| Title | : | Of Beast and Beauty (Daughters of Eville #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 310 |
| Publication | : | First published June 18, 2019 |
7 Vengeful Sisters
7 Fairytale Kingdoms
7 Daughters of Eville
Everyone dreams of marrying a prince—except for me. I am nothing more than a pawn in my adoptive mother's diabolical plot against the seven kingdoms.I was the chosen tool, her sharpened blade that would cut the deepest into the heart of the Kingdom of Baist. But like all deadly weapons, my wedding is two-edged sword that could cost me my soul.
For I am Rosalie, one of the adopted daughters of Lady Eville, and it is my duty to enter into a loveless and hate-filled marriage with the narcissistic Crown Prince of Baist. My choices and heart are not my own to give. Yet even in the thick of dire situations, beastly vengeance can give way to beautiful attraction.
Of Beast and Beauty (Daughters of Eville #1) Reviews
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This book was chosen for my 2021 retelling reading challenge. It popped up on Amazon when I was searching for new retellings. An enchanting story is what I’d hoped for, but unfortunately this didn’t turn out to be a favorite. If you plan to read this book, you may want to skip over my review because it may contain mild spoilers.
Quick Summary: The story begins with Rosalie, a young woman who’s always dreamed of falling in love and settling down rather than spending her life as a spinster, but she’s a magical witch whose mother has plans of her own. Her mother forces a marriage between Rosalie and the Prince of Baist, but there’s a huge problem: Prince Xander is already engaged and has no interest in her. He orders her away right after the wedding and forces her to make herself unseen. With Rosalie’s magic, she’s able to become someone else and mingle around to investigate matters. There are strange things happening around the village including a beast who’s killing innocent people. More villains appear, and Rosalie begins to understand her true roots. This beast may be much closer than they think.
My thoughts: I have to say that I LOVE the cover! There were things that I liked about this story, but it turned out to be an okay read and not really what I expected.
First, it made complete sense that Prince Xander would be resistant toward loving Rosalie because not only has his lover (Yasmin) been replaced, but his head has been filled with lies about Rosalie and her family. She’s considered an evil, dangerous witch that everyone fears. It’s not what he wants for his kingdom. From the beginning pages, I’m thinking we have an enemies-to-lovers trope, which I love, but sadly it wasn’t strong enough for me. The two main characters are barely together for a lot of the story, and the constant on-again off-again was probably why I felt the relationship didn’t build much. There’s no love between the two main characters, yet in the end it appears out of thin air, and it makes the ending seem rushed and nonsensical. I realize this is teen/YA, and I truly appreciate that the romance was kept clean for younger readers, but more romance or more of something would’ve fixed this problem, in my opinion. It just wasn’t convincing enough for me. There are just too many other things going on here too, and because of that, it felt like the story was missing huge pieces.
As far as characters, there wasn’t much development at all. Rosalie was easy to like though; she’s strong, wants to be good, and she’s nearly fearless. Her character was likable, and I appreciated her good traits, but we don’t find out much about the other characters or the purpose of their intentions. Prince Xander is confusing. So, in a nutshell, the majority of the characters were very flat. Maybe they’ll be fleshed out in the other books though.
Positives: I did like that this is a totally reimagined retelling with only subtle connections to the original. It’s unique and exciting at times with many secrets that I didn’t find too predictable. The author did a great job keeping the truth about the beast quite elusive, and there were other twists that made the story interesting. The family theme was strong too.
I’m glad to have finished this one because I came very close to quitting a third of the way in. Overall, I’m going to give this one 2.5-3***. This is just my personal opinion of course. This book gets plenty of high-rated reviews by many other readers, so if you’re a fan of Beauty and the Beast retellings, definitely give this one a try!
This book is part of my 2021 retelling reading challenge which can be viewed on my blog @
www.readrantrockandroll.com -
I hardly ever check this site anymore but every time I do, I find a random notification regarding this review.
