A Queer retelling of beauty and the beast: what more do you need to know? While the time before Celeste meets the beast is longer than I'd like- leaving less time for the romantic leads to develop their relationship. But the time spent with them, and the time spent with the protagonist: Celeste was enjoyable to read. I think Celeste is a good protagonist which an interesting motivation unlike other retellings of this fairy tale I've read. Overall, it's a well put together YA novel that I can see many people falling for!

4 stars.
The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist is a unique, queer retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Going into it, I was a little worried that it wasn't going to be very original, as Beauty and the Beast is perhaps the most commonly retold fairytale, but this book changed enough details from the original text to make this a new and exciting story. All the changes in this book were welcome, and the characters were quite well written as well. On the topic of characters, I will say that I wasn't initially sure how to feel about Etienne, as unlike his Disney counterpart, Gaston, he's very sympathizable. Although I liked how 3 dimensional a character he was, I found it to be a bit of an issue when Celeste left home. Obviously, I understand that she did not love him romantically, and therefore didn't want to marry him, but considering it was her best option and benefitted her family, it made her running away seem a bit rash. But then she left home and flourished, as expected, so I understand her decision. Again, without mentioning any major spoilers, I was a little confused about how to feel about Etienne at the end of the book. He was still a well rounded character I felt bad for, but he also felt like the closest thing to a villain this book had (not because he was evil, just because his goals stood in the way of Celeste's). Luckily, I found that during the confrontation he didn't stray too far from the character he had been established as and I liked the way this book concluded. Even though there were a few moments were I wasn't sure how to feel about Etienne, I'd much rather a book with 3 dimensional characters that occasionally gets confusing (as to who you should mainly be sympathizing with) than a book with flat characters who oppose the protagonist. On to my thoughts about the romance. To put it simply I was very impressed by it. This book does start kind of slow, and since the love interests did not interact until about the 50% mark, I was worried the romance was going to be rushed, but it wasn't. Celeste and "the Beast's" conversations felt genuine and you could sense the connection they had as people. Their relationship was really strongly written, and as a whole I really liked this author's writing style. Onto my last note, which is minor, but I think worthy of mentioning. I appreciate that the author acknowledged at the start of the book that the land this was written on is Aboriginal land. This is something people are starting to acknowledge more and more as of late, but I'd never seen an author mention it in a book's acknowledgments, so I was impressed to see this. Overall, this was a really enjoyable and dynamic Beauty and the Beast retelling that I'd recommend to any YA fantasy readers.

The misadventures of an amateur naturalist
My summary:
Celeste is a young girl living in 19th century France. She is a naturalist with many talents that she wishes to show to the world. Until her family’s money situation starts to go unwell. To gain a little bit of money to support her family Celeste decided to marry her very brotherly friend. But this was too much for Celeste as she soon runs away presumed dead. While looking for places to practice her skills she comes across a beautiful and tempting castle. But everything comes with a price, she soon realizes that a Beast lives in the castle. To find out what happens next pick up this beautifully written historical fiction, you won’t regret it!

My thoughts:
This book was amazing. I’ve never been a huge fan of fairy tale retelling because I feel like there just so repetitive and I always know what to expect. Ceinwen Langely proved me wrong on many different levels. Not only was this book a magnificently written historical fiction the plot to go along with it fit like a puzzle piece. Celestes personality is so inspiring and wholesome that it’s hard not to love her. I loved how Celeste wasn’t just a damsel in distress and instead was independent and self sufficient. I loved the different twists and turns and trying to decided between what choices Celeste would go with. I think the only think I disliked a little was the ending because I didn’t understand where everything would go next. At times the book was slow but overall I very much enjoyed. If your looking for a historical romance with the telling of a story about a independent young woman then this is your book!


#amateurnaturalist #NetGalley

Thank you netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a review.

I started reading this book, expecting a nice story about a young woman from a 19th century who wants to become a naturalist, and it turned out even better than expected.
As someone who loves biology and animals, I really related to Céleste, the main character. I loved reading about her sketches and her theories on animals!
The characters are well written, and the plot is very good. It took me some time to understand that this is a retelling of a well known tale. And it's a very good retelling, especially because it's sapphic.
This story also has very nice feminist vibes, and the cutest owl.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

This is a YA historical sapphic retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Overall, it was an enjoyable and cute read. In some aspects it fell short for me; in particular I found the length of time before we met 'the beast' dragged on too long, which reduced the bonding time between Celeste and 'the beast'. I found Celeste a little repetitive at times although I did like and sympathise with her a lot. However, the writing was excellent and it was an easy book to read.

