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bookwoman1967's review against another edition
5.0
What a great retelling of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. The author develops and brings the characters to life, something that traditional fairy tales are weak at.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
I finished this book this morning and ever since I finished I've been thinking about what to write about it and how to write it down. Does that mean this was a bad book? Not at all. It's just, not an easy book to write a review for, because I'm not entirely sure how to find the words to explain this book to anyone else.
The easiest thing to write down is that it's actually just an extended, very well worded, version of the fairytale as we know it. There are not really many original twists and turns in it. There are no huge surprises. It's not some interesting spin on a story we all know. For the biggest part it's the story as we know it written out to last 320 pages. Side note: It never gets boring, but there were moments I still felt the story could use a little more depth.
Which brings me to the second thing I certainly want to write down. The story is really told like a fairytale. And don't get me wrong, I love those, but it also creates a certain distance between the reader and the characters. I could identify with them and understand them, but I didn't really feel for them, I didn't feel their emotions while reading their story. And personally I think that could have made this book stand out, especially without the surprises or turns or twists.
But, I do have to admit that I really enjoyed this book. I was never much of a fan of this fairy tale. I don't even really know why I bought this book and why I read it, but I'm glad I did. The writing style was enchanting and magical and this version really made a beautiful transition from Beauty disliking her beast (never truly hating him) to her realising she has fallen in love with him.
So, all in all, this is actually a book I'd need half stars for, but because I really enjoyed reading it I'll give half a star extra, as some sort of early Christmas present.
The easiest thing to write down is that it's actually just an extended, very well worded, version of the fairytale as we know it. There are not really many original twists and turns in it. There are no huge surprises. It's not some interesting spin on a story we all know. For the biggest part it's the story as we know it written out to last 320 pages. Side note: It never gets boring, but there were moments I still felt the story could use a little more depth.
Which brings me to the second thing I certainly want to write down. The story is really told like a fairytale. And don't get me wrong, I love those, but it also creates a certain distance between the reader and the characters. I could identify with them and understand them, but I didn't really feel for them, I didn't feel their emotions while reading their story. And personally I think that could have made this book stand out, especially without the surprises or turns or twists.
But, I do have to admit that I really enjoyed this book. I was never much of a fan of this fairy tale. I don't even really know why I bought this book and why I read it, but I'm glad I did. The writing style was enchanting and magical and this version really made a beautiful transition from Beauty disliking her beast (never truly hating him) to her realising she has fallen in love with him.
So, all in all, this is actually a book I'd need half stars for, but because I really enjoyed reading it I'll give half a star extra, as some sort of early Christmas present.
catmegz's review against another edition
5.0
One of my all-time favorite books. I re-read it at least once a year.
serenity043's review against another edition
3.0
Read this many years ago and the book came up in a book club. I enjoyed this retelling though it's pretty straightforward like most tales. Robin Mckinley's other books are much stronger than this but a good Beauty and the Beast story is always good.
shareen17's review against another edition
4.0
This is a nicely written fairy tale rewrite of Beauty and the Beast. It's fairly faithful to the original.
willbefunorelse's review against another edition
1.0
For the full review (and to learn what the definition of a bad idea is), head over to That's What She Read.