DNF @ 42%
There is one fundamental problem in Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge for me, and it can be boiled down to a simple principle; and yet I realize that it's not as simple at the same time.  

Trigger warning: an act of rape is the primary focus in this story (and is detailed out in the story) and this act is the focus of the discussion below.

Falling in Love
I believe that people can genuinely fall in love with a captor (above and beyond Stockholm syndrome). I also believe that people can fall in love with someone that they saw as evil or abhorrent at some point. Redemption is possible in many situations. However, there is a line for me. I can't scientifically quantify where that line is necessarily. And so, what follows is merely my opinion for which you can take or leave

What is too far?
I think there are two distinct scenarios in which most people will never be able to forgive someone: 
1) Deliberate Rape, 
2) Deliberate Death of Loved One (be it parent, child, spouse, etc.).
When I refer to deliberate what I mean is that it's done: without influence of drugs, alcohol, etc., with all mental facilities in place, with the knowledge of what they were doing and how it would affect the victim or victim's loved ones. This is an important distinction in our law today and one I believe in. 
So, in Beast we are given to believe that after a deliberate vicious rape, that takes the virginity of our lead gal, that it's possible for her to 'forgive' him. 
Here's my problem with that, for pages after pages our leading lady talks about loathing Beast. She talks about her need/desire for revenge or vengeance. She is thrilled when he is cursed to be the Beast and derives pleasure from his pain. 
Yet, we are to believe that however many chapters later that our leading lady forgives Beast? Really Lisa Jensen? This is just too far for me. I feel it's a slap in the face to victims of awful crimes and, for me, shows a lack of understanding of the emotional, mental and physical destruction a virgin rape could cause.
Given the descriptions included in the novel I just don't see any way a girl, unless afflicted by Stockholm syndrome or an equal mental illness, would ever be able to love the person that did this to her. It's dangerously close to the circle/cycle of violence that many end up in. It seems to me that the idea of love is being misappropriated here. 
To be clear, that's not to say that S&M culture is included in this analysis. It's not. I myself am not opposed to pain at times. BUT, there is a difference between consensual understanding and vicious rape. There is a clear difference for me and I feel that this is not that instance (no matter what is written in the book after I stopped reading).

Overall
Given that the writing is nothing special, our character descriptions are okay and the dialogue is fairly average this would never be a stunning novel (even with the attack taken out).
Unfortunately, the only thing that stands out for me is the idea of our leading lady forgiving and loving Beast. While I did not read the book to completion there is just no explanation (including magic) that I can believe that would allow this type of forgiveness to happen. Some victims are able to forgive their abuser in some way; but I have not heard of one who legitimately falls in love with them without some concerns about what is being defined as love. It's just too far and so is a deal breaker for me. 

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

As a lover of all things "Fairy Tale" I was so excited to gobble this book up, and it did not disappoint.. I really enjoyed this twist on the standard Beauty and The Beast story and found myself constantly wondering how the author was going to work everything out. It was well -written and kept my interest from the very beginning. The author vividly paints a beautiful and enchanting world that I so enjoyed visiting for a while. I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good twist on a "tale as old as time".

As a huge Beauty & The Beast fan and lover of retellings, I really wanted to love this book, I just could not connect with it 100%. 

With that being said, the book had its enjoyable aspects. I really appreciated the unique angle that was taken when it came to the heroine. Her being turned into an inanimate object was so unique and definitely sets it apart from other retellings. It also presented its challenges, because she gets turned into an inanimate object that made her a bit boring to read about. I did think it was a very unique idea though. 

I also couldn't connect with the love interest, he came off as abusive and toxic. 

Overall, I really wanted to connect with this story and love it but that just wasn't the case. I could see others enjoying it though, it just wasn't for me.

This book is a retelling of the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast, but twisted in a dark and offensive way. The Beast is actually made out to be good, and the Prince is the evil one. The story is written from the perspective of a housemaid who tries to save the Beast by getting the girl Rose to fall in love with him, but her plan backfires, and she will need help and courage to save him. 
This book was so offensive to me because of the graphic rape scene, the way the author makes you think a character gets an abortion, the suicide attempt, the foul language, the bestiality, and the twisted views of religion that were presented. I had to force myself to skim through the book so I could write an intelligent review. Don't get me wrong, I do read books that contain difficult subject matter, and I hardly ever give a book a bad review, but I would not recommend this book to anyone, and the realistic, descriptive writing does not override the blatant offensive nature of this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

The description makes this book sound so much better than what it was.  Was expecting something different.  I couldn't connect with the charaters at all.

