The most important thing to know about this one is that it is a wonderful overtly Christian book in a genre many parents are actively seeking. That being said, there is an aspect of the storyline that will make this particular title from this author one Christian parents will need to make sure they carefully consider for their particular older children (we do highly recommend this as one parents can equally enjoy – and certainly plan to review more from this author). This is the reason we set the Concern Level the way we did, not that there is content that shouldn’t be there, but just to get parents attention so they can carefully consider. Here we will lay out everything that Christian parents need to know, but we do ask that you also read the next section to get the full picture for this excellent book.

In faithful Christian books, the content that parents most have to wrestle with is typically found in a mature Christian author who sets out to accurately represent evil within the villain character(s). That is certainly the case here. Nearly everything we will lay forward for you to consider here has to do with the picture of evil laid forth in the villainous Madame LaBelle (aka Narcissa). But Narcissa’s evil comes in a different form than most villains your children will be familiar with, and that is where parental consideration focuses.

In this fascinating and very unique fairy tale retelling (see below) Narcissa represents a secretly wicked woman obsessed with her appearance. And in this tale that takes the form of deceiving men out of their valuables in her work to earn enough money to eventually trick and marry a very wealthy man and live in luxury. How does she do this? This Christian author is very cautious and intentional with it, but at the end of the day Narcissa employs seduction. She is also extremely manipulative. It is important to note that all of her actions are shown as very wicked, which is a really important point for Christians. Here are some details to help you gauge this:

• A man Narcissa is targeting is said to have a “lustful gleam in his eyes”.
• When looking in a mirror she makes a “seductive pout” face
• Narcissa admires herself by “tugging down the neckline of her bodice slightly, she eyed her abundant curves swelling above the snug fabric. Still her best feature”.
• She refers to her bosom as “her assets”
• Narcissa manipulates a man named Hunt into doing her dirty work through seductive affection and lies.
• Another Narcissa is said to have a “hungry look in his eyes” and his “gaze dipped to her chest and lingered. Exactly as she’d designed”. This time we see her wicked deception take place. She chooses to leave with a man to be alone, but tells that she drugs him with laudanum, saying he “won’t know what hit him” and along with the wine “she’d endure his overtures with an acting skill that would convince him he was the greatest lover she’d ever known then he’d tumble into bed unconscious” before she robbed him.
• She thinks how “her dress fit her like a second skin, showing off every curve, of which there were many – all in the right place”.
• When tricking another man she “nibbles on his earlobe” and “led him towards the bed, commenting, ‘We obviously need to give you a lesson in ladies corsets… I suggest we start with the one I’m wearing”.

Penelope and Titus (the other main characters) are the opposite of Narcissa (more below) and a wonderful duo of characters. There are a f

While mostly mild, there is a bit of intensity that flares up at times that Christian parents should know about:

• Narcissa is a sociopath in a way many Christian readers won’t be familiar with. She is so manipulative. While, again, it is handled very well, for some it may be a bit jarring.
• Narcissa threatens, “I’ll shred you to ribbons”.
• Eventually Narcissa asks Hunt to dispose of Penelope. He physically grabs her, bounds and gags her while Pen tries to escape, but can’t.
• When feeling righteous anger Titus considers strangling someone.
• When considering a what-if, we read, “He could have strangled her or slit her throat while she was sleeping”. This is after a potentially frightening scene where someone sneaks into Penelope’s room while she is sleeping before being scared off.
• Narcissa tells Pen she will kill her friends while they are sleeping by suffocating them with a pillow.
• Again later when extremely frustrated Titus thinks how he wants to “tear Narcissa’s cold, unfeeling heart out of her chest”.

Other items to be aware of:

• Someone mentions a fortune teller in passing
• There is one mention of “luck” when a blessing is given.
• A sinful man references “curves that would tempt a saint”. He also says, “I can’t imagine tying myself to one woman… where’s the fun in that?... Variety is the spice of life”. He then testifies that “I took the lady to dinner and back at my quarters for a bottle of wine and a little… entertainment. Getting ready for bed that evening was a bit… shall we say… haphazard”.