Friends, I am delighted to share with you now a spotlight on Becoming Beauty by Sarah E. Boucher. When I saw a call for blog hosts, I knew I wanted to participate, as this story is so dear to my heart. Please read on as we celebrate Becoming Beauty!
Welcome to Becoming Beauty’s Blog Tour! Learn all about Sarah E. Boucher and her exciting new Young Adult novel based on the classic fairy tale Beauty & The Beast.
Becoming Beauty
Self-centered Bella focuses her attention onbeautiful dresses and fabulous balls rather than helping her family earn a
living. And her siblings have had
enough! To pay off their father’s debt, they send Bella to a far-off manor
where the owner is more like a beast than a man.
realize there’s more to the Beast than she could ever have dreamed—if only she
can look beneath the surface. And then there’s Jack, the kind servant who helps
Bella adjust to her new life, someone Bella could easily fall in love with. But
pursuing love may cost Bella her dreams of wealth and beauty. And that’s a
price she’s not willing to pay.
My review:
What grabbed be from the beginning was that this story was told in the first person. I am a lover of this tale and have read many versions and retellings, most of which were written in the third person. This Regency setting hooked me with Bella’s fantasizing of chucking a beaded slipper at her beautiful sister, the belle of the ball. I hadn’t read that before! How refreshing.
Normally I like to identify with a main character, as I follow her on her journey. I admit I didn’t feel that connection with entitled Bella at first. But this is an origin story, and a fairy tale retelling, so I went with it. I appreciate the realistic details from the author, bravely taking this well-known tale of enchantment to a new level. There’s no enchantress nor animated inanimate object helpers, here. The one mystical object is handled delicately, and not overblown.
What I liked about Bella’s arc was that she, too, was transformed, in more ways than one. The awkward action of her siblings literally stripped her of any illusions of entitlement and as a result, she grew and blossomed beautifully . The Beast, too, is transformed by Bella, naturally, and that part of the story we have come to expect. The twist in Becoming Beauty is the introduction of the Beast’s manservant and friend. I read on, impatient with Bella as she sorted out her feelings. But that journey is her transformation, ultimately becoming herself.
Other aspects are worthy of note. I appreciate the humor introduced in the story, with Bella’s first prepared meal and later with the hedge clippers. The resolution of this retelling was also unique and refreshing. As I’ve said before, I am familiar with many versions and retellings of this story, as well as the Persephone myth (of which the tale is a derivative). The introduction of the love triangle has been seen before in Phantom of the Opera, but this was different.
I believe lovers of fairy tales and regency novels will enjoy this retelling.
Becoming Beauty is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and books & things.Author Spotlight
Sarah E. Boucher spends her days instilling young children with the same love of literature she has known since childhood. After hours, she pens her own stories and nurses an unhealthy obsession for handbags, high heels, baking, and British television. Sarah is a graduate of Brigham Young University, who currently lives and teaches in Ogden, Utah. Becoming Beauty is her first novel.
Visit Sarah at blog/website (SarahEBoucher.com)
Or connect with Sarah by clicking through to the following social media sites:
And don’t forget to click below and enter the giveaway for a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
