I read Jensen's Alias Hook a few years back, and that was a way better read for me. We've established from that and Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge that this author knows how to turn her favorite stories into completely different books.

In Beast, the heroine Lucie is turned into a candle--I appreciated the unique perspective, but that's the only positive thing I can say about this one. For one, I was incredibly bored. Since the narrator is, well, an inanimate object, there were times when she (it?) literally just sat on a cupboard, doing nothing. Fucking exciting, right?

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The writing didn't make anything more bearable, either. The dialogue was so cheesy, and if I see someone call the heroine "girl," one more time, I'm going to turn them into candlesticks! That's right, beware!

That's pretty much it for this one. I'm surprised I managed to push myself to read the entire thing. The ending was really predictable, too, so I'm not sure if I can say the read was worth it.

This was a good book. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline. I would recommend it to my friends.

This a retelling as a famous story, a tale as old as time! Sorry couldn’t resist! It follows the character Lucie as she gets a job at the chateau as a maid, and from the day she sees the handsome Chevalier her fate is sealed. This is a great reinterpretation of a classic story, and I really enjoyed it.
Highly recommended! Be my guest and take the time to read this book!

I adore retellings books a lot, but this one just didn’t cut out for me. I stopped reading because not only did it justify rape scene. It also was a very long and dull read. The characters had no basis of a strong connection or love other than supposed curse? I gotta say, I much enjoy the disney version of The Beauty and The Beast not the original one.

This is the absolute worst Beauty and the Beast retelling ever. And yes, I actually took the time to finish to the end. It took me weeks and weeks to slough through this, but I did it, to be able to honestly say that this retelling is garbage.

First, as everyone else goes on about, there is a significant rape scene, and OMG, you're going to sully Belle and the Beast's love story by turning HIM into a Gaston-like character and have him rape a servant? Right away, massive turn off.

About 75% of the book, it seemed like Jean Loup had conveniently forgotten what the hell he did while human, and now under his amnesia he's a sweet guy, which is a very confusing and angry way to read this book because I felt like the evil perpetrator was not getting any kind of punishment for his misdeeds, letting all his cares fall away to amnesia. When the explanation was given, it was too little too late for me. 

I just genuinely love and adore the classic Beauty and the Beast tale, and this was an extreme take that did not have any of the magic of the original.

Beast: A Tale of love and revenge
I really did not like this book at all. There was not type of connection with the characters and that rape scene really disturbed me. I really did not understand why there was literally a whole page of the rape scene. Also I do not agree with the character falling in love with the rapist. This was just a terrible read for me.

DNF

After going into this without looking at other reviews, I was caught off guard by the rape scene early on. I didn’t continue after that.

1.5

**Trigger warning for rape and suicide**

As much as I love a good retelling, this wasn’t really it. This book starts with a girl named Lucie who gets sent to Chateau Beaumont to work as a servant. She begins to fancy the chevalier, Jean-Loup. One night as she wanders the rooms she works, she finds a drunk Jean-Loup who rapes her and the next day Lucie tried to drown herself in the river. A wisewoman puts a ‘curse’ on the chevalier turning him into the Beast and Lucie into a candlestick. The first 50% of the book is then Lucie watching the beast- literally nothing happens-. 
Next an old man to steal Lucie and a rose, Beast catches him and orders him to stay at the chateau with him. Rose his daughter takes his place – literally wearing the same thing as Belle but whatever-. Beast tries to kill himself to set Lucie free and Rose says she’ll marry him. The ‘curse’ is broken, yay, things happen Lucie is normal and <spoiler>she says she loves the beast as he was, not Jean- Loup and he turns back to beast and they live together in the forest.</spoiler>

I feel like the only thing I actually liked was the ‘curse’ with the beast and how that was resolved. That was an interesting take on the original tale. However, I can’t get over the brutal rape scene that happens early in the book. If you want to get someone to hate a character, there’s a lot that could have been done besides rape. Then Lucie is constantly talking down about herself to the point she tries to kill herself. To make matters worse, when the Jean-Loup first turns into the beast and tries to kill himself this is Lucie’s first thought-

“Oh, if only I had a mouth to cry “No!” He must not take his life! He cannot rob me of my revenge"

The magic system is weird and never explained all we get is the “enchantments are powerful” or something like that. Clothing can now float onto a person and stretch at will and saying commands out loud make things appear and happen. Again, I’m all for a Beauty and the Beast retelling but this was not good.

This was an awful retelling of a wonderful story. 
I didn’t like the ending as it just seemed a little too perfect, too neat and tidy for my liking and that’s before I even get started on the fact that one of the main characters was a rapist. 
The middle of the book became slow and as the plot became odder and odder I found myself feeling bored and uninterested.

