Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge
Lisa Jensen
Candlewick Press
July 10th. 2018
Lucie becomes a servant at Chateau Beaumont, and at first, it seems like a dream. The dream quickly becomes a nightmare, however, when the lord of the house, Jean-Loup, notices her.
After a brutal assault, Lucie visits a witch. She is determined that Jean-Loup suffer as she has–and nothing seems more perfect for a vain man to have his outsides look like his insides. The witch turns him into a hideous beast. It seems that Lucie is destined to quietly watch his suffering, however, as the witch also turns her into a silver candlestick–impervious to harm, but also silent.
Then, one night a man happens upon the nearly abandoned chateau, and steals a rose. To repay his theft, the Beast demands that the ailing man send his daughter, Rose, to keep him company.
Rose changes Lucie’s now gentle Beast in ways she could never have anticipated.
This book takes an interesting approach to the Beauty and the Beast tale, and leaves us wondering which version of the prince was the curse. The book has the feel of a fairytale, but it’s definitely not the same one we’ve all read or watched before.
JL Jamieson is a strange book nerd who writes technical documents by day, and book news, reviews, and other assorted opinions for you by night. She is working on her own fiction, and spends time making jewelry to sell at local conventions, as well as stalking the social media accounts of all your favorite writers.