Scan barcode
ineviitabelle's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
smokedbones's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Un libro que habla mucho del significado de la felicidad y su búsqueda. Que muchas veces creemos que si solo logramos 1 cosa en la vida seremos plenamente felices, cuando en realidad no. Somos seres de diferentes naturalezas.
palomien's review against another edition
4.0
Reminded me about a Russian fairytale I liked a lot when I was kid. Not only because it too was a version of Beauty and the beast, but because of the storytelling and overall atmosphere. Really felt like reading a fairytale.
duda1's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kennanicole's review against another edition
5.0
At first I wasn't sure how I would rate this book and then the ending came giving me no choice but to rate a solid five stars. This charming retelling of Beauty and the Beast completely took me by surprise. I've been wanting to read Hunted since it came out but never got around to it and as the story progressed I found myself rather disappointed. There was little to no action (it's been a long while since I've read anything without it) and there was very little world building but I LOVED the characters and I adored the slow burn romance as well as it's...abrupt(?) conclusion. Ugh! I loved this way more than I was expecting to.
mschrokosch's review against another edition
5.0
One of the better Bueaty and the Beast retelling I've read in a while. It's a Slavic retelling of the tale. Filled with classic Slavic fairytales and myth which I felt gave new live to this tale. This is not your Disney Beauty and the Beast! Loved it.
readsforlove's review against another edition
1.5
Good lord, this book has me pissed. This is the second installment in my Beauty and the Beast research, and ... wow. This was painful. I at least kind of enjoyed Robin McKinley's Beauty, but this ... like, damn.
Skipping over the usual problematic parts of the source material that this book tries to fix in one conversation 85% through the book (spoiler: it doesn't work), this book was just ... GAH.
Let's start with Yeva. She is ... stupid. But that foolishness is not very consistent, which is so. infuriating. The scenes where she is first captured by the Beast (and being held in a cell until she gets sick and almost dies) were probably the most infuriating part of the novel, because she just ... is so naive? And comes up with these assumptions with no fucking grounds for them??? like. girl.
She had the potential to be a good character, and I did like the heart of what the book was trying to say (chasing the things you want and turning again and again to the next thing in the hopes of finding it, but never succeeding) but the ending just completely negated that theme (as well as, you know, most of the novel also negating it). I can kind of see what this book was trying to be, but it just ... failed. Miserably. The Beast wasn't cruel, but he hurt her and manipulated her and I just don't get why??
Anyway, I'm already tired of writing this review so I'll end with the reason it gets a star--the writing was pretty. It felt really haunting and scary (would have worked so well as a horror, I'm telling you), and the magic system was really cool too. I loved the various magical creatures. They really took my breath away and heightened the fairytale experience of reading this.
Okay I'm going to go take a break from B&tB content to purge my weary soul of the ick.
Skipping over the usual problematic parts of the source material that this book tries to fix in one conversation 85% through the book (spoiler: it doesn't work), this book was just ... GAH.
Let's start with Yeva. She is ... stupid. But that foolishness is not very consistent, which is so. infuriating. The scenes where she is first captured by the Beast (and being held in a cell until she gets sick and almost dies) were probably the most infuriating part of the novel, because she just ... is so naive? And comes up with these assumptions with no fucking grounds for them??? like. girl.
She had the potential to be a good character, and I did like the heart of what the book was trying to say (chasing the things you want and turning again and again to the next thing in the hopes of finding it, but never succeeding) but the ending just completely negated that theme (as well as, you know, most of the novel also negating it). I can kind of see what this book was trying to be, but it just ... failed. Miserably. The Beast wasn't cruel, but he hurt her and manipulated her and I just don't get why??
Anyway, I'm already tired of writing this review so I'll end with the reason it gets a star--the writing was pretty. It felt really haunting and scary (would have worked so well as a horror, I'm telling you), and the magic system was really cool too. I loved the various magical creatures. They really took my breath away and heightened the fairytale experience of reading this.
Okay I'm going to go take a break from B&tB content to purge my weary soul of the ick.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood
lara_bookish_turtle's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book! It was beautiful, whimsical, fantastic, sweet, charming, brilliant! I have to be honest, I was not expecting to like this book. But I thought I'd give it a go, and I am so glad that I did. I really love proving myself wrong!
It was a beautiful fairy-tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast. fairy-tale retellings are hard to nail, because it's boring to stick too closely to the original, but you still want to see the parallels to the original story. Hunted absolutely nailed it. I never knew what was coming, but the Beauty and the Beast story-line was clear throughout.
Beauty's character was awesome. She was not whiny (A rare trait in a YA protagonist) and extremely capable. The cover nailed it: "A Beauty deadlier than the Beast." I mean it was obviously hyperbole, but I feel like it definitely captures the feel of the book.
The Beast was also brilliant. Dual POV is hard to manage, but Meagan Spooner nailed it! His perspective was so unique and it completely captured his character. You could really feel the depth of emotion in the scenes from his perspective.
Romance, friendships and family relationships. This book nailed them all! If you've read it you'll know what I'm talking about and if not then i suggest you read this, but they were all done so well!
Some parts I was confused by the character's motives and why on Earth they were doing whatever it was that they were doing, and the start seemed a bit too fantastic for me, if that makes sense. But those were definitely forgivable features in my mind.
Also, plot was perfection. Overall an awesome read.
It was a beautiful fairy-tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast. fairy-tale retellings are hard to nail, because it's boring to stick too closely to the original, but you still want to see the parallels to the original story. Hunted absolutely nailed it. I never knew what was coming, but the Beauty and the Beast story-line was clear throughout.
Beauty's character was awesome. She was not whiny (A rare trait in a YA protagonist) and extremely capable. The cover nailed it: "A Beauty deadlier than the Beast." I mean it was obviously hyperbole, but I feel like it definitely captures the feel of the book.
The Beast was also brilliant. Dual POV is hard to manage, but Meagan Spooner nailed it! His perspective was so unique and it completely captured his character. You could really feel the depth of emotion in the scenes from his perspective.
Romance, friendships and family relationships. This book nailed them all! If you've read it you'll know what I'm talking about and if not then i suggest you read this, but they were all done so well!
Some parts I was confused by the character's motives and why on Earth they were doing whatever it was that they were doing, and the start seemed a bit too fantastic for me, if that makes sense. But those were definitely forgivable features in my mind.
Also, plot was perfection. Overall an awesome read.