Beastly - Review

Beastly
by Alex Flinn
Ratin: 4/5

Movie on IMDb | Authors website | Goodreads


I am a beast. 

A beast! 

Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright. 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.

When I first started Beastly, I had no idea that it was a retelling of The Beauty and the Beast. This was my first retelling, I've never picked one up because I didn't have high expectations for them. I would've passed Beastly if I knew that it was a retelling, so I'm really glad that I didn't know. It was wonderful and I hope to read more retellings in the future.

If you've read/seen/heard of The Beauty and the Beast, you know the basics of the plot. In this retelling, our beast's name is Kyle Kingsbury. He's rich, gorgeous and popular. In his world, good looks is everything. And those who hasn't got that, Kyle treats like shit. 

And being the mean guy he is, he pisses of a witch. She decides to get back to him, taking away his looks and making his outside as horrible as his inside. If he wants to get back to normal, he has to find a girl that can love his despite the way he looks. If they haven't kissed before two years after his transformation, he will remain a beast for the rest of his life.

As I said this is my first retelling, so I don't have anything to compare this with. But I think that Alex Flinn got the story into the present very good. And I loved the chat sessions with Mr Anderson! You got to meet other people who had been transformed / were thinking about getting transformed. 

This book has recently been adapted into a movie! It's in theaters right now. And hey, Alex Pettyfer plays Kyle and Neil Patrick Harris (Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother) plays the blind tutor ;) I'm totally going to watch this one.