Book Review: Hunted

Release Date: March 14, 2017
Author: Meagan Spooner
Publisher: HarperTeen
Length: 384 pages
Source: Purchased Book/Library Audiobook

Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them.

So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance.

Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?

    

Review:

Protagonist: When Yeva's father loses his fortune in a venture ransacked by bandits, they and Yeva's sisters have to move to their father's old hunting cabin at the edge of the woods. Yeva feels happier there than in the city and hopes to go hunting with her father, but he urges her not to follow him. When he doesn't come back from one trip, Yeva follows him into the woods and discovers the horrors of the woods, including a monster who has trapped her. On the whole, I like Yeva, she's a headstrong and capable protagonist, she knows how to take care of herself and hunt, and she doesn't back down when challenged. Still, I do wish that I cared about her more, I mean, like I said I like her, but there was something holding me back from truly connecting with her as a character and I wish I knew what that was but unfortunately I don't, still as I've repeated already she's a great character, I just couldn't connect for some reason.

Romance: The romance in this book is a slow burning one, at least for Yeva, the Prince trapped in the Beast softens to Yeva rather quickly. Much like with the protagonist, there isn't anything about the romance that I don't like, it's slow burning and I can tell that the two characters truly grow to care and love each other and that love feels earned, but unfortunately, I couldn't connect with the romance very well. It may be because I couldn't connect with Yeva, but I wanted to love this romance, and in some aspects I do, but emotionally I could never get invested in the romance, try as I might.

World Building: This is one place this book truly shines. As many of you may know, my favorite fairy tale, and thus my favorite retelling fodder, is Beauty and the Beast, and I've never seen one set in Russia or based on Russian folklore before and I really enjoyed how this author wove those folktale elements into this story. I think this story takes place in a version of our world, though I'm not quite sure as I don't think it was said where this story takes place, only some mentions of real places every now and then. Still, the valley of enchantments that the Beast is cursed to, feels lush and beautiful full of creatures of all sorts, some I'd never heard of before. While the retelling itself had some unique qualities to it, unfortunately, it read as a very simple Beauty and the Beast retelling and while I loved the Russian folklore elements to the story, I wish there was something more unique about the retelling itself.

Predictability: As this is a retelling, pretty much everything in this story is predictable, save a few things but they are small and I mostly didn't predict them due to not remembering certain parts of the story from before. I mean, every major twist in this story was completely obvious, I really wish that the author had kept some secrets to herself because the foreshadowing in this tale is very obvious.

Ending: So, the end of this tale really serves to drive home the "lesson" of this story. It tries so hard to drive that lesson home that there are aspects to this tale that sort of crumble just to serve this supposed lesson. Don't get me wrong, I like the lesson and it does fit with this story, but I felt the message was very heavy-handed at the end of this tale. There is an epilogue to this tale that while appreciated, isn't really needed, and that's coming from me who loves epilogues.

Rating:

While I did enjoy this tale, I, unfortunately, couldn't connect with the characters and story as much as I wanted to and while I love Beauty and the Beast retellings, this one was, unfortunately, despite the interesting Russian folklore elements, rather basic in its story structure.

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1)

Release Date: May 5, 2015
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Length: 421 pages
Source: Purchased Book

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

    

Review:

Protagonist: One thing I can always count on Sarah J Maas for it seems is a strong heroine. While Feyre isn't nearly the badass from the start that Celaena is in the Throne of Glass series, she definitely has a lot of promise. Feyre is just trying to keep her family together after her father loses all his money. One day while out hunting for food she kills a rather large wolf to keep it from killing her own prey. Soon though a beast comes by seeking retribution for the wolf, who's revealed to be one of the fae. Feyre leaves with him for Prythian, the faerie lands, and learns he is actually Tamlin, the High Lord of the Spring Court. Over the course of this story, Feyre's feelings and prejudices toward the fae slowly shift as she gets to know them. While she's not happy about being a captive and doesn't take it lying down, she begins to bond with the people of the Spring Court and with it's charming High Lord. While Feyre doesn't have the expert skill and battle prowess that Celaena has, she can definitely hold her own in a fight, and she's not easily swayed by pretty words and promises. I like Feyre's fire and am excited to see where the author takes her character.

Romance: So the romance in this story is a bit complicated, but I can't talk about the complicated stuff without talking about something that I would consider to be a spoiler, so let's just talk about the simple stuff. I really enjoyed Tamlin and Feyre's romance. It's nowhere near an insta-love, though it did move faster than I anticipated, but every milestone in their relationship feels earned. Feyre and Tamlin do have some great chemistry, Tamlin's cool elegance mixed with Feyre's fire makes for some intense and even comical, though in a good way, scenes between the two. One of the things I really enjoyed about this romance was how realistically it showed not only the romantic love between these two individuals but the lust as well. You rarely see lust explored in a YA novel, though there are some reasons to not consider this YA, however, it's refreshing to see as it adds another layer to the romance that makes it feel more realistic.

