A magical tale as old as time. 2.5 stars rounded up.

This is a retelling of the classic, Beauty and the Beast, told from the Beast's perspective in a YA friendly tone. I am always drawn to fairy tale retellings, especially those from new perspectives, but this didn't completely work for me. I really enjoyed the magical aspects (animated house, forest, garden, mirror, etc), but I felt like there wasn't enough of an explanation to the magic or how it worked. The imagery and description, while vivid, felt unnecessarily bulked up almost as a way to get words on paper and not move the plot further along. The pacing is also a bit slow, and with what I felt was a rushed ending. There was a lot of potential here, but in the end I felt let down.

This was a rather unique take on an old classic. Beauty and the Beast told from the Beast’s perspective. Leife Shallcross was a new to me author and I find her voice unique and compelling.

We all know the story. The Beast was cursed into a lonely and broken existence until Beauty came along and suddenly he has hope of breaking the curse. It’s a familiar well treated story which means there’s really not a lot of surprises here. But that’s okay. There were other things that I found enjoyable in this book.

For one, I liked that the author spent time developing the romance between Isabeau and the Beast. The time they spent interacting were the highlight for me. I believed they really fell in love and it wasn’t just Stockholm Syndrome.

I did enjoy how this was told from the Beast’s point of view. It was definitely interesting. I wasn’t creeped out by his POV at all which was a plus because it could have easily gone wrong. But it didn’t. I genuinely liked the Beast and can see why Isabeau could fall for him.

Overall, I enjoyed the Beast’s Heart and would read another book by this author.

I really enjoyed this new take on Beauty and the Beast. Everyone knows the story from the point of view of Belle, the bookish girl who ends up falling in love with a beast, but for the first time, I got to see the story from the Beast's side. It was nice to be able to see the story from his side and really see his thoughts and feelings on what was going on. It gave a whole other depth to the story. I thought it was the small details that really brought the story to life, like when he is so proud of himself because he managed to clean his own face in a bowl of water or managed to learn to hold a book in his claws to read again. I found myself wishing that there was more story at the end, as it seemed a bit rushed from when she comes back to him to the end of the story, however, it was overall still a good read despite the rushed end.

This story was not new at all. It was Beauty and the Beast plain and simple, the only thing that made it different was that it was told completely for the Beast's perspective. I don't know how but that one little change made this into a completely different book that I loved!

There were no surprises here, but the raw emotion coupled with the beautiful writing made this book feel new and different. I loved reading the story from the Beast's perspective, seeing his depth of feeling, going through everything with him.

I great book that I would highly recommend.

Excellent read! I ended up purchasing this one. Give me a great retelling of beauty and the beast and I am in, hook, line and sinker. You really feel for the guy and I fell in love...

Never before have a read a book as enchanting as this one. It felt magical and brought me immediately into the story.

It is a Beauty and the Beast retelling told from the point of view of the beast. In the beginning, he is a beast running on all fours through a forest, in complete anguish over his state. Soon he finds the mansion he once lived in before he was cursed to become a beast. Within he finds many of the things that he remembers from his life as a human and begins to live his days in a more human way. Attempting to walk up-right once again and reading books to pass the time. One day a man stumbles into his forest and through his magic, the beast coaxes the man to his home in order to help restore him to health. While the man dreams, the beast gets a view into the dreams and discovers the man has three daughters at home. He gives the man an ultimatum to bring the youngest daughter to him or the beast will seek the man out to kill him.

What ensues is the beauty and the beast story. However, the beast is no malevolent mean creature and he had no intentions of killing the man. He only wants companionship as he greatly misses human interaction. The man’s youngest daughter, Isabeau, arrives at the beast’s mansion and the beast gives her the choice to stay with him for a year in companionship or go back home to her family. Of course they spend a year together, growing a lovely friendship.

If you know the Beauty and the Beast story, I am not spoiling anything for you. The magic of this story however is in the telling. Leife Shallcross has such a way of writing that brings the words on the page to life in a completely magical way. And of course there are twists to this story that make it it’s own. It is beautiful and I definitely recommend it to any romance or retelling fan.

This was a DNF for me. I had an extremely hard time following the story and found myself on multiple occasions rereading the same passage over and over again.