Lmao. Listen. I hate read a lot. Literally none of your business if I stay up late reading a book that I didn't like. I paid for it and I saw it to the end and had nothing better to do. That's it. Not that deep. If you liked it, good for you! I didn't. That's all.
***
I can’t believe I stayed up until 5 fucking A.M. to read this god awful book. I can’t think of a single good thing about it. I’m tired. -
Such a fun retelling! The MC was super badass and magical which I loved, and the romance was a pretty well-done enemies to lovers. All up a good book!
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I really liked the idea for the story, but the execution fell a little flat for me. I felt the characters weren't developed to their full potential and the story and worldbuilding could have been developed more as well.
Long ago, Lady Eville was hurt badly by the seven kings from the seven kingdoms. She swears she will get her revenge. Fast forward twenty-ish years and Lady Eville has arranged a marriage between her oldest adopted daughter, Rosalie, and the Crown Prince of Baist, Xander.
The book opens on what was supposed to be Xander's wedding, only his bride has been replaced with Rosalie. Xander is furious and treats Rosalie horribly. In fact, he treats her badly throughout the whole book. I'm a big fan of enemies-to-lover tropes, but I felt it wasn't at all developed here. Xander is always rude to Rosalie, we never really see a softening (expect in a lustful type way), I do not see her falling in love with him. Xander treats her badly, his people treat her badly, so I dont see why later in the story she has any kind of loyaty to the people of Baist when all she has expereinced has been negative. Even when Xander and Rosalie finally consumate their marriage, it was just unbelievable. He had been a total jerk just moments before. He always treated her badly.
I did not get what Lady Eville's plans were, how is marrying Rosalie to Xander going to accomplish anything? This is sort of answered, but still a bit unclear. Rosalie was never given any guidance or "job" or any direction for what she was supposed to do as Xander's wife. The synopsis makes it seem like she was raised to be this warrior or something, but Rosalie just stumbles through the story trying to figure out what is going on.
I got a little bored towards the end, skimmed a bit to see just how everything would play out. Maybe if I had seen a change in Xander and a real relationship form between him and Rosalie I would have liked the book better. All their interactions just leave a lot to be desired. The writing felt rushed, would have liked for everything to take more than a week or two to take place.
Again, I really liked the idea for the story and it's set up for each of her six sisters to get their own stories, but I'm not sure I will continue the series.
Content:
Clean romance, very fade to black love scene (some may even miss what is going on), no language that I remember, mild-moderate violence, nothing descriptive but some deaths and fighting
Daughters of Eville Series
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I'm disappointed. This book started off so well and then it just turned ridiculous. Xander is verbally and physically abusive and I honestly don't get how Rosalie could fall for someone like him. I wouldn't have given him the time of day. But then again, both of them are toxic so they might actually be the perfect fit.
I'm definitely not gonna continue with this series 🙅🏼♀️ -
I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler-free way. Unfortunately, there is still always a risk of slight spoilers despite my best efforts. If you feel something in my review is a spoiler please let me know. Thank you.
Because of Rosalie's mother's need for vengeance, she finds herself stuck in a loveless marriage to a prince who hates her and her magic. He refuses to even look at her. So using her magic and wits she finds a way to roam the castle and grounds freely. Soon she comes to an agreement with the prince. She will help rid the kingdom of the beast that threatens it in return for freedom.
Likes:
~Epic romance
~Hate to love
~Beauty and Beast retelling
~Really gets emotions high
~Magic
~Curses
~Strong heroine
Dislikes:
~It ended
I loved this book, more than I could have thought possible. I couldn't stop reading this. I want so much more. I'm so glad it's a series and I am praying that other books all meet the same standards as this amazing book. There were times I was yelling at the characters, or just yelling my frustrations, excitement, or any other high emotion. Truly an amazing read. I would recommend this to anyone who loves romance, fantasy, or retellings. -
A great $0.99 find!
