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starlightsong's review
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
This is the first of Kendra Merritt's novels that I've read--I'd never heard of them before, but picked this one up when someone recommended her as an author who writes fairytale retellings (something I love) with disability rep (something else I love!). I heard they didn't need to be read in order, so seeing that this one was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, one of my favorite fairytales and Disney movies, it's the one I chose.
And I'm so glad I did. Too many BATB retellings are written in ways where the dynamic between the main characters is just... unhealthy, in my opinion, and I can't root for them to fall in love. But not Leon and Anwen. Anwen is fiercely determined, compassionate, and strong and staying with Leon to figure out how to break his curse is fully her choice. She's never made to feel like a prisoner and Leon knows he can't control her--in fact, he feels far more trapped than she does. I love Anwen's character. I love the choice of making her an enchanter, as a spin on Beauty and the Beast originally featuring an enchantress who curses the Beast, and I love how she's a beauty with a physical disability and a scarred face.
Leon annoyed me a little at first, with his comments about Anwen's scars especially, but given the type of story this is I just knew he'd shape up to be the kind of character I always love, and I wasn't wrong at all. He starts as an arrogant and selfish lord whose sole concern is breaking his curse and trying to make Anwen like him for that reason, all while keeping an incredibly important secret from her, but even from the beginning he has a soft side and seeing his inner thoughts goes a long way in showing that. He gets along with kids (and Emeline and Josselin are adorable!), he deeply fears hurting people as a bear, he loves to paint, he wrote an amazingly terrible poem for Fanny... and he grows and redeems himself in a beautiful way. Every single bit of his and Anwen's relationship development was so sweet but also so painful, knowing what he was keeping from her and just knowing that even though there's probably gonna be a happily ever after, this still all has to blow up in his face at one point.
And oh my god, I love the moment when it does. It's inevitable that the secret would have to come out, but also so, so heartbreaking to see Anwen's reaction. At the same time it takes a lot of strength from Leon not just to finally reveal the truth but to not betray Catrin simply because he feels that Anwen needs someone she can trust. He shows here that he really has changed, but in doing so he's chosen to lose everything that he's gained. But then if I thought that was heartbreaking, seeing him nearly give his life for her was a million times worse!
The ending was both exciting and beautiful. The way some things were resolved (like the mystery of the killings and the way Leon's curse was finally broken) weren't quite what I'd expected but that's not a criticism at all, because it was even better than I thought it'd be. Anwen and Leon both had such fantastic character development. However, if I had to give just one criticism for the book, it'd be that when I got to the last page I expected there to be at least a couple more, or maybe an epilogue of some sort, because it felt a bit abrupt. But maybe that's just because when it ended I immediately started missing the characters!
This is definitely a character driven story, but I also love the worldbuilding of it! I felt so immersed in it from the beginning, learning about enchanters and where their power comes from, about the religion practiced by the people of this world, their culture and the holiday of LongNight (the parts where they were all celebrating it together were so cute!), about the Zevryn, a species of shapeshifters which includes Anwen's companion Brann, and about the interesting way that Leon's curse functioned and the mystery of how to break it. There were also several moments and lines that made me laugh out loud. This was a great read and I desperately wish more people knew it existed so there could be a fandom for it and I could get more of Leon, Anwen, Brann, and the rest of their found family! I read it for free on Kindle Unlimited but I plan to buy an actual copy soon because the cover design is gorgeous and I want it on my shelf.
And I'm so glad I did. Too many BATB retellings are written in ways where the dynamic between the main characters is just... unhealthy, in my opinion, and I can't root for them to fall in love. But not Leon and Anwen. Anwen is fiercely determined, compassionate, and strong and staying with Leon to figure out how to break his curse is fully her choice. She's never made to feel like a prisoner and Leon knows he can't control her--in fact, he feels far more trapped than she does. I love Anwen's character. I love the choice of making her an enchanter, as a spin on Beauty and the Beast originally featuring an enchantress who curses the Beast, and I love how she's a beauty with a physical disability and a scarred face.
Leon annoyed me a little at first, with his comments about Anwen's scars especially, but given the type of story this is I just knew he'd shape up to be the kind of character I always love, and I wasn't wrong at all. He starts as an arrogant and selfish lord whose sole concern is breaking his curse and trying to make Anwen like him for that reason, all while keeping an incredibly important secret from her, but even from the beginning he has a soft side and seeing his inner thoughts goes a long way in showing that. He gets along with kids (and Emeline and Josselin are adorable!), he deeply fears hurting people as a bear, he loves to paint, he wrote an amazingly terrible poem for Fanny... and he grows and redeems himself in a beautiful way. Every single bit of his and Anwen's relationship development was so sweet but also so painful, knowing what he was keeping from her and just knowing that even though there's probably gonna be a happily ever after, this still all has to blow up in his face at one point.
The ending was both exciting and beautiful. The way some things were resolved (like the mystery of the killings and the way Leon's curse was finally broken) weren't quite what I'd expected but that's not a criticism at all, because it was even better than I thought it'd be. Anwen and Leon both had such fantastic character development. However, if I had to give just one criticism for the book, it'd be that when I got to the last page I expected there to be at least a couple more, or maybe an epilogue of some sort, because it felt a bit abrupt. But maybe that's just because when it ended I immediately started missing the characters!
This is definitely a character driven story, but I also love the worldbuilding of it! I felt so immersed in it from the beginning, learning about enchanters and where their power comes from, about the religion practiced by the people of this world, their culture and the holiday of LongNight (the parts where they were all celebrating it together were so cute!), about the Zevryn, a species of shapeshifters which includes Anwen's companion Brann, and about the interesting way that Leon's curse functioned and the mystery of how to break it. There were also several moments and lines that made me laugh out loud. This was a great read and I desperately wish more people knew it existed so there could be a fandom for it and I could get more of Leon, Anwen, Brann, and the rest of their found family! I read it for free on Kindle Unlimited but I plan to buy an actual copy soon because the cover design is gorgeous and I want it on my shelf.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
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