Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge by Lisa Jensen
Expected Release: July 10th 2018
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Source: NetGalley
Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge Synopsis:
They say Château Beaumont is cursed. But servant-girl Lucie can’t believe such foolishness about handsome Jean-Loup Christian Henri LeNoir, Chevalier de Beaumont, master of the estate. But when the chevalier’s cruelty is revealed, Lucie vows to see him suffer. A wisewoman grants her wish, with a spell that transforms Jean-Loup into monstrous-looking Beast, reflecting the monster he is inside. But Beast is nothing like the chevalier. Jean-Loup would never patiently tend his roses; He would never attempt poetry; He would never express remorse for the wrong done to Lucie. Gradually, Lucie realizes that Beast is an entirely different creature from the handsome chevalier, with a heart more human than Jean-Loup’s ever was. Lucie dares to hope that noble Beast has permanently replaced the cruel Jean-Loup — until an innocent beauty arrives at Beast’s château with the power to break the spell.
Review:
A BIG Thank You to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for providing me a copy of “Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge″ by Lisa Jensen in exchange for my review.
When I first started reading this book, I honestly did not expect to enjoy it. This story depicts a dark retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales. Moreover, I really didn’t like the idea of the main characters portrayed in a negative manner. Having said that, I enjoyed reading this book more than I thought I would.
Let’s start with the story line. Frankly speaking, I found the story to be dragging in the first half and I had trouble with the pacing. The plot is indeed very dark and disturbing in the first few chapters as it deals with rape and suicide. However, once the transformation happens and the two protagonists are stuck in the Chateau, the story shifts pace and nothing really happens for a while to progress it. True, it is interesting to see the nuances in the Beast’s personality initially, but I found this to be repetitive after sometime. However, the story considerably picks up in the second half when Rose enters the Chateau. There are lots of twists and turns that happens after she arrives, and I found myself glued to the book. I also loved the climax of the book and was satisfied with how the characters were treated.
Now let’s talk about the controversial topic that others are talking about this book, which is the victim falling in love with her rapist. I completely agree that if that were the case, I would have hated this book and put it down immediately. However, I disagree with respect to this story because I feel that the Beast and Jean-Loup are two completely different identities. It is clear that the Beast does not have any idea about the actions or the personality of Jean-Loup and vice versa. Furthermore, they don’t even look alike when they transform into their form. So while they may be using the same body to transform in, I felt that they were two completely different people and Lucie could clearly distinguish between both.
Lisa Jensen has written this story in a beautiful and majestic manner. Her words are like fine wine and compliment to the setting and timelines of the story. The cover design of the book is also amazing and I hope it remains the same for the final publication. Overall, this was an interesting retelling to Beauty and the Beast and I rate it 4/5 stars.
