MONSTROUS BEAUTY BY CAROL E. KEEN BOOK BLAST
PRESENTED BY CELEBRATE LIT

A damaged man. A strange young woman. Secrets that can bring them together, or tear them apart. 

"This is perfect for girls of all ages. There are valuable lessons throughout the story and the author makes sure to point the readers towards God."

Ethan's father did a number on him, to say the least. In his passing, he left Ethan a wealthy man, but a severely damaged one. More than one person has considered him to be "beastly". Annabelle is unique and could be his only chance at love, but she has secrets of her own. Can they achieve true forgiveness before their world collapses? 

"My entire world got zoned out as I fell into the enchanting world of Ethan (the beast) and Annabelle (the beauty) and wow, I was just swept away! I LOVED how the relationship gradually grew..."

"If you love fairy-tales then you will love The Beauty Series!! I highly recommend these books to anyone!! The Beast here is a selfless hero and the villain(s) were quite a surprise."

"I don't want to spoil anything, so I will just say that I love the reason why Ethan is a 'beast' and that whole backstory was gripping. And I was cheering for these two, with the clever obstacles that kept coming up. If you are looking for a lovely romance story, you'll love this."

Carol E. Keen enjoys fresh coffee, hot tea, and a good book. She was published for several years in FAMA magazine (Freshwater And Marine Aquarium) as a contributing editor. She published her first book on CD, called Simply Seahorses.

She is the author of The Beauty Series and The Corandira Station, to name a few of her works. She currently resides in the South with her husband and family and spends her time writing, reading, working in photography, and being with her much loved critters.

Purchase link:

https://amzn.to/2snpz2f

The description on the back cover is very accurate. It is a retelling of "The Beauty and the Beast." It is a short book packed with lots of nuggets that remind us that beauty is only skin deep. It is true that many of us have scars no one can see. Ethan is very private and almost detached from the world. We know from reading the book he has physical scars. Those scars turn heads and frighten people. As I read the part about Ethan I thought about a man I saw recently. He  was severely burned on part of his face and arms. Our eyes locked as we passed each other in the store. My heart was overwhelmed with the pain he has endured.  For that brief moment as we looked as each other, God reminded me to look past the scars and see the scars on his heart. Not only did he have physical scars but emotional  scars that for some reason God allowed me to feel. Ethan is much like the man I saw in the store. He was hurting inside but no one really thought about it. People were afraid of him because he looked different.

Annabelle was a beautiful woman but underneath her beauty, was the scars no one could see. I was outraged at how her family treated her . The author eludes to an incident that happened between Annabelle and a young man. I didn't quite understand how it ruined Annabelle's reputation and wanted the author to explore it in more detail. Her banishment from her home was sudden and I knew just where she would end up. It was predictable but I still took away valuable lessons from the story. We judge people by looks and we push people aside when they are emotionally damaged. I enjoyed the book, but felt there were a few things missing from the story which would have made the characters easier to understand. I do love the author's writing but this one fell a bit short for me.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.