Little Beauty by Mark Jonathan Runte SFINCs3 Book Review
- Tabitha Tomala
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
This review is part of the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS). SFINCS, pronounced “sphinx”. This is a yearly competition to recognize, honor, and celebrate the talent and creativity present in the indie community. It’s a sister competition to both SPFBO and SPSFC, and it highlights greatness in the novella format in all areas of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, etc.).
To see more information on my team TBR check out this post!
Blurb for Little Beauty
Shy Jehanne always lived at the mercy of her sisters’ spite and bitterness, preferring a life with the saints in her father’s library. Cherbourg was home and for her, it was the smaller pleasures of watching the ships in the harbor, searching for her father’s vessels.
She might have continued on that path, were it not for the storm that sank his beloved Maud and left her family ruined. Her sisters resented leaving Cherbourg’s society for a small home on the edges of a nearby wood. While her sisters griped over selling their baubles and her brothers struggled with simple woodcutting, she was teaching herself the basics of hunting to feed them through the long winter.
She never counted upon finding a huntsman and his party in the woods, nor accompanying him back to his country estate. No more that than the curse on his heart.
Little Beauty Book Review
Jehanne is unlike other girls. She bears the resemblance of a beast rather than the gentle and intelligent girl she is. And it is because of this that she is misunderstood and mistreated. When she is captured on a hunt, she is forced to live alongside Perrin. A crude man who does little to instill kindness, instead treating her as a mere beast at first. Yet despite all she has been through, and it will not be an easy road for her, she is sure to never turn to cruelty.
While Perrin is the subject of a curse, his behavior towards others will strike the reader just as much as the character. Written as a truly unlikable character, Perrin is a hard one to follow. He can be judgmental and cruel. Oftentimes, he gave in to his temper to say or do things to push characters away crudely but effectively. To others, he seems handsome, yet his temperament and ways are undesirable.
The two main characters serve to counterbalance each other as the story unfolds. Yet there are many times Perrin’s remarks about Jehanne may be too much for some readers. Jehanne’s inert goodness and desire to understand, even in the toughest times, can be both heartbreaking and hopeful.
Little Beauty is a conflicting tale, able to draw out a range of emotions from readers. Yet it is easy to see the fairytale inspirations. And some of the lessons from those well-known tales also translate well into the story. Things such as never assuming who someone is by their appearance, and to remain kind despite what life throws at you.
To Purchase: Author's Website
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