Unbound is a fresh Beauty and the Beast reimagining from Christy Healy
Fantasy romances have been all the rage since the beginning of 2023 and the trend is continuing with Unbound by Christy Healy.
If there’s one thing to makes me read a book, it’s by telling me that it’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Thankfully, that’s all you really need to know before diving into Unbound as it’s truly a reverse BATB story.
No matter if you’re a newbie to the fantasy romance genre or are just looking for something to captivate you, then Unbound does exactly that. Considering that this is the author’s adult debut, I was pleasantly surprised by how easily I fell into the story.
I’d like to thank Blackstone Publishing for reaching out to me and sending me an ARC as it ended up being such a fun read to cap off 2023 with.
Unbound is a fun and fresh retelling of Beauty and The Beast.
The love for fantasy romance isn’t going anywhere so if you’re looking for a unique take on Beauty and the Beast, Unbound is the way to go. The story follows Rozalyn or Rozi who is cursed and the only way for her to break the curse is to fall in love and die. I mean, that’s not difficult but Rozi does her best to chase away all of her suitors.
Only one sticks around and that’s Jamie. It’s clear from the start that Jamie doesn’t intend to leave and will do anything to be with Rozi. He starts by enchanting her with the stories and the two quickly become friends. While Rozi is frosty towards him, it’s clear the affection is not one-sided as is to be believed.
Unbound is told in multiple parts with Part 1 focusing on Rozi and Jamie’s current timeline and the past where they met and came together. It all comes to a head as we find out the reason why Rozi fled on their wedding day and hid away from Jamie. Then in Part 2, we’re seeing flashbacks of a story Jamie told and the present-day with Rozi and Jamie.
I don’t want to give away too many details as I feel like this book does such a great job of featuring BATB without being too obvious. Sometimes, it can feel a bit corny but Healy did a great job of featuring it without retelling the entire story. Plus the slow build of the romance between Rozi and Jamie was to die for. While I did see the one storyline coming, I’m happy with what happened with Rozi in particular as it made a lot of sense with her character.
If you’re looking for a book to sweep you away, then Unbound does exactly that. Take it from someone who isn’t much of a fantasy romance reader, this book captivated me. It was fun and fresh while still paying homage to the story we all love. I can’t wait to see what Christy Healy does next.
Unbound by Christy Healy is out now where your favorite books are sold