coollibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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
4.5
waywardskyril's review
4.0
I scratch in the dirt, "You are brave."
She gives a small gasp of amazement and stares at my words. "I don't have a choice."
I wince. "And honest."
This was a surprise... A really delightful surprise. Beast was unique in so many ways, where it was set, how it was written, and the fact that Prince Orasmyn was actually turned into a lion. An actual lion, king of beasts.
You know how you see books, and on the back are excerpts from reviews that say something like, "Thrilling!" or "Riveting!" And you're just like, "Yeah, sure it is."
This book was riveting.
It was absolutely absorbing. I picked it up, and I never wanted to put it back down again. If I hadn't been interrupted I might have actually read it all in one sitting. However, since I was, I had to read it in two sittings instead.
It was so fascinating, the location, the rituals, the religion to which Orasmyn belonged. Then when he was cursed and transformed, how he tried to adjust, simply learning how to walk on four paws, trying to climb a tree, running from hunters, smelling things he never could before, and seeing in shades of gray. Learning to hunt, eating meat, eating blood, because of his instincts and feeling guilty about it. Honestly this was a perfectly portrayed perspective of a human trapped in a beast's body, fighting his instincts, and frequently conflicted what he had done or what he might do.
And the writing style. It was abrupt, but that suited this retelling better than long thoughts or fancy descriptions. It was first-person point of view from Orasmyn as all this happens, and he simply tells it how it is, how it happens, what he does, how he reacts.... I can see some people disliking the style for how blunt it is, but I was just drawn further in by it. Everything that happened... It was neither too descriptive, nor lacking in flavor, horror, disgust, despair, longing, hope, determination, love...
This book was just... too distinctive, too vibrant for me to give it any fewer than five stars. I have sharp, powerful images in my mind from its pages. I really... I went on the journey with Orasmyn. I was there, and I saw it all. The only thing I can say about it is that it ended just a bit too short. I would have looooved an epilogue. Still, I can easily imagine how certain things turned out, and it gives me a smile to picture it for myself.
Definitely the best Beauty and the Beast retelling that I've read. If you couldn't tell, I loved it.
She gives a small gasp of amazement and stares at my words. "I don't have a choice."
I wince. "And honest."
This was a surprise... A really delightful surprise. Beast was unique in so many ways, where it was set, how it was written, and the fact that Prince Orasmyn was actually turned into a lion. An actual lion, king of beasts.
You know how you see books, and on the back are excerpts from reviews that say something like, "Thrilling!" or "Riveting!" And you're just like, "Yeah, sure it is."
This book was riveting.
It was absolutely absorbing. I picked it up, and I never wanted to put it back down again. If I hadn't been interrupted I might have actually read it all in one sitting. However, since I was, I had to read it in two sittings instead.
It was so fascinating, the location, the rituals, the religion to which Orasmyn belonged. Then when he was cursed and transformed, how he tried to adjust, simply learning how to walk on four paws, trying to climb a tree, running from hunters, smelling things he never could before, and seeing in shades of gray. Learning to hunt, eating meat, eating blood, because of his instincts and feeling guilty about it. Honestly this was a perfectly portrayed perspective of a human trapped in a beast's body, fighting his instincts, and frequently conflicted what he had done or what he might do.
And the writing style. It was abrupt, but that suited this retelling better than long thoughts or fancy descriptions. It was first-person point of view from Orasmyn as all this happens, and he simply tells it how it is, how it happens, what he does, how he reacts.... I can see some people disliking the style for how blunt it is, but I was just drawn further in by it. Everything that happened... It was neither too descriptive, nor lacking in flavor, horror, disgust, despair, longing, hope, determination, love...
This book was just... too distinctive, too vibrant for me to give it any fewer than five stars. I have sharp, powerful images in my mind from its pages. I really... I went on the journey with Orasmyn. I was there, and I saw it all. The only thing I can say about it is that it ended just a bit too short. I would have looooved an epilogue. Still, I can easily imagine how certain things turned out, and it gives me a smile to picture it for myself.
