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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
Hot damn, Jennifer Donnelly is three for three with the fairytale reimaginings! Keep it going with the patriarchy smashing and the non-apologetic AF women. HELL YEAH. Now here we have a gender-bent Beauty and the Beast story with lessons promoting self compassion, vulnerability, and the importance of embracing difficult emotions. It is like America Ferrera's speech in Barbie. It is full of men who learn how to fix themselves. Flawed characters abound. Zombie creatures in the moat. I mean, do I even need to keep going. READ IT.
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jennifer Donnelly has such a talent for reimagining fairy tales and making them so much more than you thought possible. Beastly Beauty is another win to go along with Stepsisters and Poisoner.
I loved the gender-flipped beauty and the beast tale. More than anything this story is an allegory. One about our inner demons, our need for love, acceptance, and the grace we need to give ourselves. I also liked how Arabella isn’t cursed for being a horrible person like the beast usually is. I won’t spoil the twists, but they were well done. They were easy to figure out, but I definitely feel like we were meant to figure them out to see how long it took the characters to catch up.
I loved Beau too, plus all the servants in the castle. I definitely got emotional and teared up several times.
This tale is so poignant and beautifully told, and I highly recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. All opinions are my own.
I loved the gender-flipped beauty and the beast tale. More than anything this story is an allegory. One about our inner demons, our need for love, acceptance, and the grace we need to give ourselves. I also liked how Arabella isn’t cursed for being a horrible person like the beast usually is. I won’t spoil the twists, but they were well done. They were easy to figure out, but I definitely feel like we were meant to figure them out to see how long it took the characters to catch up.
I loved Beau too, plus all the servants in the castle. I definitely got emotional and teared up several times.
This tale is so poignant and beautifully told, and I highly recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. All opinions are my own.
“…the things right in front of you are the hardest ones to see.”
“Beastly Beauty,” by Jennifer Donnelly
This book was a great gender bender Beauty and the Beast Retelling. I love Jennifer Donnelly’s Disney retelling and this one didn’t disappoint. Instead of the traditional loveable beauty and the rude beast this book had two hard to love characters with the “Beauty” character being a thief and the “Beast” character being the prickly princess who wants to be left alone. The pacing was on the slow side, but the interesting world of the castle made up for it. The story was both equally character and plot driven with a lot of character development with a slow burn romance. I liked the world Donnelly set up in the book and loved reading it. 4 out of 5 stars.
-Beauty and the Beast Retelling
-Slow Burn
-Thief MC
-Curse
Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.
“Beastly Beauty,” by Jennifer Donnelly
This book was a great gender bender Beauty and the Beast Retelling. I love Jennifer Donnelly’s Disney retelling and this one didn’t disappoint. Instead of the traditional loveable beauty and the rude beast this book had two hard to love characters with the “Beauty” character being a thief and the “Beast” character being the prickly princess who wants to be left alone. The pacing was on the slow side, but the interesting world of the castle made up for it. The story was both equally character and plot driven with a lot of character development with a slow burn romance. I liked the world Donnelly set up in the book and loved reading it. 4 out of 5 stars.
-Beauty and the Beast Retelling
-Slow Burn
-Thief MC
-Curse
Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
This was fun and weird, first of all.
Secondly, it felt more middle grade to me than YA. Except for the swearing, which is really what bumped it to YA, imo.
If you want a Beauty and the Beast retelling that’s unique, this is definitely for you. It may beat you over the head with some of its morals, but it’s got a good core and soul.
If you are averse to a large cast of characters that have very little purpose, this might not be for you. The Ladies of the Court were a really cool addition but it took a little too long for things to be explained and for the curse to be properly dropped, it made it hard to buy into the magic and set up of the book.
I was expecting a lot of things to happen faster, especially at the rate that any given chapter was moving. Every chapter was trying to be a mic drop but when a chapter is a page or two, it loses its gravity.
