3.5 stars

Tw: mention of self-harm and suicide attempts

I definitely didn't get what I expected while reading this book. I was hoping for a wonderful, engaging, magical story that did my favorite fairytale justice, and, well... I didn't get that. 😶

I loved the writing and the characters, and I especially enjoyed the sister relationship. But while the Beast was a complex character, I didn't really care for him..? I also couldn't bring myself to care about their romance, because it honestly seemed so shallow. 🤷🏼‍♀️

The synopsis had me expecting a lot of magic, and there wasn't. I would've loved to see so much more of that magical second world explained. There were so many stories Yeva told Beast, and a lot of things left unexplained or only skimmed over. I feel this was particularly accurate with the Firebird.

And on that note, much of the second half was confusing. Not a whole lot of things made sense, and sometimes Yeva was just so impulsive and senseless. Please stop, take a deep breath, and tell me what the flip is going on.

Other things:
- Where was the plot? This story was fairly repetitive and uneventful, despite all of its potential. It probably could've been cut down.
- So. Slow.
- In the acknowledgements Meagan said this took place in medieval Russia... but I never would've guessed? Maybe I missed something, but as far as I know there was no reference to any sort of Russian culture beyond the Firebird story.
- Lena and Asenka deserved more page time.
- Doe-Eyes is my favorite character and an absolute sweetheart. I'd like to adopt her, please. She would be so spoiled and warm and loved. ❤️ (Yes, my favorite character is the dog. Can you blame me?)

While I was critical of this book, I did enjoy it. It was a good retelling, and from what I know of the original BATB story, one of the most accurate. But I also found it to be a letdown in a few different ways.