Published by HarperTeen (3.14.2017)
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Audiobook, 384 pages
Length: 9 hours, 19 minutes
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld, Will Damron
Source: I own it
Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them.
So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance.
Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?
My thoughts
I had actually attempted to pick up this book physically a while back, and wasn’t feeling it. The beginning is SO boring. But I’m so glad I tried again, and the audio was fantastic! I am trash for anything Beauty and the Beast, and this was an awesome retelling! All the feels!
She reminds us of what we could be.
I freaking LOVED beast’s parts!!! The narrator was AMAZING. Also, the fact that the Beast refers to himself as “we” was so interesting and fresh! I love that he’s basically an animal in the beginning and slowly starts becoming more human the more time he spends with Yeva. View Spoiler »
Yeva was okay. I really hated her parts in the beginning – like I said the beginning is B O R I N G. I didn’t like any of Yeva’s parts without the Beast, actually. When she left, I hated it. I wanted to just skip those parts!
The romance was seriously amazing! I love that it took the whole book for the romance to develop, it was so sweet! I am a huge fan of slow burn romances, and even more so a fan of hate-to-love romance.
Aside from the retelling aspect, I was super intrigued by the Russian folklore, and the firebird/gray wolf story! So awesome! Oh and DOE EYES, yassss. View Spoiler »
The audio
Will Damron was the star of this show! He pulled off Beast’s parts so flawlessly and convincingly! I loved him so much that I sought out more audiobooks by him and downloaded Beyond the Red. Caitlin Davies did great, too! I am confident that the audio saved this book for me. Highly recommend!
Overall Assessment
Plot: 3/5
Premise: 5/5
Writing style: 3.5/5
Originality: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
World-building: 3.5/5
Pace: 4/5
Feels: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 4/5
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