I absolutely love magical retelling and have read more than I could count. This was a new take which I really enjoyed!

First of all I would just like to say that I was approved for this book in 2019 and though I was exicted to read it, I kept putting it off as Beauty & The Beast is one of my all time favourite fairytales.
The Beast's Heart is a retelling that is more closely tied to the original fairytale but from the Beast's point of view. I loved the writing, the characters and especially how Shallcross could make you feel for the Beast and the way that the curse has impacted his life.
I decided to pick it up for a readathon challenge and can I just say I am kicking myself for not picking this up sooner. I am purchasing a copy for my personal library and cannot wait to reread.

I recommend to anyone who is a fan of fairytale retellings especially Beauty and The Beast.

Received a review copy from the publisher and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.

#TheBeastsHeart #NetGalley #Hodder & Stoughton

I gave this book a quick try, and ultimately decided to DNF -- my tastes have changed since I requested this. Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book!

Good. Interesting characters and concept. It is a retelling of Beauty and The Beast through the eyes of The Beast. Shows a compassionate side to The Beast. Also embellishes the family of Belle which is nice to see. Full of romance and magic.

A rich and charming Beauty and the Beast retelling told from the Beast’s prospective that I had a pleasure reading. This story was magical and romantic, and had me hooked from the first page. The writing is lyrical and compelling and felt like an old fairytale in its storytelling. I was instantly drawn to the beast and his internal struggles and vulnerability. However, I wasn’t as invested with Isabeau and I couldn’t quite connect with her. It’s also quite a slow-paced story, but I was still engaged because I was absorbed with the Beast and his growth throughout the story and with the romance. Recommend for fantasy romance lovers and especially those who adore retellings.

I thought I was over retellings of beauty and the beast until I picked up this book.
It's just different enough to not be like every other retelling whilst staying true to the original premise.

A decent read with a gripping storyline and characters that it’s almost impossible not to root for. It wasn’t my favourite read but would recommend to fans of the genre.

This was a whimsical atmospheric dream. If you love slow paced, slow burn everything; you will love this book. I was intrigued by the idea of a retelling of Beauty and The Beast told from the “beast’s” perspective and that’s primarily what drew me to this book. I loved getting in the “beast’s” head, it set this apart from other BATB retellings that I’ve read and I enjoyed it immensely. However it felt overly prolonged at times, and even though the slow burn romance was well done the plot driving the book forward wasn’t so enjoyable. Overall this was an interesting read that I would recommend for fans of the fairytale but it’s not the best one I’ve ever read.

An okay retelling but unfortunately it wasn't anything to rave about. BATB retellings are so common now that it's difficult to stand out from the crowd and this book just didn't.
The pacing was too slow for me, personally, I prefer a more upbeat novel. If something else by this author piqued my interest I would still give it a go.

Beauty & the Beast is one of my favourite stories, so I don’t read my many retellings of it, but this one intrigued me. What intrigued me was that it was from the Beasts POV, I haven’t come across one before.

Loved reading from the Beasts POV, definitely gave a different take on the story. It was a bit slow in places but overall I throughly enjoyed this version of the story

A very unfortunate DNF at 20%. It would seem that the Beauty and the Beast-retelling fatigue (as well as my now-apparent dislike of historical fiction) has finally caught up to me, and I no longer find myself interested in continuing with this book. Thank you, however, for sending me an eARC of this book.

Everyone knows the story Beauty and the Beast but not everyone knows the truth behind his curse and what awakened his heart.
I love books that tell things from alternate points of view. I’m a huge fan of anything that makes you look at something old in a new way so this Beauty and the Beast retelling from the point of view of the Beast is right up my alley.
The retelling starts with a cursed Beast who has forgotten he was a man and has to relearn how to stand on his feet and how to eat. His enchanted castle is a mystery to him, although he knows he used to live there. The eventual entrance of Isabeau’s father and the subsequent trade for Isabeau’s freedom is wonderfully told with a whole new spin.
I think my favourite aspect was the magic mirror and how the Beast used it to keep an eye on Isabeau’s family to ensure that they were ok. It was great to see her sister’s blossom and grow under his watchful eye and how they adapted to their new lives.
The only part of the story that wasn’t amazing was Isabeau herself. I found her a bit wet and wimpy, to be honest, and wished she’d have had more of fire within her.
That said it was beautiful retelling and one I’d highly recommend to anyone.

I DNFed this book as the writing style was so over complicated and flowery that I got bored reading it. I couldn’t connect to the characters, even though beauty and the beast is my favourite fairytale this left a lot of be desired. The beast is too nice, nothing like a beast should be, and I was just bored.

