Name: The Beast's Heart
Rating: 3.305555555555555 (18 reviews)
ISBN: 9780440001775

Leife Shallcross

A retelling of Beauty and the Beast in which Beast struggles to come to terms with his horrid behavior as a man, his years of savagery, and his hope of redemption.

A Novel of Beauty and the Beast

The Beast's Heart

Heather Harrington

**I received a copy via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

Once I saw that this was essentially a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but from the Beast's perspective, I knew I wanted to read it. However, I was incredibly disappointed. The Beast has been alone for centuries until one day a weary traveler stumbles upon his lands. He offers the stranger food and hospitality from the shadows, and once the man falls asleep, the Beast looks into his dreams and see a beautiful girl he wants for his own. The following day, as the man is leaving, the Beast manipulates him into plucking a rose from his garden. In exchange for this flower, the man must bring his daughter, Isabeau, to stay in his castle with him. The Beast knows the man will not grant his wish, but Isabeau goes despite her father's protestations. From there, the story just really goes downhill for me. I felt there was just no connection between the two, and what I did feel was obsessive and uncomfortable. I also didn't like Beast's actions throughout, such as spying on her family with his magic mirror and constantly proposing marriage despite Isabeau saying no every time. Aside from those issues, I also felt the writing itself was heavy and boring, and felt myself losing interest the longer the story went on. This whole thing was just really not my cup of tea.

Megan Leprich

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Beauty and the Beast is my all time favorite Disney movie so I was very excited to read this retelling of such a classic tale. This book is told from the beast’s perspective and I’m sorry but was I the only one getting creeped out? Getting to hear all of his isolating thoughts and getting to hear the whole story from his side while he is in the beast’s body were honestly a little disturbing. I feel like this book should have came with some trigger warnings as it is targeted towards a younger audience but it’s almost as if the pretty cover draws you in and you think this is going to be a happy retelling of the romance between them. It’s really not.

The only thing this book really had going for it was the magical aspects and the author’s wording when describing things. It really brought the story alive and made you picture the story vividly and in detail. There were times I felt like it was drawn on and a little overly descriptive but then it would pick back up and move on to something else.

Honestly having read many retellings of The Beauty and the Beast I was very disappointed with this one. Definitely one of the darkest retellings I’ve ever read and I don’t think this should be aimed at such a young audience.

A sumptuously magical, brand new take on a tale as old as time - read the Beast's side of the story at long last. 'Utterly Enchanting' - Kate Forsyth, author of Bitter Greens and The Wild Girl 'A beautiful retelling . . . poetical, imaginative, inventive' - New York Journal of Books '5 out of 5 stars . . . magical romance at its best' - Sam Hawke, author of City of Lies ********* I am neither monster nor man - yet I am both. I am the Beast. I know why I was cursed; I know the legacy of evil I carry in my tainted blood. So how could she ever love me? My Isabeau. She opened my eyes, my mind and my heart when I was struggling just to be human. And now I might lose her forever. Lose yourself in this gorgeously rich and magical retelling of The Beauty and the Beast that finally lays bare the beast's heart.

Rosie Qua

This was a beautifully written Beauty And The Beast retelling from the POV of the beast and it was a very intriguing idea. I know I have a soft spot for broken, lost souls especially cursed ones in the literary world and reading all of this from his POV was sad and yet enlightening. I loved reading his fears and insecurities. Even when he is threatening, he is shocked and saddened by his own brutality.

 

The book is slow paced, not my favourite but works with the story, and articulated for its time, which I appreciated greatly, its easy to fall into modern habits when writing but this read well-researched and professional. Overly described areas and repeated thoughts did not bother me as it gave the POV more depth, as we are all prone to repeat ourselves and be overly focused on certain areas in our surroundings.

 

Instead of talking, animated objects, we have a sassy, non-speaking magical French chateau, hidden in the depths of a ‘haunted’ forest. Instead of a daughter saving her father, the beast makes a bargain with the man, to bring his youngest daughter to him or the beast shall harm him and his three daughters. Monsieur de La Noue does and Isabeau’s and Beast’s relationship blossoms beautifully however was repetitive at times. The love story was expected, a little of the insta-love (on the beasts part) but I don’t mind, it is Beauty And The Beast after all. The last 15% of this book flew for me as everything is explained, well and not rushed. The curse is different and explained completely, giving you more empathy for the beast than the Disney telling.

 

Honestly, I struggled with the language and the slow pace, but all in all I did enjoy it. This is the second BATB retelling of the year and it was different from the first but no less enjoyable.

Would recommend to fans of: slow-burn romance, Beauty And The Beast and flowery language.

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Written by Leofe Shallcross, this is Beauty and the Beast from the Beast's perspective. Starting from the dark place the Beast fell to after the curse began, we follow him as he learns to be a man again and falls in love with Belle.

What was most enjoyable about this novel is that Shallcross didn't make Beast out to be a monster.

Belle isn't the most interesting, but she is a good support character. I honestly found the stories of her sisters more interesting.

The writting was decent, but worked very hard to put the reader in a state of understanding what the time period was and on occasion made understanding what was going on a bit difficult.

Overall, a good retelling and an excellent novel unto itself.

A sumptuous, bewitching new take on a tale as old as time - read the Beast's side of the story at long last. 'Utterly Enchanting!' - Kate Forsyth, author of Bitter Greens and The Wild Girl 'What a delight! This is a beautifully crafted, deeply romantic reworking of the fairy tale' - Juliet Marillier, author of the Blackthorn & Grim series 'A complex, charming, romantic, and richly detailed story about the redemptive power of love' - Readings Magazine ********* I am neither monster nor man - yet I am both. I am the Beast. I know why I was cursed; I know the legacy of evil I carry in my tainted blood. So how could she ever love me? My Isabeau. She opened my eyes, my mind and my heart when I was struggling just to be human. And now I might lose her forever. Lose yourself in this gorgeously rich and magical retelling of The Beauty and the Beast that finally lays bare the Beast's heart.

Joleen

This arc was provided to me for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

2 Stars

The Beast’s Heart is a retelling from the classic Beauty and the Beast but told in the Beast’s perspective. An interesting concept behind my favorite fairytale, but it fell flat for me.

Alone and cursed, the Beast has been without human contact for a very long time, so when a stranger appears and seeks shelter, the Beast looks into his dreams. Becoming bewitched by the stranger's daughter, the Beast demands the stranger deliver his youngest daughter to him. When Isabeau arrives but only agrees to spend the year at the château, the Beast must figure out how to win her heart.

There were so many issues with this book, it’s meant to be a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but yet I felt like it was more focused on Isabeau’s family. Which I admit, I found the family way more interesting than the Beast and Isabeau’s story. The book is told from the Beast’s point of view so everything was one-sided and I found that incredibly frustrating. If anything I wish we would have gotten more than one point of view as I think it would have made a better story.

This book had great potential with a fantastic concept. I LOVE the idea of retellings but through a different perspective, but this one wasn’t for me.

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The Beast's Heart A Novel of Beauty and the Beast

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