You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
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
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
This was a new take on Beauty and the Beast, especially when it comes to the curse.
I listened to the audiobook of this and the narrator’s Beast voice was comically bad.
I listened to the audiobook of this and the narrator’s Beast voice was comically bad.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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
This was a fine retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but it brought nothing new to the table until the last third. The first two thirds shared far too many similarities with the Disney version for this to feel like a unique take on the story. We have and several other major similarities. The last third was far more interesting and definitely not just a Disney rehash, but because the first two-thirds failed to get me invested, that last third failed to hit as hard as it should have.
Much like the first book, this one does a good job making our heroine smart which I always love to see even if she's smart in a middle-grade way instead of a YA or adult way. It's the main reason I'd still recommend this book for younger kids who love fairy tales as they might really love this. I wouldn't give this to a teen or an adult, though. It's simply too kiddy to feel appropriate for older audiences. I'm personally listening to these while falling asleep and they work great for that!
I'll end with a minor complaint about this book's one homage to the original French fairy tale. While I like it in concept, it ultimately didn't work. In the original French novel,
Spoiler
Beauty fleeing the castle only to be set upon by wolves which the beast shows up to stop, the couple bonding over a snowball fight, a library serving as a gift,Much like the first book, this one does a good job making our heroine smart which I always love to see even if she's smart in a middle-grade way instead of a YA or adult way. It's the main reason I'd still recommend this book for younger kids who love fairy tales as they might really love this. I wouldn't give this to a teen or an adult, though. It's simply too kiddy to feel appropriate for older audiences. I'm personally listening to these while falling asleep and they work great for that!
I'll end with a minor complaint about this book's one homage to the original French fairy tale. While I like it in concept, it ultimately didn't work. In the original French novel,
Spoiler
the beast asks beauty to marry him every night and his curse isn't fully broken until she does. In this, the beast asks beauty to marry his every night, but their marriage has nothing to do with fully breaking his curse so that was just an awkward thing to include. I'm guessing it was supposed to be a red herring, but it doesn't work because why is he asking that? A nightly love confession would make more sense in this story's lore.
adventurous
emotional
fast-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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-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
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am so glad that this turned out well. As I mentioned in the review for Lily's book, Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairy tales as well as one of my favorite Disney movies. I went into this book with pretty high expectations, and I'm pleased to report that the book met them! It was wonderfully paced with fun characters, a good build up for the romance, and just enough danger to keep things intriguing in the climax.
I loved Sophie's character in this and how she grew as a person being so isolated from her sister. I also like that the twin mind-speak actually came in handy for this particular curse. I liked the twist on the curse and how the servants were affected by it. I like that it brought back Cole, who was an antagonist in the last book. Since there is still some mystery about how he escaped the dungeons, I'm hoping that loose end will be tied up at some point. I also liked that this borrowed a lot more elements from the original story and the Disney version while still managing to be its own thing. I think this re-telling was the most like its original.
I can't even really find anything much to criticize it on. Sophie's loneliness and her reaching out to the servants, her relationship growing and evolving with Dominic, the part where they pulled the twin switcharoo... it was all so wonderful. While I would put the rest of the books as a "maybe" in re-reading at some point, this one I would definitely read again.
I loved Sophie's character in this and how she grew as a person being so isolated from her sister. I also like that the twin mind-speak actually came in handy for this particular curse. I liked the twist on the curse and how the servants were affected by it. I like that it brought back Cole, who was an antagonist in the last book. Since there is still some mystery about how he escaped the dungeons, I'm hoping that loose end will be tied up at some point. I also liked that this borrowed a lot more elements from the original story and the Disney version while still managing to be its own thing. I think this re-telling was the most like its original.
I can't even really find anything much to criticize it on. Sophie's loneliness and her reaching out to the servants, her relationship growing and evolving with Dominic, the part where they pulled the twin switcharoo... it was all so wonderful. While I would put the rest of the books as a "maybe" in re-reading at some point, this one I would definitely read again.