Beastly - Book Review

Beastly
by Alex Flinn

What is it about:
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.

What did I think of it:
You might know by now I'm a sucker for fairytale retellings and retellings of Beauty and the Beast in particular. So I had to give this book a try.

And this is an ok read.

The beast is just... too nice in my opinion. He just looks a bit beastly, but other than that he has repented, and he's nice, he's reliable. I want my beasts to have something truly beastlike. I want the conflict to be harder to resolve than the girl just seeing through his looks to the nice guy beneath. I want them both to have to work to find happiness, to overcome huge obstacles.

There were some nice scenes and additions to the story though. I especially liked the online chats Kyle has with a support group of magically changed creatures. I even started hoping Flinn had written a retelling of The Frog Prince (she kind of did, but sadly enough not with the frog in the leading role...).

All in all this is an entertaining read, but it didn't click enough for me to want to reread it in the future. I might try something else by Flinn if I'm in the mood for a nice, uncomplicated read.

Why should you read it:
It's a nice YA retelling of Beauty and the Beast.