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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
My hands down, absolute favorite retelling of this story. Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite fairy tale, this version is by far the best ever! One of the rare books I never tire of re-reading!
slow-paced
Really loved this book! Full review can be found at http://claire-de-lune2.blogspot.com/
Picked this up at a library book sale because I love Beauty and the Beast retellings, and the cover was just so 80's I couldn't resist.
The introduction is quite similar to [b:Belle: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast|2974811|Belle A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast|Cameron Dokey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1246746554l/2974811._SY75_.jpg|3005175], but then the rest of the story is much more traditional.
The introduction is quite similar to [b:Belle: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast|2974811|Belle A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast|Cameron Dokey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1246746554l/2974811._SY75_.jpg|3005175], but then the rest of the story is much more traditional.
All in all, this was an inoffensive but uninspiring retelling of the classic tale. While it doesn't really detract much it doesn't really add anything either. McKinley also wrote Rose Daughter, another Beauty of the Beast retelling which captures the imagination much more and exquisitely develops the growing relationship between the two key players. The most that can really be said for this is that like McKinley's other fairy tale-centered books, the heroine of the story is a pretty far stretch from the stereotypical damsel in distress, and is quite determined and proactive. As princess-y tales go, a teen girl could go worse, but she could also do a lot better.
Once again, I'm pouring one out for all the 16 year old girls in young adult fantasy who never get to experience age-appropriate relationships. Especially Beauty, who somehow ends up with a 250-year-old dude who doesn't even have the decency to LOOK her age at the end.
Still, I've read this book as a sort of "comfort food" read once or twice every year since I was sixteen. And it took me until I was twenty-nine to truly appreciate that this book is Not Very Good. (It still gets 5 stars because I love it in all its trashy glory. So trashy. My god.)
This is Robin McKinley's debut novel, which means it dates from a simpler time. A time when girls and horses were best friends, not lovers (looking at you, Pegasus) and girls were supposed to end up with human men instead of beasts (looking at you, Rose Daughter) -- in other words, a time when Robin was still somewhat constrained by the whims of her editors. God bless.
In hindsight, there are some major Twilight vibes that come off this book. Example: "Do you always lurk like this?" "I like to watch you," he said. "Does it disturb you?" "Oh--well," I said, off balance. "I suppose not." (Also he's 250 years old.) Suddenly I feel like a monster for hating on Twilight while clinging to my adolescent adoration of this book and its beautiful descriptions of dresses and food and horses and libraries and gardens. It's a faithful adaptation of a pretty messed up story, and it is relentlessly cheerful, and I will continue to read this book whenever I want to crawl into bed and cry for a thousand years.
Here's the deal: if you love YA fantasy because you're a sucker for tropes and pretty writing, you'll love this book. If you read a lot of fanfic, you'll love this book. If you love the absurd and celebrate all things trash, you'll also love this book. In other words, everyone should love this book.
You really owe it to yourself to try, anyway.
Still, I've read this book as a sort of "comfort food" read once or twice every year since I was sixteen. And it took me until I was twenty-nine to truly appreciate that this book is Not Very Good. (It still gets 5 stars because I love it in all its trashy glory. So trashy. My god.)
This is Robin McKinley's debut novel, which means it dates from a simpler time. A time when girls and horses were best friends, not lovers (looking at you, Pegasus) and girls were supposed to end up with human men instead of beasts (looking at you, Rose Daughter) -- in other words, a time when Robin was still somewhat constrained by the whims of her editors. God bless.
In hindsight, there are some major Twilight vibes that come off this book. Example: "Do you always lurk like this?" "I like to watch you," he said. "Does it disturb you?" "Oh--well," I said, off balance. "I suppose not." (Also he's 250 years old.) Suddenly I feel like a monster for hating on Twilight while clinging to my adolescent adoration of this book and its beautiful descriptions of dresses and food and horses and libraries and gardens. It's a faithful adaptation of a pretty messed up story, and it is relentlessly cheerful, and I will continue to read this book whenever I want to crawl into bed and cry for a thousand years.
Here's the deal: if you love YA fantasy because you're a sucker for tropes and pretty writing, you'll love this book. If you read a lot of fanfic, you'll love this book. If you love the absurd and celebrate all things trash, you'll also love this book. In other words, everyone should love this book.
You really owe it to yourself to try, anyway.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No