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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST -
Deatri King-Bey Parker Publishing December 2006 |
SYNOPSIS: Once upon a time there was a beast who dwelled in a mansion in the far outskirts of Chicago. Rarely did the beast leave his safe haven, for he’d given up on the outside world years ago. When the woman he has always loved is violently attacked, the beast must return to save her.
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE: |2| La-Tessa Montgomery
REVIEW: After falling victim to a horrendous attack, the once
beautiful Nefertiti Towns is left disfigured and blind by her attacker.
Seeking solace, she returns to her godmother’s house and her childhood
love Bruce Maxwell. Will their love be enough to see them both through
the dark times ahead?
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, while a fair read, lacks depth and passion. I
found it difficult to suspend reality while reading this one with the
leads running hot and cold all the time and the constant intrusion of
the many subplots. There is not enough time devoted to the leads and
their story in my opinion. I came away feeling that I was expected to
connect with them simply because the author told me to.
The main thing that stood in my way of enjoying BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is
the sheer number of subplots the author introduces. While some worked
with the story, others were either too much or too coincidental for my
taste. In short, time is spent developing subplots that did not add to
my overall enjoyment of the story. Instead, I wish the author would have
concentrated on one or two subplots, while focusing more attention on
Nefertiti and Bruce’s issues, their relationship, and their dynamics.
The vast cast of secondary characters really distracted me; basically
there is just too much drama introduced and not enough time to properly
deal with it. There is the selfishness of Alexis Maxwell, Bruce’s
mother, that seems to know no limits, the seedy underworld of Marco,
Dennis, and Jay, and the secret that Nefertiti’s mother is hiding from
her concerning her father.
The author set out raise awareness of bipolar disorder and mental
illness in general with BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. While I applaud her for
tackling these themes in her story, there is too much going in the form
of countless number of subplots, bizarre plot twists, and the endless
machinations of the secondary characters to really do this attempt any
justice.
reviewer@romanceincolor.com | 30th November 2006