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thedestinydyer's review against another edition
3.0
This wasn’t my favorite read. For a retelling of beauty and the beast I thought it would be similar to the Disney one but was not other than the fact that they both contained a cursed man and a lady which must save him but only by love.
dankfantasy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ainsleybelle22's review against another edition
2.0
MINOR SPOILERS
It was good, but it could’ve been so much more fleshed out. It was really good and detailed at the beginning, but as soon as Belle went to the castle I felt like it was rushed.
NOW ACTUAL SPOILERS
And at the very end when she was like “I love the beast” I was like how because we literally hardly saw them have any interaction and there was nothing indicating love. And like it just felt super rushed and artificial. Now I did almost cry at the ending part because it was so sweet but I still feel like it had so much more potential because the curse was a cool idea. And we needed their relationship to have developed more.
It was good, but it could’ve been so much more fleshed out. It was really good and detailed at the beginning, but as soon as Belle went to the castle I felt like it was rushed.
NOW ACTUAL SPOILERS
And at the very end when she was like “I love the beast” I was like how because we literally hardly saw them have any interaction and there was nothing indicating love. And like it just felt super rushed and artificial. Now I did almost cry at the ending part because it was so sweet but I still feel like it had so much more potential because the curse was a cool idea. And we needed their relationship to have developed more.
marshmallowbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I am a huge fan of fairy tales retold, and Cameron Dokey is one of the authors I enjoy reading in this series. However, this one fell a little short of my expectations, at least as far as the storyline was concerned.
I thought Dokey's approach to the fairy tale was engaging, and Belle's reflections on Beauty, with a capital B, thought-provoking. I also liked that there were no evil, ugly step-family members, or un-step-family members, or other individuals who are there for readers to dislike, as tend to be included among the characters in stories such as this, whether or not they were there originally.
However, I felt that the back story and build-up preceding the classic fairy tale was a bit drawn out, leaving the fairy tale to be wrapped up rather quickly, with little further development of characters or plot. I would have liked to get to know the Beast as well as I felt I knew Belle and her sisters, Celeste and April. But all I got was a short summary of Belle's frustrating time at the Beast's castle, unable to fulfill her role there, then suddenly pining for him when she returned to her family. There was no real evidence for me that the relationship between Belle and the Beast had grown into one of love. It was just all of a sudden that way. Of course, that could have been the point.
I thought Dokey's approach to the fairy tale was engaging, and Belle's reflections on Beauty, with a capital B, thought-provoking. I also liked that there were no evil, ugly step-family members, or un-step-family members, or other individuals who are there for readers to dislike, as tend to be included among the characters in stories such as this, whether or not they were there originally.
However, I felt that the back story and build-up preceding the classic fairy tale was a bit drawn out, leaving the fairy tale to be wrapped up rather quickly, with little further development of characters or plot. I would have liked to get to know the Beast as well as I felt I knew Belle and her sisters, Celeste and April. But all I got was a short summary of Belle's frustrating time at the Beast's castle, unable to fulfill her role there, then suddenly pining for him when she returned to her family. There was no real evidence for me that the relationship between Belle and the Beast had grown into one of love. It was just all of a sudden that way. Of course, that could have been the point.
mkayverse's review against another edition
3.0
So, I like it alot up until about the very end.
It just got so rushed and then it felt like there need to be more.
the ending could have been better. it honestly didn't fit the book and there are so many more questions.
It just got so rushed and then it felt like there need to be more.
the ending could have been better. it honestly didn't fit the book and there are so many more questions.
geminidragonbadger's review against another edition
3.0
While I find myself relating more and more to Rapunzel characters in fairy tale retellings, Beauty and the Beast will always have a place in my heart, and I do usually love classic retellings (Beauty by Robin McKinley is one of my absolute favorites). Belle delivers exactly that, a fairly standard retelling of Beauty and the Beast with its own charm.
Belle is a charming fast read and had many elements that I appreciated; I loved that Belle had her own “magic” for lack of a better term, and the enchanted forest has to be one of my favorites. I appreciated that it stayed fairly true to the original fairy tale with a conflict more of man v. fate rather than forcing some sort of man v. man or man v. whatever. It had the “happily ever after” that I crave in fairy tale retellings, because for real, enough with the edgy, dark stuff. I want my people to be happy, darn it.
