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    Of Beast and Beauty
    Of Beast and Beauty
    Of Beast and Beauty
    Audiobook10 hours

    Of Beast and Beauty

    Written by Stacey Jay

    Narrated by Julia Whelan

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    It's pointless. Hopeless. Even if she weren't afraid of me, we'll always be enemies at the core . . .

    In the city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra is raised to be a human sacrifice. Her death will ensure her city's vitality.

    In the desert, a mutant beast named Gem fights to save his people, known as the Monstrous, from starvation.

    Neither dreams that, together, they can return balance to their worlds. When Gem is captured for trying to steal Yuan's enchanted roses, he becomes a prisoner of the city. Isra enlists his help, and soon begins to care for him-and to question everything she has been brought up to believe.

    She's a queen; I'm her prisoner. I am her monster and she is mine.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJul 14, 2015
    ISBN9781494582470
    Of Beast and Beauty

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    Reviews for Of Beast and Beauty

    4/5

    110 ratings18 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Of Beast and Beauty is a retelling of the fairy tale with a sci-fi twist, but it was something much more than a simple retelling. I was completely unprepared for how strongly I was going to react to this book. From the very beginning, the beautiful writing grabbed me and transported me to this vivid planet and it's sentient magic on the brink of dramatic change. I had highlighted so many exquisitely written passages that I don't know which one to share, so I'll just share how it begins. "In the beginning was the darkness and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret. The secret was as old as the cracked cobblestone streets of Yuan, as peculiar as the roses that bloom eternally within the domed city's walls, as poisonous as forgotten history and the stories told in it's place"
      The planet's pain as it was shaped and altered by human's fear and unwillingness to try to understand and embrace change even if it would benefit them, was beautifully expressed in lyrical prose. The humans of this planet would rather risk destroying their world, live in isolation, and sacrifice their people than to consider the possibility that they could be wrong in their narrow minded discrimination.

      Along with the underlying theme of a cursed people struggling to survive on a dying planet, a seemingly impossible bond was forming between the princess of one of the domed cities and one of the monstrous outsiders captured breaking in to steal food for his starving people. This romance was compelling and poignant and bittersweet and SO flawlessly written that by the time they got to the first kiss, MY toes were curling. I have to say that I'm usually pretty immune to most romance in YA novels, but I felt this one, this romance touched my heart in a way that few ever do.

      Isra and Gem have to overcome so many obstacles to save their people, their planet, themselves, and each other. Their relationship, as they discover the truths about one another, was slow building and believable. Stacey Jay was not gentle with these characters, neither physically or emotionally, and each was brought to the point of breaking several times as they uncovered the harsh reality about their world, their people, and the magic that sustains their planet.

      By the end, I was curled up in a corner sobbing onto my Nook, I'm not even exaggerating. I was so connected to this story and these characters that I felt emotionally drained when it was over. The HEA for me was that there was no cliffhanger ending. I was completely satisfied with the way the story was resolved.

      I could go on further about the background characters, the dialog, the world building, pacing, and other aspects of this layered and detailed story, but I'll just say that all of those factors contributed to how very much I fell in love with this book. Nothing at all stood out to me that could have been improved upon, I thought the story was absolutely flawless.

      This is absolutely one of the best, if not thebest, book of 2013 and will have a permanent place on my favorites shelf. I highly recommend that you read this at some point this summer. I recommend it for every and anyone, whether you like romance, sci-fi, fairy tales, or are just a fan of outstanding writing and brilliant storytelling.

      (I received Of Beast and Beauty for review from NetGalley)
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this. It's one of the best retellings I've read, actually feels original, not so much a retelling. The romance is believable. The characters are great. The world is well done. The storyline is awesome. I definitely fell into this book. It's about a people who came to a planet. The planet's god is screwed up because of some things the people did. It creates a big rift of the people. The ones outside the dome become sort of human/animal hybrids. The people inside are more traditional. Things are going wrong now. The planet is dying. It's interesting. I recommend checking it out.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book quite a bit, for many reasons.

      Beauty and the Beast is a story that has seen so many retellings that it's difficult to expect one to feel "fresh." This retelling, however, is both fresh and more subtle in its nods to the original, or at least to the Disney version.

      Isra is the (blind) Princess of Yuan, a domed city where the residents are dependent on a garden of magical roses for prosperity. As the Princess, it is her fate to eventually sacrifice herself to the roses for the city to continue flourishing. Outside of the city's dome lies endless desert, where people known as the Monstrous live, including our male lead, Gem. The people of Yuan believe them to be dangerous, and less than human. Both sides hold many misconceptions about the other, as they have been separated for so long.

