**ARC Provided in exchange for an honest review**

Publication: 4/29/2019 – This is a rerelease of the “Beauty” serialization by Skye Warren published in 2011.
Series: A Modern Fairytale Duet # 1
Read: 2019
Format: Digital
Rating: 3 1/2 Caffeinated Stars
Content Warnings: Student/Teacher relationship, Cliffhanger ending

Goodreads Summary:

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful college student…

Erin cleans Mr. Morris’s house twice a week to pay her tuition. The reclusive ex-soldier intimidates her, but she can’t help but feel sympathy for him. Then she walks in on him touching himself, and she has much darker much more sensual feelings.

And a beastly professor with scars he can’t hide…

Blake Morris knows he’s scarred both inside and out. He’s reclusive and surly. Nowhere near good enough for the smart and beautiful young woman who cleans his house.

He receives an offer to return to his alma mater as an associate professor. This is his chance to reenter the world–and to be worthy of the woman he dreams about. He never expected to see her sitting in his classroom on the first day of the semester.

Author’s Note: This book was previously published as a serial in multiple parts, including Beauty Touched the Beast, Beneath the Beauty, and Broken Beauty. They’ve been collected into this volume and revised for new readers.

BEAUTY AND THE PROFESSOR is the first book in A Modern Fairy Tale duet.

My Thoughts:

When I saw Skye Warren post a call for bloggers to review her book I knew I had to jump at the chance. I really enjoyed some of her previous books, and I really love retellings of the Beauty and the Beast story. One of the things that I love about Skye Warren is that she isn’t scared to take a risk. Her books always have a bit of a taboo feel to them, and this one is no different. The power dynamics in this book have a forbidden edge to them & I enjoyed the Student/Teacher elements that were present.

Though generally, I love Skye Warren’s books I felt like the writing was a bit off in this one. There was little to distinguish between the perspectives of the characters. It seemed that they blended in with each other which became confusing at times.  Another thing that seemed off with this book was the character development. It appeared that Erin & Blake didn’t genuinely grow as characters during this book. This is what I consider the curse of the Novella. I tend to find that character development is harder to flesh out when it comes to a novella. Since there is a second in the series, I hope that we see more growth.

Even though I didn’t feel that there was growth in the characters, I still loved them. Erin has a compelling background. I love that she doesn’t come from a wealthy family & I loved the dynamic that she has with the few side characters. Blake just made my heart hurt. The pain he has is heartbreaking and makes me want to just give him a hug.  Both of them together was the highlight (as it should be with a romance). I loved that they (for the most part) were open and honest with each other. It’s rare to read a book where a character will openly admit to their insecurities, so this was refreshing.

All in all, this book has some faults, but I still enjoyed it. It was fast-paced with some captivating characters. I hope to see some character growth in the next book!

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