While working off his family's debt, Beau was forced into proximity with Bett, aka The Beast, aka the spoiled rich girl. As they spent more and more time together, Beau began to see the real Bett underneath her beastly armor.

• Pro: Beau came from a wonderful family, whose motto was, "We don't got any luck but we gotta lot of love." And, the love among and between the members of this family radiated off the page and warmed my heart.

• Pro: Bett was a product of her environment. Between the grownups, who were supposed to protect and love her, letting her down, and the way her peers ostracized her for doing the right thing, it was understandable that she created this offsetting personality to repel others. But, it was amazing to see how far a little kindness went in tearing down those walls.

• Pro: The ranch setting was something different, and I really enjoyed it. I learned a little about grapes, avocados, and even snakes. It was also lovely to hear Bett talk about the ranch, because her love for it transformed it into a most magical place.

• Pro: When I first met Beau, he was crushing hard on his locker mate, but the more time he spent with Bett, the more he realized how superficial his infatuation with that other girl was. It was quite interesting being in his head as he came to these realizations, and it just made me like him more than I already did.

• Pro: I always get pretty excited to have a book told from the male protagonist's point of view, and Beau was the perfect character for the job. His voice pulled me in, right away, and it came across as wholly authentic to me.

• Pro: This was another enemies-to-friends-to-more stories, and I thought Berla allowed this relationship to develop and unfold so well. It was slow going, but along the way, we got to see Beau discover so many things about Bett and himself, and we got to see Bett transform, bit by bit.

Overall: A sweet, charming, and subtle Beauty and the Beast retelling, filled with family, warmth, and lots of love.

Beau and Bett was slow and sweet. All in all I'd enjoyed the Beauty and the Beast retelling with a twist.

I love reading Beauty and the Beast adaptations, but I feel as though I have read so many so I was a bit worried going into this one that it would be some of the same things I’ve read so many times before. I was so pleasantly surprised by this book and I really loved the concept of it and how everything was played out. I loved that it was a modern day retelling and that there wasn’t any magic used.
This story spoke about things that are happening on a daily basis and the actions and consequences that can be felt by both sides of the situation. I loved the conversations that this story brought to the table and I cannot wait to recommend this book to other Beauty and the Beast lovers.

A modern YA contemporary twist to Beauty and the Beast, where the Beast (Bett) is a rich spoiled girl, Beauty (Beau) is the older son from a struggling family of 6, the rose is an avocado and the 'sentence' is working off the damage from a car accident.

Seen through the eyes of Beau, a POV where you are immediately comfortable, this is truly an original take on the classic story. It's not what you are expecting, but in a good way. But it is fun. Also cheerful, amusing, with instantly likeable characters (probably not 'The Beast' but she is intriguing).

Society puts us into a variety of 'boxes' due to income and we are presented with different ways in which it might be dealt with. Looks and perceptions can be deceiving. And loneliness can be found in the oddest of places.

You will really like the protagonists verbal confrontations. The growing of mutual respect and understanding. Ending with a promise, I wished the story would have lasted longer.

I'd say this is 3.5 star read! I actually really enjoyed it! Started out light hearted and was a truly wholesome read! It had a good theme throughout and I enjoyed not reading a bunch of cuss words or about drug use/sex.
It was humorous and I really enjoyed the inner monologue of Beau. He was funny and willing to help his family without groaning or complaining. I really appreciated that! It was so refreshing to read!

I enjoyed it for what it was. It didn’t blow me away like I was expecting it too, and some of the characters were pretty flat. Overall it was just okay for me.

I just enjoy the tales of retellings of classics. And while I see reviews of Beau and Bett not seeing the link of it, I think I just read so much of it be it either in book form or fanfic that I can see the connection always.

And this one was such a nice retelling, with the Beast being the Bett, the girl, rich and snobby. And Beau being the hardworking son. While no, we don't have the wicked magic turning Bett into a monster with the rose and all. We have a beautiful tale of friendship and slow building romance that it's so well written you just devour the words Berla wrote down. Not ever wanting to end the book.

When I started this story, I didn't really have any expectations. I love most Beauty and the Beast retellings. Even though I read the original recently and it is nothing like the Disney version.

I loved this story. Beau was amazing and I was so enamored with the fact that he had a Cajun French background, not the France or French Canadian type French. His dad was so charming and I love that the relationship between his parents shaped the relationship he wanted, although that wasn't expressed in so many words.

I wish we knew more about Bett. I was really hoping that what happened to her wasn't going to be what happened and the way her "friends" acted pissed me off to no end.

I wish we knew more about Bett's mom and the relationship between her parents and why her grandmother acts the way she does. A part of me wishes that Bett's mom was in the picture and not her dad, just because most Disney stories, the mom isn't very prominent.