Beauty and the Beast is my favourite fairytale and when I hear of a new retelling I am always the first to get ahold of it. I'm afraid this is the first time I have DNF'd a version, and at only about 30%. As much as I enjoy dark retellings to stories, this just seemed unnecessarily cruel and bitter.

My thanks to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Um,,,NO! While I expected this to be dark, I also though it would be more teen friendly since it's rated YA/Teen. That said, I did not expect the level of description, especially during a rather lengthy rape scene between the two MCs.

I cannot continue reading this book. It was far more descriptive than I thought it needed to be on cruelty and I'd not expected that, especially as I had read the summary a while ago and didn't even remember it. Perhaps the fault is with the expectations I had for it, but didn't enjoy what I read and won't continue reading.

***Trigger warning: This story contains a rape scene and attempted suicide***

I love fairytale retellings and Beauty and the Beast is a particular favourite of mine so I was really excited for this book. Especially when I realised that Lisa Jensen was going to turn things around by making the beast the hero rather than the prince. I was really curious to see how that would work and had very high hopes for this story but unfortunately it didn't quite live up to expectations.

I think the first thing people need to know if they're thinking about reading this is that there is a fairly descriptive rape scene within the first few chapters, told from the point of view of the girl being raped so you're inside her head and feeling everything that happens right alongside her. I really wasn't expecting that (although perhaps that's my fault for not checking any reviews before I started reading) and I came pretty close to quitting the book on the spot. How was I ever supposed to think of Jean-Loup or the Beast as a hero after seeing him rape the narrator? I know the prince was a nasty piece of work in the original story and that this is all about redemption BUT there are things I don't think you can come back from and that made it very hard to continue the story.

I am glad I persevered though because I liked some of the things the author did with this story, I really liked the fact that Jean-Loup was portrayed as evil and stayed that way even after the beast had been "saved" and turned back into a human. Lisa Jensen didn't, in fact, try to redeem his character in any way shape or form and it was the Beast who was the hero from beginning to end. It was fairly easy to think of them as two separate people because Beast has no memories of his life as Jean-Loup and he acts totally different too. That was good because it meant I could like him but at the same time it was bad because you don't get the redemption arc that you do in the original story. Beast doesn't redeem himself because he doesn't remember the things he did wrong in the past and Jean-Loup remains evil until the end so I just didn't get the same kind of satisfaction from the story as I expected.

I thought it was interesting to tell the story from the point of view of maid Lucie rather than that of Beast or Rose (the Belle character) but I found it really hard to watch her fall for the man who raped her, even though she was falling for the Beast side not the human (I'm not even going to get into the magical explanation for why they are two completely different people because it didn't make a huge amount of sense to me!). I also found her story much more interesting when she was in her human form, once she was turned into a candlestick via magic there were sections where she spent literally days sat in a cupboard or on a windowsill just listening to what was happening around her which didn't make for a particularly interesting story.

I think for me the big sticking point was the rape though and I would probably have enjoyed the rest of the story a lot more if that hadn't happened. Jean-Loup could still have been a terrible person without having to go so far as raping Lucie and then I would have found it much easier to get on board with the later romantic feelings developing between Lucie and Beast. I think my rating would probably have been higher if that was the case.

Obviously this is my personal opinion so you may enjoy this more than I did but I definitely think this story should come with a trigger warning because it's never nice to be blindsided with an unexpected rape scene closely followed by a suicide attempt.

I had a hard time reviewing this book. There were parts I liked and parts I did not like. I found the characters extremely unlikeable. I also was not expecting to find a rape scene in a book aimed at the young adult/ teenage audiences.  I think some other reviewers were a little more harsh than necessary but I think that is do to the subject matter. I think it was a decent effort to try and make the story retold but it is somehow lacking something. I would not say this is a horrible read but its not something I want to read again or recommend to everyone who normally loves this genre. Thanks to net galley for the ARC.  Overall I remain conflicted but due to it being well written I would give it 3 stars out of 5.

Beast...A Tale Of Love And Revenge
By
Lisa Jensen


What it's all about...

As in many of these retold tales...a poor girl...in this case Lucie... is sent away to work for the chevalier.  He is the unfeeling unkind ungenerous almost prince who owns everything and everyone around him.  One evening he has his way with Lucie and she becomes pregnant.  In her attempt to end her miserable life she meets a witch...Mere Sophie...who helps her.

Why I wanted to read it...

This book was fast paced and very difficult to put down.  It’s a variation of Beauty and the Beast that is absolutely mesmerizing.  

What made me truly enjoy this book...

I hate to say it but there was so much beauty as well as so much evil in this book that it was entirely captivating.  I loved every word! 

