This book had a promising start, but it seemed like the author only just remembered she was writing a Beauty and the Beast retelling about 70% of the way in, as the Beast doesn't show up until the last 60 pages of a 200 page book. While there were some original concepts, like having Belle be a woodcarver and holding onto some insecurities about her appearance, there wasn't anything to make it particularly interesting. There were entire chunks of story were nothing was happening and I was hoping for any kind of conflict to happen. Perhaps I'm more into the darker, grimmer side of fairy tale retellings, so the fluff did absolutely nothing for me.

It's a shame because there are hints of a decent writing style amidst a story that feels so hollow and barren.