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melsage1823's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The definition of I don't how to feel. There are some core elements of the book I really liked once everything came together but I really felt let down by the first half of the book.
I'll start with the negatives first. My first negative is the beginning of the book, we did not get enough build up and it felt like it was going for a whole knew Twisted story whilst also trying to stick to the movie. It might just be my taste personally but I just couldn't get into it at all which didn't help with the fact that the characters personality felt off. Really did pick up for me in the second half though.
Did not like the characterisation of Belle at the beginning of the book. The Beast was understandble as that's the whole point of the original movie but Belle didn't feel like herself. It was like she was one of the people who constantly critise the story. Her hostility to the servants was also weird as in the films even when she didn't know they were cursed, she trusted the servants a lot more than the beast. It unfortunately spoilt my enjoyment a lot.
Finally, I appreciate the story they were trying to tell but it should have been longer with more chapters from The Enchantress pov. There's a lot Braswell could have done with this narrative but I feel like she didn't do enough. The Enchantress being Belles mother was just their for motivation. I would have loved more flashbacks and a longer established redemption and apology for literally cursing an eleven year old boy. I loved the Enchantress in this but I was expecting more.
Positives, this one actually bumped up my enjoyment of the book and gained it half a star. The mystery of what happened to the Encharmtes is a huge hook in the book and leads to some dark, shocking and disturbing. We know some stuff but don't know everything until we're trying to solve the mystery with Belle and Beast. I truly never expected things to go so dark and that's good because a good mystery needs to leave you speechless when you get the answers you were searching for.
If your a parent do not give this to your child if they're not 15 as this is definitely for older YA readers. Stuff gets dark really part and that was a huge hook for me.
As well as being probably one of the Darkest Beauty And The Beasts retellings it leans into heavy subliminal messaging and has a good moral to pass onto the readers. As a marginalised person the treatment of the Encharmtes hit deep. No more beauty is found within being the only message, we also learn how important to not harm or hurt people we do not understand. It's especially relevant to what's happening in modern times with political leaders but I won't spoil. Its so important that media starts teaching our youth that difference is not less or scary through the Encharmtes. Braswell doesn't execute this perfectly but she does it in a respectful and sensitive way.
Finally, I'd say I loved the fact that the horrors of the curse was developed more. The live action film touched on it a little bit but this really leans into it and it allows for High Stakes as the novel processes. Won't spoil but it creates some really suspenseful and horrifying moments that Disney would never even consider putting on the big screen. I'm also impressed that this is written well in a way that doesn't bleed into the adult genre instead of YA.
Overall not the best but it was enjoyable and made me think a lot. Definitely recommend checking out if your a Beauty And The Beast fan but maybe pass if your not into dark stories with real life undertones.
I'll start with the negatives first. My first negative is the beginning of the book, we did not get enough build up and it felt like it was going for a whole knew Twisted story whilst also trying to stick to the movie. It might just be my taste personally but I just couldn't get into it at all which didn't help with the fact that the characters personality felt off. Really did pick up for me in the second half though.
Did not like the characterisation of Belle at the beginning of the book. The Beast was understandble as that's the whole point of the original movie but Belle didn't feel like herself. It was like she was one of the people who constantly critise the story. Her hostility to the servants was also weird as in the films even when she didn't know they were cursed, she trusted the servants a lot more than the beast. It unfortunately spoilt my enjoyment a lot.
Finally, I appreciate the story they were trying to tell but it should have been longer with more chapters from The Enchantress pov. There's a lot Braswell could have done with this narrative but I feel like she didn't do enough. The Enchantress being Belles mother was just their for motivation. I would have loved more flashbacks and a longer established redemption and apology for literally cursing an eleven year old boy. I loved the Enchantress in this but I was expecting more.
Positives, this one actually bumped up my enjoyment of the book and gained it half a star. The mystery of what happened to the Encharmtes is a huge hook in the book and leads to some dark, shocking and disturbing. We know some stuff but don't know everything until we're trying to solve the mystery with Belle and Beast. I truly never expected things to go so dark and that's good because a good mystery needs to leave you speechless when you get the answers you were searching for.
