A Curse of Beasts and Magic by Jeaniene Frost | Audiobook Review • Ana's Attic Book Blog

A Curse of Beasts and Magic (Beautiful And Beastly #1) by Jeaniene Frost

Narrated by Tavia Gilbert

First in an Urban Fantasy Series. Slight cliffhanger at the end.

A Curse of Beasts and Magic by Jeaniene Frost was my most anticipated book of the year. Her Night Huntress series and all of its offshoots from over a decade ago is one of my all-time favorite series. I devoured those books in a day. I’m happy to say that A Curse of Beasts and Magic hit the same for me. My only real disappointment is exactly what I love about her writing. It was over too fast, and now there is such a long wait for the second book.

I would call this more urban fantasy than romantasy. She markets it as a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but I didn’t know that until after I finished the book, and it never really occurred to me while I was reading. To me, it felt more similar to the Night Huntress series, but instead of vampires, there are beasts.

“I never intended to be a nurse by day and a violence-eating vigilante by night, but here I was, twenty-six and doing both.”

Raine’s family was killed by a beast that inhabited a young boy’s body during a camping trip. But when the boy was killed, the beast needed another host, so it inhabited Raine’s body. The creature feeds on pain, misery, and evil, and if it doesn’t get a steady supply, it breaks out of her and kills everything in its path. So she works as an ER trauma nurse for the pain and misery and hunts bad guys in her spare time for the evil.

“I had to let the Beast feed tonight. I didn’t want to, but if I didn’t, what came next would be a lot worse.”

When she rescues an old man from some bad guys, his grandson Remy comes to collect him and immediately recognizes Raine for what she is. As for Raine, she never knew that other creatures like her existed. Remy is the warden of an entire territory of hidden creatures, and he introduces Raine to a whole world of magic, beasts, politics, and hidden societies while convincing her to pose as his fake fiancée.

“Just look at me the way you looked at that dress when you meet my family. Then everyone will believe you’re madly in love.”

This book moved SO FAST. It was exciting, easy to follow, fun, and sexy. Raine was easy to root for. Her fear and guilt over the beast she carries made her feel real and vulnerable despite being almost immortal. I loved that she wasn’t some superhero. She spent more time trying to control her beast than using its strength. And Remy was powerful, rich, protective, and sexy AF. Together, they had chemistry and banter that I loved.

“You no longer need the Beast. I am the monster that protects you now. Look at me. See my power.”

If you are a Night Huntress fan, A Curse of Beasts and Magic has a very similar feel even though it is completely different. It takes place partly in our world and includes plenty of pop-culture references. Instead of a vampire, she has a beast she doesn’t understand living inside her, and she meets a powerful man with a similar beast who teaches her what she really is and helps her learn to control her powers.

Likes:

Fast-moving, edge-of-your-seat action.
Great world-building and setup for the rest of the series.
Very likable characters.
It had a similar feel to the Night Huntress series.
A completely unique magical world.
The perfect amount of humor that I love about Jeaniene Frost’s writing.
Just the right amount of spice. It never took over the story, but it was still hot.

Dislikes:

It moved TOO fast. I would have liked an extra hundred pages to slow things down and spend more time getting to know the characters.
The title feels generic and sounds too much like every other high fantasy book on the shelf.

The Narration:

I know that full-cast and duet narration are all the rage right now, but Tavia Gilbert did a fantastic job narrating the entire book on her own. Not once did I wish there were a second narrator. She captures the angst, accents, fear, emotion, action, and sexiness of Remy all by herself, and she does it incredibly well.

The Down & Dirty:

A Curse of Beasts and Magic is urban fantasy, meaning it takes place in the modern human world where magical creatures live secretly alongside humans while maintaining their own hidden political systems and hierarchies. So if you aren’t a full-fledged fantasy lover or don’t enjoy the more medieval aspects of high fantasy, this is much easier to get into. Urban fantasy tends to move faster and lean more heavily into action and suspense, and let me tell you, A Curse of Beasts and Magic does not disappoint on that front. In fact, if anything, it moves too fast. I could have read it in one sitting and had to purposely slow myself down because I didn’t want it to end.

If you loved Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress books, I think you’ll see a lot of similarities even though they are completely different worlds. Every reason I fell in love with her writing in that series is here in A Curse of Beasts and Magic, and I can’t freaking wait for the next book, A Storm of Dragons and Sorcery.