Overall I'd have to say I didn't love this retelling. I didn't love Bonnie, and as she's the Beauty in this story that put me off a bit. I found her reactions to things didn't sit right me, something she seemed to under react to, others over react. Nor was I sure why Robin Hood and Will Scarlett entered the story - perhaps though this is part of the overall series' storyline?

All in all, I probably won't be bothering with the second instalment.

Disclaimer: I have voluntarily reviewed this book after receiving a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley, thank you!

Sometimes you just need to read a self-indulgent ya fairytale retelling and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Bonnie and her father wake up in a completely unknown house with people who claim to have found them in the forest. They’re also supposedly in a land that in their homeland is considered long-gone and almost legendary. Not to mention, Bonnie’s best friend is gone, supposedly taken away by fairies. She doesn’t really have time to process all of it, because the men who found them drug her and her father and take him away to sacrifice to a Beast that has been terrorizing the locals for some time. Determined to save her father, Bonnie sneaks out and goes to the Beast’s castle herself, offering to stay there instead of her father.

I was actually unsure what to expect when I picked this book up. The cover made me think of trashy ya paranormal romance books that I’m not a big fan of but there were many positive reviews so I decided that in the worst case I will get a really bad version of Beauty and the Beast - what I got was a pretty good version of Beauty and the Beast.

Don’t get me wrong, it was still cheesy but it also a fast, fun read that I enjoyed much more than I expected. It gave me the same feeling I had watching the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast but there was much more to it. I would probably be less confused about the worldbuilding if I’ve read the first trilogy in the series but I was happy to see that there was a world outside Bonnie’s hometown and the Beast’s castle mentioned. I found Bonnie herself a little naive and sheltered sometimes but I found it more endearing than annoying. I liked Leander’s character development, how it took him a while to learn to control his emotions Not to mention the lack of insta-love that still is a plague for ya romances. The feelings, mostly on Bonnie’s side grow very slowly.

If you’re looking for a pleasant feel-good read and if you’re a fan of fairytales, I’m sure you will enjoy this book!

Beast of Rosemead by Lucy Tempest, 421 pages.
Folkshore Press, 2019. $13.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: Ms, HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
When Bonnie wakes up in an unfamiliar room and without any memory of how she got there, she quickly jumps to the logical conclusion that she’s been kidnapped. As she makes her way to escape, she hears the voice of her father downstairs and discovers that both she and her father are safe. However, reality does not get much better as Bonnie learns of the Beast and faeries that plague this new place she is in and threaten everyone she loves -- trouble that only involves her loved ones because of her selfish dreams.
This retelling of Beauty and the Beast was a pleasure to read because of Tempest’s combination of details from the familiar story and unique twists that adapt the story to a new magical world. My understanding of how Beauty and the Beast should go didn’t make the book predictable. In fact, my expectations for upcoming details only made the changes Tempest made more exciting as I watched the old story unfold in new circumstances. I also loved this retelling because of the fun I had while reading it, often forgetting myself enough to laugh aloud in public as well as private.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

This tale didn’t tickle my fancy, the storyline is a bit blurred around the edges if I do say so. A mildly interesting and entertaining book with characters resonating the same.

Maybe because I haven're read the previous books from Lucy Tempest, maybe because I'm not the biggest Beauty and The Beast fan but this was just an okay read for me. The characters seemed a little underdeveloped, there was way too much dialogue and the second part of the book seemed a bit slow.
That said, this is a fun and easy read, especially if you like the original fairytale.

I appreciate the writing style of this book, while i have read other beauty and the beast retelling such as a court of thorns and roses that have caught my eye, unfortunately this on did not. While I am not the biggest fan, I do see potential and will continue to look for the series in the future and give it another go!

I enjoyed reading this remake of the Beauty and the Beast. #NetGalley-thanks for the advanced read. #BeastofRosemead was a fun read!

I love these retellings of Lucy’s I am a big fan since her first trilogy, beauty and the beast is one of my favourite stories ever and I loved this twist on it, told over two books and this is part one. It’s fun, entertaining, great characters and great plot. The writing and world building are really good. Highly recommended read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Since this is only the first part of a 2 books story I can't really give it a high rating other than to say it DID keep my interest but it took me several chapters before I stopped thinking our heroine was more like a spoiled little girl throwing tantrums but the story does eventually drag you in and it is a much more convoluted story than the original Beauty and The Beast.
This story of Bonnie and Leander does grab your eventually and I have to get to reading book 2 to see how it all ends. Great story

I am a sucker for a "Beauty and the Beast" story, so this was a no-brainer for me to pick up. As a fairy tale retelling, it was fine. It checked all the boxes, so to speak. But there was something left to be desired in its merits as a novel in its own right. Some of the characters were a little flat and the dialog was stilted in places. The world also did not seem very developed. All in all, it was fine and kept me reading, which is what you want from a book, most of the time, but I wouldn't say that I gave a fresh perspective on the original tale, and I don't really feel the need to read it again. Two and a half stars.

<b>I LOVE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST RETELLINGS... BUT I JUST COULDN'T LOVE THIS ONE... 😶</b>

<blockquote><b>Full disclosure!</b> I have not read the first three books in this series as I was under the impression that this was the first in a duology and, therefore, could be read on its own. I will try not to let this colour my review and will, therefore, not touch upon the world building, which, I must assume, has been explained in previous books.</blockquote>

Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite fairy tales. Therefore, I have read many BaB retellings and usually, they all manage to do something that excites me. This certainly didn't...

<b>👎 THE THINGS I DISLIKED 👎</b>

<u>Yelling</u>: I am not kidding or exaggerating - the first 3rd of this book nobody spoke in a calm, normal manner. Everyone was screaming or yelling and every dialogue sentence ended with an exclamation point. Man, that bothered me SO much - exclamation point!

<u>Pace</u>: The pace of this book was completely unbalanced. The first half of this book was almost frantic and without any 'down-time', way too many things happened. The second half was just plain boring, because nothing happened at all...

<u>Dialogue</u>: I like dialogue. It provides emotions and feeling to the book. But there can be too much of a good thing and this book certainly proved that. I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say, that this book consisted of 75% dialogue. Furthermore, the dialogue was stilted and unnatural...

<u>Not-so-secret-curse</u>: What makes the Disney version of BaB so magical and beautiful? That Belle falls in love with the Beast of her own volition without knowing that was the key to saving him. That magic was taken away in this book as the Beast, Leander, actually told the Beauty, Bonnie, that she had to fall in love with him to break the curse. Magic-mirror shattering!

<u>Characters</u>: The characters were underdeveloped, flat and non-distinctive. The only one, you could tell apart from the rest based on characteristics was Castor, the 'Gaston' character of this book. He at least had some flair.

Lucy Tempest is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I know that some may not believe me, but it is true. Ms. Tempest is amazing storyteller. I am not normally a fan of retold stories from my childhood, but these stories are so different that Tempest has breathed a life into them all of her own. Her writing almost mirrors J.K. Rowlings with how a little detail from the first book that you almost (or do) overlook becomes a tie into a later story and thus tying the series together in an intricate web.

This book was my favorite of Tempest's to date. Bonnie is a fun character to follow that you can get behind because she isn't helpless, she really tries and does the best she can. I can't wait for the next in the series, Beauty of RoseMead released today, September 24, 2019.

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. All thoughts are my own.