Review: Beastly by Alex Flinn

Title: Beastly

Author: Alex Flinn site

Voice Actor: Chris Patton

Format: Audiobook, 6 parts

Published: 6/30/2010 (Originally published 10/01/2007)

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Source: eMedia Library

“I am a beast. A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog, but a horrible new creature who walks upright – a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. 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 a perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly beastly.”

-Goodreads

Characters:

I wasn’t really impressed with Arian. There just wasn’t anything I could connect to. And he was too much of a martyr. Most of the book is just him saying “I’ll never get anyone/her to love me. It’s hopeless, I’m doomed, oh, woe is me, ect.”

Lindy is suffering from some serious PCD, Perfect Character Disorder. She isn’t described as breathtakingly beautiful, but she’s basically a saint. She loves to read the classics (of course), lives in a bad neighborhood, and has a heart of gold, and is willingly imprisoned to keep her father out of jail. Other than having crooked teeth and a little low self esteem, she’s perfect. Now it’s arguable that this is a fairy tale that isn’t a fairy tale, but it’s just too over the top for belief.

The character that really saved this book from being put down (or rather, turned off as it’s an audiobook) was Kendra, a time traveling, curse put-uponing, witty, witch. We see some but not nearly enough of her throughout the story. The author must think so too as she’s writing a spin-off series telling Kendra’s story.

Plot:

As far as fairy tale retellings go, this isn’t the worst. But it isn’t the best either. I wasn’t bored, but the retelling wasn’t new enough for me to actually wonder what happens. There aren’t a whole lot of surprises. It’s just like the Disney classic if it were set in New York, minus the singing and talking silverware.

Writing Style:

It’s pretty much your normal first person POV, except for a few parts written as transcript from an instant messaging chat room.

Overall:

In the end, this book wasn’t for me. Though I was curious, I read it mostly because I have an ARC of Bewitching, the first in a new spin off series about Kendra. Though it might seem so from the review, it wasn’t all that bad. I was entertained for the duration of the book. I just wasn’t wowed. I’m giving it 3 stars.