I was enchanted from the moment I picked this up and now officially want to go live in the 1800s in a little cottage sitting by a cosy hearth all day.

Stalking Shadows had EVERYTHING I wanted in a book. and I am obsessed.

✔️Gothic undertones.
✔️Fairytale reimagining (Beauty and the Beast).
✔️Herbalism.
✔️Magic woods.
✔️Witchiness.
✔️1800s setting.
✔️Cottage core vibes.
✔️Female werewolves.
✔️Poisonous plants.

Now do I have your attention?

Stalking Shadows has been marketed as a Beauty and the Beast retelling but I would be more inclined to call it a reimagining. That said, it was a beautiful interpretation and I preferred that it wasn’t a direct retelling. It gave Beauty and the Beast a new found freshness and life which I appreciated.

The story revolves around sisters Marie and Ama who make their living selling wild perfumes (sigh) and Marie is knowledgeable in herbalism. Marie utilises this knowledge to infiltrate an old mansion which she believes cursed her sister Ama years before, making Ama turn into a beast every month. Meanwhile people in the village are being killed and Marie is not sure if this is Ama or another beast that exists in hiding.

I was living for the gorgeous atmosphere throughout. It was the perfect book to read in Winter and I felt like I could hear and feel the cold air whistling as a hearth crackled in the background.

There’s a bit of romance but it isn’t overdone or sickly. Marie as a protagonist is strong, caring and relatable yet flawed. I appreciated that Cyla included some confronting family dynamics as it made the narrative feel more authentic. Marie’s relationship with plants was beautiful and added such a whimsical, earthy element to the story.

This book has my heart. I adored it and I hope I have convinced you by now to read it.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for review.

A cool twist on and loose retelling of The Beauty and the Beast, Cyla Panin has created a fascinating world and magic system that feels fresh and new, though I did love the little nods to the original story tucked away inside this one. Readers will especially understand and relate to the love between the two sisters, as well as the struggle to live with loss and the deep searching for one's purpose.

3.5 stars

I looooved the aesthetics and spooky atmosphere in this!! I wouldn’t say this is another Beauty and the Beast retelling, but the elements are there. I’d say this book serves a very refreshing take on a classic tale as old as time.

This book also serves a very complex main character. Marie has a kind heart and would do anything to protect her sister. However there was one thing about her that had me feeling a little put off. That was when she poisoned Lucien—a seven-year-old boy with tuberculosis and Sebastian’s baby brother—just to accelerate her plan to use Sebastian to get his mother’s spell book. While she knew it wouldn’t mortally hurt him, it still made him sicker than he already was and I immediately felt disconnected from her after that point.

The pacing...I feel like the pacing of this story could’ve been better had this been a duology instead of a standalone. The first quarter part started off pretty good, albeit a bit slower towards the middle mark. After about 50 percent through everything started to happen super fast. Like I couldn’t process anything that just happened, and I feel like the romance development suffered because of this. Don’t get me wrong, Marie and Sebastian were sweet and I adored Sebastian. I just wanted to FEEL more longing and the pent-up sexual tension that comes with budding romances. I think this is why I couldn’t get too invested in their relationship.

All in all, I did enjoy this story and I’m happy I was able to read this eARC.

*Trigger Warnings: book contains violence, depictions of alcoholism, the death of children, depiction of mental health struggles*

Two girls, a monster on the loose, and a town full of secrets. Marie and Ama are sisters, both of them are monsters in very different ways. While Ama turns into a beasts and kills, Marie marks and picks who is to be killed. Marie works hard to hide her sister’s secret while living in a small 18th century French town. However, it is getting harder and harder to hide when more dead children start showing up and people become paranoid about hunting down a beasts. The entire incident start after Marie and Ama’s father sold Ama to the town’s lord’s home to work as a maid.... except the lord and lady died and Ama returned home newly cursed with the ability to turn into a beasts and a bloodlust. Marie knows that Ama is delving closer and closer to the beast’s side and so decides that this is her only chance to find a cure for her sister. She pretends to know a cure to the current Lord Sebastian (a boy around her age, 17ish)’s younger brother Lucien ( a child) who suffers from consumption and infiltrates the household convinced that Sebastian’s mother was the one who cursed her sister and that there is a spell book she can use to undue it. But time is running out for Marie, as more dead bodies show up and her lies start piling up and the town is on the hunt for Ama. Now she must find a solution before everyone is at stake and she loses everything, including her feelings for Sebastian.

