie. Like that land, it is charming, and like that land, it has many layers. The story begins when a young faerie woman named Eimear ventures into the human world to escape her family’s expectations takes its first major twist when she casts an ill-considered spell on a handsome but arrogant young man named Finn. Both these characters find themselves forced to work together, and in the process, they find they have a lot of growing up to do. Just as one begins to assume that this story is *the* story, Eimear goes on a quest which uncovers secrets from their past, and which develops her relationship with the relatives she left behind. When she returns, she finds that the happy ending readers may have been expecting is not as certain as it once seemed.

    The result is a sweet and occasionally suspenseful tale, with a loving character development and a great deal of wisdom. As a bonus, Laniado offers a convincing and vividly-described picture of faeries and their society. Strongly recommend.
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2019
    I found the authors descriptions of the Fae world and its community original and fascinating making this book a good solid read for an afternoon.

    For me the story was at its best when dealing with Eimear and her coming of age story, whether that be in negotiating the human world or when she returned to Faerie to realize that perhaps what she had thought wasn't quite the truth. This plot shines when it addresses the relationship of Beauty (Eimear) to her parents and her Faerie community for the author has a real magic to writing about family relationships. I'd like to see her explore more of in her future work.

    The weaker part of the story is with the man, Finn (the Beast) who she ends up inadvertently cursing. I just couldn't totally buy that relationship or how it developed. There is not enough tension of how Finn overcomes his own worst self. More character development here was needed for me personally.

    Appropriate for the YA fantasy market.
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2021
    When I finished reading Beautiful by Fran Laniado, I had an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. Not because the book was rubbish. Quite the contrary, I had become so involved, so present with the characters that when the story ended, I didn’t know what do with myself. It was as if I had lost my companions – Eimear, Finn and the horse Eachann. Why did it have to end? I can only hope there’s to be a second book… Is there? 
    The story is a Beauty and the Beast retelling and before you roll your eyes, this is not a typical retelling.
    The main character Eimear is a socially awkward fairy princess with a weird-looking face and white hair – and before you roll your eyes again, the hair is compared to an old woman’s, it’s hardly exotic.
    The love-interest Finn is a beautiful cruel and vein prince from “The World” (human world) whom Eimear accidentally curses, turning him into a sight for sore eyes. But hey, mistakes happen.
    The danger with involving a character cursed with ugliness is that it risks communicating favour in conventional beauty standards. Finn was never described in a way that could have been associated with real conditions that result in deformity. In fact, there was a sense of an otherworldly magic in his features. 
    In fact, what I appreciated most of all was that the majority of the supporting characters were beautiful except for the two main characters. Yes, take that Hollywood and conventional beauty standards. Think you can handle a supporting cast more beautiful than your stars? It’s a big ask, I know. It was hard enough with Ugly Betty, but I have faith in you. You will achieve it someday.
    Putting looks and Hollywood aside, Eimear is exactly how I imagine Belle. I know she’s not Belle. She’s the enchantress. But her personality, the fact that she is clearly not neurotypical and that she’s curious but in an introverted manner, it’s exactly what I wanted in a retelling. 
    I also appreciated the nod to the original story when Eimear suggests she go find a “beauty” for Finn to help break the spell. In the original tale it’s a merchant who fetches the beauty. What’s even funnier is that Eimear is so earnest, even though the idea is absurd and Finn points that out. (Don’t worry, she doesn’t follow through).
    Maybe this is me on a delusive tangent, but some scholars believe, as well as those in my community (I am autistic), that changelings were most likely autistic babies. Some believe that even fairies – what with their large ears, expressionless faces, wide apart eyes and high voices – were metaphors for those on the autism spectrum. I may be barking up the wrong tree, but Eimear’s love of people-watching, her love of music, her earnestness, how every emotion is concentrated only in her eyes, her lack of interest in socialising, parties and fashion – everything really – made me wonder if Eimear was autistic. For most of the book I just assumed the likeness was a coincidence, but when Eimear had the heart-to-heart with her mother about how she felt like an alien, I began to wonder if she was meant to be autistic.
    Regardless of my wackadoodle theory, I thought Eimear was perfect. It’s not every day that I read a book in three days – mostly because I find it difficult to relate to many protagonists. It’s why I like Belle (Disney cartoon Belle). I mean, she likes books and solitude – an all-round sensible human being. It’s about time we had a Beauty and the Beast retelling with a proper Belle character. It’s a cause I feel passionately about. More stories with Eimears and Belles please! 
    And some nice sensitive Finns with proper interests like carving and woodwork. None of that “Look at me, I’m shirtless.” Or “I’m so broody and deep and I like my solitude, but hey I do small talk.”
    Yeah, Finn’s cool. Apart from when he’s unwell, then he’s hot and sweaty (no swooning matter), but I won’t spoil it for you because you definitely have to read this. I’m calling to all Beauty and the Beast lovers – except those rare fans of Beastly (they tragically exist) – you all need to read this blessing of a book.
    And if you’re looking for a heroine whose feelings of difference are not displaced, you’ve come to the right place. (And that kind of rhymed).
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2019
    This was a very different read from my normal. It felt more like a tale than a novel, a tale where we are told what the characters feel and do the way the writer might in an old fashioned fairytale. The result is the reader turns the pages with great anticipation waiting for the storyteller to give us more and she does. No spoilers but there are beasts and there are beauties and it is the readers job to know the difference.
    A very good read!
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2020
    A Beauty and the Beast retelling that hits just the right balance between tradition and innovation. The style is spare, but the simplicity works well, and the characters are complex and appealing.
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2018
    Fran Laniado's first novel is a delight to read. The storyline is compelling and the characters are vivid. It was wonderful to be transported to another land and time as you follow the journey and development of Eimear and Finn. The novel wonderfully explores the question of what true beauty is. Highly recommend this, especially if you love fantasy stories.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2018
    I enjoy Fairytale retellings, and Beauty and the Beast is my favorite. I really liked what the author did to the story putting her own twist on it. I also love redemptive stories and watching how a life can change for the better. Sweet and “clean” story with just enough of the original elements in it to bring a smile to my face, and just enough differences to make the story new.
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2018
    My Review: Beauty and the Beast is one of my all-time favorite stories!! So when I did an interview with the author I was so excited to get the chance to read this one. It was a beautifully written story. I loved the twists we got in this one and the fresh take on the story. I will check out more from this author in the future.

    Go Into This One Knowing: Retelling, Fantasy

Top reviews from other countries

  • Andrea
    2.0 out of 5 stars Average
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2021
    Beauty and the Beast retellings are hard to get right, it seems.

    There were some elements in this one that I liked: she is not a beauty and is also the one to curse him in a fit of anger she instantly regrets. It touches on things like acceptance, making your own way, the value of things you've earned/achieved.

    Other than that, the interaction between the characters was a bit boring. And how two people who never had to work in their lives suddenly managed to fend for themselves in the wild, hunting, cooking, making fires, making a house etc was hard to believe. Plus some things just weren't properly thought through. They had a horse that seemed to survive on air in winter, no mention of making hay for it. Yes, this is fantasy, but the "normal" things still have to make sense. Otherwise, it just feels like lazy writing.

    Anyway, it was a quick and easy read, but I was hoping for more.

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