Beastly Secrets by Laura Burton and Jessie Cal is the type of book to read in one sitting. It’s quick, easy, sweet- a feel good, fast paced retelling. I’d give this a 3.97/5 stars lol. Usually I don’t go to the 2nd decibel but I couldn’t quite go to 4.0 on this one.
Here’s my live thoughts while reading:
The inner artwork chapter headers are really pretty. I’ve read one book by this author duo before and wanted to try this one too for a possible comp for my work in progress. (There’s two points of view, Belle and Nathaniel and both are in third person narrative.)
The first chapter was a whirlwind and I felt like I was missing important info from other books in the series so I’m unsure if it can be read as a standalone. So much happened in just a few pages and it was hard to feel grounded within the tornado of info.
So … Belle is a shifter and apparently can also talk to this beast monster telepathically? I definitely needed to read this series in order to fully comprehend her history. It seems like Belle has had a past story with her brother in the previous book.
Halfway through this story and the two main characters are growing more of a bond during their adventures together. It doesn’t feel as much of a Beauty and the Beast retelling but more like a collaboration of a bunch of various fairytales entwined.
Oooh!!! “The wild red rose essence is believed to be poisonous to wolves.” I wish we knew this earlier. Sometimes I feel like bombs are just dropped on me out of left field.
The huge scene in chapter 15 was pretty good near the end of it when it focused on Belle and Nathaniel. But the climatic moments in general were a bit messy with so many plots and characters stories to tie together. There were SO many things happening that it took a lot of focus while things jumped around so abruptly. I wanted a bit more emotional bang which is tricky to do in such a short book. It almost feels like a novella. I wonder what the criteria is for that.
The ending seemed like a happily ever after for two sets of characters which felt a little forced since there wasn’t much focus on one of the pairs earlier on.
Overall, it seemed like a LOT was trying to be fit in a low amount of pages. It’s highly ambitious to weave together so many stories. I felt the strengths were action scenes and fast paced which gives it potential for a great feel-good movie. It seemed to lack the depth I’m used to in fantasy romance but I enjoyed this easy, sweet retelling and would recommend it to others.
Cassie Swindon 