ive read so many ‘beauty and the beast’ retellings that ive lost count. its safe to say its my favourite story/trope to retell and i honestly never get tired of it. and this is one of the better retellings i have read. im actually surprised at how much i liked this one.i love the russian folklore influence to this. it reminded me so much of ‘the bear and the nightingale.’ its atmospheric, its mysterious, and its magical. i really enjoyed how the specific russian faery tale ties-in so effortlessl...

Tale as old as time... Except.Yeah, this is not that Beauty and the Beast.This Beauty is a bit less sing-y and a bit more...stabby. Which is a pretty nice change of pace, to be honest! Plus, this time around, it isn't the villagers who are out to kill the Beast, it's Beauty, herself. She's a hunter. A badass hunter. And because {insert spoilery reasons here} she's on a mission to take a chunk out of his supernatural hide. Of course, killing him means she's gotta stay on as his Guest pris

I wouldn't say I've had the best of luck with books that are re-telling fairytales. So, to be honest, I didn't have the highest hopes for this one. But I was quite impressed. It was more adventure than overly fairytale, in my opinion. I really loved Beauty. She is not a helpless girl, who needs to be saved- she is a brave and skilled tracker and hunter. The ending felt a bit rushed to me, aside from that, I'm fairly happy with the story overall and would recommend it to anyone who likes fairytal...

the entire concept of beauty and the beast is so wild to me like. homegirl straight up loved an animal romantically. an animal. that’s so wild like have you ever had a pet? anyway. this book is what sjm THINKS acotar is

Another anticipated release. Another unpopular opinion! Beware the spoilers! Lo and behold, Fifty Shades of Beast! Note: My reference of 50 shades of Beast is not about this book having explicit content. There's no sex; it's a typical YA story 'they kissed and the screen went blank'. My reference is about how disturbing and unrealistic I find what characters have between them, and there's nothing romantic I can see about it. A very strong case of Stockholm Syndrome (worse than in the original, a...

“She moves like beauty, she whispers to us of wind and forest—and she tells us stories, such stories that we wake in the night, dreaming dreams of a life long past. she reminds us of what we used to be.She reminds us of what we could be.”dark; addictive; uniquethis is hands down my favorite beauty and the beast retelling so far. It manages to stick to the original story while having an extremely unique and beautiful twist to it by adding in Russian fairy tale and folklore into the main plot.Just...

*Full Review UpdateGuys I'm so sad. I didn't love it. Don't get me wrong, I totally see why others did, and I'm in the minority for this one.I'm not going to type a summary on this one because well, it's a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Some parts were close to the original, and other parts deviated quite a bit. In my opinion, it was the wrong parts. Here's the thing... I'm super biased. I grew up with Beauty and the Beast and I just hold it in such a high regard so it's hard for me to love ret...

Beauty and the Beast but make it Russian.The Russian part . . . I really can’t say. Mostly because I don’t know anything about Russian culture, so I had no clue this was set in a Russian inspired world until I read some reviews—from which I also gathered that to some #OwnVoices reviewers the Russian influence was very lacking or non-representational.What I can say is that I did find the world building insufficient (or maybe it’s just me who doesn’t get it). The wintery setting made for a whimsic...

This was a BR with:the potato DJ Khaled Solohoe (I'm exposing you traitor)OH WHY YES, A BUDDY READ THAT ACTUALLY WORKED OUT WITH A BOOK I ACTUALLY REALLY ENJOYED AND WILL PROBABLY BE REREADING THIS SUMMER BECAUSE THAT ENDING IS SO BEAUTIFUL, I NEED MORE OF IT. OH LOOK, I ALREADY FEEL LIKE REREADING THIS GEM OF A BOOK. I'M SUCH GARBAGE FOR THE BEAST. This book is so beautiful and magical and I can't get over it. This book takes its time in explaining the world building and the ABSOLUTELY HEART WR...

