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annewithabook's review against another edition
2.0
I happen to love Beauty and the Beast retellings, and this one had such potential, which is why it disappointed me so much. I loved the twist that Zuleika was both Belle and the witch, and the fleshing out of the world was interesting (like the mystery of the missing ships). But the romance felt so cheesy. Character's motivations were quite strange. Zuleika has something traumatic happen, and yet she isn't psychologically affected as a person would be. Similarly, Vardan (the Beast) has little motivation for falling in love with Belle, or trusting his brother. Many of the concepts in this book (the romance, the mystery, the world) were interesting, but it felt underdeveloped in many ways.
silver_star08's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this reimagining of the Beauty and the Beast. It takes the curse that the enchantress laid upon the prince & spins its origins. While the Enchantress spins the spell it is not because she senses arrogance in the prince but to save her family from the wraith of his brother, King Thorn.
What will happen when Lady Belle aka Zuleika the enchantress actually meets Prince Varden?
What will happen when Lady Belle aka Zuleika the enchantress actually meets Prince Varden?
wealhtheow's review against another edition
1.0
King Thorn demands Zuleika to cast a curse on his enemies. She does so, expecting that he'll leave her and her family alone in exchange, but instead he rapes her while she's a guest in his castle. Zuleika flees and spends the next several years doing good around the world. When one of her father's shipments goes astray, Zuleika returns to investigate, only to find that everything from his ship now resides in the dungeons of an enchanted castle. There the hideous beast Prince Vardan rules over an island of completely invisible folk. Gradually I assume they fall in love and break Vardan's curse. I don't know that they do because I gave up on this. Vardan and Zuleika are both impenetrably stupid and are terrible at communicating. Their entire situation could've been resolved in about two pages if Zuleika had just realized that SHE had cast the curse on Vardan and his island.
This is more like a sketched out skeleton of a novel than a real novel. The characters and setting aren't solid, and the plot relies on every character being as dim as possible in order to maintain tension.
This is more like a sketched out skeleton of a novel than a real novel. The characters and setting aren't solid, and the plot relies on every character being as dim as possible in order to maintain tension.
alexandrasramblingreviews's review against another edition
CW: Sexual Assault, Rape (not graphic, but it still made me uncomfortable)
DNF @ 25%
I started this about a month ago and was enjoying it but put it down to read other books, but I was in the mood for a fairytale re-telling and decided to pick this back up as I was intrigued (about 14% in there is a sexual assault scene and I must admit it through me off and why I put the book down in the first place), but I was interested in the characters and how the magic worked, unfortunately it didn’t work out for me. There was no world building and little to no character or relationship development. Zuleika hears voices when she first enters the grounds of Prince Vardan’s that say they can’t look after her as the master wouldn’t like it, but then you get the perspective of the master (Prince Vardan) and you find out that he is more than happy to help her, so I got a bit confused about how his character is supposed to be, he also very quickly becomes interested in Zuleika romantically and I don’t know why considering he hasn’t spoken to her or even seen her awake. The world building wasn’t particularly there either, Zuleika wakes up in a strange place, automatically finds clothes and takes a walk around the palace and instantly finds her father’s missing merchandise – she’s not curious at all about the random place she has ended up, so you get no significant descriptions of where she is, how she feels being there, how long she has been unconscious and any plans to find out – she wakes up, gets dressed, finds her father’s stuff on her first try with no exploration and then she’s unconscious again. This is where I had to stop, I couldn’t envision the world and even though you are in the head of two different people, I don’t feel like I really know either of them. This is a short book and I may pick it up again, sometimes these books are better read in one sitting and maybe putting it down helped hinder my enjoyment of this book.
lynnette_reads's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book and the twist it took on my favourite fairy tale. Zuleika is a great heroine and I liked how she overcame her dubious start with the King to be the Lady to break the enchantment on the Prince. There were a couple of plot holes and things glossed over that had they been expanded on would have made the back story feel stronger and this is the reason for the 4 stars. I would like to read more by this author.
mybookishdelights's review against another edition
4.0
Heat Level: Medium a sex scene that does describe it, but not in graphic detail
Trigger Warning:rape scene on page, but not in graphic detail
This was an interesting retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I especially liked the way the staff of the castle was explained and their own curse. I mean, it was definitely kind of insta-lovey, but that doesn't really matter in this particular story.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys B&B retellings.
