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color_girl's review against another edition
4.0
I have a feeling I’m going to love this series!! If you’re a Disney fan, you have to read these! My favorite genre is fairytale re-tellings. My love for Disney and retellings combined in this series couldn’t be happier! I started with this book and was hooked right away! The original twist is not the only twist that came from this book, I couldn’t guess what was going to happen next!
belljm13's review against another edition
5.0
Perfect!
An exciting elaboration on the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast. Full of twists, turns horror and humour, I loved it!
An exciting elaboration on the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast. Full of twists, turns horror and humour, I loved it!
sar_lion's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Quite dark overall, but very well written with lots of changes to the Disney movie. But all good changes, in the long run. The characters already mean so much that I already felt connected to them from the jump. The additions were very interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexism and Racial slurs
Minor: Suicide and Sexual harassment
shelleydavis's review against another edition
4.0
Probably closer to a 3.5 than a 4 simply because I wanted a different ending in the last chapter BUT I will say that I enjoyed the retelling of this story a lot
zsabretooth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Really wish I had an epilogue or a sequel or something! I have so many questions about what happens after an almost happily ever after!
nickyslibrary's review
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
I liked how in the beginning of the book you see 2 different timelines, with one being from the original book. And then the spin they gave at the story in the next half of the book. Overal really liked my first encounter with a twisted tale
rereader33's review against another edition
2.0
Buddy read with Gabrielle.
Nothing makes me sadder than to give this book a low rating. While I'm not the biggest fan of fairytale retellings, I think they can be entertaining even though they stick a little too close to the original source material. In As Old as Time's case, Braswell focused more on the "twist" element to the point where this really wasn't a Beauty and the Beast retelling. It was part Beauty and the Beast, part overly dark subplot that doesn't really have a satisfying conclusion.
I did enjoy parts of this book, the second part being my favorite because readers got to see Belle and Beast bond. The pacing and writing were also better during this part as well, and there were some good horror elements I enjoyed. Unfortunately, once the subplot took over, all of the bonding went away and the book turned into a 100+ page rescue mission. Not that I'm against those, but it seemed over the top for a somewhat grounded story. I feel like if the main conflict was Belle finding out their was a magical realm filled with otherwordly beasts and fauna, Gaston and the villagers find it, and Belle and the Beast need to work together to stop them, I would have enjoyed this more. Yes, it would have been horribly cliched, but it would still stick to the light hearted whimsy of the original. Instead, the story is about racism and torture for a group of people because they're feared, which amps up the darker elements of the original to a frankly disturbing degree. I know this is part of the Twisted Tales series, but I figured the "twisted" part was referencing changing part of the story, not making the original grim-dark.
It also doesn't help that none of the characters felt flushed out. Even though Belle and the Beast go through character development, they still felt kind of flat. And Gaston was honestly worse in this than in the original. I guess Braswell really wanted to show what a terrible person he is, but I feel like anyone who's seen the original movie would be able to pick up on his scumminess. Here it just feels like he's one dimensional over the top villain.
In the end, I did enjoy reading parts of this book, but overall it was okay. I would still recommend this to those looking for a quick and easy fairytale retelling and I'm most people will enjoy this more than me.
Nothing makes me sadder than to give this book a low rating. While I'm not the biggest fan of fairytale retellings, I think they can be entertaining even though they stick a little too close to the original source material. In As Old as Time's case, Braswell focused more on the "twist" element to the point where this really wasn't a Beauty and the Beast retelling. It was part Beauty and the Beast, part overly dark subplot that doesn't really have a satisfying conclusion.
I did enjoy parts of this book, the second part being my favorite because readers got to see Belle and Beast bond. The pacing and writing were also better during this part as well, and there were some good horror elements I enjoyed. Unfortunately, once the subplot took over, all of the bonding went away and the book turned into a 100+ page rescue mission. Not that I'm against those, but it seemed over the top for a somewhat grounded story. I feel like if the main conflict was Belle finding out their was a magical realm filled with otherwordly beasts and fauna, Gaston and the villagers find it, and Belle and the Beast need to work together to stop them, I would have enjoyed this more. Yes, it would have been horribly cliched, but it would still stick to the light hearted whimsy of the original. Instead, the story is about racism and torture for a group of people because they're feared, which amps up the darker elements of the original to a frankly disturbing degree. I know this is part of the Twisted Tales series, but I figured the "twisted" part was referencing changing part of the story, not making the original grim-dark.
It also doesn't help that none of the characters felt flushed out. Even though Belle and the Beast go through character development, they still felt kind of flat. And Gaston was honestly worse in this than in the original. I guess Braswell really wanted to show what a terrible person he is, but I feel like anyone who's seen the original movie would be able to pick up on his scumminess. Here it just feels like he's one dimensional over the top villain.
In the end, I did enjoy reading parts of this book, but overall it was okay. I would still recommend this to those looking for a quick and easy fairytale retelling and I'm most people will enjoy this more than me.
lilyr2023's review against another edition
5.0
It is absolutely amazing!!! It is funny, sometimes dark, and a lot of magical.
wcw219's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25