Inches from her face was a nightmarish visage, snarling fangs and red-gold eyes. She screamed, every muscle going rigid as she tried to struggle free, but claws dug into her skin on all sides, giving her no room to move. She stretched out with one arm anyway, ignoring the tearing pain of it, fingers brushing the hilt of her fletching knife.“YOU GAVE US YOUR WORD.” The voice was almost unrecognizable, the roar tangible against her face as the teeth flashed in the firelight. The claws tightened

This story had a strong fairy tale vibe with its fantasy world, fantastical creatures, and curses but it did not stick too close to the original Beauty and the Beast tale. Yes, you could easily tell who some of the characters were and assume some information about them, but it really made the world and characters their own. I think it would be great for those who LOVE fairy tales, but want a story that is still its own thing.Personally, my favorite aspect of this was that the Beast was an actual...

“She was so tired after all. Tired of fairy tales, and magic, and empty castles. Tired of wanting so intensely that she didn’t know what she wanted.”Da da da DAAA…Please allow me to introduce you to the FIFTH La Belle et la Bête retelling that I’ve read! I know; it’s a lot. But it’s my favourite faery tale! Let’s see: Beastly by Alex Flinn, Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, and now…Hunted by Meagan Spooner! :D Some I’ve loved, s...

REVIEW TO COME TODAY. Me : *sighs* Person : are you okay?Me : yeah, I'm just disappointed. Me : *facepalm* And as Yeva scanned the walls, each one lined with shelves and each one full of leather-bound books, at least a hundred books, more than sheknew existed in one place, she felt her heart might simply burst. I truly don't know why I didn't really like this book. Maybe it's because I was in reading slump while reading it ? or maybe it was just the book that wasn't really interest

“She wept because she did not know what she wanted, and because she wanted everything.” 4 1/2 stars. Wow, this was... unexpected. I got an arc of Hunted from edelweiss months ago. After putting it off again and again for other books, I decided to let it expire. Seriously, who even needs another Beauty & the Beast retelling? Then this book was given to me as a gift and *resigned sigh* I decided to just give it a shot. And I'm so glad I did.Cruel Beauty is still my favourite Beauty & the Beast

I really enjoyed the way Meagan Spooner blended Russian folklore elements into this retelling of Beauty & the Beast. The pacing does fall a bit on the slow side resulting in some plot dragging moments. However, if you enjoy retellings of fairytales, you might find this one interesting.There may have been more, but the Russian fairytales Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf, The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa, and Vasilisa the Beautiful are all mentioned or incorporated into the story...

Intricate, rich and enchanting, Hunted was the tale I never knew I needed - it's a Beauty and the Beast winter retelling interspersed with Russian elements, captivating folklore, and an overall ethereal, snowy atmosphere that contributed to the whimsical fairytale setting in the book. Yeva's heart spoke to mine on a personal level. The restlessness, the constant wanting, the inability to settle, the soul-deep longing. It's the first time in a long time that I've found a heroine after my own wi...

4.5*I really really enjoyed this! I normally like my fantasy books to have a lot of action and this one definitely lacked that but it worked really well because it read exactly like a fairy tale, which is perfect as this is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. This one stuck a bit closer to the Disney version/original fairy tale than others I have read while also taking a unique spin on it which I thought was very neat. Overall an awesome retelling! *ARC provided for review by Indigo Books & Music

Hunted is the BEST Beauty and the Beast retelling I have EVER read! It's magical, dark and so murdery.I know I am late to the party on this one, like really, really late, but I can't help but gush.Why did I wait so long to pick this up? I am horrible at life, I guess. That must be the answer. There literally cannot be another reason.I listened to the audiobook of Hunted, which I borrowed from my local library. After completing, I know I will be buying a hard copy because I absolutely plan to rea...

See this review and on my blog: www.bookbastion.netThis was STUNNING.^ Actual gif of me reading most of this book. Okay, not really, but it about sums up my feelings. Retellings are a difficult thing to go into because you never know how they're going to turn out: how you're going to feel if the story is too similar so it feels boring to read; or if it diverges too greatly from the source material that you feel it's done the original an injustice. Neither was the case for me here. Hunted sets it...

This is a solid YA Beauty and the Beast retelling, full of girl power and feminist themes. Some of the story threads are definitely true to the original fairy tale (kidnapping, a curse, a ruined castle, a beast), but where Spooner deviates from that tale is where the meat of this story really comes from.In this retelling, Beauty is something of a badass. A hunter who can move through a forest as though she is part of it.This book starts off with her father as a wealthy merchant, who sacrificed h...