Beauty and the Beast

This one was close to getting 4 stars but the last two chapters bumped it to 3. 5 stars. The last two chapters was rushed to me. Also how Elle was treated by Servin and the rest of his people after the real truth come out disappointed me. It felt it very cliche how none of them believe her and refused to listen to her but the little boy. All in all it was a good retelling of BATB with a interesting twist.

Not as good as Shea's Cinderella re-telling, but unique, appealing, and I really enjoyed it. Loved the world, the different aspects of the story, and the inventiveness. Recommended.

This is a retelling of my favorite fairy tale,Beauty and the Beast.It's a different take on this classic fairy tale. Elle (Beauty) falls through a glass skylight of Prince Severin's (The Beast) castle.She survives the fall, but with a broken leg and various cuts and bruises. The servants, although not furniture like in the Disney version,are cursed to wear masks and have no voice, writing their pleas to Prince Severin (the Beast) on a slate to let her stay and heal from her injury. Elle's then taken care of by Emele, a lady in waiting. Emele begs Elle to give Prince Severin a chance. Elle agrees only because she will do it for Emele.

I certainly enjoyed this retelling. I liked how K . M. Shea has made the servants part of the curse. They show more couldn't speak and spoke through hand gestures and writing their dialogue on slates. The beast was mostly a cat and comes to find Elle growing on him. I do wish that a bit more time had been spent telling the readers why the Prince was cursed, although we do find that the original curse was blunted by an Enchantress in training.
I found the banter between Elle and Prince Severin to be comical. This book was clean with no language or sex to be found. I thought the way Elle and Severin come to fall in love was adorable. Although light reading, I loved the characters. I may read the Snow Queen series next before I continue on with Timeless Fairy tales to see how well they're told.
Jack Murphy show less

I love this book. It stands alone as a wonderful retelling of Beauty and the Beast. (b)Elle has to stay because her leg is broken, not because she is kidnapped (although that element of the story is changed up in a different way). The relationship develops slowly and the drama/confusion at the end is done well.

While the story does sit on its own, it fits into the series well which slowly builds until the stories start intertwining more and more.

Plus, there is the companion series where you see it all from the Enchantresses POV/

I really enjoyed this retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The main characters Elle and Severin had a very real-feeling romance, not one of the fairy tale variety. (spoiler alert) When Elle falls in love with Severin it feels very natural and real, not forced, not imagined, but like what would actually happen if a female happened upon a male. If you like fairy tales and/or fairy tale retellings I would highly recommend this book.

Exceptional

A wonderful and thrilling retelling of the classic tale. While the ending was undoubtedly obvious the minor changes to the classic tale made the story rich and fulfilling.

Synopsis:

Once upon a time Elle made a mistake. A small miscalculation sends her through the roof of an enchanted chateau. Stranded until her broken leg mends, Elle is forced to rely on the good will of the sour chateau owner —the cursed Prince Severin.

Prince Severin—the commanding general and staunch supporter of his brother the crown prince—is cursed to look like a beast until a maiden falls in love with him. However, he has given up all hope of shattering the curse after several painful and failed attempts to break it. As such he has only disdain for Elle, leaving her to the devices of his bossy servants. This suits Elle perfectly as she dislikes the entire royal family, Severin included.

Unfortunately for the unsuspecting pair, show more the chateau servants are determined to break the curse and spend the majority of their time pushing Elle and Severin together. After bonding over gardens, animals, and terrifying squirrels Elle and Severin show signs of friendship, and perhaps something more…

But not all love stories can end that easily. After all, Elle is not what she seems, and Severin’s life is placed in danger when hostilities flare between his brother and the monarchs of a neighboring country.

If they really want the love of a lifetime Elle, a loyal liar, and Severin, an indifferent beast, will have to use every trick they know to survive.


My review:

I loved this book. It was a fresh take on the fairy tale. It kept me hooked and reading up to the lat page. I am going to read the rest of this series. Highly enjoyable! show less