Love isn’t always a fairy tale.
Charming and popular, Orson Grey is the most sought-after bachelor in Manhattan. When Caroline pledges to spend her life with him, it feels like the beginning of a fairy tale.
The fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare.
Behind closed doors, Orson is controlling and cruel. Trapped by laws that prevent women from leaving unhappy marriages, Caroline has no choice but to endure her husband’s behavior. Each day grows more intolerable, and her frustration and resentment mounts. Even her passion for rare books is stifled, leaving her isolated and lonely, a fading rose trapped under glass.
When Caroline is offered the opportunity to catalogue a private library, she seizes it like a lifeline. Exploring the literary treasures, she discovers a friend in the library’s owner, Zane Bishop—a brilliant, wealthy recluse who was disfigured in an explosion years ago.
Thoughtful and kind, Zane is everything Orson is not. As their trust builds, Zane realizes that Caroline’s pain runs much deeper than she lets on. He suffers with her, knowing precisely of Orson’s cruelty firsthand. Zane will stop at nothing to set Caroline free, even if it means risking everything.
Release Date: Oct 13, 2026
Heat Level: Hot
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: Avon
Price: $11.99
Talk about he falls first!
We start with our heroine, Caroline. She’s trapped in a marriage to a man she thought was Prince Charming. Yet, Orson is far from a true hero. He’s controlling and abusive, like the blurb says. A random party puts Caroline on a strange path where she meets the reclusive, rich Zane Bishop. Zane is equally enamored by Caroline. Due to some good ol’ fashioned sisterly meddling, Caroline and her talent for documenting book values are granted access to Zane’s library. How does a married woman in a horrible relationship fall for the scarred beast of a recluse… It’s a tale as old as time.
This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling with such a fresh twist, and the layered elements of the story are all there. Zane is the beast, the man so wounded that all he thinks about is how to exact his revenge and suffer from his wounds alone, until he meets Caroline. Our ‘Belle’ was raised as an expert at book appraisal and loves a library. This slow burn is definitely a ‘he falls first’ situation. He becomes obsessed, and even more so when he discovers that Caroline is suffering at Orson’s hands.
This latest Shupe has a darker bent, reminding me of Maire Claremont’s Dark Passions series. Think all the magic of a historical romance, but with a more realistic touch. Especially for the time period, laws of oppression against women, women considered property to men, and those husbands treating them awfully. This is a romance, so the horrible treatment doesn’t last forever. The women get a second chance with a guy who respects them and gives them autonomy.
Why this story works? Caroline is a damsel in distress in the worst of situations. She not only embraces the opportunities given to her but finds a way to fight. As someone familiar with abuse and trauma, seeing Caroline take back her power was so satisfying. Zane has seen privilege in action. He’s suffered from spoiled, rich, evil people who think they are the hero in their own story. Watching a man do everything for a woman, expecting nothing in return, and falling head over heels is dopamine-inducing. I stayed up way too late reading this one.
This one proves historical romance is far from dead.
~ Landra
Bev, here! I’m going to add my two cents to Landra’s review, so the rating is a combination of the 5 Stars I gave it, which rounds it up to 5 Stars.
I absolutely loved loved this book. It’s my favorite of the year, and I can’t see another book usurping it with so little time left. If one does, I’ll let you know.
One of the many reasons I loved it is because Joanna has written a beautiful, heart-wrenching retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Another is that I typically don’t like this particular retelling. I’ve actually never read or seen the original. It could be because the beast looks more like an animal to me, and that has put me off. I also thought I wouldn’t be able to bear how awful Orson treated Caroline, but I found I couldn’t put the book down. I remained rivited throughout and read the whole thing in one or two sittings. But lastly, I almost instantly fell in love with Zane. Should all the beasts in our lives be that beautiful, the world would be a beautiful place.
I’m going to end by saying that in the last several years, I’ve found it hard to get into historical romances. I’ve been reading mostly contemporaries. The Gilded Rose renewed my love of the historical romance genre, and for that I can’t thank Joanna enough.
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