This rock-and-roll Beauty and the Beast retelling is absolutely wonderful. It has twits and turns that you didn't see coming! I was completely absorbed in this. I have to go and read the previous books in this series!!
I just reviewed Crimson Melodies by Leslie O'Sullivan. #CrimsonMelodies #NetGalley
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Benedict and his band are back from a year-long tour after the love of his life left without a trace. He spent half the tour trying to forget Beatrice under whoever he could find, but that gaping hole in his heart remained.

While BeneDICK was off making music, Beatrice was stuck in Hotel Caliwood with ghosts, witches, and other nefarious types. No longer the young woman Benedict knew, she's spent a year trapped in the body of a harpy. Her one hope of returning to her normal body is the man she pushed away. Can he see past the Beast and love the woman beneath?

Crimson Melodies is my first gender-bent fairy tale retelling it, and I'm a fan! So often, we see the women pining away or trying to change the man, but in this one, HE has to accept HER in order to break the curse. It was a nice chance of pace!

Speaking of paces, this is several books deep into a series. I overlooked this when picking it up to read and found myself slightly overwhelmed with some of the characters. That's 100% on me. The author does a WONDERFUL job keeping the reader up-to-date so you don't miss anything. I want to applaud her for that because I felt well-informed through the whole book. And now I must binge the first few books to get the full story!!

The way Leslie writes is unique and addictive. Near the beginning, Benedict waxes poetic about the raunchy manner in which he tried to get over Beatrice leaving him, and it's some of the most creative prose I've encountered. The bar has been raised for describing the mental toll of hooking up to heal a broken heart, and I'm not sure anyone will ever be able to reach it again.

Fans of paranormal novels with romantic elements will devour Crimson Melodies. It has heart. It has healing. It has an HEA that I'm sure will lead to further shenanigans!

Favorite quote: "Silence screams when you lose the light."

Thank you, NetGalley and Leslie O'Sullivan, for the opportunity to read this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.