A review by alliesannotation
Beastly Beauty by Jennifer Donnelly

emotional funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

⭐️: 4/5
🌶️: 🚪 Closed Door 

Format: 📱

This was so enjoyable for me! This is a gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast retelling, with a twist. This review WILL HAVE SPOILERS which I've hidden below.

I thought the twist was so original. While I was able to guess at the twist a little bit once I got to the second or third character involved in it, that didn't take away from how much I liked it.

I just thought the use of the FMC's own emotions as her curse and her jailers was both inventive and a really introspective choice. It makes you think about how your own emotions play a role in your actions and choices

.

It's also been a long time since I just had a purely enjoyable reading experience like this. The book went by quickly, and the prose was uncomplicated, but there were funny moments, and the book dealt with the harder topics by bookending with lightheartedness, so it never felt too slow or heavy. But somehow that didn't take away from the impact of those topics. This was just a fun read from start to finish.