This is a sweet, Christmassy read that is perfectly nice, with a grumpy hero and a rather innocent heroine, an adorable giant dog and sprinkles of fairytale dust. If you like Beauty and the Beast – the Disney version, not the original fairytale – then you’ll probably love this as it has lots of familiar moments, like the library and the ballroom, a forbidden room, and another bit that seemed really out of place. Personally, I might have preferred less Disney and more fairytale, but it definitely added a layer of additional fun to the tale.

Which is nice. I found it mostly enjoyable, but it is heavy on the insta-lust/love and never came close to sweeping me away. Derek is very grumpy at first, but he grew on me. I do think he overreacted about certain things purely to fit in with the fairytale plot, but on the whole I liked him. I liked Izzy too, at first, but her insecurities and abandonment issues really started to grate on me towards the end. They’re both pretty messed up, thanks to their mothers, but Izzy’s internal monologues came close to whining at times and I got rather impatient with her. Yes, yes, no one has ever loved you (apart from Gran, who doesn’t count for some reason), but my word, woman, grow a spine and stop feeling so sorry for yourself!

Despite the Disney gloss over certain scenes, this isn’t a rehash of BatB. There’s an element of boss/employee, plus a hefty does of fake-girlfriend, which help keep things ticking along. Some scenes didn’t really fit in with the rest of it – the motel and the tree cutting – and Derek’s standing with his family felt very unfinished at the end. However, on the whole this was cute and sweet and nice enough for a little Christmas escape.

As a reader, for me the stories that are the most memorable are the ones that thrive on simplicity. Whether it be a nod to a favorite classic tale or an inclusion of a few of my favorite subjects, what appeals to me most is that the tale is realistic and the characters can make me as a reader stop and take notice. The Bookworm and the Beast fit all my criteria for wonderful reading. Izzy and Derek are relatable individually and as a couple. In times of frustration and despair is when a person is at their strongest. With a little time, a lot of love and a bit of holiday magic, Ms. James captures more than the imagination, she puts the emotions on notice as well.

I loved this modern retelling of <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>. There is all the magic of the fairytale while having the story definitely take place in a modern setting. I loved all the twists and turns that this story took. It was one that I found myself compelled to read because I had to know how Charlee James was going to end her story.
Isabel Simon has never had a relationship with her mother and never knew her father. Thankfully, she was raised by her grandmother who did everything she could for Izzy. Now that her grandmother is in a retirement community, Izzy feels the need to contribute and pay half of her grandmother’s rent. She doesn’t mind helping her grandmother especially because her grandmother is so happy there, but the strain of two rents is beginning to erode her monthly budget. Izzy just doesn’t make enough money as a librarian to cover the costs each month so she takes a temp job over the holidays to work as a personal assistant. Izzy doesn’t expect to find a cranky man within the castle.
Derek Croft just wants to be left alone. He gave his staff the two weeks before Christmas off so that he could work on his newest book without any interruptions. Apparently they thought he couldn’t manage on his own so they hired a temp to help him out. Derek is all set to send her packing when his well-meaning stepmother tells him that she has invited yet another single girl for the holidays to tempt him into marriage. Derek hopes that Izzy will go along with his plan for her to pretend to be his girlfriend. What Derek doesn’t expect is to find himself hoping that she will be his girlfriend for real.
These two characters have a lot of baggage. Both of them have been hurt by people that they trusted and have withdrawn into their shells. Neither of them expects to find a kindred spirit and especially not one over the holidays. As with all good romances, this one is not smooth sailing and both of these characters have to do some soul searching before they are ready for love.
This is the first book I have read by Charlee James, but it won’t be the last. I loved her writing style and the care she took to craft characters that weren’t one dimensional. I am looking forward to what she writes next and will have to look at her backlist as well.

Reading this during the holiday season with Christmas songs on the radio must have made me mellow :-)
Izzy needs extra money to support her Gram (who has raised her) and takes a job for the Christmas holidays as an assistant to grumpy writer Derek. He doesn't want her in his big mansion, but due to circumstance (his doting father and stepmom want to see him hitched) he asks Izzy to be his fake girlfriend for Christmas.

I had a good time reading this sweet romance. It felt like the script of a Hallmark movie and just what I needed this time of year. The writing was good and I also liked the storyline.

To help her financial situation, Izzy accepts a temporary job as an assistant during the holiday. She was expecting a older gentleman, portly and balding. What she got was a grumpy writer that fired her blood and made her question the way she saw herself.

