Review: How Beauty Met the Beast by Jax Garren (Tales of the Underlight #1)

*********Adult Book*********

Title: How Beauty Met the Beast by Jax Garren

Published: November 19^th, 2012 by Carina Press

Format: eBook

Source: Purchased for Kindle

Challenge(s):  eBook

Grade rate: A

The Beast Scarred. Damaged. Living with a terrible secret. Agent of the Underlight Wesley "Hauk" Haukon has nothing left but the fight for liberty against the oppressive Order of Ananke. He's starting to lose hope…and then he sees her. The Beauty Despite her night job as a burlesque dancer, grad student Jolie Benoit has always played the mostly good girl. That all changes following a scorching sexual encounter with a stranger whose face she doesn't see. After she's kidnapped by thugs and rescued by a man with a very familiar voice, Jolie becomes a pawn in a struggle she never knew existed. Hauk knows he cannot have her, and resolves to protect his heart and his secrets. But as they work together and grow closer, he finds new reason to keep fighting. Dare he risk hope in a new life, one where Jolie can see past his ravaged face and where their friendship can grow into something more? 

My Review

How Beauty Met the Beast is a novella that introduces the exciting world of the Underlight, and what a ride it was!

The characters in this story are to die for!  Jolie comes from money and power, but has chosen another path for herself.  Her path leads her to an edgy type of entertainment as a burlesque dancer and that is how she ‘meets’ Hauk.   Jolie is gorgeous and successful and she can have any man she wants.  Hauk is a big man, he is tough, scarred inside and out, and somehow vulnerable.  He has been shunned and rejected many times and has lost hope on any type of normal life.  When Jolie and Hauk meet, I could actually see the fireworks!  Their chemistry together is amazing and I love them both. 

Jolie and Hauk are working together as he is helping him with a big problem (I hate to be cryptic, but I don’t want to give anything away).  I love Whitney!  She reminds me (in character) to my own 12-year-old.  Aren’t they precious?  Other characters are well fleshed out and I’m sure we will see more of them in the next book.

The plot and the story are a combination of paranormal and conspiracy theory with a bit of mythology for good measure.  Since I don’t read a lot of adult-paranormal, I found it all refreshing.  The world of the Underlight is very interesting.  The writing is so good!  It flows nicely and effortlessly, the characters are full of wit, sexual innuendo and just plain awesome. I still have unanswered questions, like why Hauk has the blackouts and his pain-sense.  I will definitely read the next book in the series titled How Beauty Saved the Beast, due to be published in February.

Here are some fun quotes:

“You have a nice smile, you know.  You should use it more often.”

“Don’t patronize me. I’m ugly as Hel’s bad half, and I don’t give a damn.” His smile grew as he stood up. “But then I don’t have to look at me…”  Hauk talking to Catrina

When she smiled at him again, eyes shining with admiration, he know he would take on any pain, any struggle, any ordeal to have her look at him like that again” – Hauk

“Can I still tell him that you carried his butt? Because that’s just funny.”

Jolie relaxed and followed her niece toward the door. “Yes you can tell him that part”.  – Whitney and Jolie

About the cover:  I love this cover!  Jolie (not precisely as I imagined her), is wearing a burlesque costume with Hauk looking over her (with his trademark hoodie) and they are underground.  I love how she is all ‘color’ and the rest are shades of gray.