All in all this was a great gender swap for Beauty and the Beast. I can't wait for the paperback to release so I can scoop that up. The cover is stunning and I would be honored to have this book on my shelf.

Thank you netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“There’s a little bit of beast in every person. And in every beast, there’s a human heart with a story of how it got to that place. A story waiting to be changed with understanding. A story waiting to be changed with just a kiss.”

I enjoyed this gender swapped Beauty and the Beast retelling. Beau’s mom stopped to pick an avacado on her way home. Bett the Beast ran into her, saying it was her fault. Beau’s dad isn’t working because of an injury, so he volunteers to work at Bett’s dad’s ranch to pay off the deductible for the damage to Bett’s car.

Over the course of two months, Beau starts falling for Bett. He sees her for who she really is, not the Beast everyone thinks she is.

Toward the end there is a betrayal, but in typical fairy tale fashion, there is a happily ever after.

3.5 stars for this gender swapped retelling.

DNF at approx 60%.

Well, it was a modern gender-swapped retelling of Beauty and the Beast...I had to at least try.

It read as very juvenile to me, yet includes swear words and Beau comments on 'sexiness' and mentions 'fantasies' concerning girls. It's very light and doesn't delve deep into the subject but felt at odds with the childish writing. Plus I just didn't care for the writing style in general. Lots of repetition as well.

I liked that there was no magic (far as I got into the book anyways, with no hint of any coming into play) but the story and even the characters were doing nothing for me.

It seemed absurd that people were so averse to Bett, going so far as to call her 'The Beast". Just seemed over the top to me. She had a little more personality, however, than Beau. Which was good, because he was pretty cookie cutter cardboard to me.

Didn't finish due to lack of caring, not because I hated it.

I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I thought it was a super cute retelling of Beauty and the Beast! I loved that the "Beast" was actually a girl in this book. While I, of course, did not like the reason that Bettina was a "beast", I'm glad that the author did not focus much on it.

I loved that Beau gave Bett a real chance and that he grew to know and like her without anyone else's input. He even ignored the input of others and went with what he knew to be true. I would love to see more on their life together.

Seeing that this was a modern Beauty and the Beast retelling, I was extremely excited to read it. More excited when I figured out that it had genderbent roles! Ah only if the book lived up to that excitement.

Bett's character was very boring. I couldn't sympathise with her and did not feel anything for her, really. I could not understand her motives, her feelings. She was just a lost cause, doing random stuff at random times.

For one, I could not understand why she was called the 'Beast' at her school. The reason seemed pretty obnoxious and totally stupid. I see what the author wanted to do there; to show how beauty is all in the eye of the beholder, but that simply did not work in this book. And this reason really ticked off a star for me. Why was she feared? Hated? Why was she the beast? There was no concrete answer.

Beau's character arc wasn't so good either, but he was likeable. I liked his determination but also found him very stupid. He was confusing too. I wish there were more scenes with his family because I really loved them. Needless to say, I saw no apparent development in the characters, and the side characters were just there.

I felt like the whole story got messed up, and that the author did not plan much. Somehow, it lost the essence of a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and I felt terribly bored.

The ending was, of course, predictable. It was a mixture of cliche and swoon for me, with more of eye rolls. It felt more like a typical Wattpad romance book for me. It was an okay read though; enjoyable and fast paced.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed are fully mine.

I have to be honest that I wasn’t expecting much, it seemed like a standard retelling, with no Fantasy references whatsoever.

I did notice how I always expect the MC to be female though, the start of the story doesn’t share whether we’re dealing with a male or female MC (or non-binary but to be honest I didn’t expect that in this book at all), and since the name ‘Beau’ can be given to both male and female humans (also pets, let’s be honest here, but that’s not what the story is about), I naturally assumed it was about a girl. When I finally realized that the MC was male, I looked back on what I had already read and thought.. well, everything that just happened could happen to a girl aswell, so it didn’t really matter to me. Honestly, I thought the same way after I finished the book. The only way you could know the MC was a boy, was that some people called him ‘son’ I think? So. Yeah. Can I just imagine Beau being female? I just find it more interesting that way :’)

The rest of the story was quite uneventful, since Beau has to work at the Ranch, most of the story revolves around his weekends, giving us little to no insight on the rest of his life (granted, there is some backstory about his parents and siblings which was very cute – these were actually my favourite parts). And then Bett.. I’m sorry, but I didn’t feel anything for her? She was called ‘The Beast’ at school, but for reasons that were explained really badly. I don’t think that the reasons people called her that were severe enough to actually earn her that nickname..

In the end, both characters felt really flat, and other characters that were added as Beau’s friends didn’t really add anything to the story. There were certain aspects of the characters that were really in your face, Beau was loyal to his family, something that was repeated again and again. Bett was shy, had no filter.


