Belle has one of the most interesting takes on Beauty & The Beast that I've read. Sadly, however, that only happens in the last quarter of the book. Yes, it takes three-fourths of a book for Belle to FINALLY meet the Beast. And the slog to getting to that point is almost not worth the effort. There are a LOT of flaws in those first chapters, and this was one of the few books from the "Once Upon a Time" series that I regretted buying before reading.

But first, the good. The Beast is an interesting character. Better by far is Belle. Once she comes to his castle, she finally comes into her own, and she seems less wishy-washy than most heroines. She's unfailing practical and the play between the two is very rewarding. I liked these scenes a lot. If we had just cut out most of the first half of the book, I would've been happy.

Now the bad. For one, the book borrows liberally from the Holy Grail of Beauty & the Beast retellings; which is Robin McKinley's book Beauty. A lot of the interplay between the sisters, the father, and even the non-family members feels like ground re-tread. And McKinley did it better, which makes Dokey's attempt all the more pallid. For another, Belle herself wallows in self-pity for the majority of her narration. She discovers in the second or third chapter that she's not as stunningly, mouth-droppingly gorgeous as her sisters, and that RUINS HER LIFE for the rest of the book. It seems that Belle can't go a paragraph or more without mentioning how hideous she must be because she isn't stopping traffic. Belle harps on that chord ENDLESSLY. Never once does she seem to accept herself as being a happy Plain Jane. Oh, no. She feins acceptance a few times, but only to bring up a sentence later that she's accepted that she'll NEVER EVER be ANYTHING because she isn't beautiful. Midway through the book, you're secretly hoping a tree will fall on her sisters, just so Belle will shut up about how beautiful they are and how awful she is. The self-pity is mind-numbing.

Because of this massive flaw, Belle doesn't seem to have any personality until the last few chapters with the Beast. She comes across as self-absorbed, because she harps ceaselessly about her looks. She's not particularly clever and she definitely spends more time mooning over herself than interacting with her sisters.

And my biggest problem with the big is finally, that it is supposed to be a retelling of "Beauty & The Beast" not "Beauty and Her Inner Monologue of How Miserable She is Because She's Not A Supermodel". The Beast's appearance in the novel is ridiculously prolonged. He has *maybe* three chapters of "screen time". And while his character is interesting, you don't feel as though it's well-developed because he just flits in and out of existence. This harks back to one of the oldest complaints about Disney movies; where the nameless prince rides up out of thin air to provide a foil for the princess.

There's a lot of promise in those few scenes with Belle & Beast. But it is honestly a case of too-little, too-late. ( )

I've never read Dokey's work before this, and I recognize I'm guilty of wanting the book to be what I expected rather than what it was. However, despite all that, I still have to say I didn't like it. The prose is beautifully written... but in a style I found tedious. The focus on Belle rather than Belle and the Beast was a complete let down, as I was looking to read a love story and only received four sparse chapters of B & B interaction. Because most of the story concentrated on Belle's family life, the romance with the Beast and their mutual revelation was entirely unbelievable, even taking the fairy tale aspect into consideration. I do appreciate the twist Dokey presents, as many B & B renditions are about the Beast learning to find love within himself whereas this book paid more attention to Belle's ability to love. Still, I would have preferred a story that showed this transformation through the process of falling in love instead of tidily telling readers that it happened, all due to a romance that we never really got to witness. To summarize, this book is an elegant fairy tale, but clearly was not the right book for me. ( )

I have to say, I was surprised by this book. It took me a few pages to really get into it and stop trying to urge the story into familiar territory, but I have to say: Dokey knows her craft. She presented likable characters - even Belle's sisters - which is certainly not traditional in the original fairy tale. I found it to be rather delightful that her sisters weren't evil or completely self-absorbed (in a manner of speaking... the characters actually grow throughout the course of the narrative, and for the better!), and the family actually acted like... well, a family.

As for the traditional core of the Beast and Belle's obligation, Dokey puts a lovely little spin on things that keep the story familiar enough to the reader, while also making it a little more believable for a modern-day audience. I'll admit: the 'revelation' scene between Belle and the Beast actually caused me to tear up, it was so incredibly well-written. Maybe it's just me, but I found the delivery particularly powerful.

It's a small book and a quick read... but well worth it. ( )

Now, I’ve read almost all the books in Simon Pulse’s Once Upon a Time series (only one more to go) and Cameron Dokey’s contributions are my favorites. I also adore Beauty and the Beast, so it would be very difficult for this book to go too far wrong. I did really enjoy it, though I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite of her books. Dokey stays fairly close to the original plot of the fairy tale, while adding back-story and fleshing out the characters to make the story her own.

Interestingly, the heart of this story lies, for me, more with Belle’s family and her relationship with her sisters than with her relationship with the Beast. For one thing, there is far more time spent on Belle’s childhood and the events leading up to the moment when she meets the Beast than on the weeks she spends with him in the Wood. The result is that the reader doesn’t get to know the character of the Beast nearly as well as Belle and her family. I would have liked to see more of the development of their relationship, although I really enjoyed the development of the relationship between the sisters and I would have liked to see even more of that as well. At any rate, it is a worthy addition to the series.

http://aftran.wordpress.com/2009/04/1... ( )

I am a fan of this series, the author Cameron Dokey, and fairy tale adaptations in general...but this tale fell a bit flat at the end for me. The character of Belle, as a third daughter who comes to believe she does not live up to her name ('Beauty' in French) is interesting. I thought that her skill as a woodcarver who literally 'finds' the object within the wood added a nice depth to her character as well, but the last thirty pages or so just came across as rushed and incomplete for my taste; I would have preferred a bit more development of the relationship between the Beauty and her Beast before the inevitable I love yous. A decent read, but not one I'm likely to repeat...Robin McKinley's adaptations of Beauty and the Beast are much more rewarding. ( )