Review: Cinderellis & Beauregard and the Beast

Read Cinderellis and Beauregard and the Beast together and loved them both!

Beauregard and the Beast, and Cinderellis are such great, unique ideas – a re-telling of a classic, romantic fairy tale but in current times and with a same-sex couple. Neither book disappoints.

Beauregard and the Beast – the first in Evie Drae’s Once Upon A Vegas Night series, and if possible, I think I liked that story even more than Cinderellis! Bo is the sweet, young personal assistant to MMA champion fighter Adam – otherwise known as “The Beast”. The characters seemed to be on more equal footing from the start in this story as compared to Cinderellis. Both have their hangups – but they seemed like a more realistic couple. I also just LOVED the fact that part of the story involved them studying for their GEDs together.

Cinderellis, on the other hand, is the story of “Prince Of Pop” Henry “Cinder” Cinderford and Ellis Tremaine, a talented audio engineer who is still dealing with the effects of being abused by his stepfather – abuse that continues to the present.

A few chapters in, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it – I was having trouble connecting to the characters – but it turned around quickly, and I ended up just loving the story! I did find it frustrating that Ellis was so reluctant to push back on his evil, manipulative stepfather, but – luckily – I don’t have the experience of growing up in an abusive household – and I’m sure learning to push back on your adult caretakers under those circumstances is un-imaginably hard.

I loved how Cinder was so sure of his feelings from the get-go – something about Ellis called to something within him. While he was absolutely in love with Ellis, he was smart enough to not push him too hard; Ellis had to figure things out on his own. The two fairy godmothers in the story are hilarious – Kumiko and Lizbeth – Cinder’s best friends and tour managers, they play a big part in getting the couple back on track after things go off the rails.

Both these books are well worth it if you’re looking for a fun escape. Cinderellis is a little more angsty, but nothing off the chart and the happily ever after is worth the wait! I’m not sure whether there are more books planned in this series, but if so, sign me up to read them!