Devastation: A Beauty and the Beast Retelling (A Beastly Tale Book 3)

***I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are 100% my own.***When we left off in Deceit, I was close to throwing the book. I was so mad and hurt and upset. I wanted to thrash more people at the end of that book than I wanted to shake hands with. And that’s where we start off. RIGHT where that left us. So we’re dealing with a very hurt and sad Benella. So, when Bernard is offered a position at the estate, they both evaluate whether it is a good position for him to take. And they both decide it is and go there. Once there, Benella has to come to terms that the Beast is gone and in its place is a seemingly indifferent man.But Rose’s interference doesn’t end when the curse is lifted and she’s placed a newer bunch of obstacles in order for Alec and the inhabitants of the estate to keep their freedom. And Benella decides to do all in her power to help Alec and those in his employ. Along the way, she learns a few hard truths about herself.I will say that this one ended on a much better note. So all questions and worries are answered and accounted for by book’s end. And in reading all three stories together as one makes for one heckuva read. It’s really a great retelling of Beauty and the Beast.Ms. Haag’s introduction into the world of adult romance is done with a bang. It’s not surprising that the quality is there. It’s not surprising that the world building is there. I will say that after having read so many books with no nookie the fact that there is made me go “oh my!” a time or two, but it’s done tastefully and it’s done without being too graphic. I know that some would take issue with Benella’s age. BUT bearing in mind it’s a fantasy tale set in a time reminiscent of our 17-18th century, girls were women once they were physically capable of bearing children. So by that standard, Benella is long in the tooth. So all said and done, it’s steamy without being racy. It’s delicately written without holding back. So would I recommend this to the adult crowd. Yup, I would I would!

In book 3; Benella is back living with her father; thanks to her help the curse has been lifted from the Beast but all is not roses and romance. Her sisters have disowned her and she is back to foraging through the forest to find food for her and her father. When her father receives an offer of employment from the Beast, Benella encourages him to accept it. She returns to the castle as the housekeeper. There are more lessons for the Benella, and her sisters as well as the townspeople to learn but finally, there may be a happy ending.This was an interesting perspective of this story. I'm a diehard fantasy fan and Beauty and the Beast is my favorite, I could have done without the Baker and all the no clothes crap but, it moved the story along. So no problem.I've read some comments about this being an expensive book because its in a serial or series format. The only comments I have are: the 1st book is free the next two are $3.99 each; that's $7.98 if you purchase the entire 3 book series the cost is $7.99. Each of these books Is more than 200 hundred pages. I'll pay $3.99 for a book anytime and often they don't have 200 pages they are usually 180. At $7.99 for more than 600 pages, I think I got a bargain. This is Ms. Haag's living and she should be paid for her work. Getting the book in series format is becoming the norm. I don't have an issue. If I hadn't liked the first book I would not have purchased the other two. Why get to the third book and complain? I don't get it. But everyone is entitled to their own view.

I was extremely skeptical when I began this series. I've never been one for fantasy and make-believe (although some might say I do simply because I believe in romance!). But since the first book in the series was free, I decided to give it a shot as I was out nothing but time if it turned out to disappoint me.Let me tell you--disappointment was the furthest thing from my mind. The first book was a little slow to start and I felt like just when I'd gotten hooked, it left me hanging. I immediately bought the second and third book, though. I had faith in the author's ability to reel me in and again, I wasn't disappointed. I tore through the second book in a matter of hours. This third one was no different.The author pays such great attention to detail and never once makes me want to shake the heroine like I do in many books I've read. The characters are so vivid, the story so precise, the setting so real - I found myself visualizing every movement, word and scene she unraveled with her unbelievable deliberate gift with storytelling. I smelled the smells, I saw the rooms, I practically felt everything she described!Do not pass this book up. You'll wish you'd read it before it's discovered by some film company and made into a movie (which of course would never do justice to the story). Read!!!

I think out of the entire series this happens to be the most indulgent installment. I really wondered where it was going to go after the second book's cliff hanger, what was going to be explored and discovered and trialed. Mostly it's about managing the estate, getting it up and running, and Benella's struggle to find out where she fits in everything. And I loved every bit of it. It's really so much about her overcoming trauma, never forgiving but allowing people to overcome what they've done to her, and then standing really strong against continued violence and abuse. She's a little bit of my hero now, I swear. The way she deals with the friendships around her and rejects the importance of stature speaks volumes, she acts on it rather than preaching it. And she learns so much about her role in the lives around her.And it takes a bit, maybe around the middle when the height of her romantic frustrations start to bloom, but it gets FUN. I was giggling like a lunatic at the antics she kept up with her and the beast, now Alec. She's torn between her feelings of love and betrayal from Alec but its navigated in a way where she pushes back and she does it in a nearly hilarious manner. It's fun, they really like each, it's not a forced romance but a slow burning partnership between two very stubborn rocks. It's just so good I loved every moment.

No quibbles from me, this ended exactly the way it should have. All three stories mesh seamlessly. Read and enjoy. I sure did.

I love love love the Story. Huge Fan of beauty and the beast and this is perfectly told in it's own way. Gripping, romantic and Well written.

The concluding part of an intensely riveting take on a fairy tale classic that had the power to so deeply ensnare and torment me until I devoured it in it's entirety (all three tantalisingly addictive parts of it).Feeding on sensual tension, twisted interference and selfish greed with an injection of trusting innocence, heart and a deep seeded desire to care. Benella is drenched in fundamental strength, ingenuity and an instinctual caring nature that positively captivates. Despite countlessly being subjected to cruelty and witnessing heart-aching selfishness, she some how retains the resilience too not let her integral goodness, intellect, inner spark of growing boldness, kindness and innocent curiosity dwindle, as she strives to see the good in others and fight against the injustices, so plainly on display around her, that so repeatedly and tenaciously grip her in their net and refuse to let go.A book that must be read as part of the three. Otherwise you will miss out on so much of the chemistry, magnetically bonded allure and frustratingly angonising connection and palpable longing between Benella and Beast/Alec. As you remain on tenderhooks as their traumatic histories as well as another tantalising piece of the mysteriously dark and brooding internal puzzle - that makes Beast so delicious to unravel piece by intriguingly beguiling piece - is revealed.An utterly enjoyable haunting tale!!

Devastation is a brilliant ending to my new favourite retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Like Deceit, Devastation picks up where the second book left off. Benella is heartbroken and betrayed by those she loves but as she regains her confidence, we find out the truth behind many of the events in the first two books. If it is even possible, Benella’s sisters get worse; they are truly horrible people and I hate how they make Benella feel but would not have it changed in anyway as it would take away from the story. Devastation allows many things to come to a head, many truths are uncovered and in the end good always wins... well mostly. If you have not read this trilogy yet, do yourself a favour and pick up book one today.

Muito bom, mantém você preso no suspense até o final , a cada reviravolta uma surpresa inesperada. A trilogia prende.