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Format: Hardback
Publishers: Delacorte Press
Published: 23rd July 2013
Pages: 391
Genre: YA, Historical Romance, Retelling
Main Characters: Isra, Gem
Date Read: 8th January - 6th February 2017
Date Read: 8th January - 6th February 2017
Rating Given:
Synopsis:
In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...
In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.
Isra wants to help the city’s Banished people, second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan’s enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe.
As secrets are revealed and Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love.
In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.
Isra wants to help the city’s Banished people, second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan’s enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe.
As secrets are revealed and Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love.
I have joined a challenge on Goodreads called Book Jar where I put in titles in a jar and read whichever book I pull out. When I pulled out this book I was pleased as I've had this sitting on my shelf for a while now, however I was a little disappointed when reading it as it wasn't as good as what I thought I would've.
I love this cover it's stunning and I especially love the colours that have been used although I feel like this particular cover wasn't in keeping with the story as it seems like a sci-fi novel but for me the book didn't feel that much of a sci-fi book.
This was a hard book to review as it was as if it was a tale of two halves as I couldn't get into pretty much most of the book but the last quarter of the book was gripping and I really enjoyed it. I think the reason why I couldn't get into most of this book was because it was so slow with hardly any action, I was pretty much bored throughout. With this being a Beauty and the Beast retelling I was expecting to fall in love with the characters and their romance, however I just couldn't warm to them or their romance until the very end. I really thought there would be more focus on the romance side of the story but it just seemed glossed over and then rushed once it got going. Towards the end when it really started to pick up was when there was more action going on with me on the edge of my seat. The ending was really sweet and in the end I found I was glad were things left off.
As I said above I wasn't overly keen on any of the characters but most of them had their moments when I liked them I just never had that 'I love these characters' moment.
Overall, I was expecting a lot more from this book than what I got but the end part of the story did improve things quite a bit but I just wish it was all as good as the ending.