CAWPILE Score: 7.71 = 4 stars
Characters: 7
Atmosphere: 8
Writing: 7
Plot: 8
Intrigue: 8
Logic: 8
Enjoyment: 8
Trigger Warning:
This was an interesting retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I especially liked the way the staff of the castle was explained and their own curse. I mean, it was definitely kind of insta-lovey, but that doesn't really matter in this particular story.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys B&B retellings.
CAWPILE Score: 7.71 = 4 stars
Characters: 7
Atmosphere: 8
Writing: 7
Plot: 8
Intrigue: 8
Logic: 8
Enjoyment: 8
bookishlynerdy's review against another edition
4.0
I adore retellings and Enchant was a very cute and quick retelling
If anyone knows anything about me, you’ll know that Beauty and The Beast is my favorite movie and fairytale bar none. So the fact that Demelza Carlton was able to translate a “child’s tale” to adults without being icky or weird was perfect.
I’m still getting used to audiobooks but this one was very easy to get into. I really liked the narrator. At first she seemed a little breathy and a little annoying but once I was able to concentrate really well on the book it went away. As for the story it was a little cringey towards the end but it wasn’t too bad.
I really liked it a lot.
If anyone knows anything about me, you’ll know that Beauty and The Beast is my favorite movie and fairytale bar none. So the fact that Demelza Carlton was able to translate a “child’s tale” to adults without being icky or weird was perfect.
I’m still getting used to audiobooks but this one was very easy to get into. I really liked the narrator. At first she seemed a little breathy and a little annoying but once I was able to concentrate really well on the book it went away. As for the story it was a little cringey towards the end but it wasn’t too bad.
I really liked it a lot.
friedatweehuysen's review against another edition
5.0
Cute and sweet aren't the right words to describe this story but it's the feeling I still get. It is wonderfully comparable to the original tale, with better emotions.
rohaniroslan's review against another edition
5.0
One of those books I found by accident and I have to say...What an enchanting book! I don't remember the last time I've read fantasy romance, but this classic retelling of "Beauty & The Beast" is wonderful! My only complaint is that it's too damn short! I love this book so much. Can't wait for the physical copy of this book to come out. I can't stop gushing about it. I love the characters, the story, EVERYTHING. It's simply wonderful. Just wonderful!
laffingkat's review against another edition
3.0
I love fairytale retellings. I've also enjoyed some of [a:Demelza Carlton|6878020|Demelza Carlton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1367625880p2/6878020.jpg]'s other stories, including "Fall," the prequel to "Enchant" that was included in the [b:Magic & Mistletoe: 15 Paranormal Stories for the Holidays|33304818|Magic & Mistletoe 15 Paranormal Stories for the Holidays|Aimee Easterling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481390358s/33304818.jpg|54039532] anthology. So, I fully expected to be enchanted by this story, but it just didn't meet my expectations.
I liked the characters well enough, and the author's idea for a fresh take on the Beauty and the Beast story. I enjoyed watching the romance develop through the alternating perspectives of hero and heroine and their flirtatious banter. However, I was incredibly frustrated at the heroine's inability to recognize a crucial spell until very late in the story; it just didn't seem believable. Also, I thought there were other characters and subplots introduced that weren't adequately developed and resolved. The story would have been more satisfying had these elements either been omitted or developed more and given a satisfying conclusion. The ending was too abrupt!
As long as you have a strong ability to suspend disbelief, the writing was generally fine. I did note a few typos, missed words, and punctuation problems, but they were not so frequent as to cause comprehension problems or serious irritation. Note that there is some violence and explicit sex, including a rape scene. I didn't find any of these scenes unnecessarily disturbing, but your mileage may vary.
If you're just looking for a fun fairytale romance and you won't be upset by the sex and violence, give this a try. Just keep your expectations modest.
I liked the characters well enough, and the author's idea for a fresh take on the Beauty and the Beast story. I enjoyed watching the romance develop through the alternating perspectives of hero and heroine and their flirtatious banter. However, I was incredibly frustrated at the heroine's inability to recognize a crucial spell until very late in the story; it just didn't seem believable. Also, I thought there were other characters and subplots introduced that weren't adequately developed and resolved. The story would have been more satisfying had these elements either been omitted or developed more and given a satisfying conclusion. The ending was too abrupt!
As long as you have a strong ability to suspend disbelief, the writing was generally fine. I did note a few typos, missed words, and punctuation problems, but they were not so frequent as to cause comprehension problems or serious irritation. Note that there is some violence and explicit sex, including a rape scene. I didn't find any of these scenes unnecessarily disturbing, but your mileage may vary.
If you're just looking for a fun fairytale romance and you won't be upset by the sex and violence, give this a try. Just keep your expectations modest.