As Old as Time: A Twisted Tale

It was an interesting approach to the story, explaining why and what led up to the curse, but the ending was lame. Sorry, but it should have been Rosalind who goes out so she could completely right her wrong.

So anybody who has been following my reviews for awhile know how much I love Beauty and the Beast. I read the first two books in this series and was hoping against hope that the third one was Beauty and the Beast and I was right. I loved how she explained the back story of the Enchantress and the magical peoples of the world. There was a lot more going on than just the whole the beast has been cursed and needs to be saved by true love. Throughout most of this book Belle and the Beast develop a friendship but don't really seem like they have deeper feelings until the end when they are now miraculously in love.

Even Gaston sort of goes through some character development along with other members of the village that have almost no screen time in the movie. I have to say though that I'm not a fan of the changed scheme on the covers of the books. I would have loved for this one to have Belle's silhouette like the other books had silhouette's of the other girls.

If you love the Beauty and the Beast mythos this book is a great addition to it. It is definitely worth a read or two. As is the whole series. I hope that this series continues as I would love to read more twisted fairy tales.

Rating: 4½ stars out of 5

Originally posted on my blog: [...]

I haven't completely finished the story yet, but I'm a little more than halfway through and it's an interesting take on the story so far. Belle seems pretty out of character, but it is hard to present a character that's already been created accurately; also, the plot change probably made this more difficult. Scenes are beautifully descriptive, so it's not hard to picture them as you read. The story flips from Maurice and Rosalind's past to Belle's present in the castle, which I just love! When I bought the book I was a little afraid that it would just give the idea that her mother put the curse on the beast, they work to reverse it, and that would be it; however, Braswell proved me wrong! A lot of thought and work went into this alternate plot, so while some of characterization can be off-putting, it's undeniably made up for with the unique twist on the story.

I don't understand stories that are basically verbatim retellings of movies (along with all those things you wondered about while watching the original, like who watches the little kid teacups when Mrs. Potts is running around the castle?) that then veer wildly off course to become something all together different.

So you have this story which is a scene by scene recreation of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." With a bit of added dialogue and some insights into what Belle thinks about everything that's going on. It is interspersed with the story of how Belle's parents met and fell in love. I thought this was the twist in the "A Twisted Tale" part - turns out Belle's mom is the enchantress responsible for cursing Beast.

Alas, that is not the twist. The twist is that the movie this book is based off is amazing and has charmed audiences for generations.

This book? Sucks. And that's your twist. Take something awesome and with the stroke of a keyboard, make it terrible!

First, I have an issue with a book that presents itself as a historical (and even gets specific enough to give us a time and place - France in the 18th century) and this book is littered with modern slang and terminology. I'm not saying that things have to be 100% authentic, but you shouldn't be using phrases and verbiage that pull me out of the story.

Originally, part of the curse was that no one could tell Belle what was going on. Now not only does everyone tell her everything, but she has magic visions that shows her the parts she's missed. Everybody's up to speed less than halfway through the book. Part of what makes this story work is Belle's wonder and not knowing how to fix things. It's not about her searching for her The Enchantress Formerly Known as Her Mother.

But alas, that's what Belle and Beast do. They spend the majority of the book searching for Belle's (presumed) dead mom. They bond, Belle talks in general about her fear of getting Stockholm Syndrome (a condition not diagnosed/recognized until the 20th century, but whatevs), ties the Beast up (the same Beast who just nearly died saving her life. That's so very un-Belle), and generally acts nothing like the girl onscreen that I've always adored and admired.

Although I suppose I should be kinder about the poor plotting - some of my best friends lack verisimilitude and are far-fetched - but I just cannot with the ending. Where instead of Gaston and villagers storming the castle, it is revealed the creepy asylum guy, Monsieur D'Arque, is old friends with Belle's parents and is on a mission to rid the world of magical creatures. Gaston in this is just a hapless idiot (who is then despised and treated badly when he KILLS THE VILLAIN. Hey, guess what happens to serial killers with unlimited resources that you let live, after they've killed thousands of people and tortured them? They tend to do it again. And this was 18th century France. Where judges could be easily bought. D'Arque would have been acquitted and never looked back. It's actually heroic what Gaston did, saving the lives of all those people who were in danger (since his staff had engaged in combat with the villagers) and forcing D'Arque to pay for the lives he'd stolen). This Gaston is flatter than a piece of paper. While Movie Gaston is devious and underhanded and manipulative and obsessed with attention and popularity and being the best at everything and taking whatever he wants, this Gaston dopily hangs around, repeatedly asking Belle to marry him and kills the bad guy (for which, again, everyone looks down on him).

Belle is captured by D'Arque, and Beast realizes he can't possibly come to her rescue. Even with his supernatural strength and sharp claws and massive fangs. He's not a match for the humans. So he GOES TO THE VILLAGE AND LEADS THEM INTO BATTLE. Re-read that so you can take in the full stupidity of this climactic scene.

Then, after D'Arque is conquered (no thanks to Belle), her mother only has enough magic to either turn the Beast back or to turn his servants back (which makes zero sense - turning the entire household of servants was exactly equivalent to one person?). Then you think, "Oh, Beast makes the noble choice, which means he gets to return to being human." Nope! Beast is not changed. At the end of this story, he's still the Beast. With the hope that it "almost" always works out eventually. (He has to find some other magic user who can undo what Belle's mother did.) I will let you draw your own conclusions about the sort of romantic relationship the author is hoping for Beast and Belle to have. (Does she really want Belle to make out with a bison?)

It's also unfortunate that this was released so closely to Disney's live action version, which contradicts many basic things in this story (here Beast is not a reader, in the movie he's an avid reader having very little else to do, and in fact can recite poetry and Shakespeare from memory; in this he was a boy when he was cursed, in the new movie he was a grown man, which is more believable, etc.)