      There were so many aspects of the book that didn't immediately come across as nods to the original story, which I found to be really well-done. The rose garden is, of course, obvious. But the fact that Isra believes herself to be a monster, and it's not just Gem filling that role, was an interesting twist.

      There is another man vying for Isra's affections, in parallel to Gaston--but I honestly didn't really think about it until quite a ways into the book.

      The "deformities" of both the Monstrous and certain people within the city of Yuan is a gentle nod to the transformation of the castle servants of the original, as is the roses' spell.

      My only real complaint, and the reason for docking one star, is the fact that most of the romance occurs off the page. There are romantic scenes, yes, but...they meet and don't initially get along, and then there's a time skip of two months in which they "work on the garden together." It made the eventual romance seem a little contrived. I wouldn't call it forced or awkward, but it certainly didn't have a lot of build-up via scenes within the book.

      I really enjoyed the world-building, the history of the domed cities and desert, the struggles of the main characters, and the fresh take on the Beauty and the Beast tale.
    • 3/5
      Of Beast and Beauty is like a B+B retelling where Gaston has daddy issues and totally a feasible choice for Beauty only she thinks she's a beast because of her own daddy and the issues she has with him. Beast is a warrior who is considered ugly because of the features his people developed to live in harsh conditions.The divide between Isra and Gem's people reminds me of Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi where planetary colonizers decided to just randomly kick people out and let them duke it out in the desert plains. Of Beast and Beauty was more fantasy than sci-fi but it was a nice blend of both in my opinion. I still think Rossi had a better-paced romance in her book but considering this one is a stand-alone Jay did a good job with the number of pages she had. It was a very enjoyable read.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this YA book which is kind of a retelling of Beauty and Beast but is also a dystopian, fantasy tale. Isra's world is under a dome, Gem's is the desert, both worlds are struggling to survive and both hate and fear the other people. I thought there was a good message of the harm of prejudice and racism. While it is a romance story, it is also a story of a curse, lies, suppression, labeling of others as mentally ill. Over all it was a enjoyable read.
    • 3/5
      This fantasy novel will probably appeal to its young adult target audience more than it did to me. I found the plot predictable though I thought that the alien world was well done, both in its details and in how the author chose to reveal them.Julia Whelan did a very good job narrating.
    • 3/5
      Princess Isra knows that one day she will be sacrificed for the good of her city. When a mutant desert boy is captured after infiltrating the city, she begins to understand that what she has always accepted as necessary may not actually be required or the best thing for her people.
    • 4/5
      Don't zone out for the prologue. I wasn't paying attention as much as I should have so I was a bit confused for quite a bit. All in all, this is a rather fascinating retro-futuristic retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The setting, the characters, and the plot are all unique and yet comfortingly familiar. My one major qualm is that - once again (I've been seeing this way to often in YA lately) - the choice of whether or not to revenge themself upon their wrongdoer/enemy has been taken from the protagonist's hands, leaving them (the reader) without any real satisfying closure. Lame.
    • 2/5
      Having just read "Princess of Thorns" by the same author and being a huge fan of the classic fairytale "Beauty and the Beast", I was keen to get my hands on this dystopian version, as I have read some wonderful retellings of this story. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. "Of Beast and Beauty" started vey well, but then it just became complicated. There was too much going on with secrets, lies, forgotten truths, twists, more twists, then a few more twists for good measure, which spoilt the simplicity of the original fairytale. At the same time, the plot seemed to stall in the middle of the book and then it dragged until the end. As for Isra, I found her a fairly weak, insecure protagonist who started to annoy me about half-way through. Gem was a better character, but I never really formed a mental image of what he looked like with his scales, retractable claws, etc., and the romance between Gem and Isra wasn't convincing. Ultimately, this book lost my attention along the way and I was glad to finally reach the end.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. The last 100 pages really made it all worth it. I spent a good part of the book trying to assign who was who (who was the "beast", who was "Belle" ect) since this was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. However, although it was a retelling, it didn't fit into any of the preconceived notions I had as to who was who. In my opinion the book was a little long winded, and I think it could have been shaved down some, because in parts I was a little bored and I thought it got a little redundant, but overall it was a good read.
    • 4/5
      A page-turning retelling of the classic fairy tale. In this almost dystopian science fiction version set on a planet divided between prosperous domed cities and vast deserts, Isra, a Smooth Skin princess, and Gem of the Desert People (or Monstrous, depending on your perspective) are bitter enemies who become first friends, and then lovers despite the ongoing conflict between their peoples. One of the best parts of this novel is when Isra, who had been blind most of her life, regains her sight and views her world and her people with fresh eyes, revealing the flaws in their social system. Overall, I really enjoyed this take on the classic tale!
    • 5/5
      Of Beast and Beauty can be rated in one word, amazing. Ive only read a few fairy tale retellings and this is one of my favourite's. When I saw it was a retelling of Beauty and The Beast I ordered it straight away.
      The Pure Heart and The Dark Heart were once one being but when the humans came from another world The Pure Heart reached out to them with its magic and transformed them so they could survive. They grew scales and claws and became terrified of what was happening. The humans that came later saw the Monstrous and built domes to keep them safe. In the dome the very first Queen spilt some of her blood and where it hit some roses grew. From that second, crops grew when they shouldn't and the livestock flourished. They made a bargain there and then and from that moment a female queen was to be sacrificed every time the dome started failing.
      Isra has always known she would have to sacrifice herself for the good of Yuan. The night her mother died, she lost her sight and she knew the job of keeping her city safe fell to her.
      Gem is a Monstrous and is trying to save his tribe from starving. He sneaks into the dome with a few of his clan to try and steal the secrets that keep the smooth skins fed and healthy. He is captured and Isra holds him prisoner. She learns that he can help stop the mutations with herbs. She starts to build a garden and gets Gem to help. Both of them find out that neither is what they were thought to believe. As her sight comes back she realises that beauty isn't always on the outside.
      Of Beast and Beauty blew me away. The writing was beautiful and the story was phenomenal. Stacey Jay took the Beauty and Beast fairytale and totally made it her own. The beast is captured and the beauty is the prison guard. From the world that she created to the characters, there was nothing I didn't like. Isra took a while for me to like but she really grew as a character and I ended up really liking her. Gem is strong and brave but with a kind heart. He has the chance to kill Isra but doesn't and ends up captured. This book, even at over 350 pages, was a quick read. It really was unputdownable, from the beautiful writing and magical world to the unforgettable characters it truly was amazing. This is a book I've no problem highly recommending.
    • 5/5
      Of Beast and Beauty was, in two simple words, utterly beautiful. In fact, I am not sure you should even read this review, just go and obtain this story. I don’t care how, just do it! (I mean, I would totally understand if you stole it from the library and midnight. I would do the same!) You’re still here? Darn. Well, I guess I will have to convince you further! Read on, my friends!

