Beauty, Beast and Belladonna is a mystery full of fairy tale lore.

I'm not gonna lie, this book just did not sit well with me. I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't enjoy it because it had everything I love: murder mystery, fairy tales, splash of potential romance, and historical mumbo jumbo.

Our lead, Ophelia is engaged to a total dufus (He reminds me of Gaston, if we are talking fairy tale references). While she's at this lovely palace like place, a horrendous murder happens and it's most likely due to a beast (from the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, of course). Ophelia and the gorgeous Professor Penrose try to solve the mystery of this brutal murder.

I felt that a lot of this book just did not need to be there. Half of the content felt like filler to me and left me very bored. I wanted to have more juicy information on the murder or Ophelia and Penrose potentially flirting more. I got neither. There was lots of drama filled random scenes that just left me aching for some more action.

I did really love the descriptions and history in this book. I found that's where this book shined for me. Unfortunately, that positive didn't outweigh the negatives. I was still utterly bored with this book. I'm sure there are many more people who will absolutely love it - I'm the kind of reader that needs constant action and movement.

Overall, this is a cozy mystery that would be great for some tea and a warm fire. Cozy mystery lovers should and will flock to this book. It is a wonderful gem, it's just not fast enough for me. I'd highly recommend this book if you love sweet, historical novels.

Two out of five stars. ( )

I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as the last two Fairy Tale Fatal books, but I think that was largely because I’d recently read another cozy and the tropes were at the forefront of my mind. I still found it very good fun, though, and I still adore Ophelia. And as always, the mid-1800s is wonderfully evoked without being shallow or twee, and the manor setting was nicely atmospheric. I liked the take on the closed-room mystery, too.

7/10 ( )

big improvement on the previous book. much more cohesive and interesting. in the end the main character does not go off with her love--she is an independent woman who goes off with the circus lol. independence in the 1800s huh? different but cool. ( )

I received this book in a giveaway. This mystery was the first I have read by this author. I understand that it is #3 in the series, but you can read it without having to backtrack and read the other two first. The main character is a strong willed woman who uses her skills as an actress to survive. I was not crazy about the whole story line of her lying about marrying the Lord, but that is a personal opinion. Also, I found the story to be a bit cluttered at times. Overall, it was a good story. ( )