World Building: Beauty and the Best retelling! I mean those five words alone will probably convince me to read a book. This story does a great job at really driving that home while at the same time adding a fresh spin on the classic tale. I will admit that even though I was utterly entranced by the retelling aspects and the Fae world that we learn about over the course of many chapters while Feyre explores the Spring Court, the story itself does drag quite a bit. I mean, I'm not complaining too much because if the author had sped things up then the pacing of the book would have been off for a different reason. There is a bit of a speed up towards the end where a majority of the tension and action come to light. Even though I'm a huge fairy tale retelling nerd, I really did like the unique parts of this story as well. Even when we're past all the retelling elements there's plenty more story to tell and I can't wait to further explore this world.

Predictability: I swear nowadays when I read a retelling it gets too much into my head and I have a hard time separating what I think will happen because I know the fairy tale or myth or whatever it is and I can't focus on the foreshadowing that staring me right in the face. Don't get me wrong, there are a great many things in this story that I was able to predict, but the more creative ways to adapt this story I was completely blind on. There were a few things brought up that I'm not sure got fully revealed so I'm wondering if that might come up in future installments or if I just flat out missed something.

Ending: I was honestly surprised with how nicely wrapped up this ending was. I mean, I know it's a series and there are definitely some serious questions I want the answers to, but if this was it, if there were no sequels, I would be okay with that. That being said, luckily this isn't the end and we can explore this world and these characters further. The final climax of this story is seriously intense and I reveled in every minute of it. There's quite a bit that goes down and when the dust settles, well things happen. The cooldown period does feel very plateaued, and I wouldn't see a lot of people clamoring for the next book if they had to wait for some reason, but since I don't have to wait it's a nice time to take a breath before continuing on.

Rating:

While I did read this book slowly over a long period of time, while I was reading other books I might add, I did really enjoy this story and while it did slow down quite a bit in certain areas, I'm excited to learn more about this world and where our characters will go from here. Plus the retelling elements really didn't hurt my enjoyability AT ALL.

Book Review: As Old as Time (Twisted Tales #3)

Release Date: September 6, 2016
Author: Liz Braswell
Publisher: Disney Press
Length: 496 pages
Source: Library Book

What if Belle's mother cursed the Beast?

Belle is a lot of things: smart, resourceful, restless. She longs to escape her poor provincial town for good. She wants to explore the world, despite her father's reluctance to leave their little cottage in case Belle's mother returns—a mother she barely remembers. Belle also happens to be the captive of a terrifying, angry beast. And that is her primary concern.

But Belle touches the Beast's enchanted rose, intriguing images flood her mind—images of the mother she believed she would never see again. Stranger still, she sees that her mother is none other than the beautiful Enchantress who cursed the Beast, his castle, and all its inhabitants. Shocked and confused, Belle and the Beast must work together to unravel a dark mystery about their families that is twenty-one years in the making.

    

Review:

Protagonists: Going into this book I only expected to follow Belle's POV, or maybe the Beast's as well, but what I wasn't prepared for was also following the point of view of two unexpected characters. In the first part of this book, to break up the novelization elements before the big shift in the narrative, we follow the life of a young Maurice as he moves to an enchanting kingdom and courts a powerful enchantress. For the most part, Belle and the Beast are the same characters that we see in the film, but after the great shift that this book their focus is a bit different than it is in the movie. Honestly, there isn't all that much character development for these two, at least nothing all that different from what we see in the movie, but there are moments where there's a bit of a shift in the development and while it's not anything too dramatic, it's nice to see a different shift in a character development, even if the results are the same. As for Maurice and the enchantress, Rosalind, their characterizations are really well done. Maurice is this kind man with so much unconditional love, that just wants to help anyone in need, and Rosalind is this powerful enchantress with very strong beliefs in what's right and wrong and when that's mixed with her hot temper, well you can see how she got around to cursing an eleven-year-old boy. All the characters we read from are really well characterized and it's easy to slip in and out of their heads.

Romance: There was far less romance in this story than I anticipated. If we're going to talk about Maurice and Rosalind, that romance went by pretty quickly, although it's meant to since there's a large gap to cover in just half of the first part. Even though that romance went by very quickly and pretty much hit all the major milestones of a YA romance in just one chapter, their chemistry is palpable and since they're not the main characters, it's excusable that their romance is sped up so much. As for Belle and the Beast, their romance is pretty subtle. I mean, the romance in the movie is pretty subtle too, although the ballroom scene is probably one of the most romantic scenes from any Disney movie and it's missing in this book. Honestly, though the romance is done well, I just wish that it would have been a bit more obvious and that it would have hit the protagonists earlier even if they didn't admit their feelings to each other until close to the end.

