Devastation

3.5 stars
Mysterious, dark, slightly horror at times. Definitely one of the darkest retellings I've read, yet so intriguing I had to keep reading. It is difficult to like the Beast, but I'm glad to see his growth.
Beast is annoying much of the time and it feels like he didn't learn enough. Feels like Beauty couldn't get away even if she really wanted to. The power imbalance is real here.
Yet, I was gripped by the story and couldn't put it down. I would love to read another retelling by this author.