At first this intrigued me because the synopsis sounded SO GOOD. Then I started reading and within the first few pages I quickly realized this tale IS old as time and I was not enjoying it anymore. Definitely felt like something was missing. Not sure if it was the writing or the story line, or both, but I couldn't get into this. DNF at 12%. Mostly because that nasty rape scene really threw me off. I'll pass on this retelling.

I love me a good retelling! Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite tales of all time. I love almost any story or book that has to do with the tale. And this book is no exception! It was a beautifully written story of love and heartache and revenge and learning. I would recommend this read to many of my friends and family

Allons-y!

Side note about this story before I begin my review: there is a dark scene near the beginning portraying rape. I did not know this before I picked up this book and it completely surprised me.

Erm. I am not entirely sure where to begin this review. I suppose let me start by saying I absolutely love Beauty and the Beast retellings. When I saw this on NetGalley, I absolutely had to take a chance on it. I was so surprised when I was approved for an advanced copy. Though I have heard about NetGalley through friends before, I had never signed up until a couple months ago. Anyway, I really wanted to love this book, but sadly it fell short for so many reasons.

What is the main gist about this Beauty and the Beast retelling? There were some interesting twists here and there, what with seeing the story before the Prince being turned into Beast. And, the story is told through the eyes of a young servant girl, Lucie, who works at the castle. I mean, that’s pretty cool, right? We get to see the Prince as Lucie sees him; a beautiful and charming prince. Sort of. If you know any version of the story, you’ll know the Prince is quite cruel. And this isn’t any different in Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge. Jean-Loup is the biggest jerk in the world. I cannot explain how much I hated him. He was the absolute worst.

The story follows Lucie from when she first joins the castle’s staff through the Prince’s transformation into Beast and all that comes after (I don’t want to spoil this, but it does get interesting). Lucie is the sweetest, but she goes through so much pain and heartache during the story. She goes from sweet maiden to hardened and revenge-seeking barely a quarter of the way through the book. And boy, does she deserve to be as angry as she was. Lucie comes across a witch on the outskirts of the castle groups which begins the downfall of Jean-Loup.

As I mentioned above, Jean-Loup is the most significant pick and the last of the Beaumont lineage. He’s everything you could want to hate in a character. That is honestly all I can say about it. I just hate him. Hmph.

Beast is the opposite of Jean-Loup. He was a sweetheart, and I could not help but root for poor Beast. He loves all that Jean-Loup hated. Beast tends to the rose garden on the castle grounds, and at that moment, I knew he was a good guy. He wanted to help Lucie break the spell. Did I mention that Lucie was caught in the mess with the spell that changed Jean-Loup into Beast? Oops, well, now you know! But I won’t spoil what happened to her.

My favorite part about the book was the uniqueness of the story. I have not read a Beauty and the Beast retelling like this. I liked seeing the story through someone other than Belle’s eyes (who is named Rose in this version). Lucie had a lot of hate in her, and her progression from innocent to hopeless, from hateful to desperate to help was nice to see. And I loved the mystery behind Beast.

Sadly, for the parts that killed me. There were so many run-on sentences. They went on and on, and it drove me insane. I think that a lot of them could be broken up or just cut down. It made many of the chapters long-winded and draining. I was not sure if I would be able to finish the book because it felt exhausting to read. To me, there was too much filler, and I thought some things could have been cut out to get the story to progress a little quicker. Having said that, the story did finally pick up almost halfway through. I was SO excited then. (I just realized that the story might have been slow because there were pages upon pages without dialogue). And I was glad that I stuck around to continue reading it. Things got worse, then better, then worse again, but I finally felt the story moving somewhere. Before I forget, Jean-Loup’s name was constantly missing the hyphen in his name. There were at least a couple times where his name was on the page more than once and it either had the hyphen or it didn’t. Something missed in final edits, I’m sure!

And that is where I will leave you! If you want to know more, please check out the story. :)

Many thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!


Cheers,
Natalia x

-- I received a free e-review copy of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. --

This is a really interesting and unique reimagining of Beauty and the Beast - you think you know how the story goes, but it ends up turning into a very different direction. The characters are multi-faceted and morally gray to a certain extent, which makes for a more interesting read. 
However, I still ended up feeling pretty meh about the story, as it didn't manage to pull me in enough. I would still recommend this book to people who love romance and fairy tales, even though I don't see it as a 'must-read'.

Hello, Darlings

Let me just say thank you to NetGalley as well as the publishers of this book for allowing me the chances to read this ARC before its publication time. I was given this book in exchange for an honest review and that I what I am here to do. Let me just say that I am a big fan of Beauty and the Beast. There is not a version of Beauty and the Beast that I have not read, or at least known about. So you must know how absolutely excited I was to see another retelling of Beauty and the Beast on Netgalley, that being said I should have really focused on what type of retelling this was going to be and I can honestly say this....