I'm a bit torn what to rate this....3.5 stars? I finished this in one sitting so its safe to say I was sucked in. I especially enjoyed how the fey were included as part of the realm and I just loved Gobber! I wish there would've been more to the romance because I felt like there were parts of their story missing. Sometimes I feel like the YA genre restricts character stories because so much has to be left off page. It drives me crazy when a chapter ends with no clear direction as to what the characters are doing. Are they just kissing or what the heck is going on?? The first 75% was awesome, then a bunch of stuff happened all at once and became tiresome. Regardless, I still loved it. -
At this point (after reading all her current books obviously) I am pretty sure Chanda Hahn can weld magic. Because well, that’s what it’s like reading her books…. Magical!
I screamed in utter joy when I was able to start reading this book early (I felt so blessed!), the anticipation and excitement since hearing the book was announced! (And that beautiful cover art, oh my!)
Beauty and the Beast was a childhood favorite (next to the little mermaid), so I could NOT wait to read my favorite YA authors spin/take on it!
And I LOVED it. It was so good. Again my heartstrings were pulled and unraveled like a red ribbon. ;) I tried to figure out what was going to happen as I read more and more, but I couldn't! Which was great because I love not knowing whats going to happen and couldn't turn pages quick enough! (Have I disliked ANY of Chanda’s books yet? No! But that is not the point! Her writing is so good!)
I love Chanda’s strong female leads, and Rosalie did not disappoint! She was bold, fearless, strong, independent and caring, yet being feared and sullied by those around her, she didn’t let anger or revenge consume her. She was awesome, and I related to her in some small ways, which made me like her even more! And now I want my own Gobbersnot! lol
I don’t like putting spoilers in my reviews, so I need to stop here before I start gushing!
If you liked any of Chanda’s other books, I have no doubt you will love this one too! If this is your first book by her, then you will probably still love it! If you like romance, action, magic, humor, etc Especially strong independent female leads that can kick butt, you will probably love Of Beast and Beauty!
Exciting, heart pulling, magical, beautiful and dare I say.. Sexy!
I can’t wait to read the other Daughters of Eville stories! -
For me this was silly. I love retalings and there were quite a few things that I liked about this book but the end was super silly. I mean, I understand when authors want to keep a clean story with no steamy scenes between the couples and I am totally fine with that. What I don't get is when the book show the couple sharing TWO kisses throughout the story and puff, she is pregnant and you have no idea how that happened! (Well, ofc you know how that happened but this book teach you that if you kiss someone more than once you will get with child 🤣).
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Chanda hahn really did justice to this beauty and the beast retelling. I am just in "Waao". Still.
What if you marry an ugly man?”
“Then I pray he has a beautiful heart,”
“What if he has a beastly heart?”
“Then I pray he is handsome on the outside.”
This book is unpredictable even when it's a retelling, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! The story is beautiful and compelling and very much addicting. Like really. The characters are dedicated and promising.
The characters feels real and the emotions are raw some are:
✨ -
DNF at 40 pages in. Tempted to give it 1 star but it feels a bit unfair because I didn’t get far until I just couldn’t anymore
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Normally I love Beauty and the Beast retellings in any form. It's a trope of which I never tire. I don't need to be surprised by the plot. It's like listening to my favorite song—I know it, but I love hearing it again.
But the beautiful heroine
Other issues:
Complete lack of communication is not a plot.
I was skimming by the halfway point, so I really shouldn't have been able to so easily guess who the monster was, or guess the heroine's secret past so easily and immediately. But I did .
And the love story. Every single character interaction was written very hot/cold. In every conversation the heroine had with a man, they were either fascinated by/attracted to each other or hated each other. All of the men were either yelling at her or trying to seduce her, no middle ground. Her love interest says things like "Hush, woman" to her. He's possessive and angry. And just like...
"I had feelings for him when I wore the guise of a servant, but when I was his wife, he was absolutely despicable toward me, thus making me despise him."
