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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An enchantment? A Beauty & the Beast retelling without the Stockholm Syndrome? A mysterious, seemingly-abandoned castle?
Yes, please.
-Elliana Maselli
8 November 2021
reviews for books in this universe
The Four Kingdoms:
Book 1: The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea
Book 2: The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood
Book 3: The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin
Book 4: The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty
Book 5: The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling
Beyond the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: A Dance of Silver and Shadow: A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Book 2: A Tale of Beauty and Beast: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Book 3: A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen
Book 4: A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White
Book 5: A Captive of Wing and Feather: A Retelling of Swan Lake
Book 6: A Princess of Wind and Wave: A Retelling of The Little Mermaid
Return to the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: The Secret Princess: A Retelling of The Goose Girl
Book 2: The Mystery Princess: A Retelling of Cinderella
Book 3: The Desert Princess: A Retelling of Aladdin
Yes, please.
-Elliana Maselli
8 November 2021
reviews for books in this universe
The Four Kingdoms:
Book 1: The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea
Book 2: The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood
Book 3: The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin
Book 4: The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty
Book 5: The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling
Beyond the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: A Dance of Silver and Shadow: A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Book 2: A Tale of Beauty and Beast: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Book 3: A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen
Book 4: A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White
Book 5: A Captive of Wing and Feather: A Retelling of Swan Lake
Book 6: A Princess of Wind and Wave: A Retelling of The Little Mermaid
Return to the Four Kingdoms
Book 1: The Secret Princess: A Retelling of The Goose Girl
Book 2: The Mystery Princess: A Retelling of Cinderella
Book 3: The Desert Princess: A Retelling of Aladdin
Such a different retelling of beauty and the beast. I’m a sucker for love tho
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
No
I enjoyed the continued journey from book 1 . I really enjoyed this retelling of the Beauty and the Beast.
This was a really good series for a retelling of fairy tales, it was more of a YA retelling it didn't have any steamy parts because it dealt with younger characters.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
A nice retelling of Beauty and the Beast. This book follows on from book 1 where after Princess Sophie wins the tourney she's sent to marry Prince Dominic. Enemies to lovers energy in a fairytale setting. A pleasant read.
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Another Beauty and the Beast retelling this year? After the PTSD from A Curse So Dark and Lonely and the high that was re-reading Curse of The Wolf King (and the kind of forgettable Bookish and the Beast)?
Why, yes. Tale as old as time, and as many retold, and I am more than willing to explore them all. In this case it was a major win. I went in with below zero expectations and took me a while to realise this was more of a second book than a a standalone, but I was still able to read it with just skimming over the first book's synopsis and reviews (cause the twelve dancing princesses is not my kind of retelling tbh) but honestly it stood its own even without reading or knowing the lore of the series. I loved the new concept, the invisible servants, the surliness of the Beast and Sophie's willpower and leveled head. It did dip a bit in the midpoint - Cole's arrival was a bit ill-timed and I think Sophie and Dominic's relationship suffered from premature loss, as I would have loved to see them communicate more consistenly and see Sophie develop feelings and awareness of them in his presence and not belatedly. Also, the ending was entertaining but a bit weird and still I felt that loss in their connection, jumping to a happily ever after without us seeing any true love interaction between Sophie and Dominic in his beastly form. I loved Lily, though, her character, their interactions, her boyfriend and their banter... Just a joyful addition to the plot and one that makes me think highly of the first book even without having the urge to go back and read it (the Tournament sounds exhaustingly YA). I also felt like Sophie was a bit like Howl's Sophie, and to an extent Dominic's cryptic actions mirrored Howl's too so it seemed like a nice homage to Moving Castle as well as Beauty and the Beast.
All in all, a fun ride and a great book.
Why, yes. Tale as old as time, and as many retold, and I am more than willing to explore them all. In this case it was a major win. I went in with below zero expectations and took me a while to realise this was more of a second book than a a standalone, but I was still able to read it with just skimming over the first book's synopsis and reviews (cause the twelve dancing princesses is not my kind of retelling tbh) but honestly it stood its own even without reading or knowing the lore of the series. I loved the new concept, the invisible servants, the surliness of the Beast and Sophie's willpower and leveled head. It did dip a bit in the midpoint - Cole's arrival was a bit ill-timed and I think Sophie and Dominic's relationship suffered from premature loss, as I would have loved to see them communicate more consistenly and see Sophie develop feelings and awareness of them in his presence and not belatedly. Also, the ending was entertaining but a bit weird and still I felt that loss in their connection, jumping to a happily ever after without us seeing any true love interaction between Sophie and Dominic in his beastly form. I loved Lily, though, her character, their interactions, her boyfriend and their banter... Just a joyful addition to the plot and one that makes me think highly of the first book even without having the urge to go back and read it (the Tournament sounds exhaustingly YA). I also felt like Sophie was a bit like Howl's Sophie, and to an extent Dominic's cryptic actions mirrored Howl's too so it seemed like a nice homage to Moving Castle as well as Beauty and the Beast.
