Beauty and the Beast

Happy New Year! It's only day four of 2019, and I've already managed to get one book under my belt. I feel accomplished. I should have made the resolution to read a book, and then I could already check one off my list... Next year...

Title: Beauty and the Beast

Rating: 4/5

Author: K.M. Shea

Pages: 293

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

Synopsis:

Elle has one job to do, and it certainly doesn't involve falling through the ceiling of an enchanted chateau. But that’s exactly what happens. With one misstep, Elle finds herself falling to the ground below and breaking her leg. She is now forced to heal and rely on the good graces of the chateau’s cursed owner, Prince Severin, and she’s not so sure he has any good graces to spare.

The prince has his own problems to deal with, and although his servants are hopeful that Elle could finally be the one to break their curse, Prince Severin sees her as little more than an inconvenience. At first he is eager for her leg to heal so he can be rid of her, but the longer she stays, the more he realizes that he truly doesn’t want to be rid of her at all.

But will he feel the same once he learns Elle’s secret?

My Reaction:

Have you noticed by now just how much I enjoy a good fairy tale retelling? And let me remind you that Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale. That being said, I’ve read a good handful of retellings of that particular story, some of them better than others. And yet, Shea’s version of the tale offered something different from what I’ve seen before, most noticeably the background of the two main characters. Elle in particular has a secret that drives her motivations which was a new twist to the tale.

I wasn’t immediately pulled into the story, but it didn’t take long for it to catch my interest. By the time I got to the end, I had just the right amount of girlish gushing that I would expect of myself when a love story is involved. You know, when the main character realizes they’re in love, but then there’s a conflict, and then it’s all resolved in the end. Yep, this story had just the right amount of romantic build up and resolution. Not to mention, the characters were well crafted and enjoyable to follow.

There were a couple of small things that made me give it a 4 instead of 5, but they really are small things. The book as a whole is quite enjoyable and is great for cuddling up on the couch and indulging in like I did yesterday afternoon. Without revealing too much, I found the mention of Elle’s secret slightly repetitive. There was also a moment I found a bit cliché, but the rest of the conversation balanced it out. Finally, I didn’t really understand why characters reacted the way they did towards the end. It made a little more sense in the following chapter, but it still just seemed a little unexpected. It came to my realization that the characters' understanding of a major plot element was not the same as my understanding of the major plot element. (FYI, my understanding was the correct one. Take THAT fictional characters!) That threw me off a little bit. All in all, none of those things were enough to keep me from enjoying the book and recommending it. In fact, some of you may not even notice those things. So read on and enjoy!

P.S. Don't be fooled by the cover. This is not a modern retelling. Also, it's not a harlequin romance like my husband thought it was. Ha!

Reader’s Guidance:

There are a couple of moments that involve death by sword, but there are no graphic details.

Similar Books:

I could tell you every Beauty and the Beast retelling I’ve ever read. I also thought of Pride and Prejudice as I read mostly because I couldn’t help thinking how Elle and Severin are totally Elizabeth and Darcy, if Darcy were a man cursed to be a beast until he found true love that is. There are plenty of Pride and Prejudice retellings out there that may suite your fancy.

K.M. Shea has also written a good deal of other fairy tale retellings, so if you enjoy this one, you ought to give some of her others a shot!

Next Book:

I’m thinking I may try out another one of K.M. Shea’s books. I think I’ll go with The Little Selkie which is a retelling of The Little Mermaid. I don’t think I’ve ever read a retelling of that one before. Here goes nothing!