...why would what you wear change how you feel about how someone treats you? If he's terrible to you, why do you have feelings for him? This is also really expository, and that's how most of the writing was. -
I have read all of Chanda Hahn's other books and was very excited for a new one. I've enjoyed all of her other books and was surprised to be so disappointed by this one. The romance is horrible in a completely unhealthy way. I actually did like the main character, but there is absolutely nothing redeeming about the guy she ends up with.
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Of Beast and Beauty is a retelling of one of my favourite fairy tales, Beauty and the Beast and it didnt disappoint. I loved this book and couldnt keep it down
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3.5/5 stars
This is kind of a beauty and the beast remix/retelling. There were words like "rose," "beauty," "beast," and "curse" used a lot but the plot is very different from the usual b&tb retelling.
The plot was predictable but it was pretty fast-paced and addictive. I finished it in a single day. The climax was also really good and kept me on my toes. The magic system didn't make much sense, but I didn't mind. It was more whimsical that way. There were charms, curses, trolls, fae, and a grumpy pet goblin that I loved. Similar vibes to
The Cruel Prince.
I liked the MC for the most part. She can be a little dense (especially for someone who's supposed to be cunning and whatnot), but I still rooted for her. She had some really good moments.
I despised the love interest's guts, but I have a full angry rant typed down below. But to sum him up, I would've rated this 4 stars instead of 3.5 if it weren't for this asshole.
The MC's friendship with her pet goblin and her maid was probably my favorite part of the book.
Now, here are my thoughts but more detailed. This next part contains spoilers for the first three chapters, anything further will be blocked out by spoiler tags. Also, I'm going to be cursing a lot bc I'm outraged :)
So the beginning is pretty fast paced. We start off at Rosalie and Xander's wedding, where the pompous asshole makes it very clear that he wants nothing to do with Rosalie.“These vows do not bind you to me in any way,” he growled harshly as he pulled our bound wrists between us. “Do not expect me to be faithful to you, or to care for you, you hideous creature of the night.”
We later learn that he doesn't want to see her face because , which is a flimsy reason considering , but I guess this is for plot convenience. I am a sucker for the whole ~secret identities~ thing, so I'll let it slide.
I sucked in my breath in outrage. “How dare you address me so? I am—”
“No one,” he interrupted. “You are nothing to me, or the crown, and I wish to never lay eyes upon your face.”
Anyways, Xander (the asshole husband) orders her to go to her room.“What about the wedding celebration?” I asked angrily. He couldn’t possibly mean for me to not attend.
A while later, she's starving and has to sneak back into HER OWN WEDDING AFTERPARTY to get food. The fucking audacity is astounding.
He dashed my hopes with a scoff. “There will be no celebrating. Go to your rooms and stay there.”
So she runs into her new piece of shit husband (with them both not recognizing each other) and they proceed to make out. Then she finds out it's him and gets mad that he's being unfaithful right off the bat.
The next morning, Rosalie goes out for a walk, and she takes the whole ✨I don't want to see your face✨ thing to her advantage and pretends to be her own maid (idk if this makes sense) AND Y'ALL. Her maid alter ego's name is Rose.
Anyway, she meetsGaleGaven. He has a fragile masculinity and doesn't take rejection well. He's like, a guard... or soldier or something. His whole character can be summarized by this one paragraph:“Excuse me, but this one is mine,” Xander said coldly, possessively, as he took my other arm. But Gaven didn’t let go, and the air became tense as two men were claiming me.
I mean, do I even need to say anything?
Rosalie (as Rose) goes out to take walks and whatnot and this whole fucking time, nobody suspects that it's her. Not even her husband. She wears a black veil when she isn't pretending to be a maid. AND NOBODY RECOGNIZES HER FUCKING VOICE.
So, I haven't made my dislike of Xander a secret, and here's why (these might be spoilery but out of context):
1) This one's right after their first encounter (where she finds out it's him but he doesn't know that it's her), and she tells him off bc he's cheating on his wife on their wedding night. Rose is angrily storming off so this happens:He made to follow me, but with a wave of my hands, I made sure his boots stuck to the floor with magic, giving me enough time to flee.
