In Thorn & Spire Katherine McIntyre reinterprets the classic Beauty & the Beast and makes it her own. A start to a new series that will be full of fairy tale retellings. This story will make you wish you were a part of this unique and dynamic world.
From the blurb:
One lonely demon. One curious librarian. One tale twisted by time…
Beau’s father is missing.
The trail leads to the Spires, a casino with a dangerous reputation run by Cillian Ashmore, a demon whose ruthlessness is renowned. His father landed himself a ten-year imprisonment, but Beau offers to take his place. Yet Cillian is as cold and callous as he’s rumored to be, prepared to make Beau’s time as his personal assistant hellish.
The mysteries in the upper tiers of the Spires multiply by the day, and the further Beau explores, the more questions he has. Why sometimes the rooms are empty and other times monsters lurk within. Why Cillian seems cruel yet has the friendship and loyalty of those around him.
And the more Beau discovers, the more he learns that Cillian’s cruelty is a mask he dons, that the demon has depths he’d never dreamed of. Too easily, that loathing morphs to lust and to something intense and unforgettable.
Yet Cillian’s made himself dangerous enemies, true threats lying in wait beyond the Spires, and unbeknownst to Beau, he’s running out of time…
SNik's review:
First in series (Monstrous Cravings). Paranormal. Beauty and the Beast retelling. Captor/captive. Size difference. Found family. Slow burn. Single POV. Heed content warnings.
Beau’s father is in trouble and Beau doesn’t hesitate to trade places in order to save him from “The Beast,”casino owner and demon Cillian. Trained as a librarian, Beau is now Cillian’s personal assistant, but Cillian is surrounded by mystery and a lot of unknowns.
As we only get Beau’s POV, information is scarce as he starts as an unwilling employee and it takes a while for him to converse with Cillian outside of their work environment. There are some helpful secondary characters, and some bad guys that are lurking as the story unfolds to explain more about Cillian’s life and circumstances. I do wish there had been more world building, we do get glimpses of how society works and a little background for the characters and Cillian’s supernatural railroad, but it would have been great to have more. This is a well written story, there are plenty of spicy times as Beau and Cillian build a tentative relationship, and their HEA did feel well deserved.
Molly Otto's review:
Kat goes back to their roots into the world of paranormal in their Monstrous Cravings series. Kat puts their spin of fairytale romances with a twist that you are not expecting, that keeps you with the feel of the original but at the same makes it their own. Beau is sent to pay his father's debt at the Spires Casino to Cillian, what neither is expecting is to find that other being that matches them in every way they hadn't expected they needed. Yes, on terms of Kat writing this is a slow burn, but dang when the heat does happen, next level perfection. This is the right way of bringing heat into a story without it taking away from the overall storyline. When they allow themselves to be together its magic and well worth the wait. Comparatively speaking to Kats others works this one does have more angst but it is all necessary for the story to play as it should. Add in the aspect of found family that Kat will always deliver on (even when not planned, guess what this is what they excel at) with Haven Diner drawing in all of our individuals to form the bonds they need to excel in this wild world.
Amazing story of Cillian Ashmore, a demon, and Beau who comes to Cillian's casino to work off his father's debt. Neither expect the connection that brews between them. It's a rough ride to their HEA but sooo worth the read. Couldn't put it down.
Beau is a librarian. He is quite beautiful and lives a solitary life. He has only his father so when he goes missing Beau starts looking. Cillian is our Beast. He lives in the Spires, runs a casino, and is quite the businessman. He’s willing to let Beau’s father go, if Beau will stay in his stead.
The story follows a similar line to the original. But…it is riveting in an I never knew I wanted something kind of way. The story is so much more than the original. It has so much sweetness and adventure in it. The beautiful library and the soothing garden brought smiles to my face. The snarky retorts between Cillian and Beau made me laugh out loud. The Thorn and the Spire has a found family that I have come to expect in Katherine McIntyre’s work. In fact, that is one of the reasons I love her writing. This family brings in a cast of special characters: Mal, Ursuline, Amelia, Sofia, Charles and Theo. Even having an idea of the ending that was coming, I didn’t expect the tears that fell. It was just wow. I don’t have to wonder who is next, Katherine tells us, and it is a full on villain arc that I am totally here for.
Angel's review:
Firstly, I want to start off by saying I absolutely adore and love Kat's writing, she has such an excellent way with words and the characters she creates are so dynamic and just so real and relatable. When Kat announced this series, and this book in particular, I was so excited! I'm a sucker for the classic fairytale's we're all familiar with, so for her to take those and put her own spin on them, I knew they were going to be good. And I was right.
Beau is a librarian and book lover to his core, he's sassy, smart, stubborn, and gives the hulking demon he encounters a run for his money. After his dad goes missing he rushes to save the only family he has left, Cillian, the demon who sentenced his dad to exile offers him a deal. His dad's freedom for his. And that folks is where this fairytale begins!
I absolutely LOVED reading this book! Kat stayed true to the original fairytale by keeping similar themes/elements similar, while also creating her own unique version of that fairytale. It speaks to an author's talent when they can take a topic that's been done before, and make it entirely their own. And Kat certainly achieved that here.
I adored the characters, each and every one of them were fantastic and played such a crucial role not only to the plot, but also to character development and giving off that close knit community feeling. When we're first introduced to Cillian, it wouldn't seem as though he rescues monsters and enjoys walks through gardens, but after all, things aren't always what they seem. A lesson Beau learned himself during his stay at the Spires.
I loved the found family aspect that formed when all these characters came together. The uniqueness with Cillian's curse was intriguing and I liked how certain elements stayed true to the original fairytale but how it was also entirely Kat's creation as well. A really brilliant blend of something old and something new.
The pacing was great, Cillian and Beau definitely have a slow burn relationship which made sense given their circumstances. I thought the plot was intriguing and written well, and I'm really excited to seeing where else this series goes. I'm also very curious about Mal, I hope he gets his own story too.
GreenwingReads review:
Belle was always my favorite princess and the one I could relate the most to, so I am a sucker for any Beauty and the Beast retelling. I love Kat's writing and was really looking forward to this!
Overall, it did not disappoint. I liked the story and there were some twists I did not expect. The spice was spicy, the plot kept moving, and the push and pull between the MCs was just the right amount.
My only complaint about the story was Beau, unfortunately. He was quite whiny over something that he volunteered to take on without any real information (he never asked why Cillian wanted to imprison his dad for 10 years), and honestly, Beau's "imprisonment" wasn't all that bad. I could have gotten over that if he hadn't been so reckless and consistently put others in danger for his own ends. He came off as self-centered in that regard.
I really liked Cillian, he was the perfect brooding Beast. I think I would have liked Beau more and the story better overall if it hadn't been a single POV. That was a bit frustrating for me at times because I like to know what both MCs are thinking. As single POV stories go though, Kat did a really good job with this one.
I'm intrigued by the series overall and I thought having this retelling set in a casino was a great idea. I'm looking forward to more!
The Thorn and the Spire is currently available as an e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription
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