I re-readinh this book and I always like Rosalie. Hahaha ... That's enough for me cause I don't knwo how to write my review about this. But this book still gave me a sad feeling and heartache for Rosalie. ( )

I wasn't expecting a lot going into this - it's a YA romance retelling of Beauty and the Beast, so I wasn't exactly expecting Charlotte Bronte here. But, uh... yikes. The basic premise as set out in the first few chapters is interesting - a young witch, raised by an evil adoptive mother to take revenge on the kingdom, somehow, for some reason; her new husband despises her because she's a witch and he was forced to marry her rather than the woman he was originally set to wed.
The writing just made it so hard to get through. I think the heroine says "my adoptive/adopted mother" like 10 times in the first chapter, which is 9 pages long. We get it! The third chapter gives us a sentence that's like "My nightmare faded away to just a nightmare, a bad dream." I'm paraphrasing, but it was really repetitive.
This book couldn't hold my interest and I ended up skimming the rest of it.

I gave it 2 stars because to be totally fair, I'm not the target audience for a Young Adult novel (a few of the things I found cringey, like the name Lady Eville of the town of Nihil - like nihilism?? - I think I would've found funny if I was 12, so that didn't affect my star rating). I don't think the writing is really up to snuff even for it being YA romance, but it's certainly not the WORST thing I've ever read. Even as an actual Young Adult I definitely read worse stuff. ( )

I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler-free way. Unfortunately, there is still always a risk of slight spoilers despite my best efforts. If you feel something in my review is a spoiler please let me know. Thank you.

Because of Rosalie's mother's need for vengeance, she finds herself stuck in a loveless marriage to a prince who hates her and her magic. He refuses to even look at her. So using her magic and wits she finds a way to roam the castle and grounds freely. Soon she comes to an agreement with the prince. She will help rid the kingdom of the beast that threatens it in return for freedom.

Likes:
~Epic romance
~Hate to love
~Beauty and Beast retelling
~Really gets emotions high
~Magic
~Curses
~Strong heroine

Dislikes:
~It ended

I loved this book, more than I could have thought possible. I couldn't stop reading this. I want so much more. I'm so glad it's a series and I am praying that other books all meet the same standards as this amazing book. There were times I was yelling at the characters, or just yelling my frustrations, excitement, or any other high emotion. Truly an amazing read. I would recommend this to anyone who loves romance, fantasy, or retellings. ( )

I borrowed this from the library on a whim, knowing that it probably wouldn't be great. And... yeah. It wasn't that great.

I actually enjoyed Chanda Hahn's books when I was younger, although her first books were badly in need of some stricter editing. While this book is not quite as riddled with errors as her earlier stuff, Of Beast and Beauty would still have benefited from a firmer editorial hand. (There was one traumatic passage where someone wept as she cuddled the body of her dead father. "Cradled," editor. "Cradled" is the word you're looking for.)

In short: not good, not terrible. A little long and rambly, the main character gets conked on the head an awful lot, and I absolutely cannot take the name "Daughters of Eville" seriously. ( )