This is my post during the blog tour for Craving Beauty by Jennifer Silverwood. In Craving Beauty a lost kingdom is uncovered by an equally lost girl, and a hungry beast waits, ready to devour her soul.

This blog tour is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours and the tour runs from 17 till 30 July. You can see the tour schedule here.

Craving Beauty (Wylder Tales #1)

By Jennifer Silverwood

Genre: Fairytale/ Fantasy

Age category: Young Adult/ New Adult

Release Date: 14 July 2023

Blurb:

A dark tale of enchantment and woe, perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Holly Black, Craving Beauty is the first installment of the epic Wylder Tales Series!

Nineteen-year-old Vynasha’s life is no fairy tale. The fire that killed her sisters was her fault, and the magic that saved her nephew cannot heal their scars. They shouldn’t have survived, and the villagers either fear or loathe them. Until a mysterious stranger saves her, giving Vynasha the key to finding the only family they have left.

With nothing to lose, Vynasha dares the journey into the forbidden Wylderland. Through dangers untold, she makes her way to the forgotten city, but more than ghosts linger in the castle. A wicked curse shadows the land, shadows whisper that the one to break their curse has come, and a beastly prince makes a bargain Vynasha cannot refuse.

Become the beast’s bride or become a monster herself.

Links:

– Goodreads

– Bookbub

– Amazon

– iBooks

– Barnes & Noble

– Kobo

– Smashwords

– Angus & Robertson

– Mondadori

– Books2Read

About the Author:

Jennifer Silverwood has been involved in the publishing world since 2012 and is passionate about supporting the writing community however she can. After studying traditional art at university, she began helping Qamber Designs bring authors’ books to life. In real life, she’s a mom of two, a passionate reader, and an occasional artist. Jennifer is the author of three series—Wylder Tales, Heaven’s Edge Novellas, and the Borderlands Saga—and the stand-alone romance titles Stay and She Walks in Moonlight.

Author links:

– Website

– Website book page

– Facebook

– Twitter

– Goodreads

– Books2Read

– Newsletter

Guest post:

Prompt: 23 July: “Which chapter did you enjoy writing the most and why?”

I’ve always been a fan of the “slow burn.” When reading fantasy, I’m accustomed to the often slow build to big action sequences. In fantasy romance, the best stories are when characters at odds eventually give in to all that romantic tension. I bring this same love to most of my stories, and when writing Craving Beauty, this is most evident when Vynasha finally meets her “Beast.”
After days of traveling through the mountains in winter, Vynasha reaches the castle. She has sacrificed everything to reach this place, all hoping to find her missing father and brother. Vynasha isn’t the strongest of characters. She’s not a fighter, and not as well read as her brother. But her will is stronger, and it all the moments leading to this point have been preparing and leading her here.
Of course, she doesn’t expect her host to be a talking beast who calls himself Ferox…

Vynasha turned toward the hearth to greet a tall figure garbed in an indigo robe as it emerged from the shadows. The darkness he drew from clung to him still, masking his features as he greeted in a rumbling voice, “Enjoying your dinner, my lady?”
It was the beast from her dream.
The voice in the wind.
“It’s you,” Vynasha breathed, her grip painfully tight on the arms of her chair.
The beast shifted, a subtle tilt of a shadowed paw as he approached two chairs set before the great hearth. “Apologies for the meager fare, but we cannot afford better with the wolves attacking our borders constantly.”
“Why are you not joining me?” Her voice creaked as she took in the shift of a tail beneath his sapphire cloak, the twitch of pointed, furred ears, the glint of horns.
His massive head shifted, revealing a sleek, black-nosed snout, casting his silvery fur with golden firelight. “As you might have guessed, it is not a simple matter for me to eat as you do. I would not wish to ruin your appetite.”
Her meal forgotten, Vynasha gathered her skirts and crossed the hall to meet him. A wiser person would have stayed put. But the beast had not harmed her… yet. And Vynasha needed answers. The swish of her skirts met the beast’s ears and his silver fur bristled in the firelight.
“Are you so certain you wish to greet a monster, Beauty?” He sank against the wings of a high-backed chair.
Vynasha’s fists clenched her skirts as she slowed her steps. “You don’t seem like a monster to me,” she whispered as she caught the jewel glimmer of his green eyes.
“You may feel differently one day,” he replied, hand stretching out, black claws clicking together. “But if you insist, please. Have a seat, my lady.”

As you can see, I’m not just a fan of slow burn, but of monsters and misfits as well. The beast, Ferox, isn’t what Vynasha expects. And she isn’t a conventional beauty, but a scarred witch. We might expect them to be enemies, and I could have written them this way. But isn’t it more fun to make them something like friends instead? At least in the beginning…

“I am sorry I do not have the answers you seek. What I can offer you, however, is the chance to rest and recover from your journey.” His green eyes glowed with compassion and an unspoken plea.
She clenched the fabric of her skirts even tighter. “What do you propose?”
“Remain here in this castle as my guest willingly, and I will see to your every need,” he began.
“My horse, Dragos?” she interrupted. “I won’t leave him in the cold so close to whatever haunts your lands.”
Ferox inclined his head. “Your friend is already a guest in our stables and quite content, as my servants last reported.”
“What else?” she asked, with a strength she didn’t feel. “What’s in it for you?”
“Besides the pleasure of your company? You shall dine with me here each night, but I must request, for your safety, that unless you have an escort, you remain locked in your room.”
Vynasha’s muscles ached with fresh tension and the crackle of magick beneath her skin. “What if I refuse? What if I take my horse and leave tonight?” Not that her body was fit to carry her anywhere without provisions. All humor and kindness fled Ferox’s beastly visage. “Then you will indeed find yourself locked inside a prison of your own making, Beauty.”