Saturday, December 01, 2012

Review: Beastly by Alex Flinn


3.5 stars

“I am allowing the world to see you as you truly are,” Kendra said. “A beast.”

Kyle Kingsbury was the typical popular guy that you would find in most books. He is rich, devastatingly handsome, and of course: first class jerk. Kyle thought that with his good looks and his father’s money, he could get away with everything. He was right, until he messed up with the wrong girl.

”You really did invite me to a dance even though you had another date, just to make me look stupid?”

I laughed again. “You actually thought someone like me would take someone like you to dance?”

It is a cruel thing to blow off a girl in a dance, but Kyle didn’t realize that he would finally receive his much deserved punishment this time. Surely no one could punish him, not even his teachers. Only a witch can punish him… a witch who later puts a spell on him, a spell that makes him beastly. In two years, Kyle needs to find a girl who can look past his hideous look and love him, and to break the curse, he has to be in love with the girl as well. Or he would stay this way forever: a beast.

Beastly successfully fascinated me with its surprising depth, well-crafted characters, and flawless writing. When I picked this book, I expected a refreshing modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but I ended up finding more. I love that Beastly is packed with references to many books and authors. It was such a sweet, sweet read that I breezed through the pages.

I adore that most parts of the book stay true to the original story of Beauty and the Beast. It’s very interesting to see Beauty and the Beast from Beast’s point of view as well. The transformation of Kyle Kingsbury from a heartless and arrogant guy to a wonderful and kind person didn’t come in one night. The progress is gradual and lovely, and I was very pleased to see that Kyle changes a lot in the end.

Although this is a fairytale retelling, Kyle’s personality still has an echo of real guy. Abandoned by his mother and ignored by his father, it’s no surprise that Kyle turns out to be a self-centered person. When he was turned into a beast, his loneliness was more apparent and it ached me how little his father cares for him. Lindy, the Belle in the story, is just as lonely as Kyle. She has no friends other than her shelves of books, and his father is a horrible person who can sell his own daughter without any concern. The romance is, truly, a story of two lonely people who find warmth in each other’s presences.

Beastly would be a great read for romantic readers who are looking for sweet love story. The scenes between Kyle and Lindy are very cute, adorned with roses, books, and later snow. I can’t wait into dive into other books by Alex Flinn. I have a feeling she would be the newest addition of authors I’m going to stalk. :)

That night, I went to bed without locking the front door. … She was cold. I crept slowly into the hallway and found the linen closet where we kept the extra blankets. I chose one and crept back into the room and fluffed it out, so it fell perfectly over her. I went back to bed and slept as one can sleep only on a cold night in a warm bed. In the morning, she was still there. She came out holding the extra blanket, a questioning look on her face, but she didn’t say anything.

From that night on, I never bolted the door. Every night, I lay awake wondering. Every morning, she was still there.





I rated this book:
Three cups of tea. I like it.  Recommended to read in spare time.

18 comments:

  1. Such a lovely review, Hilda <3 This story sounds so beautiful :) Beauty and the Beast is one of my absolute favourite Disney movies and I'll happily lap us any retelling. I hate stuck up jerks in books so I'm eager to see how Kyle changes and how Lindy changes him.

    Fab review, Hilda <3

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  2. hi, nice to visit your blog. thanks

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  3. I must admit that this is one of those rare times where I've seen the movie, but haven't read the book! I LOVED the movie, so I really want to pick the book up at some point. Great review, Hilda. :)

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  4. I already read the book and I found Kyle's character was actually quite lovable. The way he thought about something and sometimes being sarcastic about his condition by mentioning Jane Eyre or The Hunchback of Notredame where the heroes had bad appearance like him.. well.. I find it cute.

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  5. You enjoyed this one much more than I did. I read it so long ago I don't remember what it was that I didn't like, but for some reason I have avoided the rest of her books =/ I'm glad you liked it though!! =) Have you seen the movie yet? It's cute, you should watch it if you haven't already!

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    1. I think I read this book in the right moment, Amanda! I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy it as much as I did. >.< The movie is very cute indeed, although sadly I think it doesn't do this book a justice! x( I'm very sad whenever a movie has different plots from the actual book. x( Alex Pettyfer's appearance almost make up the lack of the awesomeness in the movie though! ;)

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  6. Ah! Beautiful review Hilda! I love how gorgeous and memorizing Flinn's writing and stories are about! I also enjoyed how gradual and genuine Kyle's transformation was! I hope you try her book A Kiss in Time, its my favorite of Flinn's books.

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  7. This book sounds really cute! I haven't read it yet, but I should, considering that I normally like fairytale retellings. I love surprisingly deep books, and I think I'll really love Kyle's transformation. What a sweet read! Lovely review, Hilda! <3

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  8. I didn't read this but I saw the movie version. It was mostly entertaining but not super compelling. I wonder if the book was any better. You're 3.5 stars leads me to believe that it wasn't. Wonderful review Hilda. Love the quotes. :)

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  9. Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed this one, Hilda!(: I rather enjoyed it myself and the movie was quite good too, so I definitely plan to read more by this author as well. Fantastic review, dear!

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  10. I'm not a fan of fairy tale re-tellings so I don't think I'd pick this one up myself. I did want to see the movie but still haven't got around to it. Glad to see you enjoyed it enough though. Great review and quotes :)

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  11. Woehoe, I'm so glad you also enjoyed this book! I really liked it and I was glad that Alex did justice to my favorite story ever :) The transformation in Kyle's personality was well-done. Bewitching (the sort of second book) was also very good! Awesome review Hilda!

    Mel@thedailyprophecy.

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  12. I think I gave this 3 stars too, though I did read it after the movie so that might have had some effect. It was actually my first Beauty and the Beast retelling and I thought it was pretty good. The romance was very sweet and I would definitely read more from this author in the future. Great review as always, Hilda darling! :)

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  13. This sounds like a very creative and wonderful re-telling, Hilda xD I'd never bothered to read the plot before but now that I did, it sounds so intriguing! I loved Beauty and the Beast as a kid and love that this one is deep and so much more than a re-telling. Definitely giving this a shot some day. Amazing review as always, Hildaa <3

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  14. This was a cute story! I really like fairy tales retellings and this romance was nice. I'm glad you enjoyed this one!

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  15. I really only have read a few retellings. Like of 12 Dancing Princesses and I think that's it. Hmm.. yeah. And I've seen the movie for this! Oh, right, I shouldn't be happy. XP But the movie was alright, if you haven't you should definitely check it out and the book sounds like it has a whole lot more depth to everything than how vague and strange it was in the movie.

    I definitely adore your reviews, Hilda! ^^ <333

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  16. I have wondered about this book, so I'm happy to know you liked it, Hilda! I like that it stays faithful to the original story while also including new elements!

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  17. Lovely review. I have heard many things about this retelling but I have never actually bought the book. It may possibly be because Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favourites. I will pick it up eventually.

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