I am a sucker for Beauty and the Beast re-tellings so when I found out about ‘Beauty & The Vampire’ I knew I had to get my hands on it and give it a read. Zoey Hunter’s book has been called ‘Beauty and the Beast meets Twilight’, but it is nothing like Twilight. I think it’s better.
Synopsis
Honor student and cheerleader, Bel Winter, works hard to be a normal teenager. But deep down, she knows she is far from normal. The glowing rose-shaped mark on her shoulder is her first clue. As her 17th birthday draws close, Bel’s friends fear she is losing her grip on reality. Yet, Bel believes. The visions she sees are real. The men in black capes who come out of the shadows are real. And they’re coming for her…
On the night of Bel’s birthday, at the stroke of midnight, her world goes black. When she wakes, she is thrust into a new and frightening world—the underground Onyx City. It is a place rife with magic and creatures of the night. It is a place of dark beauty, dangerous intrigue and ruled by a beast—the ruthless vampire prince, Ezra Blade.
When Bel makes a desperate attempt to escape her captors, she trespasses through the royal gardens, and is caught by the prince himself. Now, her fate is in his hands. Though she fears the mercurial Ezra, Bel knows he alone has the power to release her from the Onyx City. Can Bel tame the beast? And convince him to set her free?
This was such a quick read at only 207 pages (kindle edition) I was done in about an hour. It’s a fun stand alone book but it could have been expanded to become something next level. And that is where the book seriously lacks; time to develop characters, plot and add details to a level that would’ve made this quite the re-telling. The premise is great and the first half of the book was really intriguing whilst the second half felt quite rushed. This suddenly come together and there are questions raised in the book that never get answered.
I personally think it’s a better love story than Twilight’s Edward and Bella, despite how short the stand-alone book is, but it doesn’t necessarily come across as a Beauty and the Beast re-telling. It’s definitely inspired by it but not a accurate/faithful re-telling as such. The constant rose imagery leans it more towards inspired by than re-telling.
But overall I have to say I enjoyed reading this. It’s kinda trashy but in the best way. If you love flash ‘true love’ stories that don’t necessarily make logical sense but drip with ridiculous romance than you’ll enjoy this book. There are some funny moments and some that make you go ‘huh?’ but for such a quick read it’s fairly well written and easy to get through. Worth reading at least once for the fun of it when you’ve got no serious reading on your plate.
