I was really excited to read this one after loving Donnelly's Stepsister, but I was disappointed.

The story was fine. It hits the points of Beauty and the Beast (but gender-swapped), and as Donnelly writes in her author's note, it explores the idea of what happens when young women especially ignore and suppress all their negative emotions in favor of doing what they're "supposed to" as well as showing two characters falling in love who are broken and need to help one another.

But overall, I was kind of bored, and I think it's because there's a lot more telling than showing. I didn't feel particularly connected to the characters (especially Isabella), their realization that they were in love felt unearned, and the epiphany about loving yourself and your emotions felt really moralistic (verging on didactic), in part by the author's choice to make Isabella's courtiers representations of her emotions.

I also didn't like the awkward use of profanity, which felt almost anachronistic in what was supposed to be fairy tale France.

Students who love fairy tale retellings might enjoy this, but I don't think it's going to grab the interest of most students.

I received an ARC copy of #BeastlyBeauty via #NetGalley

I really tired to get into this book, but the pacing, characters, and overall storyline was terrible. I was only able to make it though the first couple of chapters.

10 out of 10 highly recommend. This is a non-traditional retelling of Beauty and the Beast that I lived for. It was amazing. Bell or Beau is a thief instead of a righteous person and on top of that is male. I love the aspect that everything is so different and not at the same time. I would recommend this book to a friend.

Beastly Beauty by Jennifer Donnelly

Genre: Fantasy; Romantasy; Fractured Fairytale; Gender-swapped retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Romance level: Closed-door level 2
New Release: May 7

What I loved:
Symbolism
The Redemption
The magic
Suspense
The dance
Kisses
Romance between Arabella and Beau

Ok, this book was not at all what I was expecting. I wasn’t expecting the mystery, suspense, and symbolism aspects. But surprisingly enjoyed this book so much the more because of them. So many life lessons about overcoming greed, redemption from the past, and finding Faith, Hope, and Love again after left so long to dark, selfish emotions. Beau and Arabella’s story is beautiful and both of their character arcs were well written. At first, the beginning was highly confusing and there were parts that didn’t make too much sense. But in the end, everything came together for a beautiful story with so many great life lessons about embracing both beautiful and ugly emotions and learning to forgive and love oneself despite past mistakes and character flaws. I really liked it. I felt some of the messages were ones I needed to hear personally.
Be warned, it is a bit dark and see my content warnings below.

I just reviewed Beastly Beauty by Jennifer Donnelly.

I received a free copy of the ebook from Scholastic on Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Content Warning: Discussion of mistress with implied s*x (no detail), but kisses only, drinking, crude behavior: use of “the finger”
Swearing: multiple uses of h***, b*stard, d***, a**, sh*t, few uses of Lord’s name in vain, homos*xual side romance with non descriptive kiss, suggestive content, discussion of past self-harm, stabbing
Trigger Warning: difficult past, cruel parents, self-harm, physical abuse, beating, death

4/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and Jennifer Donnelly for allowing me to read and review this book.

This is a young adult gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast retelling.

Arabella has a hard time containing her feelings and her passions, causing her to be cursed after a tragedy. She is now trapped in her castle with her servants.

Beau is a thief that makes his way into the castle with his crew, only for them to leave him behind as a sacrifice when a beast attacks them and chases them from the castle.

The servants are thrilled for this new visitor, hoping he will be the one to break the curse and set them all free. However, the ladies-in-waiting are not too pleased to see him and are adamant about making him leave.

As a Beauty and the Beast fan, I was hesitant about the gender-swapped retelling, however this book is so well written and intriguing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and all of the characters. The mysteries and twists are interesting and fun to figure out along with our main character.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys retellings, gender-swapped retellings, curses, and Beauty and the Beast.

I thoroughly enjoyed this gender bent twist to the classic Beauty & the Beast. Certainly a unique retelling. Jennifer Donnelly has a special way to captivate her audience with the tales she spins.

