Bellamy & the Brute by Alicia Michaels

Title:  Bellamy & The Brute
Author:  Alicia Michaels
Publisher: Clean Teen publishing
Release Date: March 13, 2017

When Bellamy McGuire is offered a summer job babysitting for the wealthy Baldwin family, she’s reluctant to accept. After all, everyone in town knows about the mysterious happenings at the mansion on the hill—including the sudden disappearance of the Baldwin’s eldest son, Tate. The former football star and Golden Boy of Wellhollow Springs became a hermit at the age of sixteen, and no one has seen or heard from him since. Rumors abound as to why, with whisperings about a strange illness that has caused deformity…turned him into a real-life monster. Bellamy wants to dismiss these rumors as gossip, but when she’s told that if she takes the job she must promise to never, ever visit the 3rd floor of the mansion, she begins to wonder if there really is some dark truth being hidden there.

Tate’s condition may not be the only secret being kept at Baldwin House. There are gaps in the family’s financial history that don’t add up, and surprising connections with unscrupulous characters. At night there are strange noises, unexplained cold drafts, and the electricity cuts out. And then there are the rose petals on the staircase. The rose petals that no one but Bellamy seems to be able to see. The rose petals that form a trail leading right up to the 3rd floor, past the portrait of a handsome young man, and down a dark hallway where she promised she would never, ever go…

As Bellamy works to unravel the mysteries of Baldwin House and uncover the truth about Tate, she realizes that she is in way over her head, in more ways than one. Can her bravery and determination help to right the wrongs of the past and free the young man whose story has captured her heart?  

~~~REVIEW~~~

Bellamy and The Brute by Alicia Michaels
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bellamy and the Brute is no Disney fairytale! Alicia Michaels has woven in murder, mystery, and ghosts in her haunting twist on Beauty and the Beast.

Wellhollow Springs may seem like any other quaint little town, but with an unsolved murder and a massive cover-up it's anything but. Add to that one of the oldest founding families, the Baldwins, have something to hide, and it's not just their son, Tate.

My favorite character is Bellamy. She is smart, funny, and tenacious. There's no changing her mind when she's decided to do something. These characters leap from the pages and the story plays out of beautiful stage in your mind.

Despite the modernization of the story the author has kept the essence of the original Beauty and the Beast intact. While there are definite nods to the original found within, Michaels has certainly put her stamp on the story. Just as good as the classic, another 5 star read from Alicia Michaels.

View all my reviews

Ever since she first read books like Chronicles of Narnia or Goosebumps, Alicia has been a lover of mind-bending fiction. Wherever imagination takes her, she is more than happy to call that place her home. With several Fantasy and Science Fiction titles under her belt, Alicia strives to write multicultural characters and stories that touch the heart. V-Card, the first book of the Sharing Spaces series, was her first Contemporary Romance.
The mother of three and wife to a soldier, she loves chocolate, coffee, and of course good books. When not writing, you can usually find her with her nose in a book, shopping for shoes and fabulous jewelry, or spending time with her loving family.

Stalk her at https://www.facebook.com/fantasybyalicia/

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