100 Pages A Day...Stephanie's Book Reviews

Lady Isabella Farrah, the older and unmarried daughter of the Ambassador of New Civet happily spends her days assissting her father with his duties.  At the masquerade ball for Glause, Isabella is taken with the mysterious and magic Lord Pecus; called the Beast Lord.  Lord Pecus has been cursed have the face of a beast and always wears a magical mask in order to disguise his true face.  As the ball progresses and Isabella finds herself dancing with men too young for her, she also stumbles across he murder scene of her friend and Civet’s Head Guardsman, Raoul.  Isabella can not help but be involved in the investigation that is lead by Commander of the Watch, Lord Pecus.  However, when her father is implicated in the murders, Isabella decides to be held in custody in his place at Lord Pecus’ manor.  While she is imprisoned Isabella will not only try to solve the mystery herself, but try to unravel the Beast Lord’s curse.

This is an enchanting and witty re-telling of Beauty and the Beast with a great mystery woven throughout.  I automatically fell in love with Isabella’s character as well as some of her sidekicks.  She is just as capable as the men, not to mention incredibly inquisitive, intelligent and brave, even when it lands her in trouble.  As well as her inquisitive nature, she had an incredible sense of fashion and was no fool for love.  The scenes where she and Lord Pecus interacted were always entertaining and I couldn’t wait for their next encounter.  Lord Pecus’ background and curse is still a bit of a mystery to me and I wish I could have known more about him.   The mystery was exciting as well, even though I had part of it figured out rather early.  The blending of the fairy tale and new mystery worked very well. 

Recommended for readers of the Parasol Protectorate series, Isabella reminded me a lot of Alexia.  Isabella and Lord Pecus’ relationship also had the same feel as Alexia and Lord Maccoon.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.