The plot of this story was promising, I love the idea of a reverse beauty and the beast, but the story was moving too slow for me unfortunately

I was sent a digital copy by Netgalley to read and review. I do feel it's more of a 3.5 stars than 4 stars. It was hard to get into at first, but a little over halfway in I found myself more involved in the story and wanting to know what would happen next and how it would end. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a new take on fairy tales.

I wanted to love this book so much. When I saw the ARC I really wanted it and was so happy to receive one. Then I started this book, and it was ok for the first quarter or so because I thought it was setting things up. But then things didn't actually improve and I had a really hard time reading this book for more than a few chapters at a time because I was either bored or annoyed because things didn't make sense.

What I liked:
*It was a gender-swapped retelling of Beauty and the Beast
*It wasn't just about outer beauty but inner beauty and being yourself
*There were fun side characters with personalities that I enjoyed and rooted for
*Arabella had interests and dreams
*Beau wasn't perfect

Things I didn't like:
*The way the curse worked/how complicated it was and how out of place and extra the "beast" portion was.
*The way the magic didn't make sense
*How the relationship between Arabella and Beau went from nothing to love in the space of one evening. There was no build up. They had a conversation or two, laughed a little and then he was in love with her. I'm not sure what she loved about him because it never said. I don't dislike insta love when it's done right, but there was no emotion involved.
*How it was unevenly paced. Slow, then flashbacks, then the whole thing wrapped up in warp speed.
*textbook example of "tell don't show." Everything was spelled out; mostly by the narrator instead of the characters.

Overall, there were some good points and it had an amazing idea with the retelling part, but the execution just didn't work for me.

I was very excited to read this new book by Jennifer Donnelly and it sounded like it would be something I would love and devour. It was just not exactly what I was hoping for. Cool concept but just wasn't exactly what I hoped for. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

A gender swapped Beauty and the Beast? YES PLEASE AND THANK YOU. Not to mention that I loved Stepsister so I went in very excited. And even though I didn't end up absolutely loving this, I still thought it was a good read. The first half definitely grabbed me with it's gothic feel but by the second half I wasn't as intrigued. I preferred the side characters to the main characters to be quite frank. But because I do like the author's way of writing and I did like the plot this wasn't a complete wash.

Beastly Beauty is a young adult gender-swapped retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," featuring a thief who wanders into a castle in search of food and riches and a young woman who has been trapped there for a hundred years.

Beau and his band of thieves cannot believe their luck when they stumble upon a castle with the gates wide open and food ready on the table. But when a beast appears and they run for their lives, only Beau doesn’t make it across the bridge before it crashes into the moat. When he meets the lady of the house (Arabella), he discovers that the castle is under an enchantment, and he won’t be able to leave. He will need to outsmart Arabella’s court of strange women, build a new bridge across the moat, and help her break the curse if he ever wants to return to Barcelona to help his ailing younger brother.

This "Beauty and the Beast" retelling started strong with Beau and his band of thieves but quickly lost steam. I found the curse overly complicated with too many players, and the reason behind it disappointing. Since we already know the original story, at the very least, a retelling can provide a few fresh takes and be entertaining, and I didn’t find either of those to be true. There are some interesting thoughts based on other fairy tales, which I appreciated and wished this book had. Unfortunately, the chemistry between Beau and Arabella didn’t jump off the page, and the various court women with their scrambled-up names based on emotions (Rega, Espidra, Hesma, etc.) became annoying as the book went on. I spent the last 20% just wanting to wrap everything up and see how the curse would be resolved.

Beastly Beauty has a beautiful cover and attempts to look at "Beauty and the Beast" in a new way with female empowerment, self-love, and forgiveness as the main themes. But the overly complicated curse, courtly women with their word scramble names, and the lack of chemistry between Beau and Arabella made it a slog for me.

2.5 stars

Fairytale retellings are my WEAKNESS. The movie Beastly? Alex Pettyfer stays in my mind rent free. Beastly Beauty is a genderbent retelling of Beauty and the Beast obvi. I was so so so excited for this book but it fell flat in my opinion.

