I got this book, thinking it would be a retelling (or retooling) of the Beauty and the Beast tale. It's not. The first chapter opens with the main character in bed with his mistress. If the fact that he's scarred figures into the story at all, it's only ancillary. The book is, in every other way, simply a romance-book trope. The story and writing and incredibly anachronistic and derivative. There is nothing new or interesting about the characters. Really not worth the paper it's printed on.