âIf you were lucky in love, you sure as hell were lucky in life.â
Beau and Bett by kathryn berla
A Modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast? You know I HAD to pick this one up!
đâAfter Beau LeFrancois’s mother wrecks Bett Diazâs luxury SUV, his family faces an impossibly large bill. To pay off the debt, Beau spends his weekends working at the Diaz Ranch. Beauâs prepared to work, but heâs definitely not prepared for the infamous temper of Bett Diazâalso known as “The Beast” at school. As Beau learns the secrets behind Bettâs tough exterior, he finds himself falling for her. A contemporary twist on a classic fairy tale, Beau and Bett is a timely story of family, friendship, and the power of speaking out and standing up for yourselfâđ
âď¸âď¸âď¸
3 STARS
Release Date: June 25, 2019
First off, I am usually fond of fairytale retellings and I was excited to see a retelling of my favoriteâBeauty and the Beast. While you can see from my rating that this wasnât my favorite, I did overall think it was a cute read, but there were certain things about the story that fell flat for me.
What I liked:
-The idea-obviously. I liked the role-reversal and the modern take on a classic.
-I felt like the pace was nice and quick, which made for a short and simple read.
-I loved the character of Bett (she was actually the only character I really liked đ). She was honest, even brutally-honest at times and I admired her for that.
-The overall message of this book was my favorite part of the book. The author really conveys the importance of not judging others, whether by reputation, class or otherwise. This is also a cute story of friendship and first love.
What I didnât like:
-I felt most of the characters lacked substance. They came off shallow and were hard to take seriously.
-There was definitely a lack of character development. I felt that Beau (we read from his POV) did not read as a teenage boy. He came off unrealistic to me, and that was what ultimately led to the 3/5âď¸ review. He was TOO respectful (not that that is a bad thing), he didnât even think about WANTING to kiss the girl he was crushing on? In my opinion, his character was just blahâhe fell flat for me.
Overall I felt this read was definitely more for teens and by that I mean 12-17 range. It was a cutesy, clean & easy read for teens with a great message about friendship, first love, and not judging others.
Thank you to NetGalley @netgalley, Amber Jack Publishing @amberjackpublishing, and Kathryn Berla  for the opportunity to read and review this book!
Alicia Reads It 