I'm so bloody confused about people. First off let me explain my outrage. The original tale of Beauty and the Beast has so much more depth and characters that you can't even imagine how distant it is from the commercial or Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. First of all Beast has a mother who went to war with a neighboring kingdom who believed she was weakened after the death of her husband. Imagine his mistake when a beautiful Queen rode up with her loyal and faithful knights to kick his man ass to high heaven and back. Or the fact that Beast as a child was left with a Good Fairy to watch over him while his mother was at work, it was then that she fell in love with the young boy. But when the young boy did not return her love she then cursed him to be a Beast. Not only dis he curse him but she made sure that he would never be hurt, which is why Beast constantly through his depression of being cursed him his French castle constantly threw himself out the window attempting suicide but of course never succeeding a single scratch. Now, this is only a small glimpse of what Beauty and the Beast is within its original content, so someone please explain to me why author Lisa Jenson began her book "Beast" A Tale of Love and Revenge" with a brutal rape scene? Why is this even being published? Seriously why.....and that's not worse but the female character would then fall in love with her rapist. Lucie does not need to fall in love with the beast what she needs to do is go to therapy and the author needs to truly think about the type of books their producing.

I'm not asking for any retelling of Beauty and the Beast to hold up to the original but at the same time how do you take a taken that was written so many centuries ago, that is felled with mental and emotional terrors that connect with audiences no matter what version of the story is told and then write this cramp.



Rape is not a topic that needs to be published

Rape is not something to make light of

Rape is not a twist or an extra-literary tension plot twist for a book, especially in a book that is supposedd to be marketed for Young Adults. At least if you're going to have the book mention something so tragic it should help thevictimss in so way at least.



I think this book is awful and I'm ashamed that at this day and age I have to write a review about how disgusted I am to have in this day and age where the United States President claims to grab women by the pussy I have to then turn around and see a wonderful tale being turned into trash.

Lucie becomes a servant at Chateau Beaumont, and at first, it seems like a dream. The dream quickly becomes a nightmare, however, when the lord of the house, Jean-Loup, notices her.

After a brutal assault, Lucie visits a witch. She is determined that Jean-Loup suffer as she has--and nothing seems more perfect for a vain man to have his outsides look like his insides. The witch turns him into a hideous beast. It seems that Lucie is destined to quietly watch his suffering, however, as the witch also turns her into a silver candlestick--impervious to harm, but also silent.

Then, one night a man happens upon the nearly abandoned chateau, and steals a rose. To repay his theft, the Beast demands that the ailing man send his daughter, Rose, to keep him company.

Rose changes Lucie's now gentle Beast in ways she could never have anticipated.

This book takes an interesting approach to the Beauty and the Beast tale, and leaves us wondering which version of the prince was the curse. The book has the feel of a fairytale, but it's definitely not the same one we've all read or watched before.

This book is not for the faint of heart. If you want a happy go lucky fairytale don’t read this. All fairy tales started off as a cruel story. That being said I was able to put aside the Disney story and appreciate this one. It makes you question if everyone can be redeemed no matter what they did.

I genuinely enjoyed this retelling, and thought it offered such a unique take on the classic tale. While most retellings alter the perspectives of the two chief characters – in this case, being the Beast and Beauty – I love how Jensen chose to have the story narrated from a third character – Lucie, a servant in Jean-Loup’s household. After being deeply wronged by the Chevalier, Lucie longs to watch him suffer for all eternity. A witch grants her dark wish, and transforms the Chevalier into a hideous beast, and Lucie into a candlestick, so she may forever watch his suffering without fearing any pain being inflicted upon her. While the premise and perspective were highly original, I did find the narrative to be a bit boring at times. There were even moments when Lucie merely sat in a cupboard for days, without anything eventful happening. The writing itself was simple, yet pretty. But, the constant dragging did damper its elegance.

The Beast, or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde maybe? I for one, loved the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality of Beast and Jean-Loup. The twists in this story is when the Chevalier is transformed into a beast, he doesn’t recall who he is or how he came to be in the estate. The stark contrast between who he was and who he then becomes, is very unique and I loved the way Jensen plays with this idea. I viewed the two as wholly separate individuals, so any ill behavior the Chevalier performs, I didn’t consider to be the same actions from Beast. Although some of Beast’s dialogue is occasionally too cheesy for my cynical mind, I enjoyed his kind nature.

