Cloaked in Beauty
by Karen Witemeyer
Publisher: Bethany House
Series: Texas Ever After, Book 3
Rated: 3
Obtain: Borrow or buy
Back of the Book: “Trust no one in the shadows of the piney woods . . .
Letty Hood has spent the last fifteen years of her life hidden away with her grandmother in the backwoods of east Texas to escape the deadly schemes of an uncle who wants her dead. Now, with her twenty-first birthday on the horizon, she is forced to accept the escort of a stranger and return to Houston in secret so she can claim a birthright that will make her one of the wealthiest women in Texas. If she lives long enough to inherit.
Pinkerton agent Philip Carmichael has one duty: get the Radcliffe heiress home alive. Expecting a spoiled girl, Philip is surprised to encounter a woman of rare strength with a kind soul and keen wit. As they journey together, Letty's resilience wins his admiration, breaking through his hardened cynicism. Yet the threat to her survival grows more menacing with every mile, and Philip fears that keeping Letty out of harm's way may be just as impossible as keeping her out of his heart.”

Impressions: Although this is book 3 in its series this can easily be read as a stand-alone novel. The familiar fairy tale of Red Riding Hood is retold with a spin in this historical Christian romance. The characters mimicked the fairy tale in their own unique way. Mrs. Radcliffe was a bit too perfect to be believed but she played her part in this story well. The romance was clean in that nothing more than a kiss was shared but there was plenty of desire woven through much of the story. By the end I was starting to get bored of the characters mooning over each other. This was a fun story and was easy to read.

Quotes: “Fear steals your sense, and good sense is a woman’s best weapon.”
“Worrying about tomorrow only served to steal the joy from today.”

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

Cloaked in Beauty is the third retelling of fairy tales by Karen Witemeyer.

Letty Hood is in hiding. For fifteen years. Her uncle has had a plan to do away with Letty so he can control the company Letty's father had built. But Letty grandmother took her away when she was five, to a safe place. Now as she is approaching her twenty first birthday, she will inherit her late fathers fortune and her uncle is getting desperate.

Pinkerton agent Phillip Carmichael has been hired to find Letty and bring her home. She turns out to be different than he expected an heiress to be.

This is a lovely story, told as only Karen Witemeyer can. Beautiful and unforgettable. A story about love, sacrifice, trust and forgiveness. A clean wholesome story that can be read as a stand alone. This is definitely a must read if you enjoy a good story. I love how Witemeyer weaves how God is working in their lives. All in all it's a beautiful well written story. What we have come to expect from Ms. Witemeyer.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Karen Witemeyer is one of my favorite historical authors. Cloaked in Beauty is a book based on the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood.
From the very beginning, the reader knows who the heroine and the villain are. The plot of the book seems a bit overdone. The young girl's life is in danger, so she is spirited away to live with her grandmother until she is at an age where she can handle her own affairs. The "woodcutter" of this story is a Pinkerton agent who has been hired to guard her on her passage home. Once he has delivered her to her mother, she ends up in the clutches of her evil uncle who wants all the money her father had left her. His greed overshadows his own good sense.

Now that I've exposed the weaknesses of the book, there are many aspects of the novel that are well thought out and well-written. She has used the characters well and developed them to their fullest. They played their part in the novel and had a great performance. The settings were well developed and quite believable. The plot has been done before, but it was still readable and enjoyable.

Four Stars.

Bethany House Publishing provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

This is the third book in the fairy tale retellings by Karen Witemeyer. As you can imagine just the cover lets you in that it's going to be Red Ridinghood. I love that the author though doesn't make it super following of the tale. Yes there are some similarities: Granny, Scarlett, "Wolf", but there are more nods than actually following the story.

This is a very clever retelling and one that you will enjoy to the end. Sure it has predictable things, but that's okay. I loved that one of the wolves in the book (wink) is an actual WOLF that is a friend to Letty.

This one is just a solid read with some good faith themes. Very enjoyable.

4 stars

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC of this book to review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Cloaked in Beauty is a beautiful story with some Little Red Riding Hood vibes. I enjoyed the main character, Letty Hood, though she was maybe a little too perfect to be relatable, definitely something to aspire to though. Overall I found it to be a great story but I could have done with less emphasis on the physical attraction between the two main characters, certain scenes were drawn out a little unnecessarily.

This is a story of two unlikely people meeting and working together for a common goal. Letty Radcliffe has to run for her life, literally. Her uncle was trying to kill her. Luckily her mother had a plan, and Letty grew up in obscurity with her grandmother and a pet wolf. Philip is a Pinkerton agent, hired to find her, by her mother. But once he finds her he needs to keep her safe from her uncle.

Their road to safety has many turns, some good and some bad. As their friendship blooms and grows, can it stay there?

I enjoyed the characters, their strength and fortitude. I love the wolf! This is a good read.

A reinvention of little red riding hood, Karen Witemeyer shows her writing skill as part of her new series. A stand alone book connected only through their connection to fairytales, Whitemeyer combines her strong characters with a story that could be entirely plausible.

With a biblical world view, this story will appeal to a wide range of ages and is just a darned good read. It will have you discovering all the books in the Texas ever after series.

I receive complimentary books for various sources including, Netgalley, authors, and other such sources. I am not required to write a positive review and have not received compensation.