This story definitely fits into the gothic fairytale type. No one is truly good and everyone is a little bit messed up. Ama literally kills people and eats them without feeling any remorse and thinks of it as a game while Marie brushes it off as killing “vagrants, travelers, and criminals” and essentially poisoned Lucien in order to manipulate Sebastian while Sebastian was keeping his sort of dead mom in the house and knew about Ama and Marie being cursed while Marie and Ama’s dad literally sold off his own daughter and was negligent, took money from them, and essentially left them to fend for themselves while he got drunk. The only actual likable character was Lucien, he didn’t deserve what was happening to him at all. Overall an okay read with an interesting take gothic fairytales. The characters are all morally grey as Marie was willing to do whatever to save her sister despite her sister being a beasts and killing and eating people while Sebastian was willing to do whatever to save his brother. The story wraps up everything neatly though and was an okay read.

*Thanks Netgalley and ABRAMS Kids for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Come for the monsters, stay for the ~atmosphere~

Cyla Panin has (very loosely) retold the Beauty & The Beast fairy tale with a delicious gothic spin, as protagonist Marie tries to keep her sister Ama (who transforms into a beast every month) under control within their increasingly suspicious rural town. It's such a dark, tense premise, and oh ... I loved it so much!

Panin's writing absolutely sings. I felt completely enveloped in this beautiful, cruel world, from the woods to the finery of Sebastian's manor house. Books about sisterhood will always be special to me, and Panin also does an incredible job of creating a dynamic between Marie and Ama that felt inarguably REAL, even when they were dealing with supernatural problems. All the relationships in this book were *chef's kiss* actually, and I think the cherry on the top was how Panin refused to shy away from darker themes. Marie is pretty cutthroat in her pursuit of a cure for Ama, sometimes literally. She lies, she manipulates, and she does it all with love in her heart. Even when it's difficult to support her decisions, I could always understand - and that kept me 1000% emotionally invested the whole way through.

Granted, this is not a perfect book. (Perfect books are overrated anyway). The final reveal felt a bit ... odd, I guess, with a predictable 'twist' and an explanation that was ... fine, but lackluster? I'm not certain what I was hoping for, but since the twist is very heavily foreshadowed, I suppose I was hoping for something else to happen/be revealed to take my breath away, and it just ,,, didn't. Not a bad ending, by any means. Just flat.

But! But! But! Atmospheric witchery! Creaky old houses! Angsty lords! Deep, dark, lovely woods! Snow and blood and beauty! Sisterhood, with all its sharp sharp teeth! Do I really need to say more!

4/5

So I assumed this book was about the Beast of Gevaudan? It was never explicitly mentioned, so I guess not. But if it is, I think readers would love to read about the historical record in an author's note or something.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I thought the book itself was too long, but when the action was happening I was very invested.

3.5 rounded up.

This was a beautifully written gothic tale by debut author Cyla Panin. The story is a Beauty and the Beast retelling and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It’s also my first time reading a retelling story.

I loved the relationship between the sisters. I also really enjoyed the world building. But most of all, I loved that the sisters are werewolves.

With the descriptions of the forest, I felt like I was really part of the story. I loved the witch of the woods concept. But I truly love all things witchy.

The main reason I didn’t rate this higher was because I felt like it dragged just a little bit.

But thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-ARC.

The start of this book was really strong, with compelling stakes and an intriguing mystery surrounding the sisters, the young lord of the village, and the deaths. Marie's condition of nervous/emotional sweating was an attribute I don't think I've seen in a protagonist before, which was fascinating.

However, from about halfway to the end, several of the character interactions and relationship arcs seemed either stilted, erratic, or a combination of both. Marie seemed to swing to opposite extremes of ruthless "I'm only in this for Ama" and doe-eyed "I'm falling for Sebastian" with such intensity that it didn't feel genuine. This made it difficult to care about the outcome of the romance. It almost made me wonder if this was originally plotted as a duology but then had to be mashed into a stand-alone.

Also, the rules and limitations of the magic system were super unclear.

Lush prose and gorgeous worldbuilding! This dark spin on Beauty and the Beast is PERFECT for fans of Spinning Silver or Wintersong. Cannot give it enough stars!

Stalking shadows is a dark, twisty, fun read. Featuring dynamic relationships and world buildings it's definitely a fun retelling bringing unique twists and turns along the way.

From the moment I read the first line in Cyla Pa's Stalking Shadows I knew i was the hands of a great storyteller and a beautiful writer. And I wasn't disappointed. From the vivid world of a village in France to the complicated relationship between sisters, I was riveted. As much as the forest lived for Marie, it lived for me. I felt the cold and harsh of the weather and the fear of the villagers. And I loved loved loved Marie's struggle--what is right when trying to save a loved one? Add in a wonderful love interest with his own struggles and it's the novel you want.

