Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay (review)

Secluded in her palace rooms and blind from early childhood, Isra knows little of her domed city, Yuan, only that its survival depends on a blood sacrifice from the queen that will require her to give her life when the city rulers see fit. Outside the dome, the tribes of mutant beasts that roam the desert grow restless, and Gem, a Monstrous warrior, infiltrates the city on a recon mission only to be captured by Isra's guards. During the course of his imprisonment, Gem strikes up a friendship with Isra that eventually blossoms into love—but the powers that be in Yuan, especially the dark magic that has the city and its rulers in its hold, aren't about to let the sacrifice go unmet. The bones of the classic "Beauty and the Beast" story are all here, imaginatively fleshed out with tropes from science fiction, fantasy, and even political drama. Despite his mutated features, it's not Gem who is the Beast but Isra, and Jay plays a delicate game, portraying Isra's ignorance and selfishness first as character flaws and then as vulnerabilities, transforming her from an unlikable brat to a sympathetic heroine. Narration alternates mostly between Isra and Gem (with a few jarring interruptions from Bo, Isra's suitor), revealing the various secrets they are both keeping from each other and reminding readers that there is far more at stake here than a simple romance, a fact that becomes clear when Isra's reluctance to act at a certain point indirectly leads to the death of Gem's infant son. That they are able to find a happy ending even after that lends a weight of sincerity to their undeniable chemistry and will please readers who like to believe that fairy tales can come true, even under dire circumstances.