“I will find you,” he called out huskily. “And you will be mine.”
2) Throughout this whole book, the people treat Rosalie like shit. At some point, one of Xander's guards wrecks Rosalie's room bc Witch! Black magic! Heretic! and she yells at Xander to tell his guards to stay the fuck away from her. Later, Xander tells her this, referring to her yelling at him:“Yes, I would call that a tantrum if I ever saw one. It’s very female of you.”
I don't think this needs any unpacking.
3) For this one, they're at a ball and Rosalie is attending as Rose. The typical YA fantasy ball scene goes down where the prince doesn't know who to dance with and picks out the main character because... yeah. Anyway, this happens:“I never agreed—” I began, but the music started and he took two steps. [...]
“You do not need to. I am your prince,” he stated, as if that were the only answer he needed.
4) This is after the identity reveal:His eyes dropped to my lips, and then his grip tightened and he pushed me roughly away from him.
“You are a witch,” he said angrily. “You bespell me every time I see you, for I have this asinine desire to kiss you… again.”
5) Ok there are so many more but here's one last one. You don't even need context for this one:Gripping my wrist, he pulled me away from the table and spun me out into the hall toward the stairs. The momentum wasn’t much, but I was unprepared for the servant who crossed my path. I collided with them full-on and fell onto the stone steps, bruising my rib cage.
The sweet scene in the ending doesn't redeem him to me. Anyway, stan Gobbersnot for clear skin 😩 -
Free on Kindle US 6/11/2021
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Holy shit. I spent a dollar on this. That could have gone towards nuggets.
This book is flat. Seriously. A muddy puddle from Peppa Pig has more depth towards it than this has. I loved the idea of taking revenge by your own daughters and setting this up with magic etc. But all of the characters are fucking flat. It's like their supposed layers are nothing. It's just fake. The villain of this story is almost beliveable, but if you have trained your daughters to be fucking ruthless ----- I just don't expect it to be like this. I love spins on beauty and the beast too, but if you are looking for one with a good love interest, good plot or just that sucks you in... This ain't it.
The romance is also fucking stale. I've seen better romance between my toes. It's just not a good one, or even a semi-healthy one. It's yelling, gas-lighting and everything bad. No one fucking wants that. -
Actual rating: 3.50 rounded up to 4
It has many flaws but it made me feel good for a while so 4 stars it is. -
Dnf. Review contains spoilers
I don't understand how the ratings are so high. A lot of the writing was telling rather than showing, the world building was minimal, and no one bothered to explain how magic worked. I began reading the book (I actually really enjoyed the beginning as it seemed promising) thinking that Rosalie was going to avenge her step mother for the wrongs against her....bit Rosalie did.. what? Nothing. She's mentioned again and again throughout the book as being extremely powerful, but everytime she used her magic she would get headaches because of overuse? What are her magic limits? Why is she so powerful?
And what's so great about the prince? He abuses her physically and emotionally. Just when you think he's changed he would have random angry outbursts calling her a witch, degrading her in front of others.
For example,
"“Go! Let me deal with the witch,” Xander growled.
With each cruel word, I felt the slice of his tongue across my skin and the burning pain it left behind. Again, I was no stranger to these derogatory remarks, but they hurt more now than from a stranger."
Then they proceed to cuddle and she pours out life story about how she discovered her magical powers???
Again, what is so great about the prince?!?!? Did Rosalie forget how he showed her no respect as a husband by openly flirting with other women after his marriage??
I don't understand how their relationship developed either. When did they fall in love....? Their flirting didn't make any sense and was cringy at times.
It also got really annoying everytime the author chose to use "for that" and "for I" to explain decisions.
For example:
"I hoped none had dropped in the milk, for that might attract the wrong help"
“I do not know, for that is not my story to tell,” I answered.
Her flower girls—for that was what I deemed to call them, each one dressed in a complimentary pastel color—curtseyed as well.
“Only because you are a trying woman, and you know how to wear my patience thin. For that I am sorry.” He kissed my chin.