World Building: When this book was first announced I had mixed feelings, on the one hand, I had just finished Once Upon a Dream, which is by far the most bizarre and confusing of these titles so far, and I didn't know what to expect with this one, on the other hand, Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale and Disney movie, so I was pretty excited. Luckily this story dials back a lot of the changes to the formula between A Whole New World and  Once Upon a Dream. The twist isn't exactly something that happens during the course of the story we all know, as it was with A Whole New World, instead the enchantress that we hear about at the beginning is given a much larger role and made Belle's mother. However, from Belle's point of view the story is the same until one moment when everything changes, and in a way, there is the shift in the narrative like there was in the first installment in this series. Most of the world building not already seen in the movie comes from Maurice and Rosalind's backstory. The world is opened up and we learn a lot more about the Beast's kingdom and what would compel an enchantress to test a prince. Overall, the added backstory, that eventually plays a major role in the present, adds a lot of great complexity to the story and makes for an interesting read.

Predictability: For the most part this story was pretty predictable, at least once the first part of the story was over. In fact, there was a very noticeable lull for me, and I think that has to do with the fact that most of the mystery that Belle and the Beast are trying to solve in the second part is explained or at the very least heavily implied by the back story chapters from the first part. There are a few surprises here and there and once the third part begins the tension starts to build back up again, but there were times when a twist would finally be implemented or revealed and I wouldn't have much of a reaction because it was either already confirmed by the backstory or heavily implied that it took me a while before I realized that I was even supposed to have a reaction.

Ending: Every time I go into one of these Twisted Tales, I always expect it to end the same way or similarly to the movie it's based off instead though the endings tend to be more complex and not end as perfectly tied up with all the heroes rewarded and the villains foiled. The final climax of this story sure was interesting and had one of the most interesting twists I believe I've ever seen. The actual ending of this story wasn't what I expected. Things in these Twisted Tales have real consequences and I love that the author doesn't pander to deliver a perfect happily ever after where everything is back to normal and all our heroes have an idealistic perfect ending. The funny thing is that I know this is a stand alone, and it definitely works as such, but there's a bit of a door left open at the end and I kind of wish there were more, but at the same time I can kind of draw my own conclusions on what happens.

Rating:

Honestly, the first part of this story holds so much promise and sucks me right into the world and these characters, but the middle part has a bit of a lull, in fact, it took me a few days to get through it since I would take breaks and it would take me a while to get back to the story, but it does pick up again for the final part. The story itself is great, It's just that I wish the information was spread out a bit more and that we didn't already know most of the answers to the central mystery too early.

Book Review: Beastly (Kendra Chronicles #1)

Release Date: October 2, 2007
Author: Alex Flinn
Publisher: HarperTeen
Length: 304 pages
Source: Purchased Book

I am a beast.

A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Kyle Kingsbury seems to have it all. He has tons of money, good looks, and everyone at his school either wanting to be him or wanting to be with him. So when he pulls a prank on the new goth chick at school the last thing he expects is to quite literally be turned into a beast. He's told he has to look beyond the superficial and find someone who can love him despite his looks and love him in return. He has two years to do it or remain a beast forever. Now I didn't really like Kyle all that much, but the great thing is that you're not supposed to. This isn't some run of the mill protagonist who means well but has flaws, this is someone who's so glaringly flawed that you really aren't supposed to be sympathetic to him for a while. My only problem here is that in the first half or so of the book we have a Kyle who is a huge douche but has a normal modern way of speaking, but in the second half, while he's much more sympathetic, it's almost as if the author wanted such a stark contrast between before and after that his speech in the second half lost almost all identity of being a modern day teenager.

Romance: So going into this I was expecting a lot of romance. After all Beauty and the Beast, the story this was based on, is all about loving someone regardless of their appearance, plus Kyle's curse can only be broken by requited true love. That being said this book is so much more about Kyle's character development than it is about the romance. Don't get me wrong there's still some great romance in this book, but it is by no means the point of this book. That being said, I do think the author did a great job on the romance. Even if the whole how they met post-transformation part is a bit creepy, there are legitimate excuses for it and after Lindy and Kyle, then known as Adrian, get to know each other, a real bond forms. The kind of bond where even if they did say the "L" word after only half a book it would feel earned and not something shoehorned in there to make a story complete.