It’s definitely not like every other Beauty and the Beast retelling, but it’s very aesthetic and knows it. I enjoyed Beau a lot because he had so much going on for a MMC, and I enjoyed architecture as Arabella’s passion. I almost wish the whole book had been from her perspective, especially given how the Ladies could’ve been used.
Anyways, leaving this: Percival and Phillipe are precious and I would die for them and their risotto.
Secondly, it felt more middle grade to me than YA. Except for the swearing, which is really what bumped it to YA, imo.
If you want a Beauty and the Beast retelling that’s unique, this is definitely for you. It may beat you over the head with some of its morals, but it’s got a good core and soul.
If you are averse to a large cast of characters that have very little purpose, this might not be for you. The Ladies of the Court were a really cool addition but it took a little too long for things to be explained and for the curse to be properly dropped, it made it hard to buy into the magic and set up of the book.
I was expecting a lot of things to happen faster, especially at the rate that any given chapter was moving. Every chapter was trying to be a mic drop but when a chapter is a page or two, it loses its gravity.
It’s definitely not like every other Beauty and the Beast retelling, but it’s very aesthetic and knows it. I enjoyed Beau a lot because he had so much going on for a MMC, and I enjoyed architecture as Arabella’s passion. I almost wish the whole book had been from her perspective, especially given how the Ladies could’ve been used.
Anyways, leaving this: Percival and Phillipe are precious and I would die for them and their risotto.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was able to get access to an ARC of this book.
I found this fairytale retelling to have an interesting, fresh take that felt cheesy and clumsy in its execution. I felt a similar disappointment in Donnellys novel, Poisoned.
While the plot and characters have merit, this book lacks any trust in its readers. Young adults are smart and could have done with a deeper dive into the development of said characters.
I would definitely recommend this book for younger teens making the transition out of middle grade. This is a good read for girls with low self-esteem who need a reminder that they need to kinder to themselves. I would not suggest this book to any reader who is “mature” for their age.
I found this fairytale retelling to have an interesting, fresh take that felt cheesy and clumsy in its execution. I felt a similar disappointment in Donnellys novel, Poisoned.
While the plot and characters have merit, this book lacks any trust in its readers. Young adults are smart and could have done with a deeper dive into the development of said characters.
I would definitely recommend this book for younger teens making the transition out of middle grade. This is a good read for girls with low self-esteem who need a reminder that they need to kinder to themselves. I would not suggest this book to any reader who is “mature” for their age.
ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.
Arabella is anything but the silent beautiful flower of a young lady that her parents want her to be. She has ambition and a fire within her that she can’t seem to tame, but should she really have to. When an attempt to surprise her emotions backfires Arabella finds herself cursed. But when a handsome thief enters her cursed home she is given a glimpse of acceptance and love. How could anyone love such a beast though. With time running out can the curse truly be lifted before it’s too late.
Beastly Beauty is a YA Beauty and the Beast retelling with the beast being Arabella and our beauty is the charismatic thief Beau. This was a cute fairytale retelling that had some great themes for younger readers such as embracing who you are rather than allowing yourself to shrink to others wills of who you “should” be. Our main characters are very much opposites as they come from differing social circles. Where Arabella was a part of glittering upper society, while Beau has had to fight for everything he has ever had. In most cases for the time period in which the story is set they would never co-mingle with and yet here they were helping one another to grow. Their attachment to one another did feel rather insta-love, however how could it not when the curse looms very closely to claiming them as permanent victims so I found this to be expected. The pacing does feel slightly off as the beginning is a bit on the slower side but once you hit half way it does pick up more with twists and reveals. Again I have to note that at the heart of this retelling is an exploration of human emotions and acceptance and in this aspect the book most definitely shines.
Overall this was a fast cute and fun retelling. I without a doubt recommend it to YA readers and anyone who has a nostalgic love of the source material Beauty and the Beast.
Beastly Beauty comes out May 7th, 2024
Thank you again NetGalley and Scholastic Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.