Beastly >> Book Review

Title: Beastly 
Author: Alex Flinn
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: 2007
Format: e-book
Source: gift
My Rating: 3 stars


Synopsis
I am a beast. 

A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster. 

You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell. 

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.




My Review
I saw that there is going to be a movie based on this book so I though I should read this before going to see it.

It is a retelling of the fairytale story Beauty and the Beast. I never liked Beauty and the Beast as a kid. I have seen all the Disney movies but never really felt something about this story, except for the little mermaid... I loved that one!
Anyway so I thought why not read this book. I may actually like the story if it is on today's terms.

It's about a boy named Kyle and he is obsessed with his own vanity. He thinks, people that are less than perfect don't deserve any attention at all. And perfect, by his terms, is anyone who has money and beauty.
He doesn't behave nice to people that aren't perfect like him but a witch comes to put an end to that.

Sendra, is a witch that has been watching him for a while and feels discussed by what he is doing.... so she decides to give him a lesson.... an ugly one...

She transforms hims into a beast and the only way to get out of this curse is to find someone to love him in this form.
He has to find a girl to love him and of course he has to love her back in order to break the curse. And all that in two years notice.

I wouldn't say that I loved the book and that is because I don't like Beauty and the Beast so much.... but I can say that I really enjoyed it.
I liked that the book was told by the 'beast's' point of view. I liked how his character changed after his transformation. He wasn't a good guy and I didn't like him at all how he was at the beggining. A guy that was only interested in money and beauty living by his Dad's money and fame.
But all that changed when he became a beast. He became more aware that there is more out there aside from money and beauty.

He relises that he had never loved or been loved before and that seems impossible now that he is a beast.
A girl though comes to prove him wrong.

If you like fairytales being told in today's world and like the Beauty and the Beast... this is for you.

Movie Trailer

Frosy 

Buy this book at Amazon (Format Hardcover)

or Amazon | Book Depository (Format Paperback)

or Amazon (Format e-book, Kindle)

A Kiss In Time >> Book Review

A Kiss In Time by Alex Flinn

hardcover pages: 371

My Rating 3.5 stars

"What is that?" She points to the numbers on the shirt.

"The year. Old Navy puts the year on all their flag T-shirts. It's short of a racket, I guess-you have to buy a new one every year."

"That...is...the...year?" She looks short of sick. Her face is suddenly almost the same color green as her eyes. She begins to shake. "Oh, my...oh, no." She crumples back onto the floor, as she was when I first saw her. "It cannot be true. It cannot."

I kneel beside her. "What's the matter now? I thought you were fine."

She looks at me, then starts screaming. "Fine? Fine? I have been asleep nearly three hundred years!"

(-excerpt from A Kiss In Time)

Talia fell under a spell...

Jack broke the curse.

I was told to beware the accursed spindle, but it was so enchanting, so hypnotic....

I was looking for a little adventure the day I ditched my tour group. But finding a comatose town, with a hot-looking chick asleep in it, was so not what I had in mind.

I awakened in the same place but in another time-to a strangers soft kiss.

I couldn't help kissing her. Sometimes you just have to to kiss someone. I didn't know this would happen.

Now I am in dire trouble because my father, the king, says I have brought ruin upon our country. I have no choice but to run away with this commoner!

Now I'm stuck with a bratty princess and a truck of her jewels... The good news: My parents will freak!

Think you have dating issues? Try locking lips with a snoozing stunner who turns out to be 316 years old. 

Can a kiss transcend all-even time?

My Review

This story is the retelling of the fairytale Sleeping Beauty.

I have a read another book of Alex Flinn called Beastly (review coming up soon) and I have to say I like this book better.

I am not really into fairytales so I wasn’t that much exited about reading it but I am glad I did! I loved it. She blends the story nicely into the modern world.

I am not going to say much about the story most of you are aware of the Sleeping Beauty so I will go on how she interpreted things for this magic world.

We have normal American Jack, which is the prince charming in this case, that goes on a trip in Europe. He gets bored one day and decides to explore Belgium with his friend until he meets Talia, our princess.

With the wrong directions taken from the guy at the hotel they end up away from the city into the wilderness. They arrive at a 17^th century castle. But all the people in it are asleep and when Jack sees Talia he wants to kiss her so bad that he can’t explain the urge.

After that nothing is the same. He finds himself bound to this spoiled girl and the thing is his parents don’t believe him.

Hiding a whole Kingdom in Europe was nicely explained and the end was surprising. I would never thought of actually having the kingdom as an attraction for tourists.

Overall I liked a lot. It’s a sweet romantic story with witty characters and hilarious moments as Talia tries to handle the gadgets. The dialogue I think makes the book worth reading. It’s insanely funny.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes fairytales and happily ever endings. 

Frosy 

Buy the book at Amazon | Book Depository (Hardcover Format)

and Amazon | Book Depository (Paperback Format)




Book Trailer