Definitely the best Beauty and the Beast retelling that I've read. If you couldn't tell, I loved it.
shanyreader's review
3.0
What I like best about Beauty and the Beast retellings, is the actual love that Beauty and the Beast develop slowly with each other. I love watching them fall in love. This book however, has Beauty coming in with a mere 50 pages left in the book. It seemed like the romance would be rushed...and in my opinion, it was. It's not that I didn't like the book--I loved how the Beast was a Muslim and he was very religious, since I love reading about religion. It was something I had never heard of before. The thing that really got me, was that he turned into an actual lion. Not even an anthropomorphic lion, where you could see semblance of humanity. Nope, he's an actual lion who hunts like a lion, mates with other lionesses, while retaining him human mind. It was very disturbing to think about all the things he did as a lion and relate it to the human he was. I also found that Belle seemed almost shallow in this book, in my opinion with only a moment or two of bonding.
It's not my favorite retelling, but I'm not condemning it because it's rich with culture, teaches me about lions, and it was a sweet (rushed) ending.
It's not my favorite retelling, but I'm not condemning it because it's rich with culture, teaches me about lions, and it was a sweet (rushed) ending.
mattyb's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Animal death
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Violence, Sexual content, and Gun violence
cthuwu's review
3.0
i specifically remember checking this one out of the library some time in like... 2013ish? idk, i was either still in high school or just out of it. i remember liking it, as it was a much different take on the beauty and the beast than i was used to. the only other thing i remember about this book, and the reason i'm not giving it a higher rating despite clearly remembering enjoying it, is that the main character and those levels of what the fuckery just spoiled the rest of the book for me.
Spoiler
mates with a lion while he's one of themrokinjaguar's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Unique book. I liked it overall, but I had some issues. The main character is alone for too long in my opinion. The author does pretty well at keeping the solitude parts interesting, but when a book is just narrative and internal monologue it starts to drag for me. The beginning with his people and the end with the girl are way more engaging and interesting. I really like Napoli's characters' inner worlds and relationships with each other.
Another thing that bothered me was the main theme of Orasmyn's struggle between man and beast. It's an interesting concept, but some of the choices Orasmyn makes as beast made me uncomfortable,. It was hard to sympathize with Orasmyn sometimes because his humanity was clouded with his beast instincts. Maybe it's just me. Definitely hated that he though.
However, there were things I really liked. Orasmyn's Islamic beliefs were very interesting to read about, and his culture and values were at the core of the book, giving it a unique atmosphere. I really loved his relationship with his family, it was so sweet. And I liked the girl a lot, I admired her spirit and honesty.
Another thing that bothered me was the main theme of Orasmyn's struggle between man and beast. It's an interesting concept, but some of the choices Orasmyn makes as beast made me uncomfortable,
Spoiler
like mating with lionesses like an hour after turning into a lionSpoiler
was planning to groom a child into loving him to break the curseHowever, there were things I really liked. Orasmyn's Islamic beliefs were very interesting to read about, and his culture and values were at the core of the book, giving it a unique atmosphere. I really loved his relationship with his family, it was so sweet. And I liked the girl a lot, I admired her spirit and honesty.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, and Kidnapping
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, and Sexual content
rachelita's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.5
This is the best adaptation of Beauty and the Beast I've ever encountered. Beautifully told and a refreshing new take on the characters.
krissyronan's review
3.0
Fairy tale retelling. Told from the beast point of view which was interesting.
thistlechaser's review
1.0
In this retelling of Beauty and the Beast, a Persian prince gets cursed because he "incorrectly" sacrificed an animal. That he did it "incorrectly" was really confusing, because he talked through his logic of doing it, and the logic seemed perfectly sound.
I didn't even get to the part where he was turned into a "beast" (a lion), because it was just so annoying to read. Every other paragraph, the author would translate some word into Persian or Arabic. It added nothing at all to the story. The first sentence of her author bio is: Donna Jo Napoli is both a linguist and a writer of children's and YA fiction. Linguist is listed even before writer, and that showed.
DNF
I didn't even get to the part where he was turned into a "beast" (a lion), because it was just so annoying to read. Every other paragraph, the author would translate some word into Persian or Arabic. It added nothing at all to the story. The first sentence of her author bio is: Donna Jo Napoli is both a linguist and a writer of children's and YA fiction. Linguist is listed even before writer, and that showed.
DNF
rachelreadwhat's review
3.0
It was a good story, and I really enjoyed the concept - lots of interesting Islamic and Persian history, especially at the beginning. However, there wasn't quite enough character development for Belle, or interaction between the love interests to warrant 5 stars, and the ending was rather abrupt.