A fairy-tale twist on expectations.Beau is a thief. After the black-haired Spaniard's good looks get him into the good graces of rich women, his robber band swoops in to monopolize on his ill-gotten insider knowledge. Their last job went sideways, and as the group rides for their lives through the woods in France, they stumble upon a castle, imposing and empty, with a feast laid out in the great hall. All too soon, a wolflike monster attacks, and as the men flee, the bridge-which is the only way out-collapses, leaving a terrified Beau behind. The castle is not abandoned, after all, but is filled with servants, a court of odd ladies-in-waiting, and, at their head, a beautiful woman named Lady Arabella. Beau needs to escape to help his sick brother, but he's intrigued by some sort of secret-maybe even magic?-at the heart of this castle. Plus, blond, gray-eyed Arabella is beautiful when she's not in a temper. With this gender-swapped "Beauty and the Beast," Donnelly has crafted an absorbing fairy-tale retelling. Each of the main characters is complicated, possessing good intentions that have been buried thanks to harsh circumstances. The main pleasure of this book, aside from the witty dialogue and the delightful suspense of the slowly unfurling mystery, comes from witnessing two lost souls finding each other and becoming better people for it. Ultimately, this story is about learning to love oneself, despite what society has deemed "beastly."A joy. (Fantasy. 13-18)

Gr 8 Up— With this novel, Donnelly has written a familiar but unique story. Beau is a thief who relies on his good looks to get away with his crimes. While working with other thieves, he stumbles upon a castle that seems to have magically appeared. It is too tempting for the thieves to ignore, so they go in, but are almost killed by a beast. Beau lives but is trapped at the castle where he meets Arabella, the head of the house. Arabella's ladies-in-waiting carefully guard her, and they are only one of the mysteries surrounding the castle. Beau's main concern is getting out of the castle, but he also wants to learn the secrets that everyone is hiding. Arabella and Beau, different as can be, are drawn to each other. From the start, it is easy to like Beau's charming character, while Arabella is initially a harder character to discern. Via painful flashbacks, readers see how Arabella, who once had a mind of her own and spoke up for what she believed, has been reduced to a character who cannot even remember what she loves. By the end, readers will be rooting for her. Along with setting a beautiful scene, Donnelly has written a story where readers will be turning pages to see the main characters find each other. VERDICT Middle and high school librarians will want this in their collections.— Michelle Lettus