Review: Romance and the Beast
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 25, 2013
This novel is a fairy tale adventure, but NOT a Disney one!  It is dark, mysterious, has immortals and a mansion, on an Island that is invisible to people passing on the sea.  The legend is, if you see the island,  your either dying or already dead!Catherine Briton is a widow traveling by ship to her home in England. She is a nurse trained by Miss Florence Nightingale, and has been working side by side with Miss Nightingale for the dead and dying soldiers of the Crimean War.  She is traveling to bring resources to a home for orphaned children she started. It is her life's goal to save these children.  The ship she was on foundered  in a storm and she is now on a lifeboat battling the fierce seas, and weather. Next thing she knows, she's in the freezing water with her clothing pulling her down, sure she is going to die. She awakens, gasping for air, on a cold beach in danger of being pulled back into the sea....she had to move. She tried with all her strength, but was losing consciousness again, when she perceived a very large, black furry beast standing over her, all she could do was scream for help. When her vision cleared there was a tall, strikingly handsome man standing at her side.  This man carried her to a dark mansion, and a warm dry bed. She had terrible pain, which seemed to subside with his touch. His name was Gerard Panghorn, but his servants called him Master.  She is on an island called Ynys Nos. Her life as she knew it is over.Ms. Bennett gives striking descriptions of the storm, the dark mansion and the island itself.  I could feel the wind and smell the rain!  Her characters are mysterious and intriguing, and Catherine is a very strong willed woman, not to be taken lightly. Their are wonderful bits of humor in this dark story,  and a beautiful love story.  If your a fan of Beauty and the Beast  tales, this story will totally entertain you.I received this novel from the publisher for an honest review.