Beautiful Beast by Devyn Sinclair | ARC Book Review

Beautiful Beast (Dragons of Viria, #1) by Devyn Sinclair

Pages: 367
Publish date: May 2, 2024
Publisher: –
ASIN: B0D2VZ5RDJ
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Standing in front of a dragon means dying by fire, but the heart knows there’s more than one way to burn.

Humans and dragons are at war, and I am a pawn in the battle.

Princess of a dying land, my life is not my own, and a marriage to a vicious, dragon-hunting prince will save my people from deadly famine or death by fire.

But before I can vow my life to a monster, dragons drop screaming from the sky with a single aim. End the alliance. Kill me. I welcome the flames, relieved to burn instead of rot.

But the flames never come.

One look in the dragons’ eyes, and they carry me away. Three dragons whose gaze burns with hunger and fills me with fire.

They’re not what we were taught, and every passing day I learn more of the truth. Dragons are not the enemy we thought they were.

Still, one question for centuries no one has stood before a dragon and survived. If these dragons were sent to kill me, why am I still alive?

Beautiful Beast is the first book in a why choose trilogy. All content warnings are available on the author’s website.

Beautiful Beast:

I received an earc of Beautiful Beast by Devyn Sinclair in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

It’s rare that I don’t love a Devyn Sinclair book and today wasn’t that day. I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading Beautiful Beast, I honestly didn’t even really read the synopsis, but as soon as I started it, I knew I was going to love it. It has dragons, mates, princesses, enemies to lovers and so much more.

Beautiful Beast follows Lena as she is about to marry a neighbouring Prince, but the dragons have other plans that go a little array. And instead of being killed Lena is taken captive. And that is when all the fun begins. Unable to fill their mate, Endre, Sirrius and Zovai now have a little problem on their hands, but they can’t help but fall for Lena, she is not only their mate, but something so much more.

I loved Lena from the moment I started reading, she is a bad*** princess who’s strong-minded, will say what she is thinking and happens to fall for 3 dragons. Endre, Sirrius and Zovai were also fantastic, I liked they each had their own personality and their own stories. They have all been through hell, each in a different way. And I’m excited to see where they are taken.

The side characters were also fantastic. I sometimes feel that they can be left behind, but I think they added some really good scenes and character growth for all of them throughout the book. I will also say that I would like a Varí for myself, thank you very much.

Things did move faster and slow down all at the same time. This is so hard to explain, for about 80% of the book I felt like not much happened plot-wise. There was heaps of character development which I loved! I thought it was necessary, but not a lot happened. And then everything happened. I would have liked it to be paced a little bit better. But honestly, it wasn’t a massive deal.

I have always really enjoyed Devyn’s writing style and plot and this was no different. There is something very easy about their writing that makes the book flow easily and makes for a great reading experience. I loved the world that Devyn has created here and I am excited to explore it that little bit more. It was slow in the world-building, but I think that fits the book and series quite well.

The ending though! If you are not good with cliffhangers, maybe reading this book right now isn’t for you. It was done fantastically though. I honestly wasn’t able to put the book down and I just wanted to know what was going to happen next. And now I have to wait!! I knew I was going to like this book, but I didn’t know how excited I was going to be for the rest of the series. And impatient.

Overall I loved reading Beautiful Beast by Devyn Sinclair, it has high stakes, dragons, fated mates and a why-choose romance that hits all the right spots. I cannot wait to read more in this series and it’s going to be fantastic, I can already tell. If you are looking for a new paranormal/fantasy romance series to pick up, this one might just be it.

Tropes and Themes: Paranormal Romance, Dragons, Fated Mates, Age Gap, Multiple POV, Enemires to Lovers, Princess FMC, Instant Connection, Mid-Slow Burn

⚠️ Trigger Warnings Include: Self-sterilization, discussion of sexual assault (potential), death outside of the harem, kidnapping, violence

And there we go! Have you read Beautiful Beast by Devyn Sinclair? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it soon? Let’s chat!