Firstly, I applaud the author for writing a solid debut novel. She wrote the story so beautifully. It was indeed a surprise that it was her first novel. The author compellingly sets the tone, which immediately caught my interest. The plot comes off as a mysterious, gothic fairy tale that makes you feel like you are reading a Grimm’s novel.

Marie is a compelling character who fits perfectly in the plot. I enjoyed the first half of the tale as Marie searches for the magical book that might save Ama’s life. Her relationship with Lucien is adorable, and I adored how protective she gets over him. Similarly, I loved her scenes with Sebastien. While the two don’t exactly hit it off, I thought the author gradually and realistically paced their friendship. The second half is equally enjoyable as Marie and Sebastien try to figure out what is happening.

Another reason why I enjoyed the story is because of its twists and turns. The author keeps you guessing as to who the person is that is killing the children. Some parts surprised me as I did not expect them. However, the introduction of new characters in the plot throws you off from what you expected to happen. There are twists till the very end, which makes the story exciting to read.

Overall, I enjoyed “Stalking Shadows” and thought it was a beautiful story. While I would not exactly call it a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, it is nevertheless entertaining and stands out on its own. I look forward to reading the author’s future novels and hope she writes more stories in this genre.

What a dark and fun read! I loved the sister vibes and the atmosphere. Definitely a different twist from the usual Beauty and the Beast retellings we’ve seen! Highly recommend!

Such a fun read from one of my new favorite writers! I will definitely be following Cyla's career ... wow! This book is seriously so inventive and such a fun twist on an age-old classic. Brilliantly written!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Stalking Shadows in exchange for an honest review.

I love the premise here. I'm all for beauty and the beast retellings, but so many "girl kidnapped and falls for magical creature" ones have come out recently that it was really refreshing to read one that reallocates the beast character to a sibling. The narration was also fairly good and I think Marie and the characters around her were well developed and easy to root for.

I do think this tries to be a lot twistier than it actually is because a lot of the foreshadowing and clues is really really heavy-handed and despite being really intelligent, Marie constantly pulls the whole "I'm noticing and narrating this but I guess it's not important so I won't think much of it!" thing that makes it very obvious that its clearly a clue she'll revisit later. Other than that, I think this was quite well done.

A lush, atmospheric, and refreshingly original take on Beauty and the Beast. I couldn't put it down!

At times I felt this book was dragging on, but it was such a great pay off! I can easily see this book being the start of a great series.

It's the type of book that you would never think to get yourself, but wow is this a great book so casually stumble across.

The premise. Those first lines. WOW.

I am such a big fan of books with a strong sister bond and this story goes further and into the realm of who really is the monster as the sisters protect each other at all costs. At one point, Marie does something unforgivable but the plot is so twisty-turny that I could not put this book down. I absolutely adored the gothic, atmospheric setting of both the manor and the woods. And I REALLY hope Amulet decides on a companion novel because I have SO MANY QUESTIONS about Aurélie. I was not ready for the book to end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Amulet for this arc.

The atmosphere and world building in Stalking Shadows is so vivid and immersive, I felt like I was right there with the characters. I loved the bond between the sisters, the mystery, and the retelling aspects. I was sure of one of the reveals early on, but unsure of the rest, and the intrigue kept me turning pages to find answers. I wish we had more page time with Aurelie because I still have questions for her haha.

This gothic tale has sisterly love, a race to cure her sister of the beast within, a murder mystery, a slow burn that includes a 'we must strip down for warmth' moment, girl power, and finding the strength to live the life you want.

Overall I really enjoyed this book.

This gothic beauty was such an absolute pleasure to read and there was so much to love. The setting was lush and gorgeous and when the main character Marie ran through the frozen woods, I swear I was right there with her. The themes of mother and child relationships, balking stereotypes, and the weight of responsibility and societal roles sewn throughout this tale were so well done. And despite the main character having questionable morals, with her motivation oftentimes so selfish as we see just how far she is willing to go to get what she wants and save herself and her sister, it strangely didn't make it hard to root for her, but just made the character feel real.

The perfume magic, witchcraft, foreboding forests, a ticking clock with a killer on the loose, and the vivid visceral descriptions in this book kept me flipping through the pages long after I told myself I would go to bed at night.

Plus, I was shipping Marie + Sebastian from the start. I mean, this book included one of my fav romance tropes: GASP we are freezing and must strip and cuddle for warmth.