All in all, a fun ride and a great book.
3.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐✨
(I'll list content at the bottom)
Sorry Melanie, but this is not your best book. I felt like it followed the original beauty and the beast too closely, (and that is NOT my favorite fairy tale. At all. I feel terrible giving a book with four kingdoms characters less than four stars, but really, it didn't deserve any more.
WHAT I LIKED:
Contrary to what I said above, there were some things that I enjoyed about this book. Sophie is a great character who isn't afraid to stand up to herself, and a BOOKWORM!!! I like how much she loves readjng, (because I obviously love reading too and can relate with her.) You don't get MCs who love reading enough. I actually cried a few times while reading this book--once when the prince almost dies, (I don't know why because I don't care about Dominic at all haha). I actually felt bad for Sophie, and it felt so wrong for her to not be able to be with her sister. They were given that as a christening gift as babies, and to put it simply, it's like sending a text message through their minds.
It was also great getting to see Lily and Jon again!! Theyre so cute together and definitely my favorite couple in this series so far!!
I like how she treats the people in the cursed castle normallly even though they're under a curse that makes them invisible, and actually pursues friendship with a few of them. The plot had its moments, and I loved some parts. Others, not so much.
I liked the snowball flight scene and the scene where the beast reads fairy tails to her!! And when the beast is overly protective of her! Those were probably the most memorable scenes,
I'm glad that this was in first person, and this book had great descriptions and natural dialogue.
Just a side note, but I was so relieved when I saw that hee friends in the castle are people and not silverwear or whatever. The idea of that is just weird to me..
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Prince Dominic does not deserve Sophie. He explodes on Sophie all the time, acts like he owns her... And he's horribly rude to everyone. While he does have a character arc, I just didn't like him. I saw a quote once that says to see someone's true character you have to see how they treat their inferior.
And how did the beast treat his inferiors? Horribly.
He does have a character arc, and I didn't mind them together at the end, but I still didn't like it.
And the prince (aka beast) drove me crazy.
Like WHY DOES SOPHIE LIKE HIM??!!
What can I say? It's a beauty and the beast retelling. That's not my favorite fairy tale in the first place. That honor belongs to Cinderella. I don't like the whole "girl has to teach the evil and horribly mean prince manners" thing all the while she's falling in love with him.
Just not my cup of tea. I appreciate how Sophie was able to look past his appearance, but really, they'd be better off as friends. Am I the only one who feels this way?
The plot felt like it just went ON AND ON, and I was bored at times. But I pushed through and finished, so hey, hurray to me.
And sorry, but I'm a big fan of that cover. My favorite cover in this series so far belongs to A Dance song of Silver and Shadow, and it probably always will.
CW: Blushes, noticing Dominics bright blue eyes, a mention of "not wanting the beast to touch her," she changes her mind, a mention of Sophie not wanting to have children with and marry Cole, noticing touches and closenness, Sophie is being forved to marry the beast, a mention of something being "so romantic" and a guy taking one of the invisible servants walking, (aka courting), noticong how handsome Dominic was before the curse, Dominic calls Sophie beautiful, an almost kiss, Dominics father didn'tactually love his mother, he slapped her and she fell down the stairs and died, two almost kisses, two kisses
A curse is on the entire castle, the beast dies of he leaves the border, (he crosses the border a little bit and almost does saving Sophie, a wolf attack, Dominic almost dies, Dominic has anger issues and explodes at ppl, attacks Cole when he tries to "kidnap" Sophie, remembering and mentions of a massacure of an entire village because the people hid rebels, Dominic feels terrible that he didn't try to stop it
Many mentions of a magic curse, the servants are invisible because of it, Sophie can't "project" thoughts to her twin sister while in the castle, mentions of godmothers, everyone in the castle and Dominic are under the curse and can't speak to Sophie, but can project thoughts to her, he is only transformed into a human once he can find true love
(Like how my content warning section is as long as my whole review?)
Despite my negative review, I actually liked this book. It's probably best for girls 12+, and is super clean with light romamce. I just wasn't a big fan of the love interest.
If you like beauty and the beast, I'm sure that you'll LOVE this book. I'm just not a big beauty ame the beats type girl...
