Once Upon an Enchanted Castle: A Beauty and the Beast Retelling (Enchanted Realms #4)

A decent retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I liked the story within a story aspect, as the prologue features an aunt consoling her preteen niece and tells her the story of Bella and Leopold.

Bella translates ancient texts and has plenty of book collectors reaching out to her with requests. Her father stumbles upon a book and brings it home but as Bella delves into the mysterious story, she realizes that it's different from most of the other works. She visits a bookstore and encounters Leopold, who requests that she bring the book to his home where he tells her that the book is cursed. Bella then sets out to figure out the curse with Leopold holding on to a faint hope that this headstrong woman can break it.

This is a slow-burn romance and the chemistry between Bella and Leopold was okay. The quick change in their feelings (from eh to omg I think I'm falling for them) was confusing as there was no real buildup.

I liked the fact that Bella wasn't just an avid book reader but a translator/scribe. Some changes to the tale were good, others left much to be desired.

*Thanks to Booksprout for an early copy