ARC Review: Beasts and Beauty

If you ever have a burning desire for dark and dangerous fairytale retellings, then I have the book for you today, with a review of Soman Chainani’s upcoming Beasts and Beauty, which is out at the end of the month. You can preorder it via Bookshop (UK, US—these are affiliate links), but in the meantime, here’s five reasons you really should be looking forward to this one.

You think you know these stories, don’t you?

You are wrong.

You don’t know them at all.

Twelve tales, twelve dangerous tales of mystery, magic, and rebellious hearts. Each twists like a spindle to reveal truths full of warning and triumph, truths that capture hearts long kept tame and set them free, truths that explore life . . . and death.

A prince has a surprising awakening . . .                           

A beauty fights like a beast . . .

A boy refuses to become prey . . .

A path to happiness is lost. . . . then found again.

New York Times bestselling author Soman Chainani respins old stories into fresh fairy tales for a new era and creates a world like no other. These stories know you. They understand you. They reflect you. They are tales for our times. So read on, if you dare. 

Beasts and Beauty

Soman Chainani

Goodreads

Rep: gay mcs
CWs: blood, racism/racial trauma, implied rape, emotional abuse, implied child trafficking
Release: 28th September 2021

Five Reasons to Read This Book

One. If you’re craving fairytale retellings that are as dark and sinister as the originals (I mean, the Little Mermaid turns to seafoam and Snow White’s stepmother dances herself to death, come on!), then these short stories will fully satisfy that need. There are some happy endings, but there are plenty that don’t end happily, where it’s all twisted up, cycles of abuse seemingly perpetuate. If you’re looking for non-Disneyfied retellings, then you won’t want to miss out on this.

Two. The stories are all equally compelling, so compelling that you read one, but then you can’t help but move onto the next one. It’s not one of those books you find it easy to put down when you reach a convenient stopping place. I read the entire collection in a single sitting, unable to tear myself away from it.

Three. I sort of mentioned this in the first point, implied perhaps, but each and every story here feels like a creative and fresh twist on the original. No matter how familiar I was with the stories at the start, every time I read Chainani’s interpretation, I found myself unable to predict just how it would turn out, in the best way possible. It makes the entire anthology that much more interesting.

Four. Even though most of these are very familiar stories and, as such, there’s a shared sort of consciousness about their setting and plot, Chainani is still incredibly skilled at evoking the world they’re set in. You feel as though you’re right there in this somewhat twisted world.

Five. If you’re tired of the same old straight and white retellings and want stories that change that, but also deal with the ramifications of that change, then you’ll find that here too. That all gets expertly woven into the stories themselves, so, if you’d never experienced the originals, you might well think that this is how they’ve always been. If you want stories that throw out established canon, but don’t overlook how the canon affects the stories in the first place, even putting their own twist on that, then these are for you.

So, have I convinced you that you want to read this book?