Briarley

3.5 stars. Lovely story, and having the beast (dragon) be a gay man provides a new set of dynamics to a classic story, as does setting it right in the middle of WWII. Bonus points for an adorable dog who helps melt the beast's heart.

But (and this is a big caveat), I didn't feel a sense of romantic love or passion between Edward the parson and Briarley the beast/dragon. I could believe they would be great friends who could bring comfort and companionship to each other, but not that they would be soul mates. Also the ending is bittersweet, (the two MCs love each other but realize they must go their separate ways for the duration of the war and could easily be killed before they are able to reunite) which seems misplaced in a fairy tale re-telling.

Gave me a lot to think about, and I would definitely check out future releases by the author.