All in all, it was kinda sweet, but very shallow. When I started reading it, I thought it was what I wanted, but the story and the characters didn’t really develop themselves. I would definitely not say this was YA, more Middle Grade. Maybe the fact that it was said to be a Beauty and the Beast retelling made me not like it in the end. There was barely anything there, aside from Beau (Belle) having to work at the Ranch, and Bett being called The Beast, there was no real connection to the fairytale. All this considered, I think it might be a really fun story for younger readers, as long as they don’t expect too much from the retelling side.

A retelling of Beauty and the Beast - there was no way I could pass this up. My favourite Disney cartoon film in an exciting retelling.

My main enjoyment from this was the reversal of the genders in the main roles - the guy, Beau is the 'Beauty' and Bett is the "beast'. I really liked that. I got to about 50% of the book and started to struggle. I was convinced by the love story between Beau and Bett. I loved Beau and his characterisation - he is one of the best male protagonists I've read in YA books, especially in a retelling. But Bett... her character arc was just not as enjoyable or believable.

Beau's voice was brilliant and his character development was fantastic. This gave it some major plus points for me.

Also, the cover of this book is just stunning. It roped me right in!

I received an ARC of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own and in no way influenced.

4.5/5 stars.

I’m a sucker for Beauty & The Beast so this i just had to read and i wasn’t disappointed at all! Beau & Bett took the retelling to a whole new level with this modern and extremely clever swap in character roles! And isn’t the cover just stunning!

I loved the POV - a first person male protagonist that drags you into the story so so well. Beau is such a good narrator, showing us the world he lives in as well as Bett’s world through his eyes and all the way through keeping it so real. The story flows so well and your constantly wanting to know more.

Bett’s character was amazing, the way she develops is really not how you would expect it to go. Which honestly, is amazing because you are always wanting to know more and growing more and more curious about her throughout the book.

And surprisingly Bett wasn’t your clichè Beast. Yes, her story was sad, but it was different and worked so well!

Beau’s family was a stand out point for me as well, they worked so well. They are a family that doesn’t have it all but they always have love and each other. The family bond in this book was truly amazing and I loved how they all supported each other so much.

All in all this was a fantastic book and one I will highly recommend everyone to read, the writing style is so easy to follow and the book itself is just so adorable and I loved it so much.

In this sweet retelling of Beauty and the Beast, set in a contemporary a beautiful boy has to face the ugly on the inside girl as social status, family and relationships collide.

This is a beauty and the beast retelling and I wanted to like it I really did but I didn’t I couldn’t get into it and it just fell flat

We already know that I have never been able to resist a "Beauty and the Beast " retelling and this one was no exception. Set in contemporary America, our main protagonist, Beau LeFrancois meets the very spoiled rich girl, Bettina Diaz, coined by her schoolmates as "The Beast" while working on her father's ranch.

Positive Thoughts:

1. I like the gender reversal of the beauty versus beast roles.

2. Beau was a compelling protagonist and I was captured by his "voice"

3. Loved Beau's family backstory and his family was endearing in a quirky way.



Negative Thoughts:

1. Bettina's "beast like" reputation was very understated. The angle lacked "oomph" and I was actually of the mind that her Nana was a more captivating "beast."

2. Since we never see inside Bettina's thoughts, we only know what Beau knows. As the story progressed, I wavered in my opinion of whether this is a good or bad thing.

3. Bettina's family was awful.

4. Romance was extremely lacking. At first, I thought it was because there was another girl in Beau's life. Soon I began to feel that the Disney movie had a lot more passion than this story did.

5. By the 50% mark, I felt the plot slowed down and that the author seemed unsure of how she was going to make it work between the two characters.


Overall, I read Beau and Bett in a single sitting and I loved Kathryn Berla's "Beau" but I just wasn't buying the love story.


Publication Date 16/07/19
Goodreads Review 01/06/19

What a cute story! I devoured this contemporary YA in one sitting and was left wanting it to be true.
Right away, it is easy to identify the 'villain' of the story. If you see Bett as bad. She was actually very likable and very blunt, hence why she was called the 'Beast'. Through the pages of this novel, she is woven into a person that makes you feel.
Beau was very different from most YA boys and I loved that. He was responsible *gasp* and did everything that he could to support his family. I loved him.
I would recommend for those wanting a quick read and love Kasie West. This would be the perfect book so be sure to snag a copy.

Rating: 4.5 Stars
Content: 3 Stars (language)

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Beau and Bett by Kathryn Berla is a cute young adult love story based on Beauty and the Beast.
Beau is the beauty and Bett is nick name Beast at school. I enjoyed the characters and the sweet story, but I found this book slow moving. I would have liked for the book to be more detailed.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.