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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
The best love letter to one of my favorite tales. Poston's references to the cartoon are spot on (& never feel cliche). The pop-culture references are pretty perfect, too. Beauty & the Beast isn't the easiest story to bring into a modern retelling, & this one is lovely. The characters are worth getting to know, & it's the sweetest addition to the Once Upon a Con series. I love the little universe Ashley Poston has created here.
This is such an adorable book! I laughed so many times while reading it.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The classic Beauty and the Beast retold as a teen romance. This book, and likely the 2 preceding books in the series, is for people who are into the fanfic scene.
not sure why i waited so long to read this when it has so many of my favorite things - bookish mc, retelling, famous person/normal person. it was ADORABLE.
I'm torn about this one and still trying to decide my feelings about it, so I'm writing this review in bulleted format to maybe help solidify my thoughts.
Pros:
- love the B & B retelling. I know some reviews are not favorable on this front, but I thought Poston did a great job w/ it. She chose the right pieces to include here.
- loved the characters individually, each with their own baggage and flaws; especially loved the secondary characters (which many I've now learned are from other books in the series)
- thought the sweet YA nature of this was great
Cons:
- the pacing of this was off, and I think that's what is bothering me. The romance felt like someone pumping their brakes. They'd make progress then HARD STOP, then more progress, then STOP. There wasn't a lot of even flow to it, not enough character development. The 2 main characters hated each other for a large (larger than a normal YA romance) portion of the book then POOF they were together. Instantly. Then POOF he doesn't trust her and they're apart. Then POOF together. I felt whiplash. I guess I was looking for more chemistry between them, more tension and less hatred.
- the part about him recognizing her and not saying anything could have been developed a bit more. The self-preservation that Vance felt was a great opportunity to make him a vulnerable character, more endearing to readers, but Poston continued to make him selfish and unlikable. I think that was a miss.
- still wondering about Dad and the Uncle. They need their own book!
Like I said, I'm torn. There are pieces I really liked here, but not enough to go back and read other books in the series.
Pros:
- love the B & B retelling. I know some reviews are not favorable on this front, but I thought Poston did a great job w/ it. She chose the right pieces to include here.
- loved the characters individually, each with their own baggage and flaws; especially loved the secondary characters (which many I've now learned are from other books in the series)
- thought the sweet YA nature of this was great
Cons:
- the pacing of this was off, and I think that's what is bothering me. The romance felt like someone pumping their brakes. They'd make progress then HARD STOP, then more progress, then STOP. There wasn't a lot of even flow to it, not enough character development. The 2 main characters hated each other for a large (larger than a normal YA romance) portion of the book then POOF they were together. Instantly. Then POOF he doesn't trust her and they're apart. Then POOF together. I felt whiplash. I guess I was looking for more chemistry between them, more tension and less hatred.
- the part about him recognizing her and not saying anything could have been developed a bit more. The self-preservation that Vance felt was a great opportunity to make him a vulnerable character, more endearing to readers, but Poston continued to make him selfish and unlikable. I think that was a miss.
- still wondering about Dad and the Uncle. They need their own book!
Like I said, I'm torn. There are pieces I really liked here, but not enough to go back and read other books in the series.
This was a really simple story with not actually that much happening aside from the Beauty and the Beast retelling, but it was cute enough.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was overall a fun quick read.
It got to be a little slow at times, and pretty predictable.
But overall I enjoyed that there was some growth to the characters.
It was a sweet.m, cute romance. Just like advertised
It got to be a little slow at times, and pretty predictable.
But overall I enjoyed that there was some growth to the characters.
It was a sweet.m, cute romance. Just like advertised