This book certainly deserves 5 stars. Well, maybe even 6 for the cool concept of this novel and how it was concluded. Yet I was still annoyed with the banter between the MC or rather just how "rough around the edges" Naef / Knife was. Which is why I HAVE to somehow reduce my rating. Lets start at the beginning. This story is a sort of fairy tale combining "The Beast" (from "Beauty and the Beast") and well, "The Hunchback of Notredam" in the MM version.. It was GENIUS.
Naef (mostly known as "Knife") is our "Hunchback", living in a small village with his mother and sister. He is ugly, deformed and was brutally attached when he was a kid because of his appearance. The only joy he has besides his close family (who would do right about ANYTHING for him) is carving wood in which he excels. Living in this horrible small village taught him the ugly side of people, not in appearance but in the way they see and act toward people whom they conceive as inferior. But he learned his lesson and now he can defend himself with his small knifes as well as with his harsh tongue. I got why he was so bitter and why he said the things he said, attaching instead of even considering giving a person a break. But it also made him unattainable in a way I didn't like even though it made him realistic.
Gwen, his sister, already sacrificed enough for his well being, what he wouldn't do to make sure she is happy and content in life, so when a suitor comes and she actually likes him, he explains to her suitor why Gwen is turning him down - she will not leave her brother behind.. After a while a solution is formed in the Beastly appearance of the suitor's cousin - Aerie-Smith. Aerie-Smith is half a man half lion and he is asking for Knife's help - he will go to live for a whole year in Aerie-Smith's island, in the end of that year doing "one regrettable task" and so enabling his sister to be happily married to his cousin by then and going to live with them if he chooses. Knife accepts the offer - seeing no other way to ensure his sister's happiness.
Aerie-Smith is our "Beast", he, personally, was cursed by Elves to be half man half lion (or a full lion..) but his island's people were cursed as well! They have been turned into animals and have been living this way for almost 10 years. Aerie-Smith has a way out, for it, he needs Knife and nothing is going to stop him from righting his wrongs (or so he thinks..) what both he and Knife don't expect is for them to fall in love.
I don't want to say how it came about, I'll just say that it was so so beautiful. Sometimes I was wondering how Aerie-Smith could take Knife's snarky behavior and yet, maybe it's just what he enjoyed so much or maybe he enjoyed seeing the change in him as he learned to trust. Either way I really liked Aerie-Smith. He was sweet and caring and the twist near the end and what he confessed to Knife tore my hearts to pieces! There is a special point to the whole Beast vs. Hunchback and the fact that they both had a way of seeing the better in one another. It was truly a beautiful love story and even though we've read this theme before (many times..) it's SO DAMN UNIQUE in how it was brought to us, the way the romance was building and ESPECIALLY how it ended - simply perfection! I so wish I'd loved Knife, I do.. maybe if we had Aerie-Smith's POV and not just Knife's POV it would have changed the general feel. I don't know.
Anyhow it's simply a MUST READ to anyone who wants a re-visit to the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale in the most unexpected way.
HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Additional Details: Kindle Ebook, 145 pages, 11 July 2015 / On GoodReads
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