Book Review: The Subtle Beauty by Ann Hunter (no spoilers)

Book: The Subtle Beauty
Author: Ann Hunter
Publication: January 2nd, 2014
Source: Kindle Freebie during Fairy Tale Fornight 2014
Read: May 31st-June 7th, 2014
Summary (from Goodreads):

A cursed prince. A vain beauty. Glory is the seventh daughter of Balthazar, High King of the Twelve Kingdoms. Glory hopes that - of all her sisters - she can escape the fate of a loveless marriage. But on the night she plans to elope with the royal falconer, her world comes crashing down: Her father announces Glory's betrothal to Eoghan of the Blood Realm - a prince no one has ever seen. The prince is said to be a recluse, cursed and deformed by the gods for the sins of his power-hungry father. Yet when Glory is trapped in Blackthorn Keep she discovers that not everything is what she expected. An insulting gryphon, a persistent ghost, and a secret plan to usurp the prince keep Glory reeling.

 In this retelling of BEAUTY & THE BEAST, can Glory overcome her vanity to learn that what she wants isn’t what she needs—and save the cursed prince?

.

My Thoughts: 

This novel was beautiful, absolutely beautiful! I fell in love! The Subtle Beauty is a unique retelling of Beauty and the Beast where Glory is our Belle and the cursed Prince Eoghan, the beast. 

Glory thinks that she has found her true love and the man she will marry, but the King's Falconer, Colin is no fit for a princess as lovely as Princess Glory. King Balthazaar announces Glory's bettothal to Prince Eoghan of the Blood Realm and Glory's world is turned upside down. Nobody has seen prince Eoghan for years. He is said to be recluse. Glory's heart remains with Colin and she plans to marry Colin as she had originally planned. 

When Glory's plan is turned upside down she leads a life full of surprises. She discovers an insulting gryphon, Xander the terrible king, and no prince to be found. Princess Glory can't find why she ever was betrothal if she is never to meet her prince, but will prince Glory be able to overcome her vanity and see that true beauty can not always be seen on the surface, but lies within. 

This story was beautiful from beginning to end. I was enamored by Glory's story. At the beginning I was in love with her relationship with Colin, but later in the story I saw the beauty in the beast. I was interested in Glory's relationship with Eoghan. I also loved the unique personalities of each of Glory's sisters and how their father was only worried about their best interests although they might not see it at first. The ending was everything I could have wanted for Glory and more although it didn't seem like there was going to be anything happy about this ending only pages before. This was a rather short story and it was totally worth reading. I can't wait to dive into more fairy tale retellings with this author.