This was such an enchanting retelling of Beauty And The Beast told from the Beasts perspective. Although i found the beast not not be quite as alpha as he was portrayed in other retellings, i still found this to be really enjoyable.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me and I did try. This story is told from the Beat's perspective and I was super excited because The beauty and the beast is my favourite, but the writing style really did not gel with me or bridged any emotional connection to the character. Heavy descriptors bored me rather than draw me into the world.

Unfortunately, I could not finish The Beast's Heart, for which I am deeply sorry but believe me, I tried. However, I found myself bored - yes, bored! - and I have so many books I need to read that I made the difficult decision to put it down.

The Beast's Heart does have many points in its favour though, such as the beautiful writing, and I believe that many out there will adore this tale. I felt it became too bogged down in the everyday interactions between The Beast and Isabeau, and in all honesty I found The Beast's voyeurism in watching Isabeau's family and his constant asking her to marry him just a little uncomfortable to read.

In the end I gave this book 2 stars, because there was much to admire and I really did enjoy Shallcross' writing style. I would be keen to read any future books of hers, since this was a debut after all.

I really loved reading this book. The way it was written in the beasts point of view made it a lot clearer to how he felt and what was going on. I loved every minute of reading it :)

A twist on the classic fairytale ‘Beauty and the Beast’ from the Beast’s perspective, The Beast’s Heart was quite a slow read that I found difficult to immerse myself into. Slightly underwhelming as I had been very excited to read this.

A new twist on the original Beauty and the Beast story. A tale told from the perspective of the Beast. Was a little slow to get into but after the first few chapters it was well worth it.

If you are a fan of A Curse So Dark and Lonely then this is a must read for you.

I’ve not seen a retelling of Beauty and the Beast before where we only get the Beast’s point of view on things – A Curse So Dark and Lonely gave us his viewpoint, but also that of his Beauty, Harper. Here, we begin with the Beast well before the merchant, Beauty’s father, even arrives, which gives us a great insight into his character, and his frustrations with his form. This Beast has a life, albeit a miserable one, outside of his fairytale. This did lead to Isabeau being slightly inscrutable, as any love interest is in a single-viewpoint story, and I was worried at first that she’d be something of a manic-pixie-dream-girl; someone who was there as a catalyst to fix a broken man, not as a well-formed character in her own right. But the background that emerges of her relationship with her family, and her frankness with the Beast, allow for more character development, and though she’s definitely not as fleshed-out as she could have been with a dual narrative, for example, she feels well-written.

The writing is lush and gorgeous, and the story is very much a slow-burn, so I can understand the reviewers who have said that the pace didn’t work for them. In places, the beautiful language felt a little too ornate and ostentatious, but where the writer relaxes into the story, it flows really well. I loved that the book is filled with quiet moments, and that Beauty and the Beast have the chance to forge a quiet routine together, as this makes their relationship feel much more honest and supportive. Beauty, here, isn’t a captive, and she can leave whenever she likes, so it makes sense that she gets joy from the castle, and comes to enjoy the Beast’s company. It’s a gentle descent into friendship, then love, rather than an infatuation, and that’s what a good Beauty and the Beast retelling has to have for me. It’s about falling in love with a mind, not a body, and you do need to spend time doing the small things in life in order to do that.

There’s an extended metaphor throughout the book about seasons – the Beast’s forest has been held perpetually in winter, to illustrate his frozen heart, and Isabeau’s coming first heralds the thawing of spring, and then the return to a natural course of seasons (as really, perpetual spring would be pretty unnatural too). Again, this is something that is also used in A Curse So Dark And Lonely, but I found that it was worked in differently enough here as to feel fresh. The metaphor could easily become heavy-handed, but manages to skirt that and instead gives a very magical feel. There’s quiet magic through the book, with the invisible servants of the castle gently but persistently present. I would have liked to see more about how the castle changed depending on the state of mind of the Beast – that seemed really interesting, and I liked the hints we got!

One thing that didn’t really click for me was the nature of the curse. It’s spelled out why the Beast was cursed, but it didn’t seem like a great reason to me? He didn’t seem like a bad person; rather, he was trying to be entirely unlike the worst person he knew, his father, and he got cursed anyway. It begs the question as to why the Fairy didn’t curse his father and nip the whole thing in the bud…

Overall, this is a gentle and quiet retelling that centres the Beast really well, and offers a fresh perspective on a tale that’s had more retellings than I’ve had hot dinners. It’s a really optimistic and beautiful addition to the Beauty and the Beast lover’s library. Four out of five stars.