This was okay. It wasn’t amazing but I loved the characters and I liked the POV we read through. It was interesting but sadly not memorable. I read it immediately after another Beauty and the Beast retelling so I think I just compared them too much so this one didn’t stand out like I had hoped it would! I also think I hyped it up too much since BatB retellings are my favorite, and it sadly didn’t meet my expectations. But it highly suggest checking it out if you’re interested in more BatB retellings! I do think the author went too into describing things. There’s only so many ways to describe how old and rusty the gate it etc. we didn’t need that commentary in this novel. But overall a fun novel with interesting characters you’ll enjoy!

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.

This was a solid, well-written version of the classic fairy tale told from the Beast's point of view. Fans of the classic fairy tale will enjoy it, although the writing can be long-winded for readers who aren't as into the story. The author also paints the heroine's family in a much kinder light than most other re-tellings.

My rating is more of a 3.5, but I can't do that here. I loved how rich the language was in this interesting Beauty and the Beast retelling. I enjoyed the fact that it was from his point of view. It gave a whole other side to the story. I thought that Isabeau had sisters was a fun touch. More than just a Father who was obsessed with the Beast. I loved that Isabeau was so open-minded and gentle.

I did have a bit of trouble fully connecting with the Beast being so gentle. If feel like he would be much more gruff being so isolated for so many years. He was very sensitive to Isabeau, and her needs. Very unlike he was the way before. Isabeau didn't really seem to do anything to change his heart.

I liked the magic of the house, and it was interested how it changed the ruins that the house once was. The more the house, and rooms were used, the more it was restored to its former glory! That was a really awesome element!

All in all, I enjoyed it. It was whimsical and fun. There were just a few things I wasn't connecting with.

For the life of me, I could not get into this book. I'm inclined to think that it's a matter of personal taste, and not indicative of the author's writing abilities, so for that, I will not leave a low rating.

Beautifully written take on an old classic. I was very interested in how the author was going to tackle the story as there have been so many versions of it. I found it to be a nice combo of the Disney version and the original classic story.

I love the Beauty and the Beast story and I didn't really have any problems with this version. I just couldn't get into it. I kept setting it aside to read other books I was more excited about.

This is a very enjoyable retelling of the Beauty and the Beast tale from the point of view of the Beast. The author very cleverly tweaked some things about the tale to make it more appealing to a modern audience while still staying true to the classic story line. For instance, she gave the Beauty, who goes by the name Isabeau, much more free will in her choice to stay with the Beast and ultimately marry him. This is a nice update to what was always a slightly troubling story line where a captive falls in love with her kidnapper. Also, their relationship as developed by the author relies more upon an emotional connection between the two rather than upon the Beast buying Beauty's affection with material goods.
However, while the author put her own unique touch on the story, there was still enough magic and beauty in the story to satisfy the true fairy tale lover. Overall, I really enjoyed this retelling. It was a sweet, fairy tale for grown ups.

Despite being so highly recommended this book felt like it needed quite a bit of work. There were moments where I lost the train of what was happening. Other moments time was passing by so quickly I couldn't understand where we were now. Even though I generally love Beauty and the Beast retellings this one sadly just couldn't keep me hooked enough to finish.

The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross broke me! This is such a beautiful tale, written from the perspective of the Beast. I’ve always enjoy the original Beauty and the Beast and so far all it’s incarnations. This one is unique in that it puts the reader in the mind of the Beast for the entire story. I was mesmerized. It’s achingly beautiful and poetic.

I need to be honest before I continue. I started reading an eARC of this book prior to its release and just couldn’t get into it. I read roughly 15% and had to put it down. Why? Well, to be blunt, it’s quite wordy. As I’ve already mentioned, The Beast’s Heart is beautifully written with lush detail. It’s akin to reading someone’s most private thoughts. I struggled, but because I was intrigued and enjoying the Beast’s tale, I thought I’d listen to the audio…..I mean it’s Jim Dale, he’s fantastic. And I’m SO glad I did. I preordered the audiobook and listened to the entire thing in about three days. Jim Dale brings the Beast to life and I found myself enthralled. The only thing that could have made it better is if Dan Stevens was reading because well….



Seriously I totally pictured him the entire time I was listening 😂

Back to the story. It opens with the Beast realizing he is in fact a man and attempting to recover the humanity he’s lost while he was terrorizing the forrest around his former home. The Beast is a complex character. It’s very obvious to the reader that he thinks poorly of himself and his past choices, even if he never discloses what those were. He’s a creature who is lonely and painfully ashamed of what he has become. Yet determined to break his curse, he finds Isabeau.

