About the Book

Book: A Dark Beauty

Author: Clarissa Kae

Genre: Fairytale

Release date: March 9, 2021

A Victorian Twist on Beauty And The Beast

Bold and brilliant, Georgiana has a gift for fixing machines—from clocks to carriages—while her father has a penchant for finding trouble. In an accidental fire, Georgiana and her father scar the once handsome face of Lord Pichon, cousin to the queen.

Rumors of Georgiana’s gift raise her family’s status. Her incomparable beauty captures the eye of many gentlemen and the wrath of Lord Pichon. Abandoned by his peers and alone in his cold castle, Lord Pichon is determined to enact revenge.

When Georgiana’s father makes a terrible mistake, she sacrifices herself to pay his debt—as a lowly maid in Lord Pichon’s castle.

Her wit and warmth begin to thaw Lord Pichon’s estate, making him question his version of the past. Will her kindness break the beastly lord or will he hold her family hostage forever?

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My Thoughts:

This was an interesting retelling of my favorite fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast. Taking place in Victorian England, our two main characters, Georgiana and Lord Dom Pichon have something in common. They are both scarred by a fire that Dom believes was set by her family on purpose.

Enter Queen Victoria and her need of Georgiana to secure Prince Albert's Crystal Palace, but her cousin Dom sees that as a mistake. As he really does not trust Georgiana and her family no matter their ability in the best locks around. So the story picks up and I enjoyed how the author wove the old tale and it's characters into her story. Dom and Georgiana have quite the biting repertoire with one another and we are told what a beauty Georgiana is. Not all of the characters were obvious at first, but after reading and pondering for awhile, I can see the cleverness of this retelling. I also enjoyed the Gothic feel it also possessed.

This was my first author Kae novel and I have been quite interested in her work for awhile. I did enjoy the story, it moved a little slow at the beginning for me and then the tale picked up. I look forward to reading more of her work.

I was provided a copy of this novel by the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author

Clarissa Kae is a preeminent voice whose professional career began as a freelance editor in 2007. She’s the former president of her local California Writers Club after spending several years as the Critique Director.

Since her first novel, she’s explored different writing genres and created a loyal group of fans who eagerly await her upcoming release. With numerous awards to her name, Clarissa continues to honor the role of storyteller.

Aside from the writing community, she and her daughters founded Kind Girls Make Strong Women to help undervalued nonprofit organizations—from reuniting children with families to giving Junior Olympic athletes their shot at success.

She lives in the agricultural belly of California with her family and farm of horses, chickens, dogs and kittens aplenty.

More from Clarissa

As a young girl most of the fairy tales talked about beauty as the only attribute but when Disney came out with Beauty and the Beast, my world was rocked. For the first time the heroine was a woman with a brain and a plan. I began researching the fairy tale and read every version. When my youngest daughter was born (with dark hair and big beautiful brown eyes) I named her Isla Belle. For as long as I can remember, I dreamed of writing a Beauty and the Beast retelling. And finally, that dream as come true.