Started Reading: January 30, 2008
Finished Reading: March 9, 2008

This is probably one of the better fairy-tale retelling I’ve read (I remember reading one retelling of A Little Mermaid and the story was so awful — I can’t, for my life, remember the title or the author). It took me a long time to finish this because the first part was a bit dragging for me so I stopped, and read other books, until I read it again today. The best parts were when the Beast was finally in the picture — though I wish there were more about him to read. I felt the same with Sunshine, where I wanted to learn Constantine’s POV because he had become such an interesting character. The same with the Beast.

Although the characters in Beauty are more fleshed-out, seeming to be more three-dimensional than two, the story or plot itself didn’t veer away from the original fairy tale. The ending was too hurried for my tastes, with everyone just coming to the castle and everything resolving on its own. Nevertheless, as a whole, this book was very nice. Probably not something I’d reread, but it was a simple enough story that I enjoyed.

Started Reading: January 24, 2008
Finished Reading: January 24, 2008

OK. This book is great. The plot is great. The ugly, mushroom-skinned, vampire-smelling vampires were quite unique since they seemed so foul. This book had that kind of potential - you see it, you try it and you just know it is better than good and it raises your expectations because you believe it’ll give you something better but still something about it doesn’t quite reach your expectations.

I understand this is Rae’s story so it naturally mostly focuses on her rather than the complex Constantine (whom I am dying to know. What I wouldn’t give to read something in his POV!) so I readied myself for that and have no complaints in that department (except for some wishful thinking regarding POV’s). I liked her character, too, because she had weaknesses, she cried (I’m tired of heroines who were a tad too strong that they don’t shed a tear) and knew she wasn’t really that brave, she evades people, does not open herself up much, and she wakes up early. She is strong, too, because she tries to overcome her trauma, feels compassion for a vampire, stabs a vampire, etc. etc. So Rae is really a wonderful woman.

And Constantine — I just wish I knew more about him. But I suppose that’s his story to tell…hopefully at some future time.

What I didn’t really like about the book is that it was just too wordy. Like the author’s over-informing the reader. Between how one scene started and how one scene continues, there are too many flashbacks and opinions between that aren’t all that important or could have been more brief. I found it too annoying. Otherwise, I would have really loved this more than I already do.

Nevertheless, this was a very good book. The open-ended ending fit, leaving it open to (hopefully) a sequel or two.