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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Beauty continually has the same nightmare over and over again. She walks down a dark hallway towards a monster and as she grows older, her feelings toward the monster begin to change. Beauty lives in the city with her wealthy merchant father, her mother, and her two sisters—Lionheart and Jeweltongue. In an unexpected accident, her mother dies and soon after, her father falls into financial trouble. The three sisters and their father move to the country where an old woman has left them a small cottage—Rose Cottage. During their early months in their new, humble situation, the girls learn new skills and come to find happiness. After three years of life in the cottage, they receive news that one of their father’s ships arrived in the city. He goes, against his daughters’ wishes, and finds nothing left of the wealth from the ship, for debtors took everything that they were owed. On his return home, the girls’ father finds a palace where he takes shelter. When the man takes something that is precious to the Beast within the palace, Beauty’s life is changed forever. In this retelling of Beauty and the Beast, McKinley weaves a tale of enchantment, discovery, and love.
This book is an amazing retelling of the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast. I have read this novel before, but I did not remember what happened at the end, so when I got to it, I was pleasantly surprised. I love the sisterly bond that is created between Beauty, Lionheart, and Jeweltongue. They did not let their circumstances overcome them, but instead, rose to the occasion and became more than I think even they could have imagined. The magic that is interlaced throughout the story makes the reader feel as if she is in an enchanted palace with invisible servants; wishing for something aloud and having it appear instantly. The development of Beauty and the Beast’s relationship is subtle, but the emotions (both positive and negative) Beauty feels toward the Beast mirror the feelings of the reader. Overall, I really liked this book. Truly remarkable retellings of fairy-tales are difficult to produce, but I believe that McKinley has woven her magic touch and made this one a retelling worth visiting again and again.
This book is an amazing retelling of the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast. I have read this novel before, but I did not remember what happened at the end, so when I got to it, I was pleasantly surprised. I love the sisterly bond that is created between Beauty, Lionheart, and Jeweltongue. They did not let their circumstances overcome them, but instead, rose to the occasion and became more than I think even they could have imagined. The magic that is interlaced throughout the story makes the reader feel as if she is in an enchanted palace with invisible servants; wishing for something aloud and having it appear instantly. The development of Beauty and the Beast’s relationship is subtle, but the emotions (both positive and negative) Beauty feels toward the Beast mirror the feelings of the reader. Overall, I really liked this book. Truly remarkable retellings of fairy-tales are difficult to produce, but I believe that McKinley has woven her magic touch and made this one a retelling worth visiting again and again.
Took way too long to read. It was okay; I rather liked her first attempt at retelling Beauty and the Beast better.
McKinley's second shot at retelling Beauty and the Beast is a triumph. I very much enjoyed it. Even though she's told this story before, this book is fresh and just as enjoyable.
I think if I hadn’t read Beauty by this author, I would have enjoyed this book even more. This author has a great talent for being descriptive and outlining the inner feelings of her characters. Unfortunately, I prefer a little more action in my stories and not just an inner monologue of the main character at all times. While this is a unique and different take on the Beauty and the Beast story especially from her previous book, the main elements of the story remain. There is an inordinate amount of time spent on Beauty cultivating the Beast’s rose garden and this is what mainly bored me to tears. I am not especially fond of gardening and so this may be why. While I have a deep love and appreciation for nature and those with the talents of gardening, it was hard for me to read so much about it. Also, while I liked the relationship between Beauty and Beast, I felt that it was lacking and that their love story wasn’t really all that believable. I do enjoy this author’s writing and will read her other books, I was just a little disappointed in this version of Beauty and the Beast and actually preferred her first book Beauty.
A great re-read. Robin McKinley's writing sweeps you away no matter the tale.
This book is an excellent companion book to [b:Beauty|3682|A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle, #1)|Libba Bray|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511E0D3K21L._SL75_.jpg|2113193] by the same author twenty years earlier. Rose Daughter is a much more sophisticated story with a more complicated ending, but it's missing some of the wonderous innocence of Beauty. I enjoyed both books and would recommend them to anyone who likes fairy tale retellings.
Wow, I could definitely tell that Robin McKinley has improved and matured since writing Beauty. (Which was 20 years before Rose Daughter, so, you'd hope that would be the case.) I did wonder how someone could write two adaptations of Beauty and the Beast, but this one is much more fleshed out and, well, magical.