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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
This was a unique and enjoyable Beauty and the Beast retelling. I appreciated the gender-swap twist of this story and how this retelling had some unexpected elements within that had me very intrigued throughout the story. If you are looking for a new Beauty and the Beast retelling, I recommend checking this one out.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a gifted copy.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a gifted copy.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-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
Beastly Beauty is a young adult gender-swapped retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," featuring a thief who wanders into a castle in search of food and riches and a young woman who has been trapped there for a hundred years.
Beau and his band of thieves cannot believe their luck when they stumble upon a castle with the gates wide open and food ready on the table. But when a beast appears and they run for their lives, only Beau doesn’t make it across the bridge before it crashes into the moat. When he meets the lady of the house (Arabella), he discovers that the castle is under an enchantment, and he won’t be able to leave. He will need to outsmart Arabella’s court of strange women, build a new bridge across the moat, and help her break the curse if he ever wants to return to Barcelona to help his ailing younger brother.
This "Beauty and the Beast" retelling started strong with Beau and his band of thieves but quickly lost steam. I found the curse overly complicated with too many players, and the reason behind it disappointing. Since we already know the original story, at the very least, a retelling can provide a few fresh takes and be entertaining, and I didn’t find either of those to be true. There are some interesting thoughts based on other fairy tales, which I appreciated and wished this book had. Unfortunately, the chemistry between Beau and Arabella didn’t jump off the page, and the various court women with their scrambled-up names based on emotions (Rega, Espidra, Hesma, etc.) became annoying as the book went on. I spent the last 20% just wanting to wrap everything up and see how the curse would be resolved.
Beastly Beauty has a beautiful cover and attempts to look at "Beauty and the Beast" in a new way with female empowerment, self-love, and forgiveness as the main themes. But the overly complicated curse, courtly women with their word scramble names, and the lack of chemistry between Beau and Arabella made it a slog for me.
2.5 stars
Beau and his band of thieves cannot believe their luck when they stumble upon a castle with the gates wide open and food ready on the table. But when a beast appears and they run for their lives, only Beau doesn’t make it across the bridge before it crashes into the moat. When he meets the lady of the house (Arabella), he discovers that the castle is under an enchantment, and he won’t be able to leave. He will need to outsmart Arabella’s court of strange women, build a new bridge across the moat, and help her break the curse if he ever wants to return to Barcelona to help his ailing younger brother.
This "Beauty and the Beast" retelling started strong with Beau and his band of thieves but quickly lost steam. I found the curse overly complicated with too many players, and the reason behind it disappointing. Since we already know the original story, at the very least, a retelling can provide a few fresh takes and be entertaining, and I didn’t find either of those to be true. There are some interesting thoughts based on other fairy tales, which I appreciated and wished this book had. Unfortunately, the chemistry between Beau and Arabella didn’t jump off the page, and the various court women with their scrambled-up names based on emotions (Rega, Espidra, Hesma, etc.) became annoying as the book went on. I spent the last 20% just wanting to wrap everything up and see how the curse would be resolved.
Beastly Beauty has a beautiful cover and attempts to look at "Beauty and the Beast" in a new way with female empowerment, self-love, and forgiveness as the main themes. But the overly complicated curse, courtly women with their word scramble names, and the lack of chemistry between Beau and Arabella made it a slog for me.
2.5 stars
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lovely Retelling
"Beastly Beauty" by Jennifer Donnelly is a remarkable read that served as the perfect antidote to my day's blues. It was a day dedicated to the comfort of books and tea, which was a delightful respite, despite not feeling my best.
This novel offers a fresh take on the classic "Beauty and the Beast" tale, with a twist that includes a gender reversal and a profound message about embracing one's imperfections. The protagonist, Beau, is a thief burdened with the responsibility of caring for his younger brother—the last of his kin. Intent on using a hidden stolen ring to forge a new future for them, Beau's plans are unexpectedly thwarted when he and his band of thieves encounter a castle that seems deserted. A chase by a mysterious beast leads to Beau being abandoned by his comrades, forcing him to face his inner self and the castle's hidden perils in order to survive.
Jennifer Donnelly's storytelling took unexpected paths that captivated me, a quality I've come to admire in her writing. From the intriguing opening with Espidra and a young girl engaged in card games, to the cleverly disguised identities of Arabella's court ladies—each revelation was a delight. The narrative masterfully interwove elements like the enigmatic clock that initially intrigued but later terrorized the thieves. Although I anticipated the conclusion upon learning about Arabella's curse, the way it unfolded was nothing short of exquisite.
