Helpful Score: 4
This is an ordinary, modern romance just like any other, except that the author tried to earn points by throwing in the Beauty and the Beast theme. It did nothing to enhance the trite dialogue and weak contrivances. The ending was particularly unsettling for me. The entire book is written first person from the woman's perspective. Then all of a sudden at the end, he's saying that HE wrote the book so we could know of her? Funny how he described a lot of events when he simply wasn't there, and a lot of thoughts he couldn't have heard. If you like run of the mill romances with a bit of sex thrown in, this book is for you. If you're pursuing the Beauty and the Beast theme, skip this and try Robin McKinley's âBeautyâ or Mercedes Lackey's âThe Fire Roseâ.
Helpful Score: 2
Give yourself a real treat and read this book! Quick read, beautifully written. A modern take on "Beauty and the Beast". This is a wonderful bit of escapist literature, with marvelous portrayals of deep emotions -- try it, you will be glad you went along for the ride.
Helpful Score: 2
I love any story that has a Beauty & the Beast feel to it. The story is about Alexandra Miller (Alex) who is a painter as were other family members before her. There is a family tradition that a member of the Miller family paints a portrait of a member of the Crompton family each generation. Alex is going to paint Leland Crompton (Lee). Lee has a disease that has altered his appearance and left him insecure about himself.
The duo meets and become good friends, who are there for one another. As they realize that they are falling in love, it is not Alex who shies away from Lee, it is he who can't believe that anyone would love him because he has some physical deformities. This is truly a beautiful and inspiring story - I will warn you - you will need a box of tissues - but I highly recommend it. Very touching!!!
The duo meets and become good friends, who are there for one another. As they realize that they are falling in love, it is not Alex who shies away from Lee, it is he who can't believe that anyone would love him because he has some physical deformities. This is truly a beautiful and inspiring story - I will warn you - you will need a box of tissues - but I highly recommend it. Very touching!!!
Another retelling of Beaty and the Beast. This version is modernised. I liked it especially the fact that it was told fron both Beauty and the beasts side. I likes the twist at the ending even though it was bittersweet.
A modern beauty and the beast story with a twist and surprising ending.
Really great story. Loved it!
This is a wonderful story! Highly recommended!
Great book. A little depressing, but still wonderful.
From Publishers Weekly
Revisionist fairy tales with a message are definitely a '90s thing, and Wilson's lightweight but strained debut is a retelling of the classic story of Beauty and the Beast. The latter is Leland Crompton, a rich recluse who lives on a remote estate in New Hampshire's White Mountains, writing mysteries under the nom de plume of Harris Bellefleur and hiding his grotesquely deformed face. Yet family tradition dictates that his portrait must be painted, and Alix Miller, aka Beauty, is the latest of her family of artists to accept the commission. Of course, Alix, who narrates, has an unworthy boyfriend-oblivious and selfish photojournalist Mark. And, of course, she is ready for true love. Wilson spins her tale with some skill, but her stilted dialogue is clunky with platitudes ("You know that the friends of adversity are friends forever"). Leland is an appealing character, however. With his generosity and his gracefulness as he skates, he demonstrates that real beauty is active, found in movement and deed, not in the static medium of a portrait. His self-effacing humor is refreshing: When posing for Alix, he quips, "As you can see, I have no bad side." In opting for a weeper of an ending, however, Wilson pushes her love story over the brink into the kind of bathos that only romance addicts will embrace.
From School Library Journal
YA-This novel based on the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" makes no attempt to duplicate the fantasy and magic of Robin McKinley's Beauty (HarperCollins, 1978), but the love story told is equally compelling. This is a Beauty of the '90s, facing her beloved father's death from cancer and involved with a handsome man wrapped up in his career. Beauty, an artist, meets Beast, a reclusive writer, when she is asked to paint his portrait. She ultimately proclaims her love for him, but he rejects her; the final metamorphosis of Beast is not a physical, but an emotional one: he must recognize that he is lovable in spite of his misshapen face and body. YAs will enjoy this romance, and will be challenged by the issues it addresses: how one can be a loving daughter or son to a dying parent, and how one faces the possibility of conceiving a child who may be born with a severe genetic defect. Finally, how does one get beyond appearance to find the heart and soul of a person?
Revisionist fairy tales with a message are definitely a '90s thing, and Wilson's lightweight but strained debut is a retelling of the classic story of Beauty and the Beast. The latter is Leland Crompton, a rich recluse who lives on a remote estate in New Hampshire's White Mountains, writing mysteries under the nom de plume of Harris Bellefleur and hiding his grotesquely deformed face. Yet family tradition dictates that his portrait must be painted, and Alix Miller, aka Beauty, is the latest of her family of artists to accept the commission. Of course, Alix, who narrates, has an unworthy boyfriend-oblivious and selfish photojournalist Mark. And, of course, she is ready for true love. Wilson spins her tale with some skill, but her stilted dialogue is clunky with platitudes ("You know that the friends of adversity are friends forever"). Leland is an appealing character, however. With his generosity and his gracefulness as he skates, he demonstrates that real beauty is active, found in movement and deed, not in the static medium of a portrait. His self-effacing humor is refreshing: When posing for Alix, he quips, "As you can see, I have no bad side." In opting for a weeper of an ending, however, Wilson pushes her love story over the brink into the kind of bathos that only romance addicts will embrace.
From School Library Journal
YA-This novel based on the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" makes no attempt to duplicate the fantasy and magic of Robin McKinley's Beauty (HarperCollins, 1978), but the love story told is equally compelling. This is a Beauty of the '90s, facing her beloved father's death from cancer and involved with a handsome man wrapped up in his career. Beauty, an artist, meets Beast, a reclusive writer, when she is asked to paint his portrait. She ultimately proclaims her love for him, but he rejects her; the final metamorphosis of Beast is not a physical, but an emotional one: he must recognize that he is lovable in spite of his misshapen face and body. YAs will enjoy this romance, and will be challenged by the issues it addresses: how one can be a loving daughter or son to a dying parent, and how one faces the possibility of conceiving a child who may be born with a severe genetic defect. Finally, how does one get beyond appearance to find the heart and soul of a person?
