The Beast That Never Was by Caren J. Werlinger

The Beast That Never Was
by Caren J. Werlinger
Pages: 211
Date: June 1 2016
Publisher: Corgyn Publishing, LLC
Series: None

Review
Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0
Read: June 22 2016
I received a copy of this book from the author via Netgalley for an honest review.

This is my third story by this author, though only second book.

I was somewhat reluctant to read this book for one specific reason. I had read the original fairy tale a while back. And did not particularly like it. A lesbian version of that tale did not really seem like something I would want to read. What with a man, the father, being willing to have his daughter killed in his place (or at least thinking so); and the beast being a whiny bratty critter – one who starves himself because the woman he vaguely likes is late. Of course he’s also the one who threatened to kill people because of their theft of a rose. Written in another era, Beast would be seen as an overly dramatic overly emotional bully. Beauty being overly selfless, intelligent, hard working young woman. The lesson of the story seemed to be that people ugly on the inside (and outside) deserve good things, like women, if they are bratty enough and that the women should just accept it (well, the story is from 1740, women were just property back then (well, not really, but kinda)). A lesbian version of that? Hmm . . . not tremendously interested. But I’ve loved fantasy based books by this author before, so I was willing to give the book a go. (And just an FYI before I move away from the original tale – this is not the lesbian version of that original tale; maybe the lesbian version of the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, but not the lesbian version of the original story).

To start off with: I’ve a vague recollection that the mother was missing in the original story, but the father was there. Here, in this story, the father is dead, and the mother is the one still around.

When the book opened, I didn’t actually realize that Lise was not the beast. I kind of expected her to be since there’s the tag-line of ‘What if Beauty was the Beast?’ But, I suppose, I wasn’t thinking clearly. I mean, Lise is a woman who dressed like a man, and did man like work back in an era when women might do that, but beauty’s certainly didn’t.

Up to a certain point, Lise and her family lived in a relatively well to do situation – what with her father being a King’s Huntsman (I believe the original story has the father being a businessman/merchant, though it has been a while since I read that story). Then Lise’s father died and the family was kicked out of their house. Though they did get a death boom, or . . um, some amount of money due to the father dying in service to the king. The mother uses the money to buy a small farm, and the proceeds from selling their old stuff to buy some cows for milking. For the mother had a specific skill set that she brought to her marriage – the ability to make cheese. So that is how she, the mother, and her four daughters survive now – by being cheese merchants. They are no longer well-to-do, but they survive well enough. Though the mother is often angry and bitter, and at least one or two of the daughters are still living as if all of this is just temporary – until the day a good marriage occurs and their status changes again.

Speaking of marriages – Lise’s mother wants and or assumes that the new Huntsman’s son will be married to Lise shortly. Lise loves Rhein as a brother, but not as a future husband. They circle each other. With Lise trying to dodge him, while Rhein keeps trying to kiss her. Meanwhile Lise spends a good amount of time starring with adoration towards a rather pretty young baker woman, Sabine. Though Sabine has a boyfriend, so that’s not going to work.

There’s this forest that they, Lise and their farm, and the nearby village, live next too. Over a period of time certain ‘things’ start to happen, strange and mysterious things. Like some hearing crying, or seeing wolves, or – basically whatever it is they fear the most – they see it in the forest. Eventually Lise bumps up against the ‘Beauty’ of that ‘what if beauty was the beast?’ tagline. And Lise sees . . . a gorgeous woman. Senna, the beauty and the beast, is quite confused. No one has been able to see her as anything other than that which they fear most in a very long time. So she is a little hesitant, at first, to be near Lise. Lise, though, is quite drawn to the beauty (until, that is, when Lise learns of the curse, and what people see because of the curse).

One thing leads to another and Lise finds herself being pushed, almost forced into a marriage with Rhein, while at the same time she is developing something of a relationship with Senne. All against the backdrop of normal life unfolding, the seasons changing, snow falling, cows being milked, lead up hills, lead back down hills, etc.

I liked the story. A good deal more than the original. Not sure I’ll read another tale based on Beauty and the Beast any time soon, but I’m happy enough to have read this one.

June 22 2016