Bookish Thoughts and a blog tour/giveaway! - To Love a Beast

 

 

About the Book

Book: To Love a Beast (One Upon a Time in Texas Book One)

Author: Karen Witemeyer

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: June 10, 2025

Beauty & the Beast in 1800’s Texas.  

Once known among New York’s elite as the American Adonis, Everett Griffin now lives as a recluse in the wilds of Texas. The treachery of a former admirer left his face and his spirit riddled with scars, so he hides himself away, his only companions a trio of trusted servants and an oversized dog. Locals whisper of the beastly man who lives in the gloomy manor outside of town and his tendency to attack anyone who dares approach. Everett relishes his fearsome reputation and uses it as a shield to guard his privacy. Until a young woman as stubborn as she is beautiful infiltrates his sanctum and lays siege to his defenses.

When an injury to her father jeopardizes the family’s book binding business, Callista Rosenfeld determines to fulfill the contract herself, and no insufferable client or woman-eating dog will deter her. Finding unlikely allies among Mr. Griffin’s staff, Callista secures her position and sets to work transforming the manor’s remarkable library. Her employer transforms as well, his ill-tempered growls subsiding to reveal a considerate, intellectual nature. Affection blooms as Callista and Everett discover hidden depths in each other, but the evil schemes of a vengeful hunter threaten to leave their love and their lives in tatters.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Voted #1 Readers’ Favorite Christian Historical Author of 2023 by Family Fiction Magazine, bestselling author Karen Witemeyer offers warmhearted historical romance with a flair for humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy Texas heroes. Karen’s books have won numerous awards, including the prestigious Christy Award, Carol Award, and National Reader’s Choice Award. Karen is an avid cross-stitcher, and makes her home in Abilene, Texas with her husband. Learn more about Karen and her books at her website.

 

 

 

More from Karen

Having Fun with Character Names

I was a college student when the Disney animated adaptation of Beauty and the Beast released, and it instantly became my favorite fairy tale of all time. As a bookish young woman myself, I found Belle so relatable, and the rest of the cast delighted me as well. Throughout my Texas Ever After series and continuing with this new Once Upon a Time in Texas series, I’ve enjoyed paying homage to the Disney characters who inspired my western retellings. To Love a Beast is no different.

Let’s start with our beastly hero, Everett Griffin. The name Everett means “wild boar” and a griffin is a mythological beast with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. Quite fitting for our Beast. Next is the lovely Callista Rosenfeld, a book binder and novel lover. Callista means “most beautiful,” perfect for our Beauty. Rosenfeld references the enchanted rose that plays such a key role in the fairy tale plot.

Next, we have our supporting cast. Mrs. Potter is our motherly housekeeper who invites Callista to tea on a regular basis. Our stuffy butler playing the role of Cogsworth is Mr. Timens. Notice the TIME in his name that pays homage to the clock-faced Disney character. Everett’s valet and best friend is Ray Lightfoot, who’s name plays with the candlestick image with both his first and last name.

I love having fun with my character names and giving them additional story meaning. You’ll find more Beauty and the Beast Easter eggs in my story as well. Those elements make the story so fun to write, and I hope you will find it incredibly fun to read as well.

Happy Reading!

~Karen

(I loved the characters names as I was reading the book and it was so fun to learn about how they were chosen!)

Blog Stops

Maureen's Musings June 27

Melissa's Bookshelf June 27

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy June 28

Locks, Hooks and Books June 28

Debbie's Dusty Deliberations June 29

Inspired By Fiction June 29

Babbling Becky L's Book Impressions June 30

Where Faith and Books Meet June 30

Devoted Steps July 1

Sylvan Reads July 1

She Lives to Read July 1

Texas Book-aholic July 2

Blossoms and Blessings July 2

Happily Managing a Household of Boys July 3

Blogging With Carol July 3

Stories by Gina July 4 (author interview)

Labor Not in Vain July 4

For Him and My Family July 5

Holly's Book Corner July 5

Jeanette's Thoughts July 6

Jodie Wolfe July 6

The Lit Lady July 7

Wishful Endings July 7

Bizwings Book Blog July 8

Life on Chickadee Lane July 8

Books You Can Feel Good About July 9

Mary Hake July 9

To Everything There Is A Season July 9

Life Love Writing July 10

Min Reads and Reviews July 10

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Karen is giving away the grand prize of an eBook copy of the book and Beauty & the Beast themed goodies!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54249 

My Thoughts:

I’m not always a huge fan of Fairy Tale retellings (there have been SO many!), but I’ve greatly enjoyed all of Ms. Witemeyer’s adaptations, and this one is no exception! 

So, how does one take the story of Beauty and The Beast and change the setting to Texas?  And remove the enchantment?  Ms. Witemeyer answers those questions with a book binder, a library, plus a lot of grace, kindness, wit, and charm.  Along with some snarling and growling.  Because he couldn’t be the “beast” without a little foul temper now and then.  Though Everett starts out with a “beastly” attitude, I so enjoyed how the relationship between him and Callista slowly changed.  Their romance was so sweet!  I loved Mr. Timens, Mr. Lightfoot, and Mrs. Potter, too!  

I do have to confess that I found the villain’s reasoning quite . . . unusual.  The villain was quite easy to deduce, if you remember Disney’s version of the story, but I don’t want to spoil anything by using their name, if someone is unfamiliar with it.  So while I found the climax of the ending a little off-putting, I did quite enjoy how Callista and Everett’s story ended.  I’m very curious to see which Fairy Tale Ms. Witemeyer decides to adapt next!

Overall, if you enjoy sweet historical romances set in Texas, or Fairy Tale adaptations, then I would highly recommend this book!  (The author also has 3 other books along the same vein, that I have read and would also highly recommend!)

*My thanks to the author and publisher for my copy of this book!  I received it as part of a blog tour with Celebrate Lit and was not required to write a positive review.  I have not been compensated for my review in any way and all opinions expressed are my own. 

As always, thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you'll stop by the other wonderful blogs on this tour and gather up giveaway entries!

Have a ducky day!