Isabeau is a beauty, inside and out. She’s not the dark headed bookworm of Disney, but a fair headed artist who loves the simple things in life. I found her charming, and I loved that the Beast didn’t scare her at all. In fact, she sees the man behind fur. And as she does, you fall more in love with our narrator.

Overall, The Beast’s Heart is a unique take on the classic. There’s enough of the original woven into the story that it’s fun to pick those things out, yet there is plenty new to it. I really enjoyed the narration. If you enjoy audiobooks, I recommend this one for Jim Dale alone! If you are a fan of Beauty and the Beast, don’t let this one sit on the shelf. Read it asap.

A new take on a Disney classic.
I have to say I have never read a fairytale retelling before so when this one came up for review I jumped at the chance to try something new.

After reading the blurb and seeing the cover I was super excited to start The Beast’s Heart. To tell the story from the Beast’s POV would of been a difficult task as for the most part the Beast isn’t a likeable character.

I liked the authors writing throughout the book but I did find some parts to be very descriptive. Overly so at times which wasn’t needed. But it felt like the author was trying to extend the story more.

I didn’t feel a connection with the characters at all. I didn’t understand their relationship and how Isabella ended up in the castle or how she and the Beast could form any kind of relationship.

I would definitely try a different book by this author and more fairytale retellings in the future.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for letting me review a copy.

It's been a while since I've read a retelling, and I have always been a sucker for Beauty and the Beast themes. So I was intrigued by the premise of this story, as a retelling from the Beast's perspective. And I have to say, I was not disappointed.

This story was a little different than other retellings I have read in the past, and its been so freaking long since I read the original, I can't tell how much it diverged from the original story line. But I liked it regardless. The Beast was such a solitary and sad creature, his vulnerability fairly leapt off the page in this story. I just wanted to snatch him up and pet him and hug him and love him forever. (I may be dating myself with that cartoonish reference!) We start out with the Beast when he is lost to his animal nature, and is slowing coming back to himself and his humanity. The Beast finds himself at his ancestral home, which is full of magic, and seems to be as a consequence of his curse.

Then you have the traditional parts of the story with the father of our heroine coming to the castle first, followed by our heroine, Isabeau. I found Isabeau to be a likeable heroine, yet sometimes confusing. I didn't always understand her treatment of the Beast... but that was okay, because this story was from his perspective so it was all about him, his thoughts, issues and feelings. When they were together, I did like the relationship between the pair. Though I felt sad for the Beast who tried so very hard to get Isabeau to love him.

The magic added a nice aspect to this story and I liked the way it was woven throughout - it wasn't overpowering but added touches of convenience here and there to ease the way. I didn't quite buy the reasoning or rationale behind the Beast's curse, but it didn't detract from the story much for me. I thought the addition of Isabeau's sisters, who we watch go through their own personal growth, was also a nice addition to the story. It gave us an alternate focus when Isabeau and the Beast were not together.

If you are a fan of retellings, give this one a shot. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher.

Enchantments and dreams!

My first impression was of the rich descriptive language that peppered this magical story. The opening few paragraphs set up the tone and Shallcross's word smithing is riveting. I loved it!
Beast's description of the curse brings his nightmare alive for us, where the "real is indistinguishable from the phantasm...Living under such an enchantment is akin to being trapped in the grip of a restless slumber, fighting toward wakefulness and finding only dreams locked within dreams."
Magical with a capital "M" this story indeed is. Told mostly from the Beast's point of view this reimagining of Beauty and the Beast set in seventeenth century France is both a nightmare, a romantic gothic fairy tale, and a tale of love conquering all. But it's the "telling" that makes this fantasy a winner. It's a novel that starts off with thorns and blooms in the most unexpected of ways.
The raw pain of Beast (or Lord Beast as Isabeau calls him) is palpable, and calls to us at a visceral level. Beast's struggle to even understand why he'd been transformed from human to monster is very real.
Isabeau (the beautiful younger daughter of Beast's one and only ever "guest") is to me a mystery that reveals itself only towards the end of the novel. That's when we see the changes wrought in Isabeau's family in her absence through her eyes. We have seen it through Beast's, however, Isabeau's viewpoint rounds that picture out.
Just a fabulous rendition of a traditional tale.

A Berkley ARC via NetGalley