If your a parent do not give this to your child if they're not 15 as this is definitely for older YA readers. Stuff gets dark really part and that was a huge hook for me.
As well as being probably one of the Darkest Beauty And The Beasts retellings it leans into heavy subliminal messaging and has a good moral to pass onto the readers. As a marginalised person the treatment of the Encharmtes hit deep. No more beauty is found within being the only message, we also learn how important to not harm or hurt people we do not understand. It's especially relevant to what's happening in modern times with political leaders but I won't spoil. Its so important that media starts teaching our youth that difference is not less or scary through the Encharmtes. Braswell doesn't execute this perfectly but she does it in a respectful and sensitive way.
Finally, I'd say I loved the fact that the horrors of the curse was developed more. The live action film touched on it a little bit but this really leans into it and it allows for High Stakes as the novel processes. Won't spoil but it creates some really suspenseful and horrifying moments that Disney would never even consider putting on the big screen. I'm also impressed that this is written well in a way that doesn't bleed into the adult genre instead of YA.
Overall not the best but it was enjoyable and made me think a lot. Definitely recommend checking out if your a Beauty And The Beast fan but maybe pass if your not into dark stories with real life undertones.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny and Toxic friendship
Minor: Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol
emilywemily6's review
dark
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I picked this book because it was the highest rated of this series and Beauty and the Beast is one of my faves. This story is similar to canon, though definitely diverges and heads towards an alternate ending. It was way too long; four hours in, I realized that the book was four hours too long. A major focus of the story was Belle learning about how complicated her mother was, but I didn’t feel like any of the other characters had greater depth than the original movie gives. The past storyline was interesting. Check the trigger warnings because there’s some dark stuff going on. Overall, I am not sure I enjoyed the reading of this book, and I don’t see myself reading the others unless they are much shorter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Bullying, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Self harm, Alcohol, and Gun violence
vixenreader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The ending is a bit of a bummer, it still has a lot of creativity, and it addresses the hiccups in a more fascinating fashion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Colonisation, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Medical trauma, Grief, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Abandonment
Minor: Gore, Alcohol, and Sexism
There are discussions of discrimination, segregation, and immigrating outside of a land because of fear for one’s own livelihood.alexinitalics's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I definitely enjoyed this book, personally I was a very big fan of the flash back sections in the first half of the book, especially as the rest was basically just retelling the movie exactly. The second half focuses more on the "twisted tales" idea, continuing the timeline of the movie after a major change. It has a lot of clever ideas that it explored well, although I found it a little inconsistent. The villain was a good twist on the original story and I didn't see it coming. However I think it was also a little affected by the pacing as I felt there were two many reveals in a short space of time. I've seen a lot of people complain about Belle's characterisation but I personally didn't find this. I did think the beast's character was well written and the new characters were interesting to read about.
Overall, I definitely recommend this book for Disney/beauty and the beast/twisted tales fans but it's not one of my favourites from the series
Overall, I definitely recommend this book for Disney/beauty and the beast/twisted tales fans but it's not one of my favourites from the series
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Torture, and Genocide
Minor: Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Body horror, Death of parent, and Forced institutionalization
elisweets's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Honestly, just an interesting twist that could even make sense just by watching the animated film or live action (especially)!! But some of the little details that they added were so good and genuinely had me flipping the pages like a mad person, and possibly tearing up a little here and there as well. Like most books, compared to the film there was much more depth to any sort of relationship The Beast and Belle created. Plus they dive into certain characters back stories that I’ve never really thought about before.
Though I was thrown off in the beginning of the book with the chapters flipping back and forth through time once I reached part 2 I was enthralled and it became much easier!! I would say be warned that part 1 does repeat mostly the same story that we already know and love with few differences so it can be hard to get through at times.
Though I was thrown off in the beginning of the book with the chapters flipping back and forth through time once I reached part 2 I was enthralled and it became much easier!! I would say be warned that part 1 does repeat mostly the same story that we already know and love with few differences so it can be hard to get through at times.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment
laurelconover's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I wasn't expecting this story to be as complex (in a good way!) As it was but there was adventure, mystery, intrigue, an interesting twist on a Disney tale with a surprisingly dark underbelly that felt like a full and well done story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
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