Review Detail

Beau and his companions are a band of thieves who love to take what they feel like they're owed. When they stumble upon an abandoned castle, they believe they've hit the jackpot. However, a beast emerges and everyone escapes except for Beau. He has a beautiful face and loves to use it to get ahead in life. But when he meets the head of the house, Arabella, she isn't the slightest bit impressed by him. She also surrounds herself with friends who seem a bit out-of-the-box crazy and Beau finds himself unable to charm any of them. So, he needs to find a new way to escape since none of them will help. However, something beastly lurks in the shadows and nothing is as it seems in this magical castle.

BEASTLY BEAUTY is a unique retelling of Beauty and the Beast that swaps the gender roles. Arabella is our beast and there's much more to her situation than what the naked eye can see. Beau is our Belle who relies on his beauty to get ahead in life. The two have this strange attraction that both struggle to ignore no matter the dangers hiding in the shadows. Even though Beau is her prisoner and will try anything to escape, he finds himself wanting to learn more about Arabella and the strange castle she inhabits. I absolutely love all of the the side characters and the roles they played. They breathe life into this compelling tale. While this story has a strange twist, I didn't care for Arabella's character as much because I felt like she fell flat in a lot of the situations. Each of the characters have a good bit of growth and the plot is fast-paced with lots of twists.


Final Verdict: I would recommend this to young adults who enjoy fairytale retellings, Beauty and the Beast, romantasy, and reversed gender roles. This retelling is unlike any other Beauty and the Beast ones I've read before and that's one thing I enjoyed as I wanted to know how it ended.