Lucie, or perhaps why we shouldn’t have an inanimate object narrate. I truly admire the risk Jensen undertook in choosing to write this novel from Lucie’s point-of-view. It’s certainly one of a kind, and the depth it adds to the story is so intriguing! I was pulled into the story after the first few paragraphs, and was incredibly curious to see how everything would unfold. Unfortunately, once Lucie becomes a Candlestick, her narrative becomes quite uneventful. She is, after all … an inanimate object. There were times when this was entertaining, but for the most part, it was repetitive and dull. I would’ve preferred it if her time being a candlestick, was significantly trimmed.

A few of the morals in this story were confusing. After a very traumatic event happens to Lucie, her initial reaction is to end her life. Although forces prevent her from doing so, I didn’t necessarily like how it wasn’t clearly stated that Lucie shouldn’t have considered this. Suicide is never the answer to any issues, no matter what degree of severity it holds. I also thought that it was a bit disappointing how the Beast/Jean Loup never learns a lesson. Call me traditional, but I love how the Beast gradually uncovers his virtuous nature in the original fairy tale. By creating two different individuals, this side of the story was eradicated. I do admire how unique Jensen made her story, but I just wish I could’ve seen some form of redemption on Beast’s part. But, I did love how Lucie overcomes her struggles with wrath and revenge.

This was by no means, a perfect tale, but it had some elements that I thought were incredibly original in a story that has been retold hundreds upon hundreds of times. I liked the inclusion of Lucie’s character, despite how dull her narrative could be, and thought that all the twists involving Beast were entertaining. Overall, a neat book, that I can imagine some people enjoying, and others, loathing. Also, I think it’s quite fitting that this book was published by Candlewick Press. Hehe, I’m so clever. You may now proceed to roll your eyes.

Alright, so, I'm not too big on Beauty and the Beast but the blurb for this caught my attention. And I'm surprised to say but this has become one of my favourite retellings of BatB.

What I liked was the how faithful the story was to the one we are so familiar with. But the take on this worn out story was fresh enough to be intriguing and the plot twists were great. It was also set in our world which made it have such a realistic feel to it - almost like historic fiction, as much as it can feel like that. The author managed to fit in beloved features and references from the Disney animated movie and the actual fairy-tale and I really appreciated that. There are times during the first half that things feel super slow but that part of the story was my favourite.

I can't say anymore without spoiling the entire plot but I will say that there should be a trigger warning because there is a major scene that comes out of nowhere and can be upsetting and disturbing for many readers.

There are some really interesting kernels in this book. It reminded me a bit of Robin McKinley's books, which I read intently as a young girl. That said, this book ultimately fell a bit flat. I think, for me, I'm tired of the slight fairy tale twist. I also have a hard time with some of the ways the author handles elements of the story. Everything tied up far too neat and tidy, and I ultimately didn't feel like I found anything new in the story. I can't see this book circulating well with my population, but I will certainly keep it in mind for a reader who has read through every other variation on a fairy tale.

Review: this book actually took me by surprise because I like this book despite the mixed reviews I've seen. The book starts not with the beauty or the beast but with a girl, Lucie, an outsider. Like how the world treats any girl, it first starts with an almost innocent like manner that then progress into a darker more tainted theme. 

"I possess nothing of value but my character, but that is mine to make of what I will"

Lucie is a plain girl with more personality, tenacity and light in her but within the first few chapters we see how innocent she truly was. Rape was then introduced in the book but I dont mind that the author decided to write that in; Lucie had a lower upbringing and the "prince" is a wealthy man in power that she first idolise, it took this tragic event to shatter that image of him but it was needed. This man is vain and arrogant and evil and as handsome as he is Lucie needed to see him for what he truly is. 

“Virtue is yours to make of what you will, by your actions, by your character. No one else can ever take it from you.”

I also revel in the fact that the book acknowledge that a feeling more powerful than love is hate. The hate that Lucie felt ultimately changes the whole point of view of the book. All she wanted was her revenge (hence the title) but of course that's when the plot twist came in. There are aspects of the book that I wished the author would do differently, maybe not include the beauty and see where the plot takes it but nevertheless I really do enjoy the story.

"Let him know what it is to feel despair!"

I really really like how it is towards the end, I find that the author has a very interesting and fresh way of taking the beauty and the beast story. The beast takes pride in being the monster that he is (an animal Frankenstein) and the vanity of the beauty is the real curse. It plays the same morale of "do not judge a book by its cover" but taking that in the flipside of things, instead of a beauty cursed into an ugly being it's the other way around. 

There are quite a lot of retelling inspired by the beauty and the beast that just makes me cringe but this book is actually one of those books that I really enjoy, I flew by the pages really fast and I was a bit sad when it ended. I would definitely recommend this book if you love beauty and the beast with a twist.