BEAST A Dark Beauty and the Beast Retelling (Ever After Book 1)

A disgusting attempt to romanticize physical, psychological and emotional abuse.

I couldn't finish this and I tried, kept telling myself that it's the 2020 version of Beauty and the Beast. I guess that was the problem, it's the 2020 version. There was too much abuse for me and made me feel icky for the parts that I did read.

Anyone who knows me knows that Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairytale ever. I love all the twists and turns and variations of the story. Beast by Measha Stone was a hot and sexy mafia twist and I could not get enough. I though Ash and Ellie were sexy and intense. I really enjoyed this story.When Ellie Steven's father is in debt to mafia boss Ashland Titon, she decides to sacrifice her own freedom and pay off the debt in her father's place. However with one look at Ellie, Ash is hooked and decides to play all the erotic games with his new toy. But as they spend more time with one another, lines get crossed, emotions get involved and Ellie and Ash must figure out where their hearts lie as outside forces threaten them both.I enjoyed this book alot. I found Ashland to be sexy and his dominant games hot AF. I loved that Ellie wasn't what he expected and her strength and sass were a great match for him and his games. All in all, this was a great read and I look forward to more from this author in the future. Bravo! 4 stars! ~Ratula

What an awesome and intense page-turner in this modern day Beauty and the Beast story. But just be careful who you call the beast because it isn’t always the ones you assume to take that role. How far will a girl go to save her father’s life? At what cost is her father willing to allow her to pay?“He made his fortune off the misfortunes of others. He wasn’t ashamed. It wasn’t his job to police the world. Adults made decisions and paid the consequences when they failed.”When Ellie’s father can’t pay his debt owed to a loan shark on his gambling, they will come calling at their coffee shop. When they take him away, Ellie can’t just sit by, she goes to meet the beast himself, Ashland Titon and is willing to trade herself for her father. So now what will become of Ellie? Will Ash place her to work in one of his many clubs or maybe in the Annex? She belongs to him, and he owns her.“You gave yourself to me. I didn’t go searching for you. You showed up here. And I accepted your offer, which means, you’re mine. Everything about you, everything you think, everything you do, what you wear, what you eat, is all my business. I own you, Ellie. Every inch of your body and every fiber of your soul.”Restrictions are placed on Ellie, and there are places she is not allowed to go, but she is a determined girl, and her curiosity leads to trouble, not just for her with Ash, but in his business too. Ash has employees that are extremely loyal to him, especially his cousin, Peter. What Ellie will learn about some of his businesses isn’t quite what she thought.“He’s not the monster you think he is, but he is determined to have your obedience. Give him what he wants, and you’ll be rewarded. Fight him if you want. He’ll win, either way, he never loses. You can run as many miles as you want; the thing you’re running from will be right here when you get back.” –PeterThe story is full of secrets, lies, deceit, users, greed, and power. Ash doesn’t run the business the way his father did, and some of his father’s old associates have issues with that, but Ash is his own man. While he hosts parties in the Annex, none of the women who work there are forced, and if they decline an offer, it is respected. But there is one man, Marcus, who is trouble and now he is after Ellie and determined to cause trouble for Ash to get her. Things will become a power struggle and eventually take on an element of danger and life and death situations.The story is full of passion, power exchange, with BDSM scenes, explicit sex scenes between Ash and Ellie, including dubious consent, punishments and more. While Ash is a dominant man in control and he expects obedience, he is also a man who can give and show kindness, but don’t think that means he is weak. He is powerful and protective, but he demands respect and obedience, or else there will be a price to pay. In the end, the truth will be revealed, with a happily ever after ending.“She’d never win this battle, and she wanted the spoils more than the victory. She was a whore—His whore.”

I picked this up because it was marketed as a Beauty and the Beast retelling and I love those. Also it was discounted or free on Amazon at the time and between the title and that cover it was way too tempting not to click on the buy button.I went in blind not having a clue about the setting, I didn't even know if it's contemporary or some sort of fantasy. So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that it features one of my favourite tropes -the girl paying her father/brother/boyfriend dept with her body. It's a guilty pleasure of mine but damn I love it and it took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out why this particular scenario always appealed to me. But than again in my teen years I was not so prone to analyzing my psyche and finding the hidden connections. It was after I was in my mid twenties when I finally connected the love of this particular scenario with my favourite fairy tale.If you're familiar with this trope you won't find any surprises. I won't go into trying to figure out if Ellie truly loves Ash by the end or it's just a form of Stockholm Syndrome. I choose to believe the truth is somewhere in the middle. I want to talk about Ash and why this wasn't as creepy cringey as most of these books usually are.Most of the dark romance novels make me want to kill one of both main characters because while I might have some submissive tendencies myself I go into a rage over r@#$ and most of the standard BS of the genre. After all I have my pride and more often than not when reading one of those books I end up thinking that I would kill myself rather than let that overconfident jerk order me around. I would do it just to deny him his freaking prize. But I digress. Ash coerced Ellie, there's no going around that fact. But she had a choice. In each moment she could walk away and let her worthless father reap what he sowed. In fact I was a bit annoyed when she kept forgetting that little fact and acted childish in the beginning. Ash didn't force her, he provided everything she needed except contact with her father. Which ended up to be for her own sake as he proved to be an even bigger piece of @#$% than I thought.It was Ash's change in thinking that was most fascinating. I loved how much he struggled with accepting his own feelings. It was this slow realization that loving doesn't make you weak that really made this stand out for me. Yes, he was a jerk and his behavior frustrated me to no end at times but he has his own set of morals and he sticks to them. He provides a safe environment, frees her from the biggest stress factor - her father, his gambling and lies. What I liked from the start about Ash is that it was in his interest to simply take Ellie as a form of payment from her father as she would have been able to make him the money her old man owed him, one way or another. However, he had no intention of doing that and if she hadn't offered herself he would have simply ridden the world of one human waste of space.I know it all sounds as if I'm rationalizing things and looking for a reason to like an a@@. However, I'm aware that he's not the good guy and that what he did was wrong. I'm just saying that he didn't abuse her when he could have and instead he let her spread her wings in ways she never expected to be able. Some of the things he did are still a form of r@#$ but she could have walked away. There would have been consequences but knowing what I know about her father I can't help but feel that either way she would have won.There are elements of BDSM in this book. And those scenes were pretty hot and really graphic. I liked that there was a good balance between the sex and the plot, which isn't usually the case with a first in a series book.

When I first started to read this book I struggled to get into the story but with a small amount of perseverance I'm so glad I did. It was dark and gritty from the get go with more twists than I could ever have imagined. From the first few chapters I can honestly say I really disliked Ash's character but as the plot went on I fell in love with the beast. Ellie's character complimented Ash's, she has a sassy attitude that you know is going to get her in trouble but you can't help but feel for the dilemma she finds herself in. With out a doubt a very raw read but so worth it. Will definitely be looking to read more of this authors books.

Ash aka Beast is not in business for no reward. When Ellie barges in, offering herself for her father's debt he accepts. Ellie just doesn't know what she's getting into and her stubborn and curious nature gets her into trouble. As things turn out, her protector is not who she thought he was.A bit of bdsm, so reader beware if not your thing. Ellie and Ash have chemistry off the charts and no cheating.

A modern retelling of beauty and the beast. Ash and Ellie have chemistry off the charts. Incredibly romantic and deliciously dark.

Brilliant. I really enjoyed the story of Ash and his beauty. Excellent story and fab characters. I highly recommend this book.

I loved this book and can't wait to read the rest of the series. It's a very modern retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast story. Incredibly romantic and deliciously dark!