Petals and Thorns by Jennifer Paris 
ASIN B00427ZKDO
Story rating: 3 out of 5
Sting factor (kink): 4 out of 5
I love Beauty and the Beast in all of its incarnations, so I was eager to review this one! Jennifer Paris exploits the erotic potential inherent in the story quite well. This version drew heavily on both the original material and, interestingly, I felt it also owed a lot to the animated version (which I don’t mind, since I love that movie).
She doesn’t bring anything new to the story, no new angle, no new lens through which to view it. I find it hard to fault it for that when it’s a story that has been done so often, so well. I, personally, am not always looking for novelty when I read a fairy-tale adaptation (though I appreciate it). I simply want to hear the story told again, and hear it told well. Paris manages that, and so the story is a success, if not a wild one.
Amarantha (a lovely and symbolic name for a Beauty) has been pledged to marry the Beast in order to restore her father’s fortune. If she can resist his charms and retain her virginity for seven days, she won’t have to marry him, but will be allowed to take all of his treasures and wealth. If she yields, she will be his, and will have to give up her dreams of a scintillating life among the noble court to be the wife of a beast.