      Isra is the blind Queen of a messed-up city, that thrives on their hatred of the Monstrous and the sacrifice of queens to the roses. Gem is one of the Monstrous, and he just want to keep his tribe members from starving, no thanks to the Smooth Skins. The two start as bitter enemies. I thought that both of these characters were breathtakingly created. They are no where near your average hero and heroine. Trust Me.

      The writing is spectacular. For example, the first page starts off describing an old secret, a girl, and a darkness that is a big part of the book, and her use of language pulled me into the mystery of the secret, the darkness, and the girl. My emotions were running high, even from the beginning. The desperation of both Gem (to save his tribe) and Isra (to rule a kingdom... with her own secret) ran through me, along with the little pricks of hope or happiness the author presents us. Also, the ending was perfection. *sigh* The last two page were, yes I am going to use the two words again, utterly beautiful.

      Finally, I must mention the rose garden. Ahh, how this garden intrigued me. The bloodthirsty roses enchanted me and I love how the flowers play such a big part in the story. Now, before I leave, I must ask you a question. Who is Beauty and who is the Beast in this novel? Think on it as you read this novel.

      5/5 Stars
    • 5/5
      Of Beast and Beauty is a retelling of the fairy tale with a sci-fi twist, but it was something much more than a simple retelling. I was completely unprepared for how strongly I was going to react to this book. From the very beginning, the beautiful writing grabbed me and transported me to this vivid planet and it's sentient magic on the brink of dramatic change. I had highlighted so many exquisitely written passages that I don't know which one to share, so I'll just share how it begins. "In the beginning was the darkness and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret. The secret was as old as the cracked cobblestone streets of Yuan, as peculiar as the roses that bloom eternally within the domed city's walls, as poisonous as forgotten history and the stories told in it's place"
      The planet's pain as it was shaped and altered by human's fear and unwillingness to try to understand and embrace change even if it would benefit them, was beautifully expressed in lyrical prose. The humans of this planet would rather risk destroying their world, live in isolation, and sacrifice their people than to consider the possibility that they could be wrong in their narrow minded discrimination.

