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This was a solid 4.5 🌟🌟🌟🌟⚡️and the best Beauty and the Beast retelling I've ever read
It would have been a perfect 5🌟 but for one major thing
It was in one-sided POV
and I am a firm believer that any Romance whether contemporary, fantasy, dark or Sci-Fi should never be one-sided.

Other than that, I found the story perfect in every way, simply because it twisted the things we normally know about B&B such as:
1- the overly kind, social bookish Belle who is willing to sacrifice herself always for others
2- the strong grumpy beast
3- the man's man bulky moron pursuing Belle
4- the overprotective father/family figure
5- The curse that would be broken only by declaration of true love

if you like those (which is fine of course but sometimes we just want the opposite), this book is not for you.
There are still elements from the original story (and movie), but they are so subtle that you wouldn't notice them

⚜theme: Urban Fantasy retelling
⚜tropes: Forced proximity, cursed, slow burn, found family
⚜Genre: New Adult
⚜characters: humans, shifters, fae, angels
⚜TW: mention of war and death
⚜spice: 🌶surprisingly, there was one scene
⚜ending: HEA

MAYBE THERE WILL BE SOME SPOILERS...IDK

Let's begin with our characters
Gemma is not your typical Belle (though her family name is Bellefleur..clever). Although she is bookish, she is not shy by all means. She's been bitten by society one too many times to become cordial and caring. She has no problem using others (especially those whom she despises, like Imogine ...why is every Imogine I've ever read evil????) to reach her end, but still shows compassion to the weaker characters.
She does not swoon over Elliot even when he physically transforms. their love was a slow burn
She is a "not like other girls" for the society she is living in, but I do not see her as one compared to our time. She is decisive and not afraid to go after what she wants

I've read a couple of negative reviews saying that they did not like her because she was mean and manipulative, not like Belle. They are free to say that of course
but to me, I like her because of these traits. I've read enough cute and cuddly Belles in B&B retelling to make me want someone different.

Gemma's father is anything but protective. he is a typical Society Decorum man, the "what would others say", the "I'd rather you marry someone you hate so ppl would accept you" type of father.

and then there is Gavin Aston
if you haven't figured it out yet, G Aston! get it??
he is more of an Ichabod Crane if you ask me, the scholar man looking for a traditional wife.
image:

and then there is Elliot (or is that his name?)
he's your typical grumpy gruff beast who hates humans
on the other hand, he's stuck in the human form instead of his wolf/beast form
and the best thing is that Gemma did not swoon over his hadsomestests (not a mistake) feature
he is quirky and honest
fierce and compassionate
honest and deceitful

but in one paragraph, he captured my heart, soul and mind
I've never felt so related to a character like I did with Elliot
"I was but a pup when humans were visitors on our land, and they acted accordingly. They respected my kind. Revered us, even. But as time went on, more and more humans came, and they shifted from awed visitors to determined settlers. they built homes and claimed lands that were never theirs. Tensions grew more dangerous until they resulted in the first war"

IYKYK

in short, the characters in this book are the opposite of those in the original Beauty and the Beast
and thank God for that

the story was different in the way the curse needed to be broken
the dialogue was funny and witty

this is one of the best NA fantasies I've read and highly recommend