Beastly by Alex Flinn

Beastly by Alex Flinn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

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'm not going to lie, I really liked this.



I immediately did not like Kyle. I was already picking up my pitchfork and torch.



Ok, that might be a little too dramatic. I especially hated the way he felt he was entitled to anything and everything because of his good looks. I didn't like the way he treated Magda either. I disliked him so much that I couldn't even find sympathy for the lack of a relationship between him and his father (or mother for that matter).

Then he changed into a beast. I was happy, he had finally got what he deserved.



Although good, and this being the retelling of Beauty and the Beast, the story got infinitely better from this point on. You could clearly see Kyle go through the stages of grief. You could see and feel his growth towards a better man. By the time the story was over, Kyle was no longer Kyle but Adrian, and you couldn't help but love him (although he was a little cheesy in the romantic department). I was so touched by his transformation, I may have had a tear come to my eye (which is super rare).



I don't have much to say about Lindy, you know she was going to be sweet and caring from the beginning, so she didn't have much of an impact on me. Magda was the motherly figure Kyle/Adrian craved. Now Will, he was awesome. I loved his character. He wasn't smug, he wasn't afraid to take advantage of the situation, but always knew right from wrong. I had seen the movie Beastly some years ago. I feel that the role of Will was cast so perfectly with Neil Patrick Harris. I just couldn't imagine anyone else but him while reading. It was like it was written just for him.

On that note, I'd say read this if you like retellings or want something a little more innocent. I enjoyed this and may very well pick up another book from Alex Flinn

Favorite Quotes:

“Just because something is beautiful doesn´t mean it´s good.”

“A beautiful thing is precious, no matter the price. Those who do not know how to see the precious things in life will never be happy...”

“Maybe we judge people too much by their looks because it's easier than seeing what's really important.”

“Sometimes it also helps to have a bit less pride.”

Read from April 22 to May 01, 2015

Top 5 Genres*: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Fantasy/Fairytales, Fantasy/Paranormal
*According to Goodreads
_________________________
My ratings system
5 stars - I absolutely loved it
4 stars - Good book and would recommend
3 stars - Decent book, but wasn't spectacular
2 stars - Not good, but was able to finish it
1 stars - Did not finish (DNF) and I don't usually rate a book I haven't finished (just to be fair to the author)

View all my reviews