My Beauty and the Beast Obsession

I love Beauty and the Beast in any way it's written.  It's actually a bit of a problem, because in my first semester of college I hadn't brought the Disney movie with me and ended up finding some creepy version on Bing videos (I apologize to my true love Google for that).  Luckily, my roommate brought it back for us this semester because she's simply that awesome, but I thought as I finished another retelling that I would begin to discuss some of my favorites.


I just finished Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay, which is a really cool rendition of the modern fairy tale (although, it does happen to end happy, sorry to disappoint any of you death lovers out there).  Anyway, the book is about a set of people who travel from their home planet to a new one and begin to develop scales to counteract the heat and weather.  The "Smooth Skins," who don't want scales, lock themselves in domes and make blood sacrifices to the evil spirit who rules them.  The next blood sacrifice, Isra, as well as one of the "Monstrous," Gem, and a soldier, Bo, tell this tale through alternating perspectives.


I honestly enjoyed it immensely.






Another Beauty and the Beast retelling is the lovely Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge.  Basically, Nyx is a "bride sacrifice" to the evil ruler of her kingdom and her job is to kill him when she is sent to his castle the day she is married to him.  The immortal Ignifex is actually much more complicated than he seems at the beginning, and let me tell you, that man is Charming with a capital C.  Nyx spends a long time trying to figure out his secrets, and obviously as time goes on, they fall in love.  But they both despise the fact that they have feelings for one another.  Then there's the secret of shadow man who appears everywhere, and DUDE.  I appreciate the effort Hodge goes through for drama.  


The ending of this book is amazing and wonderful and plays well off both the "beast" aspect and the "eternal love" aspect that every girl secretly hopes for in her life.


Okay, sooo cheating on Beauty and the Beast a little bit, I have to include on of my favorite books.  Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George is technically a retelling of the Nordic tale "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," but it's retold with hints of Beauty and the Beast throughout.  The book is about a Lass (who doesn't have a name because her family didn't really want her) and her journey with an isbjorn (ice bear) back to his castle under the promise that her family will be rich.  But there are many secrets in this castle, and in this ice bear's life.  The girl must overcome them all to save her future.  Filled with trolls, animal magic, and an enchanted castle, there's nothing I would change about this book.


If you want anymore retellings, there's a wonderful list on Goodreads that you can find here:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/18874.Best_retellings_of_Beauty_and_the_Beast


Sorry about that late finish.  Y'all rock.