That being said, as a story I feel it fell flat. (SPOILER ALERTS AHEAD). You’re half way through the book before any sort of conflict really happens (when Belle’s family has to move to the country) and at least 2/3 of the way through before the Beast is introduced. That means that there is only 1/3 of the book for Belle and the Beast to fall in love and break the spell, which feels rushed and more like “TA DA, they’re in love. The spell was broken, the end, they live happily ever after.” I got very little chemistry from the two characters and wondered when, exactly, they fell in love. It’s an explosive moment when Belle realizes she is in love with the Beast, but how did they get there? What happened to make her go from mild resentment and resignation to love?
I feel too much of the exposition was spent with Belle mulling over what it means to be Beautiful (vs. beautiful) which has little to no bearing on the rest of the book. To sum it up, Belle believes that her sisters are Beautiful while she is just beautiful. However, after they move to the country, their looks have no bearing as each sister comes into their own in ways they couldn’t while being rich in the city (ie, one sister discovers a talent for cooking). Similarly, much of the exposition is taken up describing Belle’s “place” in the family, which again doesn’t matter any more once they move. All of the talk and description of Belle’s internal feelings about Beauty and her place in the world made the beginning very hard to get into and made the actual plot of the book feel rushed.
Overall, I do not regret reading this book. It’s a solid retelling of Beauty and the Beast. However, while solid, I felt the overall story was rushed with too much time spent on internal musings in the exposition. Those words and musings would have been better spent building up Belle and the Beast’s relationship.
Belle is a charming fast read and had many elements that I appreciated; I loved that Belle had her own “magic” for lack of a better term, and the enchanted forest has to be one of my favorites. I appreciated that it stayed fairly true to the original fairy tale with a conflict more of man v. fate rather than forcing some sort of man v. man or man v. whatever. It had the “happily ever after” that I crave in fairy tale retellings, because for real, enough with the edgy, dark stuff. I want my people to be happy, darn it.
That being said, as a story I feel it fell flat. (SPOILER ALERTS AHEAD). You’re half way through the book before any sort of conflict really happens (when Belle’s family has to move to the country) and at least 2/3 of the way through before the Beast is introduced. That means that there is only 1/3 of the book for Belle and the Beast to fall in love and break the spell, which feels rushed and more like “TA DA, they’re in love. The spell was broken, the end, they live happily ever after.” I got very little chemistry from the two characters and wondered when, exactly, they fell in love. It’s an explosive moment when Belle realizes she is in love with the Beast, but how did they get there? What happened to make her go from mild resentment and resignation to love?
I feel too much of the exposition was spent with Belle mulling over what it means to be Beautiful (vs. beautiful) which has little to no bearing on the rest of the book. To sum it up, Belle believes that her sisters are Beautiful while she is just beautiful. However, after they move to the country, their looks have no bearing as each sister comes into their own in ways they couldn’t while being rich in the city (ie, one sister discovers a talent for cooking). Similarly, much of the exposition is taken up describing Belle’s “place” in the family, which again doesn’t matter any more once they move. All of the talk and description of Belle’s internal feelings about Beauty and her place in the world made the beginning very hard to get into and made the actual plot of the book feel rushed.
Overall, I do not regret reading this book. It’s a solid retelling of Beauty and the Beast. However, while solid, I felt the overall story was rushed with too much time spent on internal musings in the exposition. Those words and musings would have been better spent building up Belle and the Beast’s relationship.
aurodon's review against another edition
4.0
I love all of Cameron Dokey's fairy tale retellings that I've read thus far, but this gets four stars because (a) the writing especially drew me in, (b) it was a really unique retelling and (c) I liked that Dokey replaced the "true love's kiss" obsession with something more insightful and true.
ashila_hanim's review against another edition
4.0
I just hope that there would be more romance in this story. The story ended up very quickly.
diamontique's review against another edition
2.0
It is such a ripoff of Robin McKinley's Beauty it crossed my eyes. It was okay, though.
reynoldsreads's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
This one pretty closely follows the plot of the original Beauty and the Beast, with the most notable difference being the addition of Belle’s woodcarving hobby that she picked up from her father. When she goes to live with the Beast at his enchanted estate, she encounters the legendary Heartwood Tree which, when carved, will reveal the face of one’s true love. The Beast insists she take on the task, believing that it will help him break his curse.
I felt like it had a lot of good potential that it just didn’t deliver on. The beginning seemed to be setting up an exploration of what true beauty is, but that theme was dropped by the time the curse broke. There were also a few other themes and character studies that were introduced and would have been really interesting if they had been followed through, but they weren’t, or at least not to the extent I would have liked to see.
Overall, still a nice story and a decent retelling, but with the potential to be amazing if the author had delved a bit deeper.