So I'm slightly prejudiced.
*One more sidenote* I don't get how Sophie lasted so long without knowing about the secret library or reading. I literally can't last a day without reading SOMETHING.
Congrats for making it to the end of my review!! Dont forget to like this if it was helpful at all!!
(I'll list content at the bottom)
Sorry Melanie, but this is not your best book. I felt like it followed the original beauty and the beast too closely, (and that is NOT my favorite fairy tale. At all. I feel terrible giving a book with four kingdoms characters less than four stars, but really, it didn't deserve any more.
WHAT I LIKED:
Contrary to what I said above, there were some things that I enjoyed about this book. Sophie is a great character who isn't afraid to stand up to herself, and a BOOKWORM!!! I like how much she loves readjng, (because I obviously love reading too and can relate with her.) You don't get MCs who love reading enough. I actually cried a few times while reading this book--once when the prince almost dies, (I don't know why because I don't care about Dominic at all haha). I actually felt bad for Sophie, and it felt so wrong for her to not be able to be with her sister. They were given that as a christening gift as babies, and to put it simply, it's like sending a text message through their minds.
It was also great getting to see Lily and Jon again!! Theyre so cute together and definitely my favorite couple in this series so far!!
I like how she treats the people in the cursed castle normallly even though they're under a curse that makes them invisible, and actually pursues friendship with a few of them. The plot had its moments, and I loved some parts. Others, not so much.
I liked the snowball flight scene and the scene where the beast reads fairy tails to her!! And when the beast is overly protective of her! Those were probably the most memorable scenes,
I'm glad that this was in first person, and this book had great descriptions and natural dialogue.
Just a side note, but I was so relieved when I saw that hee friends in the castle are people and not silverwear or whatever. The idea of that is just weird to me..
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Prince Dominic does not deserve Sophie. He explodes on Sophie all the time, acts like he owns her... And he's horribly rude to everyone. While he does have a character arc, I just didn't like him. I saw a quote once that says to see someone's true character you have to see how they treat their inferior.
And how did the beast treat his inferiors? Horribly.
He does have a character arc, and I didn't mind them together at the end, but I still didn't like it.
And the prince (aka beast) drove me crazy.
Like WHY DOES SOPHIE LIKE HIM??!!
What can I say? It's a beauty and the beast retelling. That's not my favorite fairy tale in the first place. That honor belongs to Cinderella. I don't like the whole "girl has to teach the evil and horribly mean prince manners" thing all the while she's falling in love with him.
Just not my cup of tea. I appreciate how Sophie was able to look past his appearance, but really, they'd be better off as friends. Am I the only one who feels this way?
The plot felt like it just went ON AND ON, and I was bored at times. But I pushed through and finished, so hey, hurray to me.
And sorry, but I'm a big fan of that cover. My favorite cover in this series so far belongs to A Dance song of Silver and Shadow, and it probably always will.
CW: Blushes, noticing Dominics bright blue eyes, a mention of "not wanting the beast to touch her," she changes her mind, a mention of Sophie not wanting to have children with and marry Cole, noticing touches and closenness, Sophie is being forved to marry the beast, a mention of something being "so romantic" and a guy taking one of the invisible servants walking, (aka courting), noticong how handsome Dominic was before the curse, Dominic calls Sophie beautiful, an almost kiss, Dominics father didn'tactually love his mother, he slapped her and she fell down the stairs and died, two almost kisses, two kisses
A curse is on the entire castle, the beast dies of he leaves the border, (he crosses the border a little bit and almost does saving Sophie, a wolf attack, Dominic almost dies, Dominic has anger issues and explodes at ppl, attacks Cole when he tries to "kidnap" Sophie, remembering and mentions of a massacure of an entire village because the people hid rebels, Dominic feels terrible that he didn't try to stop it
Many mentions of a magic curse, the servants are invisible because of it, Sophie can't "project" thoughts to her twin sister while in the castle, mentions of godmothers, everyone in the castle and Dominic are under the curse and can't speak to Sophie, but can project thoughts to her, he is only transformed into a human once he can find true love
(Like how my content warning section is as long as my whole review?)
Despite my negative review, I actually liked this book. It's probably best for girls 12+, and is super clean with light romamce. I just wasn't a big fan of the love interest.
If you like beauty and the beast, I'm sure that you'll LOVE this book. I'm just not a big beauty ame the beats type girl...
So I'm slightly prejudiced.
*One more sidenote* I don't get how Sophie lasted so long without knowing about the secret library or reading. I literally can't last a day without reading SOMETHING.
Congrats for making it to the end of my review!! Dont forget to like this if it was helpful at all!!
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No