Derek’s staff had the holidays off and he didn’t need anyone to replace them. When his stepmother buts pressure on him to meet a woman of her choosing he quickly takes advantage of the situation that has landed him with a woman that refuses to leave him alone.

Izzy helps Derek to open up his heart to the holiday as well as her and in the process finds herself falling for a man who can’t allow her into his life.

This was a sweet, fast paced read that I enjoyed. It is a fade to black in the steamy department. These characters are both wounded from their pasts, each waiting for the other to reopen those old wounds. It has a touch of Beauty and the Beast to it which I liked but not enough to mirror it.
All in all, a very nice holiday read.

This is an honest review of an advanced copy provided by NetGalley and Entangled Publishing.

Dual POV
Safe – no ow/om drama
No apparent triggers

This is a fantastic sweet read that had me smiling all the way through. It's very well written with some amazing characters and a heartwarming storyline. Perfect for the holiday season with the underlying message of how love and hope can heal old wounds..

Events of the past have hardened Derek Croft's heart. He's reclusive, gruff, and absolutely does not want the pretty, happy temp his staff has arranged for him. Izzy Simon knows Derek doesn't want her around but she needs this job and refuses to let his sour demeanor to ruin things for her. So it would seem they are stuck with each other. For the next two weeks anyway! Or longer?????

Definitely a book I think you would enjoy. I highly recommend it.

I received an Arc of this book for an honest review. I saw this book on Netgalley and being a huge lover of Beauty and the Beast I thought I would love this book too. Unfortunately, this did not ring true for me. I will start off with what I liked:
*I liked the idea of rewriting Beauty and the Beast, with the "beast" being a children's author.
* I really liked Derek's dog Atticus. I thought it was cute that he named him after Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird.
* The overbearing family wanting to make sure that Derek was happy and had a great life was a nice touch.
* The few scenes that the author pulled that were iconic scenes in Beauty and the Beast
* No love triangle
*I liked Derek and how he was grumpy and was a children's author.
*The book at the end.


Things I didn't like
* Izzy was not as big of a bookworm as I thought she would be. She works at a library and she only mentions books once or twice. We never see her reading a book in all the time she spent with Derek. I am a huge bookworm and I always have a book on me no matter where I am. I am always trying to read.
*The insta love. I wish they would have developed the relationship more. Even if it was just they started falling for each other by the end of the book I would have been happy. They both "fell" way too fast and too easily.
* I didn't like how Izzy didn't stand up for herself very often. She was a pushover and I was hoping for more of a back bone. Belle in Beauty and the Beast was a strong heroine and Izzy was not.
* Both characters did not have much depth.

Overall, this was an okay book. I came into with high expectations that unfortunately this book didn't meet. I think if you are looking for a insta love Christmas book this would be the book for you. Sadly, it just fell short for my taste.

Debut book by a new author. Knocked it out of the park for me! It was a sweet romance, but I didn't find that detracted from the story at all. Izzy and Derek were fantastic together.

This book made me laugh, a few tears were shed. A perfect holiday story to curl up with and pass an afternoon reading.

This book is very much a fairy tale, with a sweet and innocent – but insecure – librarian who, with the help of a little Christmas magic, tames the savage (ok, more like rude and grumpy) beast. It’s not a direct retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but contains elements that someone of a certain age (cough cough) would recognize from the animated Disney version. There’s a big old castle, a library, a forbidden room, and weirdest of all, wolves.

Izzy was practically a Disney princess. She’s sweet, innocent, and impoverished, and an absolute fountain of Christmas spirit – or, as Derek calls her, “Santa’s evil elf.” Derek, on the other hand, was quite the beast. He was so rude and unlikeable, at first, that I had a hard time warming up to him. Both Izzy and Derek had serious abandonment issues that led to roadblocks in their relationship. Izzy couldn’t believe that anyone would actually love her, and Derek was too afraid of abandonment and betrayal to love anyone. My favorite character, however, was Derek’s St. Bernard, Atticus!

“No matter how friendly they got, she had to protect her heart. They were from different worlds, and once this charade was over, she’d go back to hers, and he’d forget she ever existed. That’s what people typically did to her anyway.”


Unfortunately, I had a lot of problems that took me out of the fairy tale. The major one was that their relationship started while they were still boss and employee, and the power dynamic was very uneven. Derek ends up paying her to pretend to be his girlfriend, and while I did feel like their relationship was consensual and organic, it still left me with a bit of an icky feeling.

Also, the ending felt very rushed. Without getting into spoilers, I felt like the main conflict was not resolved properly. What Derek did to Izzy was very hurtful, and her feelings for him aside, I didn’t feel like he properly demonstrated that he wouldn’t do it again before she pretty much unconditionally accepted him back.

