≫ [PDF] Beauty and the Beast Faerie Tale Collection Book 1 eBook Jenni James

Beauty and the Beast Faerie Tale Collection Book 1 eBook Jenni James

Download As PDF : Beauty and the Beast Faerie Tale Collection Book 1 eBook Jenni James

Beauty and the Beast Faerie Tale Collection Book 1 eBook Jenni James

This is one of the better re-tellings of Beauty and the Beast. No real point in going into the plot because anyone who doesn't live on Atlantis knows how this story goes (and who knows, maybe they have Amazon in Atlantis).

What is most fun about this book is the dialogue between Alexander / Apollo and Cecilia. It's very English, almost like bantering. She's a smart girl who vacillates between being snarky and being highly intuitive and intelligent (OK, she's both all the time). Alexander learns his lesson pretty quickly about why his previous actions have been so hurtful to others, especially Cecilia. What I really enjoyed was how he understood this, and tried - as both a wolf and a man - to make amends to her. They are actually two of the most appealing B and the B's I've read. Naturally, it all works out perfectly fine at the end and everyone lives happily ever after (don't read this if you live in Atlantis). Except those who don't (but they deserve it).


Tags : Beauty and the Beast (Faerie Tale Collection Book 1) - Kindle edition by Jenni James. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Beauty and the Beast (Faerie Tale Collection Book 1).,ebook,Jenni James,Beauty and the Beast (Faerie Tale Collection Book 1),StoneHouse Ink,FICTION Classics,JUVENILE FICTION Fairy Tales & Folklore General

Beauty and the Beast Faerie Tale Collection Book 1 eBook Jenni James Reviews

I got this when it was free. If I'd paid for it, I probably wouldn't be as happy.

While Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairytale ever, this isn't my favorite fairytale book from this author. It's an interesting take on the story that I rather liked, but I wasn't as impressed with the character development nor the character motivations through this story, either individually or compared to the other two books of hers I have read. I also wasn't as impressed with the writing as it seemed far less polished (repetitive word choice and frequent typos) than it should be and especially compared to her other work.

It's cute and clean, but not as good as it should be.
Prince Alexander had always been selfish, egotistical, and cruel to Cecelia and most others. He was the most horrid person she knows. He especially hates that she tries to help others, and he calls it "meddling."

When the prince ridicules an old woman he meets, she casts curse on him, so that he must roam the night as a monster wolf. The only way the spell can be broken is if a woman loves him as the beast within a year. When he turns into the wolf every night at dark, he begins to see what an awful person he had been. He meets Cecelia one night at a low point in her life. The wolf becomes her confidant, and he falls in love with her. How could he ever have been so cruel to her? He begins to despise the man he was. Alexander tries to woo her as the prince by day, but she doesn't trust him, although he can tell she's drawn to him. Frederick, the prince's cousin and heir, finds out their secrets and confronts Cecelia with lies about Alexander and the wolf. She's devastated.

I liked this fairy tale much better than the author's SLEEPING BEAUTY. I was drawn into the story much more than I expected, and it was a good, clean romance. A few minor problems included "gel" being used instead of "girl over and over, and it got old and seemed odd, since no other dialect was given, and "has" was used once instead of "was." There were also some missing commas. If the wolf's tracks were everywhere and all over the land, as stated, how was Frederick able to follow the wolf's prints to find Alexander and Cecelia? Also, with the wolf's keen senses, why did the wolf not sense Frederick was near and watching them before he did? Despite these, I found myself really enjoying BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, perhaps because it has long been one of my favorite tales, and this version was good.
______________________________________________________________________
When Prince Alexander, the spoiled, handsome ruler of the land directs one of his famous insults at an ugly old woman, the last thing he expects is retaliation. But retaliate she does, cursing him to live each night in the form of a beast unless he can find a woman to love him in his beastly form within a year, thereby breaking the spell. Losing hope that anyone could look beyond his beastly form, Alexander concentrates his efforts on a succession plan, determined to leave his kingdom in better hands than his own. But when he crosses paths with the brokenhearted Miss Cecelia Hammerstein-Smythe, he begins to hope for a future free of his cursed form. For Cecelia, once mocked by Alexander for her kind heart and rejected by another suitor, sees a goodness in Alexander the beast that he never knew existed, making him long to be a man and ruler worthy of her regard. But just as Alexander begins to hope that Cecelia's love might break the spell, another force rises to threaten his hopes -- one determined so determined to steal Alexander's throne he'd do anything to ensure the prince remains a beast forever.

Being an absolute SUCKER for all things fairy tale related, when I stumbled upon Jenni James' series of fairy tale retellings I knew I had to give them a try. James clearly has a passion for fairy tales and her spin on the tropes of the Beauty and the Beast tale possesses some interesting twists. But any charm these sparks of creativity lend the story is overwhelmed by plodding prose, clunky dialogue, and uneven pacing.

James sets her tale in what I can only assume is the Regency time period due to repeated references to cravats and over-use of "gel" for "girl." It's an interesting concept, setting what is essentially a werewolf story in this time frame. While I liked the idea of the prince as a beast only half the time, allowing readers to see Cecelia interact with his human and beastly selves, the conceit falters due to a lack of context. With no set ground rules for the time period or the use of magic within this world, the novelty of this twist quickly fades due to the lack of world-building. And while the basic idea of the "Beauty" character as a somewhat shy, socially awkward society miss is novel, there is never the sense of true peril or sacrifice on Cecelia's part that makes the traditional story -- and more polished retellings -- so timeless.

I have to give the author credit for her passion for these timeless stories, and there are indeed the seeds of unique ideas within this novella that only faltered for a lack of development and polish. That said, the book kept me sufficiently interested to read in one afternoon, if for no other reason than a sense of nostalgia that my childhood self would've appreciated James' romantic bent. Those seeking more substantive, powerful retellings of the Beauty and the Beast story should check out Robin McKinley's classics -- for here is a featherweight, fluffy effort that will leave you craving the transformative power of the source material.
This is one of the better re-tellings of Beauty and the Beast. No real point in going into the plot because anyone who doesn't live on Atlantis knows how this story goes (and who knows, maybe they have in Atlantis).

What is most fun about this book is the dialogue between Alexander / Apollo and Cecilia. It's very English, almost like bantering. She's a smart girl who vacillates between being snarky and being highly intuitive and intelligent (OK, she's both all the time). Alexander learns his lesson pretty quickly about why his previous actions have been so hurtful to others, especially Cecilia. What I really enjoyed was how he understood this, and tried - as both a wolf and a man - to make amends to her. They are actually two of the most appealing B and the B's I've read. Naturally, it all works out perfectly fine at the end and everyone lives happily ever after (don't read this if you live in Atlantis). Except those who don't (but they deserve it).