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A review by annettebooksofhopeanddreams
As Old As Time by Liz Braswell
4.0
Beauty and the Beast has never really been one of my favourite tales. It's hard to pinpoint exactly where it goes wrong between me and this fairytale, but it does go wrong and not even the huge and amazing library can make up for it. I do know that one of the main parts that goes wrong with me is the whole "true beauty lies within" message, that is utterly destroyed by turning the beast back into a beautiful prince at the end of the story. I guess you can see it symbolically, but I never really liked that part.
So, I was a little reluctant to pick this book up. But, it did start quite interesting with quite some backstory on Maurice, his wife (Belle's mother and the enchantress) and the world they were living in and how that eventually led to the curse. But once that backstory was told, the book followed the Disney Tale maybe a little too closely for a too long while for me.
However, the moment the beast and Belle escape the castle to find more information on her mother, the curse and what has truly happened the story picks up pace rather quickly. I don't want to give away too much, but I really liked how the whole Gaston plot line was handled here and I liked the role the Asylum played in all of this. The last 150 pages made me love this book a whole lot more and the message at the end of THIS story was one that worked far better for me.
It will probably never be my favorite Disney tale, and also not my favorite twisted tale, but I am glad that I eventually decided to read it!
So, I was a little reluctant to pick this book up. But, it did start quite interesting with quite some backstory on Maurice, his wife (Belle's mother and the enchantress) and the world they were living in and how that eventually led to the curse. But once that backstory was told, the book followed the Disney Tale maybe a little too closely for a too long while for me.
However, the moment the beast and Belle escape the castle to find more information on her mother, the curse and what has truly happened the story picks up pace rather quickly. I don't want to give away too much, but I really liked how the whole Gaston plot line was handled here and I liked the role the Asylum played in all of this. The last 150 pages made me love this book a whole lot more and the message at the end of THIS story was one that worked far better for me.
It will probably never be my favorite Disney tale, and also not my favorite twisted tale, but I am glad that I eventually decided to read it!