Overall, this is a cute and sweet holiday romance, especially if you can overlook some of the issues I had with it. If you’re looking for a sweet holiday fairy tale, then this is your book!

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Charlee James is clearly a fan of the Disney Beauty & the Beast story because her The Bookworm & the Beast is brimming with the familiar. From a beastly behaved love interest to a meddlesome house staff, this book is more so a love story to a Disney classic. This led me to internally wince at some plot points that felt jammed in to mirror the film version.

Despite that, this modern remake wasn't terrible. I appreciated James' efforts to change things up -- heroine has a day job (albeit low paying), hero has a job, lovemaking (not titillating, so no worries for those squeamish) -- and her efforts to avoid direct copycatting -- she's called Izzy instead of Belle, has a grandmother to care for instead of a dear papa.

If you love the idea of escaping into a contemporary Disney B&B with some traditional romance devices, you might want to pick this up and leave behind your "provincial life." Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to "be our guest" on this read.

5 - "It's straight out of a movie." Stars!

Charlee James took me to Christmas reading nirvana, with The Bookworm and the Beast and I have everything crossed that this author has a few ideas up her sleeve in relation to transferring a few more much loved fairy tales into modern day, sweet and emotive romances.

IMAGE.

Izzy and Derek’s story is definitely one you will know and love if the names Belle and Beast ring even the slightest recollection, and I love that the author incorporated so many facets from that beloved story/film into the telling of their budding relationship.

She’d been dropped into one of the fantasy novels she always had her nose in… Big castle, a handsome man-knee wobbling, palm-sweating type of handsome…

Although a quick read the story wasn’t lacking for anything, depth, development, back stories, plenty of sizzle and emotions, closed door on the intimate times, but I did not mind it in the least because the author delivered so beautifully on all the other aspects.

"I want to give you the Christmas you deserve…"

I loved the inclusion of Atticus the dog as well, and the epilogue just rounded out the perfect Christmas story for me. I look forward to reading more from this talented author in the future.

This was a sweet story. They both had a lot to overcome and they did for a great ending. Leave it to Christmas.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you, NetGalley, for this ARC.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It was a enjoyable contemporary retelling of a classic fairy tale. I did have some issues with the major instalove since that's one of my most hated plot lines in stories. The characters were just okay to me. They were nothing special, but I did enjoy reading about them.

It bothered me a little that both main characters have this abandoned by mom subplot. I think it might have worked if just one of them had that background for how they grew up, but found it a little weird that both did.

It was an enjoyable holiday read, but probably won't be something I'm itching to reread over an over again.

4.5 Stars

I love a fairytale retelling. They’re a guilty pleasure and this was pretty much all I could have wished for as Charlee James has created a story filled with Christmas sparkle, romance and feeling.

“A worm and a porcupine. We make quite a pair.”

I fell head over heels for these characters within pages. From the moment sweet, stubborn librarian Izzy knocks on reclusive author Derek’s door having being employed by his meddling staff as his temporary PA over the holidays, I was hooked. And it’s no secret that a brooding arse of a man, and one who loves his dog at that, can render me a puddle on the floor.

“People weren’t always what they seemed, including the ones you loved most.”

Characters like Derek are proof that I don’t need my literary men to be a brute in the bedroom to steal my heart because he stole mine without displaying an ab or an appendage: it was his brain, his words and his actions which totally stole my heart. And when you mix that with a heroine who brings fun, fight and light, then you won’t go far wrong with me.

”I’m not ready for this to be over.”

This would have been a solid 5 for me had the ending not felt rushed, but nevertheless, Charlee James has created an enchanting modern day fairytale perfect for this time of year. And with a lovely writing style, I can’t wait to read more from her in the future.

the bookworm and the beast is a contemporary holiday retelling of beauty and the beast. for not being my favorite fairy tale, it proves to be one that is easily adaptable to modern times. in this story, our beast is played by reclusive children's book author, derek croft while the beauty, or bookworm, is librarian izzy stevens, who has arrived at derek's home to serve as a temporary assistant while his staff is on holiday.

at first derek is unwelcoming and does his best to get rid of izzy. but when his stepmother threatens to bring another potential love match to their family christmas dinner, he begs izzy to stay. izzy is only working to earn extra money to pay for her grandmother's retirement home facility, and even though derek has been a beast to work for, she can't turn down his offer of extra cash.

lying doesn't sit well with izzy, but soon enough the lie starts to feel like truth. as derek and izzy spend time together and start to let down their walls. it's sweet and romantic and the kind of feel-good romance that is perfect to read by the fire and your christmas tree.

