Review: Good book, kept my interest - a lot dark and twisted,  and definitely not a fairy tale ...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 20, 2014
The Beast is definitely not a hearts and flowers kind of love story, it’s more a very fictional, darkish and a little bit confronting at times story.  This is one of those stories that you are either going to like or hate, I don’t think there is much room to move either way.Columbia is a 20 year old girl who is abused in all ways by her step father, but she chooses to stay there because she’s looking out for her younger sister. Dimitri is a killer, a Russian gang member who was turned upon by his own kind and left with hideous scaring.  He seeks out his revenge and whilst waiting to do so lives a solitary life high in the clouds in his condo.  Then one day he finds Columbia in his apartment and decides to keep her as his “pet”.  Like him, she has many scars on her body from her self mutilation.  They seem to be two peas in a pod and somehow they find comfort in each other, both bitter and twisted individuals with the insta-love connection.I didn’t love this book, but I am smart enough to know that this is a work of fiction.  It was a dark read and I guess the only thing that I really could complain about was that I thought the story was a little too rushed, which in turn made me feel a disconnect  from the storyline.  There was no real build up to them, one minute they were captor and captive and next  they had deep feelings for one another .  The book definitely dealt with some heavy themes which could be an issue for some readers.I read in one of the reviews that this story is like a modern day Beauty and the Beast, but I say it’s a very dark Beauty and the Beast and is in no way a fairy tale, because of the dark plot and emotionally damaged characters. This book is written as a dual POV which adds to the connection to the characters, however there was some repeating of the story which I didn’t like.  I didn’t love this book, but I certainly liked it a lot and gave it a four star rating.Please note: this book contains elements of violence towards women and mentions of rape. This is dark erotica.