      Along with the underlying theme of a cursed people struggling to survive on a dying planet, a seemingly impossible bond was forming between the princess of one of the domed cities and one of the monstrous outsiders captured breaking in to steal food for his starving people. This romance was compelling and poignant and bittersweet and SO flawlessly written that by the time they got to the first kiss, MY toes were curling. I have to say that I'm usually pretty immune to most romance in YA novels, but I felt this one, this romance touched my heart in a way that few ever do.

      Isra and Gem have to overcome so many obstacles to save their people, their planet, themselves, and each other. Their relationship, as they discover the truths about one another, was slow building and believable. Stacey Jay was not gentle with these characters, neither physically or emotionally, and each was brought to the point of breaking several times as they uncovered the harsh reality about their world, their people, and the magic that sustains their planet.

      By the end, I was curled up in a corner sobbing onto my Nook, I'm not even exaggerating. I was so connected to this story and these characters that I felt emotionally drained when it was over. The HEA for me was that there was no cliffhanger ending. I was completely satisfied with the way the story was resolved.

      I could go on further about the background characters, the dialog, the world building, pacing, and other aspects of this layered and detailed story, but I'll just say that all of those factors contributed to how very much I fell in love with this book. Nothing at all stood out to me that could have been improved upon, I thought the story was absolutely flawless.

      This is absolutely one of the best, if not thebest, book of 2013 and will have a permanent place on my favorites shelf. I highly recommend that you read this at some point this summer. I recommend it for every and anyone, whether you like romance, sci-fi, fairy tales, or are just a fan of outstanding writing and brilliant storytelling.