Cloaked in Beauty by Karen Witemeyer reminds readers a little bit of “Little Red Riding Hood.” There are obvious similarities, but there are differences too. Witemeyer does a wonderful job at crafting characters that readers will want to stay with as they journey back to Hood’s “home” in Houston, Texas. The plot has plenty of action with moments of secretive journeys and hiding from the main road. The plot moves forward at a nice pace. As for the ending, I wish the climactic moment was a little spread out a little. Felt a little rushed by the time the characters took us to that ending. In other words, there is some romance that occurs between Letty, the heroine, and Philip, the hero. When characters spend that much time together, obviously sparks are going to fly. Overall, Cloaked in Beauty by Karen Witemeyer is a joy to read with movement and romance to spark any Fairy tale reader’s interest.

I received a complimentary copy of Cloaked in Beauty by Karen Witemeyer from Bethany House Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

CLOAKED IN BEAUTY by KAREN WITEMEYER is a most enjoyable novel based largely on two fairy tales,namely Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty. The story takes place in 1881.It is charming, exciting and very well told. i cannot recommend Cloaked in Beauty strongly enough.
The story starts with six year old heiress Scarlett Radcliffe being sent to live with her grandmother in a cabin in the woods to escape her wicked uncle who is after her fortune. There she lives happily with her precious grandmother and Rusty, her pet wolf. With her red cloak and chosen name of Letty Hood, she brings to mind her favourite fairy story……
Letty’s mother employs Pinkerton agent Philip Carmichael to bring her home safely before her twenty first birthday, and he and her faithful Rusty are her
protection detail as they travel cross country, racing against time and trying to hide the truth about their precious cargo…….
I love the main characters, with their strong faith in God and their compassion for the less fortunate, and of course the love story is fairy tale worthy!
The villain and his cohorts are well described as we see them literally stop at nothing to get the prize.
I was given a free copy of the book by Bethany House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

I absolutely loved this book! If you love fairytales and books that are similar then you must definitely pick this one up. It is the 3rd(and I believe final) book in the Texas Ever After series. This had so many fairytale nods to it! Scarlett Radcliffe is sent away from home when her uncle tries to have her killed because she is heir to her father's estate. Fast forward 15 years and Letty is now days away from being able to claim her inheritance and once and for all put her uncle away. But first she needs to make it home to her mother safely. That is where Philip Carmichael comes in. He is hired to find Scarlett and get her safely home to her mother. As they get to know each other on the trip Philip can't help but wonder if the sweet girl he knows as Letty(with the red cloak and her wolf Rusty as her companion) will change once she dons her rightful place as Scarlett Radcliffe, heiress to the Radcliffe empire.

Such a sweet story! And so many references to beloved fairytales! I loved Letty's kind and loving and natural personality. I loved her dog Rusty! He almost felt human! The suspense in a couple parts had me closing the book quickly but then opening it again because I couldn't stand not knowing what happened! Author Karen Witemeyer never disappoints and Cloaked in Beauty was I believe my favorite of the 3 books!

A fast paced historical Christian fiction novel. The characters are well drawn out and interesting and the setting is fully described.

I was kept turning pages, anxious to see Phiip and Letty's respect for each other grow and for Letty to get to safety. For having lived such a sheltered life, she's strong and capable as a woman but both she and her mother use those qualities to help vulnerable children and speak up for the helpless and not as a means to further their own feminist agenda or career goals and I really respect people who use their strength in this way. Sometimes she makes choices to not listen to others because she knows the right thing to do and is compelled to do it. Would make for an interesting conversation in a book club.
I love the solidly Christian feel of the book all throughout and the way their faith is something the characters use, lean on, and grow in. Philip is a man of character and I appreciate the role model of someone who respects a woman and doesn't take advantage of his position with her despite his growing feelings.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ebook so I can write an honest review. All opinions are my own.

What a sweet and swoony fairytale retelling!

Letty Hood has spent the last fifteen years with her grandmother in a cottage in the woods hiding from her uncle who wants her dead. Now that she is close to her 21st birthday, the time has come for her to return home and claim her inheritance.

Pinkerton agent Philip Carmichel has been hired to find Letty and bring her home safely. She is different than what he expected a rich heiress would be like and as they journey together, he loses his heart to her a little more each day despite his efforts to keep his distance. Though an heiress and an agent are an unlikely couple, Letty and Philip must first escape the dangerous threat that follows them if they are ever to have a chance at a happily ever after.

What you'll love:
historical western
fairytale retelling
Little Red Riding Hood + Sleeping Beauty
bodyguard romance
dual pov
road trip/journey
protective hero
perilous situations
forced proximity
Rusty
tension and chemistry
villain you love to hate
the rescues
slow-burn
light inspirational themes
swoony first kiss!!
PERFECT epilogue!!

I have loved this entire series but I think this one may be my favorite! It has all tension and chemistry and forced proximity I love in a road trip romance, and the sweet and tender scenes between Letty and Philip are meshed perfectly with the suspenseful moments. Talk about a story that was both heart melting and heart pounding!

I would never have thought of intertwining these two fairy tales together but it totally worked! Loved the bits and pieces from each fairytale but the story had enough twists and turns (and cowboys!) that the author truly made the story all her own. So brilliantly done! And sigh, can we just talk about how perfect Philip and Letty are for each other? Their journey of trust and love and faith is what fairytale dreams are made of.

This was such a beautiful and unforgettable story of love, of trust, of forgiveness and though it is the third book in the series, it can be read as a standalone (though you need to pick up the first two as well!). This is a book that I will be re-reading and enjoying over and over again.

I received a complimentary copy but a positive review was not required.