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dania_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This may win the prize for the funniest Beauty and the Beast retelling I've ever read! It's also sweet, and quirky, and has lightly creepy/gothic vibes, and that was all a great combination for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, and Sexual content
Minor: Death, Torture, Violence, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Alcohol
rhymeswithnova's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
Kingfisher writes modernized fairy tales really well. I adore this reimagining of Beauty and the Beast where the Beast isn't at all beastly, and my only complaint is that it isn't longer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Blood, Vomit, and Stalking
Moderate: Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Excrement and Death of parent
marieketron's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Oh I really enjoyed this retelling! The heroine can generally fend for herself, and her gardening skills come in especially helpful when your main enemy is an evil rosebush. This retelling also uses one of my favourite possible endings for a tale that follows the pattern of Beauty and the Beast: the Beast does not transform back into human form in the end. I have a soft place in my heart for Angela Carter's notion of the Beauty transforming into a Beast as well (I fervently believe this may have been some inspiration for the plotline of Shrek), but there is a certain loveliness and innate acceptance in the two continuing to live together in the forms in which they learned to love each other.
The pacing of the story is also exactly right, and while there is a short montage scene of the two spending time together, we get plenty detailed scenes to fully buy into the sweet romance between the two. I was happy that this is also a relatively feminist tale in that the heroine is explicitly not a virgin and refers to masturbation, even if there is no on page sexual action. Loved the sister side character of Holly as well.
I might have rated the story slightly higher if it weren't for the narrator of the audiobook I listened to, whose inflection at the end of every sentence was mildly grating and I would have to get swept up by the story before I could tune that out. It's a mark in favour of the story that it was indeed able to sweep me along so well that I stopped noticing a voice quirk that might otherwise have meant I wouldn't finish the book in question.
The pacing of the story is also exactly right, and while there is a short montage scene of the two spending time together, we get plenty detailed scenes to fully buy into the sweet romance between the two. I was happy that this is also a relatively feminist tale in that the heroine is explicitly not a virgin and refers to masturbation, even if there is no on page sexual action. Loved the sister side character of Holly as well.
I might have rated the story slightly higher if it weren't for the narrator of the audiobook I listened to, whose inflection at the end of every sentence was mildly grating and I would have to get swept up by the story before I could tune that out. It's a mark in favour of the story that it was indeed able to sweep me along so well that I stopped noticing a voice quirk that might otherwise have meant I wouldn't finish the book in question.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Physical abuse, Vomit, Medical content, and Stalking
Minor: Death of parent