Bellamy and the Brute: A retelling inspired by the story of Beauty and the Beast.

I started out thinking the book was okay, but at about the halfway point it just became a hot mess. Be aware there are spoilers ahead I will leave a series of aesthetics before an after the spoilers so you can skip them if you would prefer.A lot of what I didn't like about this book had to do with unneeded information. The author spent too much time describing the same things over and over again, such as brushing and conditioning the protagonist's hair. We git it, she has hair that needs special attention, no need to mention is 7 or more times in the book! This is just an example, things like this appear all over the place.Then transitions between scenes have no descriptions, such as her being at work and suddenly being at home, with no break in the storyline - such as a new chapter or a visual separation, like a line or an image. This makes the transitions very confusing. Given the author's propensity to describe incidental details, the fact that she doesn't 't even add, I headed home, or anything at all to explain the new scene is just odd.Most of the characters are one dimensional. Even Bell, whom we're supposed to be rooting for, has very little depth. She is described by others as being exceedingly kind and/or smart, but she doesn't actually display either of these characteristics. The truth is that she actually comes off a little dumb with little reasoning skills.**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************The book goes sideways once Bell and Tate have sex. It's that simple. Now, I don't particularly enjoy reading about sex in books, especially teen sex, but this was especially disappointing because in the previous chapter she isn't even willing to call Tate her boyfriend because they hadn't been together long enough to develop that type of relationship. Then the author spends far too much time justifying the choice. It felt like the author was pro teen sex, but then belittled the decision by forcing the character to dwell on it and explain the decision in a way to justify doing it. Even worse, it was no big deal in the long run. She is a virgin until this point but apparently had amazing sex (anyone else thought that their first time was totally amazing?). Tate is quick to talk about all the other girls he's had sex with but how he was a gentelman because he never did a virgin before. It was really eyeball rolling worth and quite cringy as well.Next, a 17-year-old girl and a 19-year-old boy convince someone that they work for the FBI. That whole sequence of events was so unbelievable that I thought about stopping there, but decided that I wanted to finish it so I could write a thorough review.On the way back from their fateful overnight trip, a hitman that was able to hide a dozen or so murders and make them all look like accidents that were never investigated tries to run them off the road and kill them on a heavily trafficked highway in front of witnesses. A witness says "I got his license plate but the car wasn't registered" huh? I mean come one, could things get any dumber? Yes, yes they can!Bell is relieved that the cell phone they find is the same brand as hers so she can charge it. Guess what, it's either android or apple - there are only two types of phone chargers these days. Little details like this drive me nuts! Also, she had to wait for the phone to charge to look at the information. Ummm, no, you can look at a phone while it's charging, it's not an either or thing.However, probably the most ridiculous part of the mayor plot is when he is arrested and all the characters breathe a sigh of relief because now they're safe. Since when does jail protect you from the mob? Shoot, there are documented cases of mob syndicates being run by people in jail! But, apparently these mob people aren't that bright, they try to cause harm in front of cameras, in front of witnesses and with zero stealth. This whole plotline was full of holes.Then there was Lincoln, who for some reason decided that killing Tate was a perfectly acceptable outcome in a fight. He didn't care that there were witnesses. It was nutty. The autor just wanted a little extra dram and added it in the most unreasonble scenario possible.Lastly, there's the whol Tate thing. This is a boy who has serious anger issues and loses his temper at the drop of a hat. He gets violent and says very ugly things. This is the guy that is being held up as the ideal in this book. There's never that connection that he's changed - it comes off as a front. How he acts when he's angry is the real him, and it happens far too often.*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************I really had hope for this book - I love fairy tale retellings. But this was a fail on many levels. The writing was okay in terms of grammar and style, but the plot was weak and so were the characters. I took me a couple of weeks to get through it because I had to keep putting it down to read something good for a while.

