"Cloaked in Beauty" by Karen Witemeyer

Are you read for another Texas fairy tale retelling? Cloaked in Beauty blends Little Red Riding Hood with Sleeping Beauty for a romantic adventure with a little danger thrown in for good measure.

Pinkerton agent Philip Carmichael has been given an unusual task. Scarlett Radcliffe has been hidden away since she was a child, cared for by her grandmother and her faithful pet wolf. Though her father's death was ruled an accident, Scarlett's mother believes her uncle was behind the tragedy and that he will go further and harm Scarlett in order to claim as much of the family wealth for himself as he can. Now that Scarlett's twenty-first birthday is approaching, the time has come to find Scarlett and bring her home to claim her inheritance and legally move it out of her uncle's grasp.

While Philip is up for the hunt, he's unprepared for the depth of his feelings that blossom for Scarlett, now known as Letty, once she's in his care. He cannot take advantage of such a sheltered and generous young woman, but how could he do less than fall in love with her?

If you enjoy romantic fairy tale retellings, you'll love this one. I personally felt the love story was a little too prominent, and Letty as an isolated character didn't ring true for me. Uncle Drake was also entirely one-dimensional as a villain.

However, readers who enjoy getting swept away and suspending disbelief might be thrilled by the very things that bothered me, so I hope you'll check out the book for yourself. It's imaginative and you'll enjoy recognizing pieces of the fairy tales as they come across the page.

I received my copy of the book from NetGalley. All thoughts in this review are my own.