Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge

(Hardback)

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Description

Filled with magic and fierce emotion, Lisa Jensen's multilayered novel will make you question all you think you know about beauty, beastliness, and happily ever after.

They say Chteau Beaumont is cursed. But servant-girl Lucie cant believe such foolishness about handsome Jean-Loup Christian Henri LeNoir, Chevalier de Beaumont, master of the estate. But when the chevalier's cruelty is revealed, Lucie vows to see him suffer. A wisewoman grants her wish, with a spell that transforms Jean-Loup into monstrous-looking Beast, reflecting the monster he is inside. But Beast is nothing like the chevalier. Jean-Loup would never patiently tend his roses; Jean-Loup would never attempt poetry; Jean-Loup would never express remorse for the wrong done to Lucie. Gradually, Lucie realizes that Beast is an entirely different creature from the handsome chevalier, with a heart more human than Jean-Loups ever was. Lucie dares to hope that noble Beast has permanently replaced the cruel Jean-Loup until an innocent beauty arrives at Beasts chteau with the power to break the spell.

Reviews

In this compelling reimagining of Beauty and the Beast, Jensen integrates a new plot thread in the form of a third protagonist into the familiar fairy tale...Haunting language and lush descriptions (the petals are long-dead; they have lost their bright color and velvety texture and curled into crisp, dry cinders...) engage the senses, making this a memorable, worthy addition to the canon of Beauty and the Beast retellings.
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A fresh retelling of Beauty and the Beast with an interesting and meaningful plot twist.
Kirkus Reviews

Though based on a tale as old as time, Jensens new interpretation will cause readers and fairy-tale lovers to see it with fresh eyes.
Booklist Online

The prose, characterization, and plot development serve the story well and could provide enjoyably lush escapism for a teen reader.
BayViews

This beautifully written, fresh reimagining of "Beauty and the Beast" finds new depths in the familiar fairy tale, exploring the nature of ugliness, the lie of the handsome exterior, the hidden beauty of the Beast.
Buffalo News

In a different take on this classic tale, Lucie is also enchanted and becomes Lumiere, the candelabra...The plot twists enough to keep things interesting.
School Library Connection

Author Bio

Lisa Jensen is the author of the adult novels Alias Hook and The Witch from the Sea. She is a longtime film critic and columnist for the alternative weekly Good Times, and she runs an arts and entertainment blog. She lives in Santa Cruz, California.