For all of this, though, some of her goals are actually noble, and she is undeniably clever. Once in feline form, she befriends a handsome miller’s son and resumes her scheming to depose the wizard and regain her pampered place in court. The king is an old man, though, and after his death, Catriona runs afoul of the court appointed wizard, who curses her and changes her into a cat.

Knowing that she is equipped with the beauty to seduce the king, and that his wealth will provide her with all of her earthly desires, she schemes to marry him and, eventually, succeeds. Considered by all to be the most beautiful woman in the land, she strives for little else than a wardrobe of opulent dresses and shoes. Both female protagonists are unreliable and, though not completely unlikeable, they share little in common with the sweet, insipid heroines of the fairy tales that inspire them.Ī Cat’s Tale is a “Puss in Boots” retelling centered on Lady Catriona, who is a vain, manipulative liar.

Both books are unquestionably erotic, but the pages aren’t filled with actual lovemaking so much as longing and artful imagining. What happened to you, Bettie Sharpe?Īnyway, Sharpe’s writing is immediately arresting: lyrical without veering into purple prose, and highly sensual even without detailed descriptions of torrid encounters. I knew immediately I would want to read everything by this author, which, I’ll mention now, is devastatingly little that is available: three novellas and one short story on Amazon and none published after 2012. I was hooked about two pages into Ember, a romance retelling of “Cinderella” featuring a heroine who is a (mostly) benevolent witch and a prince who is literally cursed by Charm - everyone who meets him loves him, finds him salivatingly handsome, and can’t help but do what he wants.

Ember by bettie sharpe