      (I received Of Beast and Beauty for review from NetGalley)
    • 5/5
      What a unique book! I have never read anything like this. It’s a fairy tale-science fiction-fantasy-myth-romance story. Of Beast and Beauty starts out like a myth or an old legend. The prologue is the history of this planet spoken by The Pure Heart (the good side of the planet). The condensed version: He explains to the readers what happened after the ships, filled with humans, arrived on his planet. How he introduced magic to them and how they split themselves up into two groups: the Smooth-skins, people without magic and the Monstrous, people who started to mutate because of the magic. The Smooth Skins locked themselves up in domes offering a sacrifice to The Dark Heart, the evil side of the planet, in return for an abundance of resources and safety. So long as they kept giving a sacrifice, nothing bad would happen. The Dark Heart placed roses in the city’s walls as a reminder of the deal. Meanwhile, the Monstrous were banished to the desert and began to go hungry and cold. After trying to convince the people to stop hating and killing, The Pure Heart used it’s magic to place a curse on all the people. The Smooth Skins would be born either with some of the mutations of the Monstrous or they would be born with missing body parts. The Monstrous could never shed tears. The only way to undo this curse is: “If even one Smooth Skin and one Monstrous can learn to love the other more than anything else- more than safety or prejudice, more than privilege or revenge, more even than their own selves-then the curse that division has brought upon our world will be broken and the planet made whole.” -p.5 Isra the current (blind) queen of Yuan, one of the remaining domed cities. She is to be the next sacrifice as soon as their resources start to deplete. She lives each day knowing that she could be asked to die the next day. Because her death is the city’s only way to survive, she is smothered by her protectors on a daily basis. Isra wants nothing more than to feel the wind outside Yuan’s walls. Gem is a Monstrous warrior. He sneaks into Yuan to steal their magic roses to help save his people from suffering and dying. He gets captured and is imprisoned. Isra forces him to help her make a garden to help heal the people who were given monstrous traits at birth. Gem is so large and masculine. (I pictured a werewolf in human form….there are no werewolves in this story, though). He wants to save his people, but instead is being forced to play gardener by Isra. He hates her. He hates her so much. But he also pities her. These two contrasting feelings frustrate him. As he spends more and more time with Isra, however, he starts caring for her. Now, onto why I really liked this book. For starters, Ms. Jay created a heroine, who in every way should not have been one. Here’s the thing, though, Isra knew that. She had every card stacked against her. Isra did what she believed was right. She follows her gut instinct. So what if she was blind. So what if she was threatened with being locked in a tower. Even blind, she figures out a way to help her people. She’s stubborn. Even though her advisors treat her like a child and humor her, she does everything she can to help her people. I admired her so much because of this. She knew who she was and what her circumstances were. She never let any of that get her down. She was also very caring and wanted to prove that she can not only help her people, but lead them. Okay, so.... the romance….so perfect! Ms. Jay has Gem and Isra HATING each other in the beginning. And that just sounds like a boy-and-girl-hate-each-other-then-fall-madly-in-love kinda YA book but it was different. It wasn’t as superficial as one would think. There so much at stake for both sides. They have people they want to protect and help and no matter how much he/she likes the other person, they must hold true to their individual end-goals. But after a while, Gem becomes protective over Isra, and becomes disgusted at how she’s treated by those around her. Isra, in turn, wants to help him in his plight to save his people. They grow to care for each other over a very long time. The romance was really well developed. Not cliched at all. There is a love triangle. It’s okay though! It’s VERY obvious which guy we want to win. I hated the other guy, Bo. UGH Bo! Bo and his father, Junjie, are conniving, manipulative, and just plain bad. I wouldn’t go as far as saying Bo is evil. But he’s definitely very very selfish. Ugh, the last time I felt this way about the bad guy was with Prof. Umbridge *shivers*. The final thing I loved about this book was the world-building. It’s not an epic read, however Ms. Jay fleshed out a very detailed world. The Smooth Skins and the Monstrous had their own ways of life, their own cultures and language, as well as physical appearances and characteristics, stories, etc. Ms. Jay also gave the planet a voice. Literally. The spirit of the planet was the one who placed the curse over the people. It was the one who wanted to make people stop hating and start loving. I would love to dive back into this world. I was very sad when I finished the book. Of Beast and Beauty is a stand alone book. So...no sequel :( Of Beast and Beauty felt like a cross between Beauty and the Beast and the anime Romeo x Juliet (which if you haven’t seen, I HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND it...it’s a beautiful, EPIC, and very unique re-telling of the classic Shakespeare play). Of Beast and Beauty had an EPIC ending! Loved every minute of this book. It had the perfect blend of sci-fi, romance, and fantasy with a dash of political intrigue. I would highly recommend you read it this beautiful and one-of-a-kind re-telling...and then tell your friends to read it!
    • 2/5
      After finishing this book I'm stuck thinking to myself "Did I read the same book as everyone else? I think I did it wrong." Everyone I'm friends with on Goodreads LOVED it and I was struggling not to DNF it. The only reason I plowed through it was because I didn't have anything else to read. I had so many books that I was waiting on but none had arrived yet. I wanted to love this so bad. If you know me, you know that my favorite fairy tale of all time is Beauty and the Beast. To me it portrays the story of true love, seeing past any imperfections they may have while they're still perfect for you. And don't get me wrong, it DID have all the elements of the story I love, like the roses, the magic, the unconditional love, the Beauty, the Beast, and even the books were thrown in there, but that's about it. I also loved the world building. I could see all the domes and the way the new world looks in my head as I read. And the way the Monstrous were described helped me come up with the way they looked in my head. Even the desolate plains of the Desert (no mater how brief their stint there) stood out in my head. But unfortunately those were the only things I really came to care about. One thing I didn't like was the writing style. I found myself confused by all the time jumps. In the book it goes from them talking and then it'll say randomly that its been months. I'm not sure if its because I have a Nook Book and the pages weren't broken right, but the time jumps were weird and they threw me