Review: Beauty and the Beast with pixies!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 4, 2014
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.I am a girl who loves fairy tales, and Beauty and the Beast is my absolute favorite! This book may not have been a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but it had a lot of the same elements as that classic story. Teague is not suffering from disfigurement, but he has been severely injured, and the way he chooses to deal with the limitations that his injury places on him is to drink. He drinks a lot, he drinks often, and when he drinks, he becomes a beast.When our story begins, Teague’s father Owen is at his wit’s end when it comes to dealing with his son, and he has no idea how to help him. I really felt for Owen. His son was hurting so much, and the only way Owen could even get Teague to speak at all was to supply him with alcohol. He felt that it was better to have a drunken beast for a son than an empty shell. However, I completely disagree with the way Owen enabled his son. I am not going to mention what Teague’s injury was but I will say that plenty of people live happy and succesful lives who are in the same predicament. Teague was still strong, healthy, and very capable of having a wonderful life; he just wasn’t flawless anymore, and was now going to have to work harder to do things that used to be simple. But Owen does realize that getting drunk and hiding in his room all day is not an acceptable way for Teague to deal with his pain so he calls in a favor from an old friend.Thirty years ago, Nolkrin, a pixie, swore an oath of servitude to Owen, a human; but it is Nolkrin’s daughter, Caillin who is called upon to pay her father’s debt. When a pixie gives their oath they are bound to complete it, and it is nearly impossible for them to break it. Owen wants someone to spend time with his son so he calls upon Nolkrin who suggests that his daughter Cailin would be right for the job. This arrangement is also desirable for Nolkrin because Cailin has been sentenced to serve six months in the Darkness, (A terrible place where pixies are sent to be punished) but her father steps in and convinces the pixie leaders that sending her to live with Owen and Teague for a year would be a just punishment. Pixies consider humans to be monsters, but Nolkrin knows Owen well and trust him with his daughter’s safety.When she first arrives at Owen’s house, Cailin is understandably fearful and uncomfortable. She is being forced to spend the next year in a house filled with giant objects and two men who are six times her height. The only information that she has about humans comes from a book that she has read, and that book did not paint a very favorable picture. She believes that humans are monsters who derive pleasure from torturing pixies and ripping their wings off, and it doesn’t help things when Teague comes crashing out of his room in a drunken stupor her first night there and starts calling her names. But Cailin is an extraordinary pixie. After her initial shock wears off and Teague sobers up, she demands an apology for his actions and refuses to put up with any more of his tantrums. Of course Owen’s reaction is to tell Cailin to be more careful with his son’s delicate feelings (That’s what an enabler does.), but Teague actually likes the fact that Cailin doesn’t treat him like a fragile child and respects her for her spunk. I love a man who recognizes that a woman with a smart mouth can be a good thing! Who wants to be with someone who never speaks their mind?.After their rocky start, the relationship between Teague and Cailin becomes much smoother. She is very compassionate towards him, but she won’t allow him to sulk and feel sorry for himself either. Being different and speaking her mind is part of the reason why Cailin gets in so much trouble with the pixies, but Teague loves how unique she is, and for the first time she feels like she is actually appreciated for who she is.They accept one another flaws and all, and that is the mark of a true friendship. There relationship was adorable.My only real complaint about this story would have to be the number of mysteries. There are so many that I wasn’t able to keep up with all of them! The worse part is that none of the questions that I have are answered by the end of this book. I know that there is something magical going on with Teague and Owen, but I have no clue what it is. I also don’t know why Cailin’s family is so hated by other pixies, why cailin was punished in the first place, or who her mother is. This is a series so I expected their to be some mysteries, but it would have been nice to receive one or two answers. The great thing is that the second book is already out so I don’t have to wait forever to get some answers!If you like fairy tales, cute and clean romance, or pixies, you’ll enjoy this story!Because of language, I would recommend this book for ages 13 and up.