Why you should read it, too...

Readers who love retold tales with tons of evil, danger and excitement will eat up every chapter of this book!  

I received  an advance reader’s copy of this  book from the publisher through NetGalley and Amazon.  It was my choice to read it and review it.

I won't be publishing a review on my blog because although I honestly enjoyed certain aspects of this book and appreciate it, I have nothing much to say about it other than the below. 

I thought this book was okay. The concept was great, the fact that the author wanted Beast to have a happy ending as he is was great. But I felt like Lucie's constant monologue was a bit boring. I also don't really see how they fall in love? Friendship I understand, liking each other even. But I think there was too little happening for the love to really develop. 

I also thought this book should've had a trigger warning in advance. 

*** Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC! ***

DNF at 12%

I really liked the idea of this and was eager to see how this retelling worked, but it’s a big nope from me. 

I’m not going to continue a book that has a two page rape scene of the MC. Oh and it’s by the other MC of the story who she falls in love with? The question mark applies to the love part, not the character involved. 

Perhaps it gets better and it’s unfair of me to rate this one star without finishing it. However, it seems unfair to reference a brutal rape scene as “cruelty” in the synopsis. 

**Huge thanks to Candlewick Press for providing the arc free of charge**

While I was expecting a less “sparkly” version of this tale, it’s fair to say that Beast surprised me with some jarring moments. This version is not a happy fairy tale. Lucie’s tale is not an easy one. She starts out innocent and light, but a life-altering incident leaves her angry and vengeful.

Over the course of the book, Lucie’s outlook evolves. Light is shone in dark places and truth is parsed out. Even so, Lucie never becomes what I would consider a likeable character. She’s one that I understood, but her hate becomes overwhelmingly potent.

In fact, most of the characters in Beast are so motivated by their own agendas that when you do run into someone who is actually “good” they almost seem one-note.

I have mixed feeling about Beast. Author Lisa Jensen’s retelling is intriguing, but it’s not something I would hand to younger YA — one particular moment of cruelty and its aftermath require maturity.

An interesting take on a classic tale. I wasn't sure how the beast could be redeemed after such a horrific violation in the beginning, but the author put a unique twist to the character that i was not expecting!

Lucie is a maid in a grand Chateau. The master, JeanLoup is young and handsome, but he is cruel to everyone and deliberately seeks to cause harm. At first Lucie is taken in by his appearance but after he rapes her, she wants revenge. Turned into a candlestick Lucie observes Jeanloup in his punishment until one day when he seems to not remember anything anymore. Curious, Lucie struggles to hang on to her anger and unfeelingness as she comes to know the Beast. But there is a girl and could be the one to break the curse.

I struggled with this book. It didn't end up being what I wanted it to be and that made it disappointing. To me. I didn't like it. I didn't like the curse. I didn't like the whobewhatee going on the JeanLoup and Beast. I didn't like the end. And frankly I don't think I liked Lucie very much either. 

I didn't like the separation between JeanLoup and the Beast. And I didn't like how that ended at all. I was a bit confused about how everything worked. I didn't think that JeanLoup could recover from the beginning and Beast is weird. And there really wasn't any redemption or revenge. So not my favorite.

I find myself struggling to get into this book. Wading through a lot of repetitive sentences  lack of emotions I feel. After looking at a few reviews to discover of its just me or not, I’ve discovered some disturbing things and I will not be finishing this.

The Gist: Beauty and the Even More Beastly Beast

The Tags: Fairy Tale Retelling, Female Protagonist, Magic, Romance

The Rating: R for a graphic rape

The Review:

I think I was entering chapter 3 when the sinking realization hit me that the prologue didn't actually take place before the start of the story and that this book wasn't really about the beast's redemption. And for me, that wasn't a good thing.

Before I get ahead of myself, Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge by Lisa Jensen is about a young servant, Lucie, who moves to Château Beaumont where she meets the impressive and handsome Jean-Loup Christian Henri LeNoir, Chevalier de Beaumont. A not-so-classic Beauty and the Beast retelling ensues. 

I received an advance copy of Beast through NetGalley months ago, and I was so excited to read it. But then after I did, I debated whether or not to post this review. Primarily, I didn't want to put this up because I did not finish the book. I didn't even read half of it, so please take that into consideration. My opinion is not based on the complete story. Also, just because I did not want to finish the story doesn't mean that it won't mean something to someone else.

