Reviewed by JustJen
Title: Beauty and His Beast
Author: Bey Deckard
Heroes: Juniper Bo/Marrex
Genre: MM Sci-Fi
Length: 151 Pages
Publisher: Bey Deckard
Release Date: December 2, 2017
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: They call him Marrex the Monster.
Deformed and wretched, Captain Marrex roams the black of space with only a pair of eccentric AIs for company. The curse in his DNA means a long, bitterly lonely life for the Ghelyxian, and it’s a fate Marrex knows he can’t change.
After a long sleep in stasis, Juniper Bo wakes to discover he’s an unwelcome guest aboard Captain Marrex’s ship. Though he tries to stay away from the surly Ghelyxian, he just doesn’t get why the curse is such a big deal—then again, Juniper knows his tastes are rather… unusual for a Human.
When friendship blooms between Marrex and Juniper, they realize they face a future that neither could have predicted in their wildest dreams.
Review: Nobody makes me love sci-fi quite like Mr. Deckard. And this story is on the sweeter side which I was also not quite expecting. Or, I should say, not as much as I was expecting something a bit darker. This was fun, sweet, interesting and humorous, and I quite enjoyed it!
Juniper is a human who has been in stasis for 17 years when he finds himself on board a ship captained by Marrex, a Ghelyxian, or some type of alien, who has also been cursed to get uglier and die since he didn’t find a mate by the time he hit puberty. Marrex has bee living in basic isolation on board the ship for a long time with only the company of his two AIs, S1N and VAL, who help maintain the ship.
It doesn’t take long for Juniper to warm up to Marrex, and vice versa, as Juniper finds ways to earn Marrex’ trust. He fixes things on the ship and ends up providing much needed conversation and companionship, and their mutual attraction quickly grows. Juniper is not put off by Marrex’ physical appearance and, in fact, finds him very attractive. With the help of S1N and VAL, Juniper wins Marrex over completely.
But it isn’t all hearts and flowers for these two. Juniper makes contact with home and returns to find things in not very good shape. With the help of some meddling sisters, a rift is caused between Juniper and Marrex, while Juniper is busy trying to fix things at home and help his somewhat incapacitated father.
Again, it doesn’t take long for things to work out, and thus, the heartbreak/angst is shortlived. Suffice to say, this was a really sweet fairy tale with the added interesting sci-fi tidbits that will make you want to take a spin on the ship or have your own S1N and VAL in your life. Definitely recommend this fairy tale delight!
Overall Impression: I really liked it!
*I received a copy of this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review.*
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