A review by light_prophecy_28416
The Beauty and the Beast by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve

2.0

I really struggled with this book which is a shame because Beauty and the Beast has always been my favourite Disney movie and I wanted so badly to enjoy the original fairytale. Unfortunately a combination or long, drawn-out descriptions, out-dated dialogue and tediously long inner-monologues in place of any real action or story progression put an end to my wish. I found myself unable to engage in the characters or the story and quite often reading 10 pages before realising that I hadn't taken in a single thing and struggling to remember what had happened when I started reading. My love of the Disney versions had me persevere to the end of this tale but, even now, I don't feel like I read the entire book because I zoned out for so much of it and stopped paying attention.
This book gets 2 stars simply because it is a beautiful book with gorgeous illustrations so I didn't feel like I could give it just 1 star. However for now this book will remain firmly on my shelf for a few years until I feel ready to try again. I hope that, given time, knowing what to expect and being more prepared will mean I enjoy this book more.