This book is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. This time around, Belle is called Celeste and she wants to be a naturalist, following in the footsteps of Charles Darwin. When she discovers the Beast, she thinks she may have discovered some sort of evolutionary leap and wants to study her. Celeste still has to escape an unwanted marriage and her father's financial ruin, but her motives for staying with the Beast are much more selfish.

The success of any Beauty and the Beast story relies on whether or not the audience believes that the couple has truly fallen for each other. I an honestly say that I found a good friendship developing between Celeste and the Beast, but not a real romance by the end of the book, so while I enjoyed reading the story, I found the denouement rather unbelievable. The only character with any real development was Celeste and I would have liked to know more about her sister, her father and her friends.

Oh my gd. This might be my favorite fairy tale rewrite ever. This story is the beauty and the beast everyone should know.

Historical fiction in 1833 France + magic and curses and beasts was so not what I was expecting when I picked this book but wow am I glad that the author wrote it.

First off, the cast of characters is just amazing. Celeste, the protagonist, is just such an interesting character. She’s funny and sweet and her work as an amateur naturalist is so good. I love how she makes difficult choices to keep herself and her family safe, even when she wishes she could do otherwise.

Etienne is loosely based on Gaston but he’s actually like a good man and loves Celeste and just wants to give her a happy life, so I had a harder time simply writing him off. He deserves his happy ending too and I truly hope he gets it.

The writing is really well done, it’s a nicely paced book with just the right amount of clues to who the beast really is. It’s a fast read that will leave you smiling through both happy and sad tears.

Honestly this story was just perfect, I have zero complaints. I would love to see a sequel one day so fingers crossed for that!

This book was absolutely fantastic! The ending!!! I adored the main character, Celeste! She was strong, and motivated. This Beauty and the Beast retelling was so unique, and I absolutely loved it. It definitely had me wanting more though! 5/5 stars!!

Beauty & the Beast has always been one of my favorite fairytales and this was a great reimagining/retelling of it!

Celeste has always wanted to be a naturalist, so she's delighted that she, her father, and her sister will be in Paris for the 1867 Exposition Universelle. However, when a series of unfortunate events leaves her family with nothing and she becomes trapped in life not of her own choosing - Celeste escapes and finds a chateau with an unusual barn owl and an even stranger beast.

I loved Celeste was a die-hard naturalist. I found her misadventures to be quite entertaining. My only compliant is while the idea of a mysterious Beast gets introduced fairly early, the Beast herself doesn't make an appearance until about halfway into the book. So there is a bit of a wait to get to the main parts of the synopsis, but it was worth the wait!

Ceinwen Langley delivers a sapphic Beauty and the Beast story that adds a few new twists to the tale! The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist is an emotional tale about finding a place to belong and choosing your own life's adventure (or misadventure). It was definitely worth the read!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Feed the Writer Press, and Ceinwen Langley for an eARC of The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist! I really appreciate the opportunity to read it.

The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist was an exceptional surprise of a read! When I read the description for this book I was automatically excited, I'm not much for retellings but when I read this was going to be sapphic beauty and the beast I said sign me up!
This book was incredibly written as well as easy to follow. I fell in love with Celeste and her fun personality she really made the book for me. I hope others get to experience this book and enjoy it as much as I did.
Thank you to netgalley for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist stole my heart. That’s it. That’s the review.

Ceinwen Langley has a way for historical fiction unlike anything I've ever read. This book was wonderfully written. The time period really came alive with her descriptions and the characters left a lasting impression. It's a wonderful spin on the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast.

Its so rare to see queer characters in historical fiction, and well written ones at that. Langley perfectly captures the struggles of a young girl struggling with her sexuality in Celeste. It's also rare to see a sapphic relationship that plays a huge role in the story that doesn't end in flames. I can say that Celeste is a character that I will look up to forever, with her headstrong personality and love for her family. She's a well written character who will capture every reader's heart.

Overall, this book was one of my favourite historical fiction reads, and I cannot wait to hold it in my hands. The release date cannot come soon enough, and I’m counting down the days.

