Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay
My rating: 0 of 5 stars
There are books that could sweep you off your feet. This one belongs to it.
I'm a big sucker for fairy tale retellings. I do love happy endings. The first time I've seen this book in Goodreads, I instantly fell in love with it. The title. The cover. The blurb. I had high expectations for it. And thank the ancestors, it didn't disappoint.
In the beginning...
The moment I laid my hands (figuratively, it's an ecopy) into this book, I just can't seem to put it down.
The writing was compelling, the story, riveting. It was a mix of fairy tales (at least for me) that I grew up loving. Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty. I almost expected a stepmother and two stepsisters to pop out. I believe there's also a little bit of Romeo and Juliet mixed in. But even though this story is a mix of different tales which are loved for centuries, the author managed to make it his/her own. She created her own realm, her characters with their own personalities, her own myths and legends.
Gem and Isra's love story touched me to the core, who wouldn't? I admit I have a soft spot for forbidden love and i-hate-you-so-much-i-love-you stories, and this one is perfect for my taste.
I could almost feel the conflicting emotions of the two leads as if they were my own. Man, I even cried. Loads. Buckets of tears. The funny thing was, now that I think of it, I never felt hatred towards any characters on this book. Even for the villain. I guess, all the time I was thinking about how Gem and Isra will be able to get the happy ending they truly deserved.
One thing that irked me though, was the ending. I dunno why, but it seemed lacking to me. I wasn't satisfied. But maybe that was just me. I think I wanted something grand, more dramatic. Blame it on this book too. I was crying halfway and I expected an...i dunno...surge of emotion...maybe..towards the end part, and it's just wasn't there. And it's so sad because I missed breakfast just to finish this book.
Anyways, the whole story can make up for any shortcomings. This is one of those books that will leave you with a hang over. I wonder how long will this hang over last? One thing is sure though, this will be part of favorites shelf.
View all my reviews
