Published: March 24, 2011
Words: 60,048 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781465701718

Short description

"I am told it is wonderful to be beautiful. That there is nothing better in the world than a pretty face. But I disagree. People are blinded by beauty. When they look at me, it is all they see."

Extended description

Sixteen year-old Yseult is beautiful.

She is also sarcastic, witty, bookish and loyal, but no one ever seems to notice those things. All anyone in the countryside of 19th Century France ever notices is that Yseult is a prime candidate for wifehood and would make a fine ornament for some lucky man to parade around as his own.

But there is nothing Yseult wants less than the locked cage of matrimony. So when an arranged marriage threatens to quash her independence forever, she stages her own death and escapes into an unknown—and likely perilous—future with nothing but an odd gypsy diary and a stolen flower to guide her.

She expects her flight to result in danger, even doom. She does not expect it to leave her in a utopia where enchantments are real, women are equal to men, and loves stronger than curses are born. When she meets René, a beastly-looking young man without the ability to perceive beauty, she discovers for the first time what it is like to be known and loved for.. (Read more) Sixteen year-old Yseult is beautiful.

She is also sarcastic, witty, bookish and loyal, but no one ever seems to notice those things. All anyone in the countryside of 19th Century France ever notices is that Yseult is a prime candidate for wifehood and would make a fine ornament for some lucky man to parade around as his own.

But there is nothing Yseult wants less than the locked cage of matrimony. So when an arranged marriage threatens to quash her independence forever, she stages her own death and escapes into an unknown—and likely perilous—future with nothing but an odd gypsy diary and a stolen flower to guide her.

She expects her flight to result in danger, even doom. She does not expect it to leave her in a utopia where enchantments are real, women are equal to men, and loves stronger than curses are born. When she meets René, a beastly-looking young man without the ability to perceive beauty, she discovers for the first time what it is like to be known and loved for who she is rather than what she looks like. But she also realizes that bits of who she is have been hidden from even her own knowledge, and that René has secrets of his own... secrets he seems determined to keep. So Yseult makes a reckless choice, and too soon understands that if she does not confront her heart and defy those who would break her, she will lose herself—and condemn René to the mercy of the curse that is killing him.
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Tags

romance, beauty, love, adventure, france, teen, prince, ya, fairytale, young adult fiction, gypsies, beauty and the beast, brothers and sisters, retelling, children ages 9 and up, fairytale retellings, france 18th century, beauty and beast, magic and romance, animal transformation

Available ebook reading formats

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PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing)	Buy	No sample available
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Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting)	Buy	No sample available
Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page)	Buy	No sample available

Reviews

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Review by: Pablo Aguila on Oct. 19, 2011 :
Great easy reading. To the author: write more novels, you have the talent.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Pablo Aguila on Oct. 19, 2011 : (no rating)
This novel is an easy reading. The style is impeccable and you´ll connect to the characters because they are flesh-and-bone human beings.
I don't know the author, but I will recomend her to go ahead and write more novels. You have the talent, and we'll enjoy what is coming from it.
(reviewed long after purchase)

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