...
It's okay to use "for that" when writing, as long as the rest of the language used in the book is consistent. Which in this case was not.
There was little character development, the prince had no friends, and her purpose for marrying the prince wasn't very clear (I was 90% through the book and I STILL wasn't sure what her purpose was).
The story started out strong, but it plummeted real fast. -
Most spoilers are in spoiler tags but BEWARE if you haven't read the book
3.5, a mediocre retelling of some random fairy tale, didn't quite get which one. The main love interest was a cheating, idiot unmentionable, but somehow gets 'forgiven' (again and again). Most of the plot happens in the last 20%, and random characters are introduced, confusing the reader so they don't understand who's good and who's bad. Also, they have way too similar names (Allemar, Aspen, Anya, give me a break). Idk, I found it weird that . Really badass heroine though, best part of the book. The mystery beast wasn't really much of a mystery . Plots twists were pretty predictable, but overall a fun read. Would recommend to anyone who is a fan of faerie/folklore, fairytales, fantasy.
(I CBA to write a full review on something that wasn't even all that amazing. These are my honest thoughts, unfiltered.) -
3.5 stars
I wanted to love this. I really, really did! I love fairy tale retellings, but this one fell a little short.
I loved the world that Chanda has created! The different abilities of the “daughters”, the way magic has been incorporated (or not incorporated) into the world is fascinating. The story line kept my interest, but didn’t leave me begging for more. I felt like the characters were lacking..... something. I didn’t understand most of their reasons for doing what they did-why is Rosalie so angry all the time, or why does she even like the prince (see I can’t even remember his name)? Maybe some different POV would have helped, maybe just a little more detail.
Again, I loved the world.... but just wanted more, I guess. -
Chanda Hahn is an absolute Queen at retelling classic fairy tales! I’m super excited for this series! Of the seven daughters of Lady Eville, Rosalie is the oldest. I loved Rosalie’s strength and heart. No matter how she was treated, she didn’t let it define her. Even when her mother warns her of how cruel people can be, she gives everyone a chance. Prince Xander was a piece of work. But once we learned his story, it made sense why he acted like he did and he ended up a true hero. I’m really looking forward to reading about the other sisters and their magic and specific abilities.
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✨Book Review✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I flipping loved this! A beauty and the Beast retelling like no other! This was such a captivating story that kept me guessing. I had absolutely no idea who the beast was!!!
Fantasy, magic, romance with a bit of murder mystery thrown into the mix made this such an interesting and fun read that I couldn’t put down!
Really looking forward to the rest of the fairytales in this series! -
Title Of Beast and Beauty
Author Chanda Hahn
Release Date June 18, 2019
Description from Amazon
Everyone dreams of marrying a prince—except for me. I am nothing more than a pawn in my adoptive mother’s diabolical plot against the seven kingdoms. I was the chosen tool, her sharpened blade that would cut the deepest into the heart of the Kingdom of Baist. But like all deadly weapons, my wedding is two-edged sword that could cost me my soul.
For I am Rosalie, one of the adopted daughters of Lady Eville, and it is my duty to enter into a loveless and hate-filled marriage with the narcissistic Crown Prince of Baist. My choices and heart are not my own to give. Yet even in the thick of dire situations, beastly vengeance can give way to beautiful attraction.
Initial Thoughts
I pretty randomly stumbled upon this book early in 2020. I did this crazy thing where I cleaned out my entire NetGalley queue for 2019 and basically didn’t have any new books to read in there until everyone got back from their time off around the end of the first week of January. So, instead of shopping my physical shelves, I decided to shop my digital ones instead.
Some Things I Liked
Over-arching storylines. I loved that this book sets up the main plot for the series. There are seven Daughters of Eville and each will have her own story. I also loved that we could tell who was going to be who quite easily.
Plot twists. There were so many amazing, edge of my seat, plot twists. This book was incredibly gripping and really kept me guessing. Despite being based on a classic tale, this story had all kinds of twists and turns.