World Building: So, as some of you might know Beauty and the Beast, is my favorite fairy tale and I love to see it retold time and time again. Ironically this was the first B&TB retelling I'd ever heard of and I'm just now getting around to reading it for the first time. What I love about modern day retellings it seeing how things would change if this story was told today, and while there were definite inclusions of that in this book, after a while the whole modern feel melted away and other than some things here and there it melted too much into itself and lost a part of itself along the way. This happens in the second half when the writing loses it's modern feel and becomes more formal and stilted. I did, however, like how much of the original tale was included in this retelling, though at times as I said before it could be a bit too on the nose.

Predictability: Going into this book I wasn't really expecting it to be unpredictable, and it really wasn't. This is very much a familiar story and for the most part I knew where things were going, even the bigger twists, either because of the movie which I had seen a few times before going into this book, or friends who don't understand what spoilers are who told m about this book years ago and I never forgot. I think the only times that things were really ever unpredictable were when they differed from the movie too much or the source material which didn't happen too often.

Ending: Speaking of unpredictable things, the ending of this book, or really the format in which it ended was rather unpredictable. This book is split up into six parts, and the sixth and final part all takes place after the final climax of the story and acts as an extended epilogue. As many of you may know I happen to really enjoy epilogues and this one was no different. After a rather unexpected final climax, things seem to calm down quite a bit as we're led through what happens after, who gets their comeuppance, and who lives happily ever after. I really enjoyed the end of this book, but most of all I'm looking forward to learning more about a certain character in this story.

Rating:

So, I thought a lot about this and I think four stars is the perfect rating for this book. The first half of the story was fantastic, but during the second half the writing, the way the characters talked, changed how I enjoyed the book, things became too formal and didn't retain the modern feel the first half instilled in the story.

Book Review: The Beast Within: A Tale of Beauty's Prince

Release Date: July 22, 2014
Author: Serena Valentino
Publisher: Disney Press
Length: 215 pages
Source: Library Book

The tale is as old as time: a cruel prince is transformed into a beast. A lovely maiden comes into this monster's life. He is transformed by her compassion, and the love he feels for her in return. The two live happily ever after.

But any tale, especially one as storied as Beauty and the Beast's, has been told many different times, and in many different ways. No matter which version one hears, the nagging question remains: what was it that transformed the prince into the beast we are introduced to?

This is one version, pulled from the many passed down through the ages. It's a story of vanity and arrogance, of love and hatred, of beastliness, and of course, of beauty.

    

Review:

Protagonist: In this book we get a good hard look at the background for one of the titular characters of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the Beast himself. The character of the Beast or, as he's referred to in the extended flashback that takes up most of this book, the Prince, is a very complex one. I mean don't get me wrong he's kind of a shallow womanizing jerk, but the punishment he gets for that might be just a bit harsh, plus his good friend Gaston is no help, but over the course of the book he changes, both physically and emotionally, getting worse before he can get better.

Romance: So there's a bit of a surprise when it comes to the romance in this book. While there is a bit of romance between Belle and the Beast that doesn't come until the final few chapters of this book and is really more of a quick summary of what you see in the movie instead of a play by play. Instead this book mainly tells the tale of the Prince trying to break the curse before it gets worse with another girl, Tulip. Even though it's obvious that this romance will end badly I actually really enjoyed reading it, excluding the parts where the Prince is a cruel jerk.

World-Building: The world-building is what really makes this book as fantastic as it is. The author has used her creative license to add so many much more depth to this world. It becomes about more than just your typical Beauty and the Beast tale. First off there's the fact that most if not all the Disney fairy tale worlds are interconnected with references to both Cinderella and The Little Mermaid in this book, but secondly the author adds new characters and even some new "behind the scenes" villains to spice up this tale. I have a feeling that if this author is to continue these fun little retellings, which I surely hope that she does, I know which tale she'll conquer next.

Predictability: So since this is a retelling and for the most part a very faithful one at that, it wasn't hard to predict how things were going to go down and just what would become of these character. That isn't to say that there weren't surprises from time to time, sometimes giving new meaning to "the devil's in the details," but for the most part it was very easy to predict the flow of the story and where things would end up. That being said it never for a second diminished my enjoyment of this book.

Ending: I honestly don't know what to say here. This book ends much the way you would expect it to, the author doesn't do all that much to change the story, but more adds depth to it and details that make you look at the story another way. There's isn't exactly a final climax, but this book didn't really need one, and by the end I didn't feel disappointed, the only thing I felt was that I wanted more from this world, but the story itself was complete.

Rating:

With this being based around not only my favorite fairy tales, but my favorite Disney movie I don't know why I didn't read it earlier and I'm all the more pumped to read the other book in this companion series Fairest of All.