Thank you to NetGalley and Feed The Writer Press for letting me review this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Historical fiction is not my cup of tea but I adored every part of this book. The character development, world building, and prose was thoroughly enjoyable I knew I would be preordering it as soon I finished it. Each character had a unique voice and even the slow start was engaging enough to keep me reading. It's hard to review this book simply because there was so much I loved about it I'm hard pressed to find something to critique.

This was delightful. I think this is by far my favorite retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It has taken notes of the original fairytale but woven them into something original and fascinating.

This is a sapphic historical retelling of Beauty and the Beast but with some significant changes (gender aside), Celeste the main character is a highly enthusiastic amateur naturalist who wants more than anything to travel the world studying animals. However, family circumstances put a damper on that dream and she ends up lost in the forest and with a mysterious 'beast' in an abandoned castle.

Celeste was a brilliant main character. I loved her narrative and way of looking at the world and how she unrelentlessly went after what she wanted and wasn't ashamed of it. The Beast was also an interesting character as was The Owl and essentially every character mentioned, even the ones who were barely in it felt well-rounded and interesting. I really appreciated the character of Etienne, who took a sharp left turn from his counterpart in the original story and it was fascinating and really fitted the story.

I adored the ending, I think it fitted the novel incredibly well but do wish we'd gotten to see a few more adventures.

I really loved this book and would be keen to read more from this author.

I revieved an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful twist on the Beauty and the Beast tale. Celeste is confident and determined to get what she wants. She fights for what she believes in, even if it’s against all of society, and it makes her a wonderful character to follow. Incredibly done! I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite Disney movies so I requested this booking NetGalley and I am so glad I got accepted!
.
I loved everything about this book! The characters were engaging (also feminist woman in the Victorian era trying to pave her way in a patriarchal society. YES. PLEASE), the setting was beautiful and I loved seeing Celeste and the Beast’s relationship mature and see them gain more trust in each other. I really liked how this book was sapphic, I think it added a nice twist to a well known story and it also allowed the book to explore different themes that the original could not. I did find some parts a bit drawn out towards the beginning but that’s my only critique! I really hope there’s a sequel to this book, Celeste is now one of my favourite characters and I need more content! I’ll definitely be recommending this book to everyone now!!

The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist is an absolute delight! I am always on the lookout for LGBTQ+ historical fiction, and this is one of the best I have read. I adored this story!

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

I love me some WLW writing and this book had that and much more. Intrigue and adventure was at the heart of the story.

An incredibly cute Beauty and the Beast retelling with a lesbian love story in the front. Our heroine, Celeste is curious and nature-oriented, as she wishes to become a naturalist. She admires Darwin and wants to become like him, to embark on travels to faraway lands in order to discover new and exciting creatures, without knowing that these adventures were close by. A refreshing twist to the classic fairytale.

I really enjoyed this novel! The synopsis describes it as a sapphic Beauty and The Beast retelling, though this part only starts at around 40%. I found it quite important that the plot took its time, so I could be emotionally involved. The humorous tone and witty main character Celeste made me love the beginning as well. It's very easy to read and reads rather modern, which I didn't mind at all.
The interactions between the Beast and Celeste were so wholesome and their relationship became my favourite part of this novel. I just wanted to see more of those two together. I also liked learning more about the past of our love interest. This book also discusses finding your own identity, which I loved.
I severely enjoyed my time reading this book and I hope you pick it up, because I want a sequel!

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The premise and title of this book really excites me. I enjoyed Celeste as a character. Unfortunately, while I liked the book, there were a few issues keeping me from loving it.

The misunderstanding between Etienne and Celeste felt forced. I’m not sure how he could have not understood what she meant from the words that she said and it felt like it just happened for plot reasons, which really took me out of the moment.

Overall this felt like two different books- a Jane Austen-like romance and a sapphic beauty and and the beast retelling. Both suffered because the first half and the second half were so wildly different for me but I liked both of them a lot, just not together. It takes almost half the book for the beauty and beast part to get started, and then that story ends up feeling rushed while the Jane Austen like romance beginning feels full of loose ends and unresolved. Perhaps with some more editing the first half could be shortened and a few unnecessary characters trimmed and then the second half could be fleshed out more.

The writing style appealed to me and there were lots of things to like but it just missed the mark a bit for me to rate it higher than 3 stars. I still recommend giving it a read.