FBI Special Agent Camila Vasquez is investigating a murder the local Wellhollow Springs’ officials claim was a suicide that she is positive was murder.Bellamy McGuire helps her widowed father run his book store after school and weekends. She knows that things are tight and plans to find a summer job to help out. Her father would prefer Bellamy do things to enjoy the summer between junior and senior year. But she is determined; besides she does not really date because there have not been any boys worth her time. The boys either try to embarrass her or taunt about her dad. The town thinks her father is crazy because he see ghosts and they wonder about her.Searching the paper for a job Bellamy finds a babysitting job for the Baldwins. She thought this was curious because the Baldwins were the town’s wealthiest family. The Baldwin’s development company built most the town and surrounding housing developments. She wondered why they did not have nannies for the kids. Bellamy thought this was just another mystery that could be part of the existing mystery involving the Baldwin family. She applies for the positions and gets it.Tate Baldwin, the eldest son, seemed to vanish two years ago. He was athletic, smart, handsome and popular. There were rumors since he disappeared: he had gotten sick, he became disfigured, even possibly the house was haunted.Max, eight, and Emma, five, were the two children Bellamy would babysit while their parents were working, and during special functions they had to attend. They were well behaved kids and Bellamy thought babysitting them would be easy. The Baldwins wanted her to feel comfortable so she could accompany the children anywhere, except the third floor.Heading back downstairs Bellamy notices rose petals on the stairs to the third floor, but when she mentioned them to Ezra he did not see anything.During the following days Bellamy experiences what sounded like whisperings, room suddenly freezing, the TV picture pixelating, more rose petals, and two ghosts. She is chased by the ghosts up to the third floor where she encounters Tate. He is surprised she saw the petals, and the ghosts. Tate tells Bellamy that it was right after he first saw the ghosts that he became affected with a rare disease. Tate and Bellamy think the ghosts want help, but they don’t know with what.Bellamy and Tate start by searching for accidents that happened two years ago. There were more accidents that happened that year than before or after that time. It took lots of work, figuring out the twists and turns, facing danger and determination to resolve the mystery of the ghosts.Bellamy’s father had a wall with drawing of the ghosts he had seen, newspapers obituaries; some had notes with name, date and how they died. Were these related to the ghosts in Tate’s room?What is the rare disease that affected Tate?Who were the ghosts in the Baldwin’s home?

Uhm, yeah. I don't really know where to start with this. I think firstly, it's worth pointing out that the Beauty and the Beast vibe is very much limited to Bellamy's name and poorer circumstances and Tate condition and rather wealthy family, that's about it. I knew this was a YA book, but compared to others I've read, it felt on the young side. I don't know whether this is because Bellamy was too nice (seriously you give a guy one second chance to not be a d*ck, not several!) or because they were both just so damn naive. Of course digging in to small town histories is going to be a bad idea however noble your intentions, did you learn nothing from the various crime series that you reference during your discussions! All that aside, this was an easy and relatively enjoyable read and was on route to a good 3 star rating, then that ending happened. I get the ghost bit and have no problem with that but that Lincoln thing was not necessary and somewhat overdone (don't get me wrong, part of me did cheer but still), not to mention the complete turnaround in various characters and attitudes. It was all a bit to nice and contrived for my liking, this could have done with a few not so happy endings mixed in with it to avoid the Disney factor.

Just like Bellamy was with 'A Brave New World' I was so hooked on this book! I even found myself craving to get back to reading when I had to go and do my mundane things - I haven't felt like that for a good while now.The plot is phenomenal, the prologue kind of threw me off to begin with. And then the penny dropped. I adore Tate and Bellamy so much, so much progression and story that just grabs you in and refuses to let you go, even after you've finished reading.The way the author writes is just so engaging, you end up reading every little world, instead of skipping over and going straight to the action. The way in which the situation was handled regarding the 'mystery' was quite refreshing also, instead of going full 'teen detective/teen hero' it was actually a fairly realistic take with a few little bits of frills (it is fiction!)I have loved every bit of this novel, and would recommend it to anyone wanting to reignite the spark that they may have lost with reading. It certainly has with mine!

I was a little reluctant at first as it was a re-write of a favourite of mine... But WOW! I could not put this book down from chapter one, with it's small twists and turns, I was hooked! There were references to the original Beauty and the Beast throughout at certain points but I'm pleased the book was not an exact copy, who wants that? I want a good book I can get my teeth into!

An unusual twist on this well known tale. Bellamy and Tate are just kids but get drawn into a new world, with ghosts, curses, and bad people...all out for something. Navigating the mystery together, if they can survive each other, you are drawn into an exciting, well written and magical adventure that you cannot put down.

Classic and Novel retelling of beauty and the beast. Was interesting to see how the original plot merged with a unique view.The editing is atrocious though. New paragraphs run on, so it's confusing as the story seems to jump.All in all it was enjoyable, seemed to be left open for a potential sequel.