megan_danyelle's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
wonderlandbelle's review against another edition
5.0
I simply adore Beauty and Beast it is one of my top favorite fairy tales and getting the opportunity to read this book was exceptional for me, I love reading different points of view and getting the Prince/Beast side of the story was simply awesome.. love love loved this book.
marksameh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
minomnom's review against another edition
1.0
1 star
CN: abusive and manipulative behavior, mentions of death and violence
To be honest, I went into this book without any expectations, but was still pretty intrigued, since I've never considered the Beast as the villain and rather found Gaston fits more into this postition. Well, in this book, the Beast was really a villain and it was no fun reading about it.
The book deals with the prince and how the curse came to be and his slow transformation into a beast. We all know that the prince was shallow and egoistic, but boy oh boy, was he also manipulative and pretty abusive. Well, I could never really get the idea how people could romanticize the Beauty and the Beast movie, anyway. During the days where he was aware of his curse he tried to manipulate a princess to fall in love with him to break the curse. He actually succeeded, but in order to break the curse he also needs to genuinely fall in love with her, which he doesn't, so of course he cannot stop the curse. Instead of being reflective of his actions, he acussed the princess of betraying and lying to him. Fun times.
The whole premise of the Villains series is that three Odd Sisters are actually responsibe for every Disney villains descent into madness and evilness, which could be fun to read, but especially this book felt like a badly written fanfiction with weird self-inserts. Sure, they were included at points which made sense and didn't disturb the overall plot, but I absolutely hated it when they were mentioned. Also, the sisters are supposed to be mad, but they were rather just annoying.
AND WELL THE WHOLE GASTON ORDEAL. In this book, Gaston and the prince were actually best friends before the prince turned into the Beast wtf. Gaston was even pretty sympathetic and gentle and most of his actions were so out of character I couldn't. It was explained that the curse caused the two of them to forget each other (so the whole movie still made sence), which is imo lazy writing, but well.
CN: abusive and manipulative behavior, mentions of death and violence
To be honest, I went into this book without any expectations, but was still pretty intrigued, since I've never considered the Beast as the villain and rather found Gaston fits more into this postition. Well, in this book, the Beast was really a villain and it was no fun reading about it.
The book deals with the prince and how the curse came to be and his slow transformation into a beast. We all know that the prince was shallow and egoistic, but boy oh boy, was he also manipulative and pretty abusive. Well, I could never really get the idea how people could romanticize the Beauty and the Beast movie, anyway. During the days where he was aware of his curse he tried to manipulate a princess to fall in love with him to break the curse. He actually succeeded, but in order to break the curse he also needs to genuinely fall in love with her, which he doesn't, so of course he cannot stop the curse. Instead of being reflective of his actions, he acussed the princess of betraying and lying to him. Fun times.
The whole premise of the Villains series is that three Odd Sisters are actually responsibe for every Disney villains descent into madness and evilness, which could be fun to read, but especially this book felt like a badly written fanfiction with weird self-inserts. Sure, they were included at points which made sense and didn't disturb the overall plot, but I absolutely hated it when they were mentioned. Also, the sisters are supposed to be mad, but they were rather just annoying.
AND WELL THE WHOLE GASTON ORDEAL. In this book, Gaston and the prince were actually best friends before the prince turned into the Beast wtf. Gaston was even pretty sympathetic and gentle and most of his actions were so out of character I couldn't. It was explained that the curse caused the two of them to forget each other (so the whole movie still made sence), which is imo lazy writing, but well.
junglejelly's review
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
fast-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? Yes
3.5
melfurious's review against another edition
4.0
A good quick read, which provides some lovely back story and links to other stories, which I always enjoy. There were a few elements I feel could have been dived into more, so a few demerits for that.
universalbookworm's review against another edition
2.0
I was not overly impressed with this admittedly short book. As a reader this feels less like a clever retelling, than a fan-made storyline too entrenched in the Disney mantra to stray too far from the original story.
The most interesting characters (the witches) are not well developed and feel disjointed. Pacing is not enjoyable, and I didn't come away reading this with much néw to think about. It was a short, sometimes rushed prequel of sorts that did nothing for me. Cute. But I am unlikely to read this book again.
The most interesting characters (the witches) are not well developed and feel disjointed. Pacing is not enjoyable, and I didn't come away reading this with much néw to think about. It was a short, sometimes rushed prequel of sorts that did nothing for me. Cute. But I am unlikely to read this book again.
josie_rmz's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
galaxy_creeper's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-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? Yes
3.0
vanessa_issa's review against another edition
3.0
A história desse livro é parecida com a versão da Disney que conhecemos, mas também apresenta muita coisa nova. É narrada por uma perspectiva diferente, levando mais em consideração os pensamentos e os acontecimentos da vida do príncipe, a Fera, e deixando a Bela em segundo plano. Quem sempre gostou dessas personagens com certeza vai curtir esse livro também.