off. I also felt like there was nothing going on. So many times I wanted to put down the book because I was bored. The plot was literally like this /________/_________ Every time something happened it fell off again and I wanted to put it down. And of course that plot twist, I guessed it from the very beginning. Lastly, the beginning was an info dump. Had it been spread out through the story I might have enjoyed it more. I had to take more notes in the beginning than I did the entire story. Then there is the romance. I felt kind of weird about the way they hated each other one day and then fell in love the next and then he was still not be truthful with her. For it to be Beauty and the Beast it didn't feel like real love to me. Only on Isra's part. Gem was flaky and didn't end up really trusting her. And Bo was every bit a lunatic as his father. It was a lot going on with the characters for the plot to be so boring. I'm not sure what about this novel hooked all the other readers, but unfortunately I was not one of them. I intended to love this one, but I just couldn't get into it. And for that, I truly am sad. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the summer (and the year) and it did nothing for me. Hopefully everyone else will love it more than I did.
    • 4/5
      Of Beast and Beauty is a beautiful love story and a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The story was a bit slow for me at first because it wasn’t at all what I expected it to be, but I was soon taken in by the creativity and originality that Jay breathes into the timeless tale. Jay combines the elements of a classic fairytale with a dark paranormal world to create something truly special. I adored Gem and Isra and was just fascinated by the world building and folklore. As a retelling of Beauty and the Beast much of the plot is dedicated the love story, but just as much emphasis is placed on Isra’s quest to serve her people well.Isra’s defiant nature, feelings for Gem, and her need to figure out the mystery of the roses propels the plot forward at an exciting rate and it was perfectly paced. We had plenty of time to get to know the supporting characters (I loved Needle) as well as learn about the world Jay created. No detail was left unexplored and when I was finished reading, I was left with a happy, satisfied feeling.Of Beast and Beauty is an imaginative and shockingly original retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Fans of the classic will not be disappointed and neither will those looking for something fresh and creative. Stacey Jay did an incredible job with the story and it is definitely a must read.
    • 4/5
      Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.Quick & Dirty: Full of sweet romance, an interesting world, and a unique sci-fi twist to the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast.Opening Sentence: IN the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret.The Review: Hundreds of years ago humans arrived on the planet, but their bodies were not made to withstand the atmosphere. The kind and gentle mother of the planet took pity on this new species and changed some of them to help them adapt. They became more like beast and were called monstrous. All the humans unaffected turned against the monstrous and banished them. To survive the harsh environment the humans offered the planet a human sacrifice. By doing this they created a dark and sinister magic. The magic created cites and as long as long as there was a human sacrifice made every 30 years or so they were fed and protected. The kind mother that tried to help the humans put a curse upon the people that could only be broken if a human and beast could come to love each other more than anything else.Isra is a blind princess in the city of Yuan. She went blind during a terrible accident when she was 4 years old. After that she was kept in a tower away from everyone for her protection, but she had a rebellious spirit and she would leave her tower at night to visit the magical rose gardens. One night while Isra is visiting the enchanted garden; there is a monstrous attack and her father, the king, is killed. They also capture one of the monstrous. Isra has now become queen, but she has very little say in how the kingdom is run. Soon she starts to spend time with the monstrous and he is very different from what she always believed about the monstrous people.Gem lives with his tribe in the dessert. They live a very hard life where food is scarce and his people are all slowly dying. They need something to help them and their leader has a vision that if they steal the enchanted rose bushes from the city they will be saved. So Gem and some of his fellow tribe members find a way to break into the city, but Gem is captured. He becomes a prisoner and he has to help the new queen plant a garden. He decides that if he can get the queen to trust him, he might be able to eventually escape and help his people. But the more time he spends with the beautiful, blind queen he starts to care for her.The story alternates between Gem and Isra’s point of view. I had a little bit of a hard time connecting with Isra. She has lived a very sheltered life so of course she is arrogant about a lot of things, but I felt that she was conveniently naive too much. She does grow and I did eventually start to like her, it just took a little longer than I would have liked. Gem on the other hand, I liked right away. He is a strong character that has many great qualities. He truly cares about his people and even though he feels weak he is actually very strong. He tries to do what’s right even when it is difficult.This was a really great retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast. It was a really fast read that hooked me right away and I had a hard time putting it down. The plot was fairly predictable, but there were a few good twists that I wasn’t expecting. I had a rough start with some of the characters, but by the end I fell in love with all of them. I really loved the romance; it was sweet and developed realistically. The world was interesting and magical. The writing was beautiful and the story was very captivating. This is my first Stacey Jay novel, but it will certainly not be my last. I would highly recommend this book for sci-fi or fairy tale retelling fans, I think both groups would really enjoy it.Notable Scene:I roll my head, forcing my stiff neck to turn one way and then the other. My eyes roam, taking in the stone walls, the barred windows, the heavy wooden door. Still a cage, but not as miserable a cage. And we are alone. The princess and the monster.I turn back to her, watch her pale throat work as she swallows. I could kill her now. I’m weaker than I’ve ever been, and my legs ache in a way that assures me that standing isn’t possible, but I could still take her life. My arms aren’t restrained. One swipe of my claws at her neck where the blood flows quickest, and it would be done. She’d bleed to death before the guards could open the door.“I know what you’re thinking.” Her lips twitch.My right hand flexes. My claws descend with a sluggish lurp, oozing from above my nail beds.FTC Advisory: Delacorte Books for Young Readers/Random House provided me with a copy of Of Beast and Beauty. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.