This book is garbage. Don't buy it.

I have read many versions of Beauty and the Beast. This one has several interesting and original additions to the basic story, but it is definitely the Disney animated at its core. Unfortunately that leaves it with the flavor of a piece of fan fiction.
My particular B&tB fanaticism is rooted in a different version, but if yours is Disney, and you embrace the idea of twisting the Disney version, you might love this.
I feel this story had sufficient promise that if only the writer had rooted out all the Disney and made it a completely new version, I would have enjoyed it tremendously.
To be clear, I nonetheless did enjoy it.

definitely a middle grade book, but if you enjoy the original beauty & the beast, you'll probably like this. i found the beginning to be a bit annoying (every other chapter bounces from present day to the past) until part 2. once the actual "twist" took place, i found myself more interested to see what happened. as others have mentioned there is definitely a deviation of characters we're used to, some of which i liked, some of which i found hard to believe. the ending takes a darker turn that, to me, lost the "disney" feel that everyone is used to-- still liked it, but it was a tad dark. all in all a good read though!

This was an amazing different look on the story that magic isn't so easy. There is also a lot of creative and interesting back story. Belle was completely in character and I loved getting to read what she was thinking during the times like Gaston or her imprisonment. She was clever, sweet, and rash. Yes I wish there was the dancing scene, that did make me a little sad but the ending was suiting for the entire story. Magic is not easy, clearly shown throughout the book. As for the beast I believed he was the best portrayed of all because he was cursed at 11 and he was ignorant to many things still..... Including love! True beauty and the beast fans would see all of that and would love this book especially for the more exciting story of a beloved fairy tale.

A retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It starts like the Disney movie but the ending is different. I liked it--a lot! The main characters are there but there are additional characters who flesh out the story and add dimensions that were not there before. The back story is told more and the characters learn through their flaws and errors. Thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to more in the series. One for the keeper shelf.

Good read!!!

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Good evening,
I hope all is well. If you get a chance, I wanted to know can you download my book of short stories and leave a review on the store? It is four short stories that I combined together. The stories consist of thrillers, suspense, mystery, and crime. I would love to hear your feedback on it. The book is $1. Your support is really appreciated.

Twisted Tales by Barry Battle

You either love or hate this series. If you really love the movie you may hate it because granted it's similar but not exactly. On the other hand if you wanted something completly different than the movie it's not like that either. As old as time is its own book. It follows the movie closely with bits of added info or a fleshing out of some scenes. It adds its own things in there yes, that's what makes it interesting, towards the end I had an issue with it, just certain scenes that had me sighing like that shouldn't happen. But it was the author's take on it and it was still interesting to see. Overall I enjoyed it, for a quick read it's not a favorite nor is it the greatest book in the world. But it is a lovely book when you just want something different.

Nice that there wasn't any explicit material - I know that's a lame thing to say but it's why I'm not inclined to read many adult fiction books these days - not interested in soft porn. The writing style wasn't my particular favorite - at some times too casual and at others punctuated with high-falutin words I've never heard of - but that's just my opinion and not a bad thing. The story line moved quickly and was a good mix of adventurous plots and slower, character-developing vignettes. I liked it and want to try some other books by Ms. Braswell.

This book is great, especially if you like the Disney animated movie of Beauty & the Beast. It definitely had a few twists that I hadn't predicted and it was different enough from the movie that it remained interesting. Very clean - only a few "D-words". I would definitely recommend this to upper elementary school kids through adults who are into this kind of thing!

Buy this on the store, its much cheaper. MY REVIEW: This book was amazing journey...one of which is absolutely Disney one of a kind. You see a different side to all the characters. Its so beautiful in the way it is written. Its been a long time since I enjoyed a book so much. There is nothing negative that I can say. Read the book to find out what could have been different.

This story is published by Disney and has the Disney feel. I loved the contrasting between hearing about Belle's parents and how everything came to be. It really completes the story. I can't recommend this book more for anyone who loves a classic with a twist. On that note I think I may reread it just for a feel good book!

I was skeptical about this book, but I'm pleasantly surprised and happy that I bought it. The twisted tale, where Belle's mother is actually the one who cursed the beast, plays out quite well. I plan on keeping this book for when my daughters are old enough to sit and enjoy it!

The books in this collection just keep getting better! I absolutely love this retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I always wondered "why did the enchantress decide to test the Prince and what happened to her after?"

I am someone who frequently visits the local library so I did not pick up this book on the store but I must say that I really enjoyed it. I consider myself to be a slow reader. May be a few chapters today. I made it through this in three or four days and found that most of the time I didn't want to put the book down but unfortunately life sometimes takes over and you can't do what you really want to. If you are or was ever a fan of beauty in the beast this will be a very fun and darker take on the story. I highly recommend this book

This completely makes up for the missed opportunity that was A Beast Within by Serena Valentino. I hesitated giving this book a chance because of it. Please don't make that mistake, Though the book makes sure to separate itself from the movie by changing established events, it offers great explanations as to how magic exists in the world, why the prince was cursed at a young age, and why the village is not aware of the castle nearby. The book spends a great amount of time exploring Belle's character and her thoughts and opinions on Gaston, her dreams and goals in life, and the developing relationship between her and the Beast, something often ignored in official books, even the original junior novelization by A.L. Singer.

Fantastical, ethereal, and, simply, a beloved tale that will invoke memories of the classic film: Beauty and the Beast. This twisted tale transports you with descriptive illustrations and, with just a hint of magic, you'll be whisked away into the world of Belle: live through the eyes of the princess, and experience a timeless adventure. I highly recommend this book to all readers (especially Disney fanatics).