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.

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I rated this book:

Three cups of tea. I like it.  Recommended to read in spare time.