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!

Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book

Rating: 3.5/5

Author: Jennifer Donnelly

Pages: 341

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

Synopsis:

Taking place somewhere between the wolf rescue scene and the "Something There" musical number, this story is almost like a book within a book, making the title, Lost in a Book, very fitting for this book (Heh heh, okay, I've said book enough times). Simply put, this story is a tale that takes place smack dab in the middle of Disney's Beauty and the Beast (more specifically, their live action version).

Belle's still having a hard time transitioning to her new life. Things are becoming more confusing than ever as she finds herself uncertain about the beast's character. At the same time her heart is torn between the love for her father and her new found love of the enchanted objects of the castle, what Belle could really use is an escape, one which she finds in the same place she always has--in the pages of a book.

When she stumbles across a magical book within the beast's library that literally sucks her in, it seems better than anything she could have ever hoped for. But is the book more than it seems and is it possible that she will get lost in its pages, unable to ever return home?

My Reaction:

It has just occurred to me that I'm very stingy with my 4 and 5 star ratings. I guess I need a little more wow factor to get me to commit to something higher. A five is like "I love this so much that I believe everyone in the world should read it else they will miss out on one of the greatest things of life ever!"

That doesn't necessarily mean this isn't a book worth reading.

I think the hardest trial of this book is that it takes place in an already well known and well loved story. That's risky. As a reader and huge fan of Disney's storytelling, it can be hard to accept something new into a beloved story or to keep yourself from comparing it to the movie. Not to mention that sometimes books based off movies aren't always the best in my experience. So I was a little leery when I started this book, but curious too. Also, the cover is one of the most beautiful book covers I've ever seen. I should give the book an extra point just for that!

I feel that Jennifer Donnelly put a lot of work into making sure all the beloved characters we already know were true to what Disney as already portrayed them as. She also did very well crafting her own characters and blending the two together. 

There were somethings I wasn't sure about at first as far as writing style. I found myself thinking, "Yeah, I already know this. This feels slightly repetitious." However, that was only towards the beginning of the book and didn't last very long. Also I'm pretty sure I thought at one point, "Don't be an idiot, Belle." It's probably a good thing characters can't hear my thoughts...

What really pulled me in was the building up to the climax and the climax itself. It was pretty exciting, and although obviously I knew things were going to turn out, I wasn't sure exactly how it would. 

Overall, not a bad story. It was intriguing and also catered a bit to my nerdy side what with references to Shakespeare and Greek mythology. I also really enjoyed that the story is littered with "golden nuggets" as my tenth grade English teach called them. 

Here is one such gem:

"Home is all the people, all the places, and all the things that you love. You carry it wherever you go."

I really liked those moments and how, even though this isn't in itself a love story in and of itself necessarily, it still has some good commentary on love. It talks about how love takes courage and how love gives us power to do things we wouldn't normally do.  

Reader Guidance:

None that I can think of.

Similar Books:

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

This was the first book that came to mind, which I imagine some people might find strange since I'm not recommending another book based off a fairy tale. However, these stories actually have quite a lot in common--wishing to escape the current situation, finding another world that seems amazing, realizing that world actually kind of sucks, realizing how much you want your old situation back, and having to fight to fix everything. See, they're pretty much the same story!

Next Book:

Summerlost by Ally Condie. I learned about this book's existence through Good Reads. This is another one where I'm sucked in by the cover alone! So we'll give it a shot. But be warned! It sounds like it's meant to be a tear jerker about loss and friendship.

My Favorite Fairy Tale

The grey stuff really is delicious!

Last week I didn’t get any reading done, but I have a very good excuse! I was having adventures at

Disneyland, one of my favorite places ever! What made it even better was that I got to spend the time with some of the most important people in my life. It was a wonderful trip!

I still didn’t do any reading this week because one of my very good friends came for a visit.

But all that Disneyland reflection (plus the fact that I had a Once Upon a Time marathon the other day) got me thinking about fairy tales and their variations.

I usually hate favorite questions (you know, what’s your favorite fill-in-the-blank). I just like so many things. How can I just pick one of anything?! Impossible I tell you! However, if asked what my favorite fairy tale is, I’d probably have to say Beauty and the Beast. It probably helps that Disney’s version is a brown haired book worm (sound like a certain blog writer perhaps?).

I’ve read or seen some different versions of this story, and with the release of Disney’s live action version earlier this year, I’ve been exposed to some other’s thoughts, feelings, and jokes about the story. Here are my general feelings about it:

Besides the brown haired book worm thing, I just love the overall message of it. And it’s not just the “true beauty is found within” thing, although that is a very good point. You can’t judge a book by its cover, as they say. I love the transforming power of love. You may think I’m some sap who just loves the romance, but that’s not it. I think this is a point that doesn’t only reply to romantic love—the kind strong enough to break the spell on a man turned beast! If I reflect on my own life, I can think about times when I have been moved to act in a certain way because of my love for a certain person or thing—my parents, good friends, my husband, my dog, pretty much any flavor of Haagen Dazs ice cream. (That last one is a real motivator. Ha!) So if love can influence my actions, that means it can influence and shape me as a person as a whole.

In some versions of Beauty and the Beast, the beast isn’t so beastly by the time he’s met by our protagonist aside from the literal beast appearance. I really like how in Disney’s representation (as well as others) he is beastly not only in appearance but in personality. It’s when he begins to care about someone else that he begins to change on the inside—he desires to change himself because of the impact of another person, because of love. He becomes a better version of himself.

If we’re to take away a moral from the story—which is kind of the point of things like fables and fairy tales, isn’t it?—besides the “true beauty lies within/don’t judge a book by its cover” one, I would say that a little bit of love can go a long way. I’ve heard stories of how lives or circumstances or differing relationships with whomever have been changed for the better when even just a little bit of love was extended. And it doesn’t just go one way. It wasn’t just the beast’s life that was changed forever, but Belle’s was also.

So, don’t be quick to judge and show a little love. A good reminder, I think.

Okay, now for the book recommendation!

I should probably say first that both the animated and live action versions that Disney has put on the screen are a couple of my favorite renditions of this story (not to mention the stage play which is a lot of fun to see if you ever get the chance). The song Evermore is enough for me to fall instantly in love with Disney’s latest version. Seriously. That was some pure magic right there.

However, as far as books go, the versions I like best out of all the ones I’ve read thus far are both written by Robin McKinley. They are called Beauty and Rose Daughter. Pick them up when you get a chance!

Does anyone else out there have other Beauty and the Beast variations they absolutely love? What is your favorite fairy tale?