I love Beauty and the Beast stories. They're my favorite fairy tale trope, and as such, I never pass one up, hence why I requested to read Beast. I knew from the description that Beast wasn't supposed to be your average Beauty and the Beast story (don't they all claim that?). I was totally on board with that until I realized that the author's idea of different and mine were two very separate things. The author writes in her note that she prefers the beast while he is still beastly, finding the princely version to be bland and not nearly as colorful or well-rounded as the beast. Call me simple or idealistic, but I love the classic fairy tale happy ending. I love watching the transformation from gruff beast to charming, perhaps-still-a-bit-rough-around-the-edges prince. From the book description I read, that's what I thought I was getting. Instead, Beast makes the beast far more beastly than I ever wanted.

First, the good (so it isn't tainted by the bad): the book, or at least what I read, was well written with solid, relatable characters set in a realistic world with just enough magic thrown in to make magic as much of a surprise to the reader as it is to the narrator. Jensen is particularly good at putting you in Lucie's shoes and expressing her emotions so that the reader feels them too. This has a dark side, as you will soon see.

The bad: the beast - the real beast at the beginning of the story - is a monster. Jean-Loup is exactly what one might expect from a young, attractive nobleman who has it all. He's greedy, knows how to use his charm to get what he wants, and has an ego out to here. He's disagreeable and nasty, and for some reason Lucie is smitten, but that's not what made me stop reading. Fairly early on in the story, Jean-Loup rapes Lucie, leaving her feeling used, owned, and hopeless. She can't go home and she has nowhere else to go, so she stays in the château   where Jean-Loup is always there to remind her of her trauma.

I only made it a few chapters past the rape. At that point, I lost all interest in the beast's story. I lost all interest in any redemption he might earn. I read on hoping that perhaps I'd be able to see past that one act and be able to see the person he becomes as the beast, but no. I never got past - still am not past - the fact that he raped her. No matter what he becomes from that point on, I cannot support the relationship. He's simply too reprehensible for me. But I'm not everyone. I know of some people who might actually find comfort in that kind of story or at least will be able to look past the person he was to the person he becomes.

And he does get better. I'm not sure how much better since I didn't really read it, but I skimmed through the rest of the book, and sure enough, Jean-Loup's beast self is different - better - than his human self. And that's the funny thing. Although Jensen deliberately wrote a Beauty and the Beast story in which the beast never becomes a prince (sorry, spoiler), that's exactly what happened (metaphorically speaking). The fact that the beast goes from something bad to something good is the whole point. The prince was never the end game. The beast to human transformation is not the transformation I look forward to in the fairy tales, it's the transformation from an unkind person to a kind person. The problem with this book's transformation is that the starting point was too awful. After what Jean-Loup did to Lucie, I don't care how nice he gets. I don't care how Lucie grows to feel about him. I can't forget what he did to her, regardless of whatever form he takes.

All is not lost, though. If you're looking for a Beauty and the Beast retelling where the beast character is not perfect and never becomes perfect (if you're afraid of him becoming a boring ole prince), I highly recommend Hunted by Meagan Spooner as an alternative to Beast. Spooner's characters are flawed but trying, both of them beauty and beast within themselves. It's a book I go back to again and again. I also recommend Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge if you want a slightly darker, edgier, more abstract take on the story.

Overall, I give Beast 1 out of 5 stars due to the beast just being too beastly. Although well told with solid characters, I could not get into the book after the rape. Perhaps it really is an amazing book, but I'll never know. Please leave a comment with your thoughts, but even if you loved it, I think I'm done with this book.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

This was a hard book review.  I actually found the story pretty enjoyable.  It was unique take on the Beauty and the Beast story while still being about the two main characters.  With the addition of the Rose/Belle character, we see a different way of how it all comes together in the end.  However, there is a scene at the beginning that is so shocking and cold that it puts a dark cloud over the rest of the story.  I think, I understand, what the author was going for on this but it was just too much.  Especially considering nothing else in the story even comes close to what happened in this scene.  

In my opinion, <spoiler> the author put in the rape scene so it would explain why Lucie hated Jean-Loup so much as to want to watch him suffer.  I believe the author wanted us to look at the Beast and Jean-Loup as two different people, Jean-Loup being the "demon"/curse that took over the character of Beast.  I think this was asking too much of readers though, given you don't find this out until the very end. In the mean time, you are just supposed to accept Lucie's rapist as a kind character that lost their memory. </spoiler> 

The author had an interesting take on the fairy tale but I don't really understand what she or the editor was thinking, with the beginning.

⭐⭐/5 Stars 
I received this book from NetGally in exchange for an honest opinion.
Thank you to the author and the publisher for this opportunity.
I do not have much to say about this book.
I did not like many things that happened in this book. 
I did not like the book itself.