Gender bent. In a way, this story was a gender bent re-telling as the prince actually believed that his bride to be was the hideous monster. He is beastly in nature but believed her to be beastly in looks. Both Rosalie and her prince encompass parts of Belle and the Beast.
Series Value
The fact that only two books in this series are available is a great tragedy in my life. I would read about each and every Daughter of Eville without complaint forever. The writing is so wonderful and I love the dialogue. I can’t wait to continue with this series.
Final Thoughts
I loved this book. In all honest, I don’t remember how I stumbled upon it but it was so wonderful. I love the series and I actually started book #2 immediately after finishing this one.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommendations for Further Reading
A Curse of Thorns by Nicole Mainardi – if you liked the Beauty and the Beast elements of this story as well as historically based world building, try this novel by Nicole Mainardi.
Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge – again, if you liked the Beauty and the Beast vibes, try anything by Rosamund Hodge, but Crimson Bound is her version of the same classic.
The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter – if you like the elements of different fairy tales woven together into a larger story, try this series by Gena Showalter. The next book in the series is due later this year. -
A promising beginning, but a dull ending! Age 13+
This review may contain spoilers so proceed with caution!
A long time ago, Lady Eville had sworn that she will revenge the death of her father so she is putting in motion a devious plan against the seven kingdoms responsible for her misery. Fast forward 22 years and Lady Eville has arranged a marriage between her adopted daughter Rosalie, and the Crown Prince of Baist, Xander. Rosalie has never seen Xander and she is wearing a veil at her wedding. Xander believes that she is old and he forbids her to go outside without a veil, so he doesn't know that she is, in fact, beautiful.
When Rosalie decides to go against her husband's word and she takes the identity of one of her maids - she goes by the name Rose-, Xander sees her and he is instantly attracted to her. Meanwhile, Rosalie, as the witch queen, proves herself to the prince's family by saving Xander's sisters and his mother.
In their kingdom, there is a beast who kills in cold blood and it is a connection between Rosalie and the beast because she sees what the beast is seeing, and sometimes she wakes up with muddy feet and blood on her clothes.
The plot is becoming interesting when Rosalie is saved by Xander because someone tries to kill her. She wakes in a cottage with Xander and without a veil and then she understands that Xander knows her secret, the fact that she is actually Rose, the sweet girl that he kissed and he cannot forget. Her identity was known from the beginning by the ambassador of an enemy kingdom, but he kept her secret and his behaviour is making Rosalie nervous. So why is the ambassador nice? what is the connection between Rosalie and the Beast? and who is in fact, Rosalie ?
The characters: I liked Rosalie but I hated Xander. He is addressing Yasmin with "darling" and he says that Rosalie is the witch queen, but after 5 min he is saying that she is beautiful and strong and all he ever wanted. Also in the barn, in the same night, he is saying that he wanted to stay awake all night, and Yasmin would have helped him *wink,wink*, but now, that Rosalie is here, she needs to help him*wink , wink again*. Really? and she did, she indeed kept him awake all night ... pffff... I would probably transformed him in a frog or something!
I loved the goblin! He was funny and loyal and sweet. I would like to have a pet just like him P
"Of beast and beauty" is a retelling of the classic story " The Beauty and the beast" and is a light and beautiful read, with a dreamy setting. -
"What if you marry an ugly man?”
“Then I pray he has a beautiful heart,” I said.
“What if he has a beastly heart?”
“Then I pray he is handsome on the outside.” I pinched her in response. “’Cause I’m not sure anyone could ever really love a beast.”
🥀 The story🥀
Rosalie is the eldest of the daughters of lady Eville, a sorceress who has sworn revenge against the seven kingdoms. She must marry Xander, the prince of Baist. With her arrival in Baist, she learns that nothing is as it may seem.
