Blog Tour Review: Petals and Thorns – Jennifer Paris

Petals and Thorns by Jennifer Paris
Series:
Release Date:  July 13, 2010
Publisher:   Loose ID, LLC
Page Count:  85
Source:  Bewitching Book Tours
Buy the book at: Amazon 

In exchange for her father’s life, Amarantha agrees to marry the dreadful Beast and be his wife for seven days. Though the Beast cannot take Amarantha’s virginity unless she begs him to, he can and does take her in every other way. From the moment they are alone together, the Beast relentlessly strips Amarantha of all her resistance. If Amarantha can resist her cloaked and terrifying husband, she gains his entire fortune and will be allowed to return to her family and a normal life. But the Beast seduces her at every turn, exposing, binding, tormenting, and pleasuring Amarantha until she no longer knows her own deepest desires.
Increasingly desperate to break the curse that chains his humanity, the Beast drives Amarantha past every boundary. But her desire for a normal life may jeopardize the love that will save them both.

This was an interesting take on Beauty and the Beast.  If the Beast and his lady love were into BDSM, that is.

Amarantha is forced to marry “The Beast”, in exchange for her father’s debt to be forgiven.  She only needs to hold onto her virginity for one night and then she’ll be sent back home to her family with half of the Beast’s wealth.  She figures that will be easy…but she’s in for a surprise.

The Beast does all sorts of sexual things to Amarantha during their time together, but he never takes her virginity.  He vows that is a choice that she will have to and agree to verbally.  To me, not personally breaking her maidenhead is semantics when we read all the other things they do together.

As with the fairy tale, we find that the Beast was cursed because of his excesses and he’ll never be free of his curse until someone willingly submits to him.  So it was of no great surprise that when Amarantha returns home she realizes that her place truly is with the beast and not with the family that would give her away for money.

A quick read and highly erotic spin on a classic fairy tale.