I eagerly anticipate revisiting "Beastly Beauty" to uncover any subtle clues I may have overlooked on my initial journey through its pages. Prepare to be so engrossed that you'll want to devour this book in one sitting, and perhaps keep a box of tissues within reach, just in case emotions run high.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a creative spin on the Beauty and the Beast story and I enjoyed it just as much as I hoped I would. Beastly Beauty is a gender-swapped retelling of the classic story of Beauty and the Beast. So many elements were done well, which makes this a standout when it comes to retellings.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
slow-paced
*3.5
I liked this but it took way too long to explain anything. I don't feel like I really understood the book until about 70% and that feels too long for me. I also kind of wish it was just Beau and Arabella's pov. All the different thoughts kind of distracted me. All in all the two of them were cute.
I received an arc through netgalley.
I liked this but it took way too long to explain anything. I don't feel like I really understood the book until about 70% and that feels too long for me. I also kind of wish it was just Beau and Arabella's pov. All the different thoughts kind of distracted me. All in all the two of them were cute.
I received an arc through netgalley.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Have you ever been reading a book, and just had to stop, breathe, and just sit and think about how beautiful what you just read was? I had to do that multiple times in this book. This is not just another Beauty and the Beast retelling. This is a deep look into emotions, how they affect us, and what can go wrong when we let them take over. And it was just so good. I can't seem to put into words how amazing this book was.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beau and his fellow band of thieves are running from the law in the forest when suddenly a fog descends upon them, and a gothic castle appears. Finding what they think is a safe haven, they enter the castle.
They start to steal what they can, when suddenly, a beast appears. The beast tries to take away their leader, but instead, the thieves trade their youngest thief, Beau, for their leader and tell Beau they’ll come back for him.
Now, Beau has to find a way to escape.
There’s a lot more to the summary, but I’ll just stop there 😅
I have a lot of mixed emotions about this book. I LOVE reading Beauty and the Beast retellings! I’m always looking for ones to read, especially unique ones, and this one definitely had a unique take on the fairytale.
This is a gender-bent retelling of Beauty and the Beast with Beau being the “beauty” and Arabella being the beast. Beau is a thief and Arabella supposedly is a terrible selfish girl who only cares about herself, and not to mention she has a lot of secrets. Neither are exactly the type of character you would want to love.
Beau had a charm to him that you couldn’t help but love as you read the book, and especially the fact that he has a younger brother that he loves and needs to get to, and that just made me love him more.
Arabella, I couldn’t figure out at first. She wasn’t nice, but she also seemed to be a facade of her true self. It’s interesting to learn about her as the story progresses.
This take on the fairytale was unique in that, not only is it gender-bent, but Arabella’s is cursed with her emotions being live persons who basically talk her down and make her feel like the worst person. It was an interesting on how one may view themselves and how they fight to escape those self-damaging emotions to come out at the top in the end.
There’s also a few cute scenes in here that made me go “awww”, and maybe a bit corny, but hey! Corny is fine sometimes! I also liked reading a book that’s YA, borderline MG, with no cursing, or almost no cursing. It was refreshing.
So, those are a few things I enjoyed and appreciated about this story.
Now, for what bothered me….(there might be very slight spoilers down below)…
Based on the setting, this seemed to be more in the past, but the phrases and word choices were very modern and felt very out of place for the setting I anticipated. It confused me.
With that being said, the writing was not my favorite. The style seemed to try to be poetic or old English style, but then a word like crap is thrown in and it ruins the aesthetic of the book and setting.
The romance and plot fell very flat after the first 1/3 of the book I would say. The start of the book is very well done, and then suddenly it just kind of turns into a mess. The romance is insta-love. Like I was shocked at how quick they fell in love 😹 It didn’t make any sense.
I think what bothered me the most is that there is absolutely no explanation as to how this curse happened. There’s a brief scene that kind of tells you when it happened, but literally no detailed explanation as to how this happened. There seems to be no magic in this world and yet there is in this castle and with Arabella, but how…???? How did her emotions become humans???? And why didn’t they all disappear at the end once the curse was broken???
And the way the curse was broken, I mean really? That could not have been possible to just break that quickly with the “requirements” when we had what? Half an hour remaining?
Anyways, I really liked the concept and it is unique. The writing style and details of how everything came about was lacking for me, but others may enjoy, especially if you need a fantasy to read if you’re just getting into fantasy!
I received an early e-ARC to read through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.