Bookshop Santa Cruz welcomes local author Lisa Jensen for a book discussion and signing of her new YA book Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge. This book is a great summer read for a range of ages. They say Château Beaumont is cursed. Servant-girl Lucie can’t believe such foolishness about handsome Jean-Loup, Chevalier de Beaumont, master of the estate. But the chevalier's cruelty is revealed, and Lucie vows to see him suffer. A wisewoman grants her wish with a spell that transforms Jean-Loup into terrifying Beast, reflecting the monster he is inside.

But Beast is nothing like the chevalier. Jean-Loup would never tend his roses so patiently, attempt poetry, or express remorse for the wrong done to Lucie. Gradually, Lucie comes to realize that Beast is an entirely separate creature, with a heart more human than Jean-Loup’s ever was.