I loved this retelling. I'm an absolute sucker for any fairytale retelling, and this one was so good! The beginning of the story had me thinking that I was missing some information, since we were thrown right into Rosalie marrying Xander, without information about how she got there or who she was. Her story was explained more throughout the book, but the timing of her background information was just a bit weird to me, I'd rather have it before the wedding, because I kept wondering if I was missing something. I really want to learn even more about her sisters and her mother, and especially how their magic works, because I'm still left with questions. For example, does everyone have magic? She but how come that some people can use magic and others don't? I really want to learn more about it, but that might happen in the next book(s).
Throughout the story, I kept searching for the parallels with the fairytale, which was kinda hard. Some things were obvious, others were more subtle, and I loved that. Throughout the entire story, I kept changing my mind on who exactly would turn out to be the beast, first I thought Xavier, then for a fleeting second I thought Gaven and later on the king, then I thought Rose and kept changing my mind again and again. This really kept me on my toes lol.
🥀 The characters🥀
🌹Rosalie/Rose Eville🌹
I loved Rosalie. Even though she and her sisters were shunned for their entire lives, she was still (kinda) nice to people. Her inner thoughts cracked me up, the way she kept thinking "no Rosalie, don't curse them" and stuff like that. Her powers were cool, and I loved how strong she was, but I really wanted to see them in action even more! I felt so bad for her, the way she was treated was absolutely awful. I would definitely turn into a bitch and curse them all, but she stayed strong and I loved her for it. It was but I'm really glad that she didn't. It kinda seemed It was also kinda funny how she always got so mad when someone tried to help her, she'd throw a full tantrum because she wanted to do it herself XD But the ending was really random to me. I don't know, I just thought that was weird and a bit unnecessary.Hiding in a pack didn’t make you stand out; instead, you became lost in the masses. A true gem stood alone.
🐺Xander🐺
It took some time for me to warm up to Xander. He's a very aggressive guy, and he definitely wasn't used to people talking back at him. I did start to love him, especially through his interactions with Rose. He slowly started to see Rosalie as more human, and I loved their banter. The way he was slowly opening up to the idea of magic, and how the other kingdoms were using it, was written quite good. I'm glad he finally seemed to most of all accepted himself. I loved it. I'd love to see him rule over the kingdoms in the future, but I'm hoping we'll see glimpses of him and Rosalie in the books of the sisters.
🐮🧹Side characters👺👗
Okay first of all, is Gaven supposed to be a parallel to Gaston? At first, I actually liked him more than Xander. After the ballroom scene, I didn't like him as much anymore, but I liked the way that all turned out. Pru was a good character too, I liked how she started to see the beauty in Rosalie's magic. My favorite character however was Gobbersnot. He was so random, but I loved him so much. A crossdressing goblin, I didn't know I needed that in my life XD I wonder if we'll see more of the kingdom of Florin - I feel like Aspen will be a love interest for one of the sisters as well. Allemar will definitely be back though, can't wait to find out his past with Lorelai.
🥀 Overall conclusion🥀
I loved this retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and the message it's sending; to not just judge someone by their appearance. There were a few things that felt unresolved to me and that I wanted to learn more about, but all in all, I loved the story.And yes I listened to the Beauty and the Beast songlist while writing this review, leave me alone"Thank you. For loving me despite my curse. For proving that even a beast deserves a chance at love.”
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3.5 stars
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Ever since reading The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter, I've been dying to read more fairy tale retellings similar to it. This book was just what I needed to fill that void. I freaking loved this from start to finish. Rosalie was such a great protagonist; I loved her fire and her bad ass nature. She was kind of dumb when it came to certain things, but I still loved reading from her perspective. The romance was the perfect amount of angst and passion for my tastes. I would have loved to see more of Xander and Rosalie together.
The plot of this was pretty interesting as well. I'm curious to see how it all plays out in the next books. -
Predictable at times, but still an entertaining spin on a familiar story.
I do wish the author would have sold me on the romance a bit more though. Because honestly the prince was a confusing jerk a good chunk of the time so I was surprised the heroine loved him at all, can't say I'd be his biggest fan.
