ARC Review: In Bed with the Beast by Tara Sivec

In Bed With the Beast by Tara Sivec
Series: Naughty Princess Club #2
Rating: ★★★★☆
Links: Amazon • Goodreads
Publication Date: June 5, 2018
Source: ARC from the publisher

A tale as old as time: she needs a place to stay, he’s a grump with a secret and an extra room…can love find a way?

Meet the Naughty Princess Club, a series from USA Today bestselling author Tara Sivec that brings readers to Fairytale Lane and the hilarity—and romance—that three women fall into once they decide to strut their stuff and bring on their own happily ever after.

Living in her overprotective dad’s basement, shy Belle lives her life through books. Being a part of the Naughty Princess Club is the first adventure she’s ever had, plus she desperately needs the money to save one of her favorite places – the local library.

But when her new friends and new business gets her kicked out of her dad’s house, Belle is rescued by the surly Vincent “Beast” Adams who invites her to be his house guest until she gets back on her feet. Despite his attitude problem and long list of rules, Belle finds herself warming to the muscled man with a penchant for growling and starts seeing a gentle side to him that wasn’t there before.

Yet there’s a room that Beast keeps locked and Belle keeps getting hints that Beast is hiding something…can a nerdy librarian tame the beast or will their romance be over before it has a chance to blossom?

I love fairytale retellings. Earlier this year, I read (and really enjoyed) At the Stroke of Midnight, the first book in Tara Sivec’s Naughty Princess Club series. While that book was a retelling of Cinderella, In Bed with the Beast is (clearly) a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Of the three Naughty Princesses (the third being Ariel), I relate most to Belle and I could not wait to read her story. Thank you so much to St. Martin’s for the advance copy!

The retellings in this series are so well done! The foundation of the fairytale is still there, but enough is changed that the stories feel new and exciting. This book, in particular, was cute and sweet, laugh out loud funny, and also really steamy! There’s a whole heck of a lot of sexual tension between Belle and Vincent and just enough conflict to keep things interesting. Belle and Vincent were legitimately good for each other and their relationship felt so natural and healthy. I didn’t see the plot twist coming and, as before, I’m so intrigued by Ariel’s story. I can’t wait for the absolute explosion of enemies-to-lovers passion that’s sure to come in Kiss the Girl.