Last week I finished reading Savage Beauty by Casey L Bond and I loved it. I adore fantasy and fairy tales so this one was right up my street. Below I have the cover and the official book blurb followed by my review.
Savage Beauty – Casey L Bond
Once upon a time, a beautiful queen was cursed by a dark faery. That curse, inherited by twin princesses, Aura and Luna, binds their lives in the strangest of ways. At an early age, the girls were more than sisters. They were the strongest of allies until a combination of jealousy, anger and dark magic tore their relationship to shreds.
Aura took everything from Luna: her home, her family, and her love by murdering the prince who’d chosen her instead of Aura.
Luna wants revenge, but she’s running out of time. She must sever the magical bond tying her life to Aura’s before their eighteenth birthday or be bound to her forever. In desperation, she seeks help from a dark fae prince, but the price is steep – a piece of her soul.
Fate is a real witch. Luna was willing to give up anything to stop her sister, until Prince Phillip of Grithim, the brother of the only man she’s ever loved, falls into her life. Neither of them can fight their attraction, despite their guilt.
With Aura hell-bent on destroying everything she holds dear, Luna must decide whether she wants revenge or Phillip. She can’t have both, and in the end, this may be a battle both sisters lose.
Savage Beauty is a re-telling of the original Sleeping Beauty story with a few magical twists. Those twists include two feuding half-fae witches and the handsome prince that finds himself caught up in their fight. There are also familiars, because what good witch doesn’t have one. If you love retellings like Cinder from Marissa Meyer or C.J. Redwine’s Ravenspire series… you might love this series as well.
Savage Beauty – My Review
I really enjoyed this book. It was a light read with a great storyline and if you enjoy fairy tales, I’m sure you’ll love it too. The cover is what captured my attention and I’d seen it on Facebook for the past couple of months and I knew I wanted to read it. The description was another key thing, that first line…Once upon a time. Yep I knew I was reading this book as soon as it was released. I love fairy tale retellings and this one didn’t disappoint. Two witches, an evil faery, a handsome prince, what more can you ask for.
The story centres around twins Aura and Luna, both cursed to sleep. Aura sleeps at night while Luna fades once the sun rises and both are cursed to sleep for an entire season too. Luna wants to sever the bond between the two of them because she believes Aura is evil and doesn’t like the nasty things she does. Aura doesn’t want the bond severed and enjoys tormenting her sister.
I don’t want to spoil the story so I won’t say much more. The writing is excellent, the story flows really well and the ending was just as I expected, albeit a little twist or two I didn’t see coming.
All in all, an enjoyable read from an author I will be watching out for in future.
This book is available now in ebook and paperback from Amazon and can be read for free if you have a KindleUnlimited subscription.
Until next time,
Keep reading and writing,
Amanda
Amanda J Evans is an award-winning Irish author and writing coach. Amanda writes adult romance that often crosses into paranormal and fantasy. Growing up with heroes like Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones, her stories centre on good versus evil with a splice of love and magic thrown in too. Her books have all won awards and her novella, Hear Me Cry, won the Book of the Year Award at the Dublin Writers Conference 2018. Amanda is also the author of Surviving Suicide: A Memoir from Those Death Left Behind, published in 2012.
