A review by onyxwolf
Artisans by Julie Reece

3.0

I wish I could give the book 3.5 stars because I'm stuck between like and really like. I really like the writing and the adaptation from Beauty and the Beast plot. It's more than a little far fetched, but what fairy tale isn't?

What I didn't care for was the romance aspect.

Spoiler

Major issue is that we have a young man who's physically aggressive toward the girl. Not that he hurts her, but it's the holding of the wrists, the getting so close to her she ends up flat on her back while he's practically laying on top of her to make her listen to him. I know that in YA it's a very popular theme but it would be nice if we were showing romance without the controlling aspects.
The love story feels a bit rushed. The ghosts are the real story and if she's going to make more books in this series I think the love story could have carried over to the next book.

But I did enjoy the book and would like to read more of her work :-)