The first book in the latest duo by Skye Warren, Beauty and the Professor is a modern retelling of (you guessed it) Beauty and the Beast. The premise was good, and it had a lot of things going for it, but for some reason, it just didn’t impress.
I think one of the reasons is that I recently read Overture by the same author, and I felt that there were a lot of parallels: young, lively female/older wealthy male with a chip on his shoulder, mutual attraction but unwillingness to act, etc. It even felt like I was rereading some passages.
There were parts that I liked. I thought the premise of Blake being a former soldier who had suffered his injuries while serving was a good one, but it should have been explored more. I think more insight into his experiences allow more sympathy for his character as opposed to Erin just wondering about his PTSD. The author did address this a few times, but I think it could have been a little bit more.
I also really enjoyed the college classroom episode – the author obviously did homework, because the discussion about precedent was very well done. Aside from being interesting, it allowed Blake to use his mind to guide people away from focusing on his features.
No review of a Skye Warren book is complete without mentioning the sexy times, and there are plenty of those. As always, they are super steamy but also darkly romantic, which fits the overall character development.
But because of the romance and the inner thoughts, there were a couple of events that felt totally out of place, especially towards the end of the book. I know that the author was setting up for book two, but the cliffhanger for this one seemed to come out of left field (especially considering a few events that happened shortly before).
Overall, the book was okay. Knowing it is part of a duet makes it difficult to review because I know the story will be continuing. So think of this as a review written halfway through the book just to keep everything straight. I do look forward to seeing how it all works out in the end.
As always, my Goodreads review is below.
RELEASE DATE: April 23, 2019 (Available Now!)
Beauty and the Professor by Skye WarrenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
As a modern twist on the classic “Beauty and the Beast,” this book had a lot of potential. Erin is a sweet college student who cleans the house of the reclusive Blake, a former soldier who suffered burns that disfigure half of his face (shades of “Phantom of the Opera” as well). If you know the fairy tale, you know that they end up together, but seeing as how this is a modern retelling, “together” means mostly in bed. Those scenes (and there are plenty of them) are steamy as heck. The rest of the plot is just…okay. I thought there were some inconsistencies in characters, and a couple of twists were predictable. I did like the scene in the classroom, as the concept being taught (about precedent) was very interesting. I look forward to seeing how the second book finishes the story because this novel does end on a cliffhanger (that seemed out of the blue). This review was written based on a pre-release digital ARC.
View all my reviews