My main issue was that the writing/dialogue felt all over the place. It didn't read smoothly which is SO important, especially for fantasy. The relationship between Beau and Arabella felt mid. I feel like nothing imporant really happens until the last 30% of the book. If there was more in-depth character development and relationship development, I think it would've changed my opinion ALOT.

The plot had so much promise, but the execution needed some improvement.

Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book’! The characters were fun, the story was unique while still being familiar, and I loved the dialogue

Lovely Retelling

"Beastly Beauty" by Jennifer Donnelly is a remarkable read that served as the perfect antidote to my day's blues. It was a day dedicated to the comfort of books and tea, which was a delightful respite, despite not feeling my best.

This novel offers a fresh take on the classic "Beauty and the Beast" tale, with a twist that includes a gender reversal and a profound message about embracing one's imperfections. The protagonist, Beau, is a thief burdened with the responsibility of caring for his younger brother—the last of his kin. Intent on using a hidden stolen ring to forge a new future for them, Beau's plans are unexpectedly thwarted when he and his band of thieves encounter a castle that seems deserted. A chase by a mysterious beast leads to Beau being abandoned by his comrades, forcing him to face his inner self and the castle's hidden perils in order to survive.

Jennifer Donnelly's storytelling took unexpected paths that captivated me, a quality I've come to admire in her writing. From the intriguing opening with Espidra and a young girl engaged in card games, to the cleverly disguised identities of Arabella's court ladies—each revelation was a delight. The narrative masterfully interwove elements like the enigmatic clock that initially intrigued but later terrorized the thieves. Although I anticipated the conclusion upon learning about Arabella's curse, the way it unfolded was nothing short of exquisite.

I eagerly anticipate revisiting "Beastly Beauty" to uncover any subtle clues I may have overlooked on my initial journey through its pages. Prepare to be so engrossed that you'll want to devour this book in one sitting, and perhaps keep a box of tissues within reach, just in case emotions run high.

Jennifer Donnelly can do no wrong. I loved this gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast, especially as it added new elements that made it so much more than just a simple retelling.

Such a fun and twisted retelling of a classic! I was very intrigued with how this beast origin story was gender bent and influenced heavily from emotions. The author did a superb job illustrating how pivotal our emotions our and how we must embrace them versus trying to control them otherwise we’d all explode like our princess. I also liked how the love factor wasn’t a true romance one, but instead showing how important self love is.

3.5🌟

*Nothing is more real than a dream, the voice was right. Dreams were powerful. They were mirrors to the soul.
*Love wasn't for the weak. It took courage to love another human being. It took ferociousness.
*Without the light we would not appreciate the darkness. There i good to be found in difficult feelings.

I love Beauty and the Beast and tend to read anything that has anything to do with it. Love retellings of the story and this wasn't any different. While it wasn't my favorite retelling, I still really enjoyed the story!

This is my 4th Jennifer Donnelly with the others being her other retellings (Poisoned, Lost in a Book, and Stepsister) and I love the way she brings a new twist to an already loved story! I can't wait to see what other stories she retells and read those!

A gender-swapped retelling of Beauty and the Beast is something I expected to thoroughly enjoy, especially considering I’ve heard people rave about Jennifer Donnelly’s writing.

This promising premise didn’t live up to its expectations. This book took me so long to read as I struggled through it, hoping the story would improve. Between the pacing, the voice, the writing style, and the sudden POV shifts with no warning, there wasn’t much to keep my interest piqued for more than a few pages at a time.

Arabella’s curse was ill-explained & I was unenthusiastic about the curse happening due to her being too emotional.

So little was put into Beau’s backstory that it might as well have been cut altogether.

I was expecting the action to be more intense with higher stakes.

This one took me a bit to get into it, but when I did, I fell in love with the story! I had absolutely no idea what was gonna happen so the plot twists were nice! The clean romance was even better & we always love a HEA!