Witty, beautiful, a page-turner!

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I don't tend to read books with supernatural elements within them but when putting all that aside, the book was beautiful.

The characters were funny, witty for the most part. There were times when I actually cringed at the words Belle came out with. I loved it! The character of Belle, though lacking in self confidence, was very charming and loyal to her sisters. Oh what I'd give to be a sister like that!

I did have a small problem with one of the underlying messages conveyed in this novel: you have to be beautiful to get a man. For, it was once Belle became beautiful that Stanhope paid any attention to her, in the romantic sense. The fact that Stanhope took advantage of Belle's innocence and naivety also didn't sit well with me. Readers may argue that both characters were in love, yet I'm sure I raise a valid point when I state that Belle had never been in love before. Surely, she'd have to be able to recognise the experience first or know that it's what she wanted.

This leads me on to my next point, the way Belle behaved with Stanhope was not out of love. For example, she imagined him naked- surely, I am not wrong when I think she felt lust for him as opposed to love.