*SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ OTHER BOOKS IN SERIES*

I feel very confused in opinions right now about how much I liked The Beast. The first quarter to half was quite dull, and I didn't really get the point of the whole Rhage/Mary storyline. I did guess where the eventual direction of the storyline was going as admittedly I felt like it was something that was a big warning bell in book two. The second half got much better as lots of events happened and big changes took place, that were kind of like "DAMN WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN". The problem was, even though there were some really BIG changes to the whole big-wide-world plot that Ward has going on, this book seemed to have generally lost a bit of the magic and the excitement of the BDB series. I'm not sure why.

I actually thought most of the Rhage/Mary storyline was handled really well; there was no ridiculous drama or tension that was forced between them. This was a plausible issue and at no point did they seem to hate each other. I liked that we had this solid foundation in their relationship (which I always loved), which didn't get ruined. That was important.

In terms of secondary storylines, this one was just a "CAN WE GET TO LAYLA AND XCOR ALREADY". The beating around the bush is killing me. The Layla POVs were admittedly a little dry in this one because we didn't really get any Layla/Xcor relationship

Mainly the whole Xcor being kidnapped by the BDB and him being in a coma, I just wanted Layla to rock up and be like YOU KNOW WHAT I LOVE THIS MAN, SET HIM FREE. That didn't happen, so obviously I was disappointed.

Assail reappeared in a much bigger way in this instalment, and I'm eager for his story and to find out what happens with Marisol. He didn't quite have the same sexy, broody air he'd had in previous instalments, but I think that was mostly down to the drug usage. Then there was a new human introduction, Jo, who was very boring. She seems super dull right now, and I wasn't really feeling a interesting vibe from her.

Overall, I liked the return to Rhage/Mary, more than I did the Wrath/Beth book, and the overall events were big events for the series, that seem to be building us up to a (dare I say it) end of the series. However, I wasn't really sold on the overall execution of this book. There were lots of great elements, and I felt very emotional by the end. However, sadly I think Ward needs to do something AMAZING with The Chosen to rekindle my love. I would say this was arguably stronger than The King for plot points, but execution/style wise, feels like one of the weakest books. After The Shadows felt like a return to form with Ward's storylines and execution, this was a tad disappointing.