**the bookworm and the beast will publish on december 4, 2017. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (bliss) in exchange for my honest review.

A contemporary Beauty and the Beast story that captures your heart with its wit and charm! That it is set during Christmastime makes it all the sweeter and wistful for its readers. I enjoyed the Grinch-like hero and the kindhearted young heroine who thaws his heart in time for the holidays. Though it had its ups and downs, with trials and errors as the two characters learned more about each other, the ending makes you believe in Christmas miracles again.

Isabel Simon needs the money desperately, which is the only reason she accepts a two-week assignment during the Christmas season as a personal assistant for a reclusive man in a mansion fit for a fairytale. If she doubted the wisdom of this decision before, it increases tenfold once she meets the man face-to-face. Handsome, with a lovable dog at his side, Derek Croft appears like a dream at first glance. However, his scowl and generally unpleasant disposition quickly dispels the notion that this holiday season will end in a happily ever after. Ready to leave him, and good riddance, Isabel is about to march right back out the door when Derek lays a new proposition at her feet - pretend to be his girlfriend to satisfy his parents and get more money that she would have as his assistant. Unable to resist the promise of money enough to care for her elderly grandmother, Isabel agrees, but if there's one thing fairytales guarantee, it's this: Be careful what you wish for.

I thoroughly enjoyed Isabel and Derek, and I wished the book was longer so that I could enjoy them for more than a few hours. A quick read, I completed the book in one day, and it was largely due to my need to know how the story ended. Given that it borrows elements of the original Beauty and the Beast story, it was fairly predictable, but that doesn't mean I wasn't just as eager to turn the pages! Isabel was a really nice, considerate person who I could easily see being my friend in real life. Derek was a grump but with a soft heart, especially evident when he interacted with his dog, Atticus. He got bonus points for being a fan of To Kill A Mockingbird. Though he messes things up several times with Isabel, my heart sighed with how he made up for it in the end. Truly romantic!

This was my first book by this author and will certainly not be my last! I highly recommend to anyone wanting a Christmas read with a fairytale ending.

She rather liked this irritable side that hid away all his softness. It was like unwrapping a present layer by layer and finding a nice surprise hidden underneath.

I’ve never made secret of my love for gruff, grumpy heroes with a soft center. And the “beast” we get here, in The Bookworm and the Beast by Charlee James, fits exactly that description.

Derek is biting and short, but as he warms up, he helps make this already charming book even more so. It’s a rather delightful holiday read, with all the elements about love and forgiveness that you might expect, and a relationship that progresses nicely—from nothing to friends to more.

And it’s a more that’s well-earned. I liked seeing Derek open up, and loved seeing Izzy come out of her shell. I found myself relating to her self-doubts while enjoying the softer, lighter moments she and her beastly boss shared.

In fact, I liked most everything about this book.

Truly. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Izzy and Derek’s story. A fun play on Beauty and the Beast, it’s a quick and easy romance that is as sweet as a stocking full of Christmas candy—even if Derek is exactly the opposite at first—and definitely an ideal book to pick up when you’re looking for something blissful.

“Don’t fear the roses. Some of the best things in the world come from the prickliest of packages.”

~ 4.5 STARS ~

The Bookworm and the Beast by Charlee James is light, funny, and heart-warmingly romantic. It is pure escapism.

I found myself enjoying The Bookworm and the Beast from the very beginning, but at first I brushed it off as light and fluffy, enjoyable but no hidden depths. As I moved further into the story though, I couldn’t help but be captured by Charlee’s prose and beautiful characterisations. I know I keep using the word ‘beautiful’ a lot, but it’s simply the best way to describe the extremely smooth flowing writing style of the author, and the characters she has developed. Izzy, Derek, and even Atticus, are all individuals in their own right. Izzy and Derek are flawed characters and both are dealing with pain and heartbreak from their pasts; but despite their flaws they are both genuinely nice people. It was a joy to watch the evolution of Derek from an antisocial hermit to someone who can simply enjoy what, and who, he has now; to live in the present, not the past. For Izzy she has to discover her own self confidence and move on from the horrible experiences of her youth. To watch her grow and develop was a lovely experience.

The Bookworm and the Beast is a sweet romance. Very loosely follows a Beauty & The Beast theme, but it’s not a retelling by any stretch although it was fun to find the little connections.

I’d recommend The Bookworm and the Beast by Charlee James to anyone looking for a light romantic read; a perfect way to pass a lazy Sunday morning.

So FUN. A cute, quick Christmas read. All the festive feels. Also, a cute dog.