This story is actually not having at all me story. I thought this was just Red riding hood retelling but it actually wasn't it including many amazing twists off well known fairy tales. I really enjoyed how different the stories were.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc to review.

Such a fascinating twist on classic tales. We get to see a whole new version of Wendy’s side to what happened in Neverland, why Ursula is the way she is, why Hansel and his sister were even in the woods and more stories that just left me wanting to keep reading how their lives were going to turn out.

I will be purchasing this for my personal collection for my kiddos to read and possible some of the kiddos at school.

#BeastsandBeauty
A delightful and adventurous short story collection of fairy-tale retellings. I really enjoyed the new take on several stories. Chainani does an excellent job of pulling you in and reminding you that yes good writing matters!

This book was received as an ARC from HarperCollins Children's Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was waiting for a book such as Beasts and Beauty to be released. This book is a clear reflection on why you never judge a book by its cover. I thought it was going to be another modern rendition of Little Red Riding Hood but not only was Little Red Riding Hood featured but almost all of the princesses such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella etc. This book was written in a way of continuing on from what we thought was the end of each fairy tale giving the reader another modern perspective which I greatly respected. While I was reading, I could not help but think how much our teen book club will go crazy in conversation and I can't wait to hear all they have to say.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I love a good fairytale retelling, and these were magnificent—folded into intriguing new shapes, but with a still-recognizable pattern.. A couple endings even made me shout :)

This was an interesting collection of short stories. I love fairy tale retelling and can't wait to add a copy of this to my collection.

This anthology includes diverse retellings of well-known fairy tales. Most are solid, with the best ones being “Red Riding Hood” and “Hansel and Gretel.” The “Beauty and the Beast” story is also very solid, with a tragic ending I was not anticipating. The weakest ones are the gender bent “Sleeping Beauty” which did not make much sense and “Rapunzel” which had a very ambiguous ‘Was This a Dream’ type ending. Overall this was an entertaining read and I’m curious to see what the final illustrations will be in the published version.

Soman Chainani writes with beautiful prose. The originals of these fairy tales are not for the weak of heart and Chainani does a great job of adding newly evoked twists to them. There are some triggers in these stories, like rape, death, cannibalism, but those are included in many of the original tales. I know that the world is in a very #metoo movement and trying to be more equal to everyone, but I think that these tales don't have to be defined by these new standards. These tales like Red Riding Hood and Hansel & Gretel have been around for centuries and I think Chainani's prose really brings them to a new light. Yes some of them were grotesque and like I said not for the faint of heart, but they are just that tales, fiction, a world where your imagination can take flight. I think there are many teens who will love these stories and their retellings because they are different and turn the original on its head.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

I like fairy tale reimaginings in general, and Soman Chainani's writing specifically. Having been a big fan of the School of Good and Evil series, I picked up Beasts and Beauty hoping for similar experience. And I was not disappointed!

First and foremost, I have to comment on the beautifully written prose. I was simultaneously haunted and enchanted by the book's language. I love fairy tale retellings, and this book has been my favorite thus far. I love the subversion of traditional fairy tale tropes i.e. Sleeping Beauty is a male and Rapunzel doesn't end up with the prince. I felt a sense of empowerment after reading this book. There was a fine line between the comedic and melancholic in these stories, and I found that I couldn't put the book down. I haven't read any of the author's other works, but I find myself about to go to get some more of his works.

For the most part this collection of adapted fairy tales was unsettling and uncomfortable, with a persistent sense of vaguely sexual predation throughout. While most of the stories explicitly call out the implied-sexual nature of many fairy tales (an established trope that, to be fair, Chainani has not invented), they tend to do so with a wink and a nod that requires the protagonists to participate in rather than simply subvert (for example, Red Riding Hood continues to demand a tribute of beautiful girls albeit for more altruistic reasons, Hansel & Gretel murder and eat their stepmother, and the sole surviving male victim of Bluebeard must also traffic in young boys/men in order to free them). Sensitive readers (a group I include myself in) should be aware of trigger warnings for implied rape, violence, emotional abuse, racial trauma, psychological distress, child abuse, and cannibalism among others.