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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thanks to Netgalley and Scholastic for the arc!
Definitely a fun gender reversed retelling. I’d rate this more as a young YA geared towards high school age. Great self empowerment message in here. The plot was unique, I loved the personification of Arabella’s emotions. Really well constructed.
My only criticism is that the reader is hit by a TON of characters in the beginning and each has their own plot line. So while the reader is trying to figure out the big mystery of the castle’s curse they’re also trying to juggle which character goes with which subplot. Around the 45% mark the plot gets a really strong foothold and takes off from there. Definitely a good read.
Mark your calendars for May 2024 for the release!
Definitely a fun gender reversed retelling. I’d rate this more as a young YA geared towards high school age. Great self empowerment message in here. The plot was unique, I loved the personification of Arabella’s emotions. Really well constructed.
My only criticism is that the reader is hit by a TON of characters in the beginning and each has their own plot line. So while the reader is trying to figure out the big mystery of the castle’s curse they’re also trying to juggle which character goes with which subplot. Around the 45% mark the plot gets a really strong foothold and takes off from there. Definitely a good read.
Mark your calendars for May 2024 for the release!
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
<blockquote>The curse is her fault -- after all, there's nothing more "beastly" than a girl who expresses her anger -- and the only way to break it is to find a boy who loves her for her true a cruel task for a girl who's been told she's impossible to love.</blockquote>
Beastly Beauty is a reverse gendered retelling of Beauty and the Beast following our beast Arabella and our beauty Beau.
I enjoyed the overall theme of this book, encouraging women to embrace themselves for all of their emotions and passions, not just the traits that would make them appealing for possible partners. The ladies of Arabella's court being her negative emotions (rage, shame, fear) personified and all of her positive emotions seemingly missing was a very fun concept. I felt like the characters themselves were well written and enjoyable. I did not on the other hand enjoy the pacing of this book at all. For almost the first half of the book it felt like not a lot was happening at all, then very suddenly everything dropped all at once. Beau and Arabella went from never seeing/talking to each other to instalove and I feel like it would have been more enjoyable if their relationship had been built at a more steady pace.
Rating: 2.5 rounded up
I received an ARC of this book from Netgally and Scholastic in exchange for an honest review.
Beastly Beauty is a reverse gendered retelling of Beauty and the Beast following our beast Arabella and our beauty Beau.
I enjoyed the overall theme of this book, encouraging women to embrace themselves for all of their emotions and passions, not just the traits that would make them appealing for possible partners. The ladies of Arabella's court being her negative emotions (rage, shame, fear) personified and all of her positive emotions seemingly missing was a very fun concept. I felt like the characters themselves were well written and enjoyable. I did not on the other hand enjoy the pacing of this book at all. For almost the first half of the book it felt like not a lot was happening at all, then very suddenly everything dropped all at once. Beau and Arabella went from never seeing/talking to each other to instalove and I feel like it would have been more enjoyable if their relationship had been built at a more steady pace.
Rating: 2.5 rounded up
I received an ARC of this book from Netgally and Scholastic in exchange for an honest review.