Featured Books: The Beaumont and Beasley Series

I love reading, and I enjoy a lot of books. Every so often, though, I run into a book or series that stands above the rest, that sucks me in and draws me fully into another world. Kyle Robert Shultz’s Beaumont and Beasley series is just such a series, and I’m honestly surprised that I haven’t talked more about it sooner here.

The series begins with The Beast of Talesend. I’ll let its blurb hook you like it hooked me:

Fairy tales aren’t real. Private detective Nick Beasley knows that. This is 1922 E.A. (Ever After), an age of big cities, automobiles, and airships. Nobody in the Afterlands believes in magic and monsters anymore. Especially not Nick, who’s made a name for himself in the city of Talesend by debunking fraudulent “magical” phenomena.

But when a misadventure with alleged enchantress Lady Cordelia Beaumont goes awry, leaving Nick with claws, a tail, and quite a lot of fur, he begins to rethink his stance on magic.

There’s only one way for Nick to regain his humanity. He and Cordelia will have to retrieve a powerful magical artifact from a ruthless crime lord—who happens to be Cordelia’s father. Otherwise, Nick won’t be the only monster roaming through Talesend.

The fate of the Afterlands lies in the hands of a renegade enchantress and an extremely hairy detective. What could possibly go wrong?

I loved everything about this story: The grumpy detective, his silly brother, confident Lady Cordelia Beaumont, the snark, the humor, the magic, the twists, the familiar aspects of fairy tales I’ve grown up with–literally everything. And each story after that continues to live up to the high standard set in this one.

Honestly, I’ve never read something that made me laugh this much.  On top of that, the characters are amazing and lovable, and Shultz writes new B&B stories so quickly that I never run out of material.

Seriously, I don’t understand how fast he writes. His bio says that he “was bitten by a radioactive book,” and I’m inclined to believe that superpowers are the only explanation.

On top of that, he has a couple spin-off series in the works…but I’ll save those for another time.

It’s hard to know how to classify this series. It incorporates fairy tales, legends, and classic stories, but it also is its own full-fledged universe. In that way, it’s kind of like the best parts of Once Upon a Time, the twists on fairy tales, but it’s also something completely unique.

I’m continually amazed by the way Shultz weaves together all of his story lines and characters. I love the beauty of his characters and their relationships of all kinds. I love the creativity of the series. And I love that, even when terrible things happen to the characters, this series is one that leaves you feeling more whole afterward, not broken.

Now, for special news:

As Shultz just announced this past weekend, he’s relaunching his series on October 31st! This means that all his books are getting beautifully-updated covers and fresh edits, and he also has several new stories for us–several for free through his newsletter.

So visit his website, subscribe to his email list, and mark your calendars for October 31st. You are in for a real treat with the phenomenal Beaumont and Beasley series!

What’s your favorite Afterverse story? Tell me what you love about it in the comments!