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erin_kelly's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
4.0
This was a great beauty and the beast retelling. I loved the characters and was very entertained and amused by the banter. There are fantastic changes to give it a spin and create well-rounded characters with full lives.
Grace Draven writes great romantic fantasy and her worlds are so rich. As always with her books, sometimes I wish the pace would pick up a little, but I do appreciate getting every detail of the story. And that she doesn’t unnecessarily repeat herself! I’ve gotten annoyed by books with a prophecy; how it’s constantly repeated in full, but that doesn’t happen here and it’s so refreshing.
sonya92's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
lunalove18's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
tazmae79's review
5.0
I am a HUGE fan of Beauty and the Beast..have been since I was a kid. I try to read any retelling I can when it comes to my favorite fairytale. This has got to be my absolute favorite retelling to date!! The characters were all written so well..I felt all of the emotions. Grace Draven has such a beautiful way with words...her stories always grip me and hold on for dear life. She is an auto buy author for me!
ravenslanding's review
5.0
Wonderful retelling
I like a good retelling,and this one fits the bill. It hits all the beats of Beauty and the Beast, but couches in a surprisingly real feeling world with a slew of I tensely likable characters. I was surprised and pleased with the number of positive relationships, the complexity of both sisters at the castle, the multiple aspects of the Curse.....I would read this again and happily. It is also a solid 5 on the spice meter.
I like a good retelling,and this one fits the bill. It hits all the beats of Beauty and the Beast, but couches in a surprisingly real feeling world with a slew of I tensely likable characters. I was surprised and pleased with the number of positive relationships, the complexity of both sisters at the castle, the multiple aspects of the Curse.....I would read this again and happily. It is also a solid 5 on the spice meter.
kaitalytic's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tiffanysmith's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
yodamom's review
3.0
Beauty and the Beast retold, okay but not the best one for me that I've read. I was so frustrated by the end.
Spoilers and questions
I'm going negative first, after being left frustrated when it finally ended.
This just didn't work for me and it's hard to place why, so many details didn't fit for me. There were more off putting points than intriguing ones. The story followed the traditional version almost like a checklist, some parts didn't fit well. They felt just thrown in just to cover all the bases. The roses were one of those that didn't fit. It felt like the roses were in the tale so that had to be tossed into the story. Why did they lust for blood ? What did they get from it ? What was their tie to the curse ? Why, Why Why ? What was with the animosity between her and the sorcerer ? Was it her lack of knowledge on magic, her hatred of it, her ability to breath ? He liked verbal sparring, liked spunky snarky women, he loved one why did he hate her ? The son, fell in love with his woman why ? Was it her amazing beauty ? That's all I got from it. The pathetic father, why was he such a wimpy useless bag of flesh ? He wasn't an alcoholic, he bedded the neighbor, and didn't seem depressed so what was wrong with him ? Why was there so much bath time ? It seemed like they spent a lot of pages bathing, or thinking about bathing. Menses, Sex, I like sex in a story but these two rutted at every opportunity.
Why did the mother/wife hate her husband so much ? Before the whole slaying/birth thing ? Why ? It was the norm of the times to live as she did. Why the extreme hatred ? Oh and how did the beast know his end time was coming ? He talked about it, enough to make me question it.
Now the good.
The female MC was a widow, and didn't believe in holding her tongue, or her fist. She had the fight response working for her. She was called a screw and owned it, head held high. She wasn't squeamish, proper, or virginal. She was physically in tune with her wants and needs and was never ashamed. I feel like I need to get the Pom Poms out and cheer for a real woman character in a fairytale.
The wicked big bad boy-man who had to have the girl, the prettiest in all the land. He was nasty, in all the right ways. He lashed out at everyone he could, such a good bad boy. I would have liked more of him in the story.
I love this tale, it is my favorite fairytale. I know the author worked hard and I appreciate her work, even with the holes I found in the story.
Spoilers and questions
I'm going negative first, after being left frustrated when it finally ended.
This just didn't work for me and it's hard to place why, so many details didn't fit for me. There were more off putting points than intriguing ones. The story followed the traditional version almost like a checklist, some parts didn't fit well. They felt just thrown in just to cover all the bases. The roses were one of those that didn't fit. It felt like the roses were in the tale so that had to be tossed into the story. Why did they lust for blood ? What did they get from it ? What was their tie to the curse ? Why, Why Why ? What was with the animosity between her and the sorcerer ? Was it her lack of knowledge on magic, her hatred of it, her ability to breath ? He liked verbal sparring, liked spunky snarky women, he loved one why did he hate her ? The son, fell in love with his woman why ? Was it her amazing beauty ? That's all I got from it. The pathetic father, why was he such a wimpy useless bag of flesh ? He wasn't an alcoholic, he bedded the neighbor, and didn't seem depressed so what was wrong with him ? Why was there so much bath time ? It seemed like they spent a lot of pages bathing, or thinking about bathing. Menses, Sex, I like sex in a story but these two rutted at every opportunity.
Why did the mother/wife hate her husband so much ? Before the whole slaying/birth thing ? Why ? It was the norm of the times to live as she did. Why the extreme hatred ? Oh and how did the beast know his end time was coming ? He talked about it, enough to make me question it.
Now the good.
The female MC was a widow, and didn't believe in holding her tongue, or her fist. She had the fight response working for her. She was called a screw and owned it, head held high. She wasn't squeamish, proper, or virginal. She was physically in tune with her wants and needs and was never ashamed. I feel like I need to get the Pom Poms out and cheer for a real woman character in a fairytale.
The wicked big bad boy-man who had to have the girl, the prettiest in all the land. He was nasty, in all the right ways. He lashed out at everyone he could, such a good bad boy. I would have liked more of him in the story.
I love this tale, it is my favorite fairytale. I know the author worked hard and I appreciate her work, even with the holes I found in the story.
cmiranda's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0