Savage Beauty

Savage Beauty
By Casey L. Bond

Book Summary
Once upon a time, sleeping beauty had twin daughters who inherited a curse. Aura and Luna grow to hate each other after Aura murders the man she loved.
Luna wants to get revenge but she must untether herself from her sister before she can take action against her. With help from a dark fae prince, a human prince named Phillip and her trusty kitty, Luna sets out to complete her mission. In the end Luna must decide what is more important to her: revenge or new found love?

My Review
After discovering Casey L. Bond when I read House of Eclipses, I was curios about her many other books. I found Savage Beauty available as an audiobook through my Library app. I am a big fan of fairytales and retellings. I enjoyed this spin-off type story in the fairytale world.

The sibling relationship was fraught with trauma and hatred, similarly to the sibling drama in Casey Bonds other book House of Eclipses. I was so curios to see if she had siblings and we had chatted briefly before, so I messaged her to ask. She is an only child, but we had a giggle over the coincidence that the two of her books I had read had similar evil sister tropes.

The romance in this story was interesting and different than most of the young adult romances I have read before. I love the way that Casey L Bond writes her romances for young adult novels because they are appropriate, healthy and sweet. The characters never seem to rush too fast into their feelings and it feels like a natural flow. Casey L. Bond has a beautiful writing style and I am a big fan of her work. I am excited to read more of her books in the future.

Pros: The magic system in this world and the way it connected the sisters through their powers was beautiful. I also appreciated the surprises at the end. I didn’t predict the plot twists which is always a plus.
Cons: I didn’t really enjoy the switch in narrators in the audiobook. I felt like the voices they used for each character were a bit jarring, specifically Lunas’s voice in Phillips’s perspective. I would have enjoyed this book more in physical or eBook format.

Overall, this book was a fun read and I would recommend it to fairytale lovers, fantasy readers and anyone with a sibling. It was a darker side to the story of  Sleeping Beauty, but it was fun world to escape into for a while.

-Jacqui

Overall, I give Savage Beauty 3.5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐✰

Characters 4/5
Setting 4/5
Writing 5/5
Plot & Themes 3/5
Romance 4/5
Diversity 1/5

Author: Casey L. Bond
Genre: YA Fantasy, Fairytale Retelling
Trigger Warnings: Rape, Sibling Rivalry, Violence
Age Recommendation: 13+
Length/Page Count: 8 hrs and 17 mins
Format & Source: Audiobook, Libby App
Narrator: Amy Melissa Bentley, Rudy Sanda
Publishing Info: Tantor Audio 2018