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A review by celia_thebookishhufflepuff
As Old as Time by Liz Braswell
5.0
Review 5/26/21
I still enjoyed this a lot, and I'm glad I read it again, although maybe it wasn't as profound as I had thought it was before.
The idea of les charmantes and the historically accurate backstory with the plague hits differently when we're in the middle of a pandemic. Even if the magic isn't real, the scapegoating and violence definitely is, and the ideas of hidden communities of supposed perpetrators and law enforcement who are ignorant at best can be seen worldwide.
I wonder if this retelling was meant to have that sort of lasting impact that it does. In many ways, this is darker and heavier than most retellings I've read over the last few years, and definitely with more of an air of present-day relevance. The morals and message of kindness seem to be a lot more clear cut than in many fairytales and fantasies, including the original Beauty and the Beast (or at least the Disney version).
I know people have issues with the ending, but I'm kind of torn about it. On the one hand, it's kind of sad that it's not a complete "happily ever after," but on the other hand it leaves the reader with a lot to think about. I wonder if there is any fanfiction out there about this ending.
I said I was going to continue the Twisted Tales books, and to date I've only read [b:Once Upon a Dream|26031261|Once Upon a Dream|Liz Braswell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1444928619l/26031261._SY75_.jpg|45957557], but now that I have a goal of finishing series, I feel like I'll come back to them more readily.
---------------------------------
Review 8/8/19
I read a lot of reviews saying this was even better than [b:A Whole New World|24397040|A Whole New World|Liz Braswell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433796054l/24397040._SX50_.jpg|43981601], but I found that hard to believe. That was before I picked up [b:As Old As Time|28450966|As Old as Time|Liz Braswell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459963718l/28450966._SY75_.jpg|48577872].
I grew up with Beauty and the Beast. Belle was the one princess I truly saw myself as, with all the reading and the intense caring about people. And then the new movie, starring Emma Watson, one of my favorite actors, came out, and I fell in love even more.
Reading [b:As Old As Time|28450966|As Old as Time|Liz Braswell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459963718l/28450966._SY75_.jpg|48577872] was like looking at that favorite childhood movie with new eyes. It was amazing around every twist and turn. One thing I liked better about the live action movie was that it showed a lot more of the backstory, but this rendition puts that backstory to shame.
The idea is that there used to be a community of les charmantes, or magical beings and people, but the timeline ties in nicely with the Crusades and early witch hunts of the Christian world. You read the book wondering why Belle's mom cursed the beast, but the book starts off as a dual timeline, so you get some of this backstory as well.
I loved the idea of the villain in this story. If I had been paying more attention to the backstory, I probably would have seen it coming sooner, but I loved the way [a:Liz Braswell|4788719|Liz Braswell|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1446034176p2/4788719.jpg] created a horrible backstory for a very minor character from the original film, and made that character the root of evil in the town. It was surprising and a welcome change from what I expected to be the ending. The story even redeems characters who would at first seem irredeemable, based off the films. I loved that.
I've decided I really, really love Braswell's writing. It's like fanfiction in a way, reimagining the Disney stories, and I can see some of my own fanfiction in the way she changes the stories. I am really glad I got into fairy tale retellings with [b:A Whole New World|24397040|A Whole New World|Liz Braswell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433796054l/24397040._SX50_.jpg|43981601] and then continued reading them with [a:Jessica Day George|359109|Jessica Day George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1601676062p2/359109.jpg]'s Princesses of Westfalin series. I have added all of the other Twisted Tales books onto my TBR and am hoping to get to them as soon as I can. I found it hard to believe at first that books based on Disney movies would read like my favorite young adult novels, but Braswell adds exactly the right amount of action and tension to make the stories into exactly that.
I still enjoyed this a lot, and I'm glad I read it again, although maybe it wasn't as profound as I had thought it was before.
The idea of les charmantes and the historically accurate backstory with the plague hits differently when we're in the middle of a pandemic. Even if the magic isn't real, the scapegoating and violence definitely is, and the ideas of hidden communities of supposed perpetrators and law enforcement who are ignorant at best can be seen worldwide.
I wonder if this retelling was meant to have that sort of lasting impact that it does. In many ways, this is darker and heavier than most retellings I've read over the last few years, and definitely with more of an air of present-day relevance. The morals and message of kindness seem to be a lot more clear cut than in many fairytales and fantasies, including the original Beauty and the Beast (or at least the Disney version).
I know people have issues with the ending, but I'm kind of torn about it. On the one hand, it's kind of sad that it's not a complete "happily ever after," but on the other hand it leaves the reader with a lot to think about. I wonder if there is any fanfiction out there about this ending.
I said I was going to continue the Twisted Tales books, and to date I've only read [b:Once Upon a Dream|26031261|Once Upon a Dream|Liz Braswell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1444928619l/26031261._SY75_.jpg|45957557], but now that I have a goal of finishing series, I feel like I'll come back to them more readily.
---------------------------------
Review 8/8/19
I read a lot of reviews saying this was even better than [b:A Whole New World|24397040|A Whole New World|Liz Braswell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433796054l/24397040._SX50_.jpg|43981601], but I found that hard to believe. That was before I picked up [b:As Old As Time|28450966|As Old as Time|Liz Braswell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459963718l/28450966._SY75_.jpg|48577872].
I grew up with Beauty and the Beast. Belle was the one princess I truly saw myself as, with all the reading and the intense caring about people. And then the new movie, starring Emma Watson, one of my favorite actors, came out, and I fell in love even more.
Reading [b:As Old As Time|28450966|As Old as Time|Liz Braswell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459963718l/28450966._SY75_.jpg|48577872] was like looking at that favorite childhood movie with new eyes. It was amazing around every twist and turn. One thing I liked better about the live action movie was that it showed a lot more of the backstory, but this rendition puts that backstory to shame.
The idea is that there used to be a community of les charmantes, or magical beings and people, but the timeline ties in nicely with the Crusades and early witch hunts of the Christian world. You read the book wondering why Belle's mom cursed the beast, but the book starts off as a dual timeline, so you get some of this backstory as well.
I loved the idea of the villain in this story. If I had been paying more attention to the backstory, I probably would have seen it coming sooner, but I loved the way [a:Liz Braswell|4788719|Liz Braswell|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1446034176p2/4788719.jpg] created a horrible backstory for a very minor character from the original film, and made that character the root of evil in the town. It was surprising and a welcome change from what I expected to be the ending. The story even redeems characters who would at first seem irredeemable, based off the films. I loved that.
I've decided I really, really love Braswell's writing. It's like fanfiction in a way, reimagining the Disney stories, and I can see some of my own fanfiction in the way she changes the stories. I am really glad I got into fairy tale retellings with [b:A Whole New World|24397040|A Whole New World|Liz Braswell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433796054l/24397040._SX50_.jpg|43981601] and then continued reading them with [a:Jessica Day George|359109|Jessica Day George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1601676062p2/359109.jpg]'s Princesses of Westfalin series. I have added all of the other Twisted Tales books onto my TBR and am hoping to get to them as soon as I can. I found it hard to believe at first that books based on Disney movies would read like my favorite young adult novels, but Braswell adds exactly the right amount of action and tension to make the stories into exactly that.