#Leife Shallcross

[rapha-reads]

Unhinged linguistic moment re: my thesis -> in The Beast's Heart (Leife Shallcross), there's a character that helps out the Belle character's family when Isabeau is at the Beast's castle. That character is called *drum roll* Madame Minou. Now why is this funny ? Because "minou" is slang for "pussy".

*5 minutes of cackling and wheezing later*

*inhales* *wipes tears* Aaaah. How do I tastefully write in my thesis that a character is called Mrs Pussy ??? Losing it.

#the beast's heart #beauty and the beast #leife shallcross #lingusitics #languages #french slang #rapha talks #rapha writes #i love that book but seriously this is not helping me be productive

[bookfirstlinetourney]

Round One

I've heard it said that girls can't keep secrets. That's wrong: we'd proved it.

-Wildwood Dancing, Juliet Marillier

Verujete li u bajke? Svakome u životu ispričana je makar jedna bajka. I lepo je verovati u njih. One nas vode u neki čarobni svet kakav nikada videli nismo i za koji nikada čuli nismo. Najvrednije i najlepše stvari na svetu ne mogu se videti ili dodirnuti. One se samo mogu osetiti. Da bi nešto postigao na ovom svetu, zaista moraš da voliš. Život se sastoji od trenutaka. Živite svoj san. Morate ga imati, ako ga nemate, kako ćete ga ostvariti?

(Do you believe in fairy tales? Everyone in life has been told at least one fairytale. And it's nice to believe in them. They lead us to a magical place like we've never seen and like we've never heard of. The most valuable and most beautiful things in the world can't be seen or touched. They can only be felt. To achieve something in this world, you really have to love. Life is made out of moments. Live your dream. You have to have it, because if you don't have it, how will you make it true?)

-Mesec Boje Purpura, Miloš Kojić

Enchantments and dreams: I suspect they are made of the same stuff. They each beguile the mind and confuse the senses with wonder and strangeness so all that was familiar becomes freakish, and the most bizarre of things intimate and natural.

-The Beast’s Heart, Leife Shallcross

#books #polls #reading #round 1 #tournament poll #wildwood dancing #juliet marillier #mesec boje purpura #miloš kojić #the beast’s heart #leife shallcross

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: The Beast's Heart

Author: Leife Shallcross

Series or standalone: standalone

Publication year: 2019

Genres: fiction, fantasy, retelling, romance

Blurb: He is neither monster nor man, yet he is both. He is the Beast. The day he was cursed to this wretched existence was the day he was saved...although it did not feel so at the time. His redemption sprung from contemptible roots; he is not proud of what he did the day her father happened upon his crumbling, isolated chateau. But if loneliness breeds desperation, then he was desperate indeed, and he did what he felt he must. His shameful behaviour was unjustly rewarded with his Isabeau. She opened his eyes, his mind, and his heart. She taught him how to be human again...and now he might lose her forever.

#the beast's heart #leife shallcross #standalone #2019 #fiction #fantasy #retelling #romance

[zenashapter]

'When Dark Roots Hunt' is Launched! Thank you @MidnightSunPublishing & @HarryHartogBookseller!

Enjoy highlights from the launch of 'When Dark Roots Hunt' last Saturday! Thank you everyone for coming! @MidnightSunPublishing #books are the best!

Thanks to everyone who came to the launch of When Dark Roots Hunt on Saturday! We had so much fun together! My editor and publisher (Anna Solding from MidnightSun Publishing) and I shared funny anecdotes from the editing process, I introduced the book and did a reading, we had an exhilarating Q&A session, then book signings and mingling. Author heaven! There was so much love in that room, I’m…

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#Dionne Lister #Ian Irvine #launch #Leife Shallcross #MidnightSun Publishing #Palude #When Dark Roots Hunt

[evenaturtleduck]

I read the Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross today, and it turns out that the one story I will read over and over in every form I find it is still Beauty and the Beast. It wasn't the first movie I ever saw in a theater, but it was the first one I remember enjoying. I've read so many versions by so many authors and I loved them all.

I think, especially for me now, it's the dual fantasy of 1) a person seeing and loving your heart no matter how much of a disaster you seem on the outside and 2) being able to solve someone's deepest struggles by just loving them hard enough.

#the beast's heart by leife shallcross #favorite books #beauty and the beast

[jekkiefan]

for the fic writer asks: 22, 26, 28? :D

22. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene

There where a lot of scenes I enjoyed writing this year, but the first one that came to mind was a scene from chapter 9 of Come Here, Listen, and Be Careful I really liked describing the red of Jekyll's eyes. Also this whole scene was really fun too.

Jekyll took a step towards him, and Lanyon scrambled for space between them. “Please,” Lanyon said. “I’m a monster. I don’t want to hurt you.” “You’re not a monster,” Jekyll took another step towards his friend. “I’m a vampire,” Lanyon spat back. “I killed so many animals, but it’s not enough. It’s never enough.” Lanyon tried to compose himself, but he was tired. “You don’t know how it hurts, Henry. You’re too good… The horrid feeling of blood on your hands.” Jekyll’s expression shifted to shock and hurt. Then it softened into something empathetic. Yet there was still that vibrant, vermilion glow in his gaze. The rose-red look pinned Lanyon to place.

26. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

Well, I'm currently writing (chapter 16/17 of Castle of Oblivion). Things are getting really cool, and I SO wish I could say why. But I shall not spoil them.

Now, I don't know if this meets the requirements of "most satisfying writing moment," But chapter 12 of Castle of Oblivion holds a special place in my heart. I loved writing Grillby's feelings realization scene, for kinda personal reasons. (I was projecting a lot lol)

28. How did you recharge between fics?

Uh... sleep? I mean, I usually use fic writing as a way to recharge between writing chapters of my novel. Something about the relaxed nature of fanfics just makes me excited to write more.

Though, I did take a break during early summer to recharged after a stressful spring. I remember reading a lot of new books, and re-reading some favorites. That's when I read The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross. Then it inspired me to continue on Castle of Oblivion!

(Typing this out, I am realizing that maybe I should let myself recharge more between fics lol)

#thank you for sending the ask! #i hope this answers all your questions #jekkiefan says a thing

[friendly-neighbourhood-librarian]

Beauty and the Beast retellings

As Old As Time — Liz Braswell (Twisted Tales series)

Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge — Lisa Jensen

Beastly — Alex Flinn

The Beast's Heart — Leife Shallcross

The Beautiful Pretender — Melanie Dickerson (Medieval Fairytales series)

Bellamy and the Brute — Alicia Michaels

Belle — Cameron Dokey (Once Upon a Time series)

Belle — Sarah Price (Amish Fairytales series)

A Curse So Dark and Lonely — Brigid Kemmerer (Cursebreakers series #1)

Heart's Blood — Juliet Marillier

Human Again — E. L. Tenenbaum (End of Ever After series)

Hunted — Meagan Spooner

Lost in a Book — Jennifer Donnelly

The Merchant's Daughter — Melanie Dickerson (Hagenheim Fairytales series)

Of Beast and Beauty — Stacey Jay

Ogre Enchanted — Gail Carson Levine

Rose Daughter — Robin McKinley

Roses — Rose Mannering

Silken Scales — Alex Hayes (Chameleon Effect series #1)

Uprooted — Naomi Novik

🥀📚🪞

More fairy tales

#beauty and the beast #fairytales

[tea-books-lover]

#the beast's heart #leife shallcross #beauty and the beast #retelling #funko pop #books and funko #funko and books #books and flowers #mine

[twilightarc-gm]

8, 44, 54 for the book recs ask meme :)

@robinade you really are the best, tysm! I took a while to get to this because I have packed all my books in moving boxes so it's been hard to jog my memory... which I should have considered before I reblogged this ask game... (⊙_⊙;)

Book Rec Ask Game

[Below links are to StoryGraph for book descriptions]

8. a book you finished in one sitting

I don't actually remember the last time this happened. It had to have been when I was in high school still. Looking through my book apps though, looks like the shortest complete time I have is for The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross that I finished in two days.

A luxuriously magical retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in seventeenth-century France—and told from the point of view of the Beast himself.

44. your favourite fantasy novel

Exile's Honor by Mercedes Lackey and it's follow up Exile's Valor. I just... I love big gruff guys who understand faith and kindness, and show it with a lil tough love.

The Heralds of Valdemar series will always have a place in my heart, but the Exile's Duology is the only set I can re-read these days.

54. a book with the best opening line

fffff. Honestly can't answer this one without going through all my packed away books. Let me just promote a book I read from my Libby app. The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

Aster's hand itched for a knife, but she settled for forming a fist instead.

Right off we have our main character ready to throw down and honestly I think that's pretty sexy of her! However, it's a book about fantasy sex workers (slaves, I think is the more accurate word) in a western-like setting, so reader beware! It's about escaping their situation to find something better and it has a moral to the story as well, about paying things forward.

#answers #book recs #the good luck girls #charlotte nicole davis #exiles honor #mercedes lackey #heralds of valdemar #the beasts heart #leife shallcross #beauty and the beast #fantasy #westerns #twi posts

[readwithlissanne]

Saturday 22 August 2020

Q: what’s your favourite fairytale?

•

I’m such a sucker for any book that has a beauty and the beast vibe to it. It’s my favourite fairytale, and the story works so well in the books that I’ve read so far. This one, for example, was really good! It’s based on the actual french version of the tale and its writing is so descriptive and captivating!

•

Have you read a beauty and the beast retelling that’s stuck with you? Let me know! I’d love to find some new ones!

#bookworm #books #booklr #booklover #bookstagram #book #book blogger #bibliolissa #book blog #bibliophile #the logophist #read with lissanne #the beasts heart #leife shallcross

[rapha-reads]

I just finished A Curse So Dark And Lonely, by Brigid Kemmerer, and wow, it might be even better than The Beast's Heart. That's a fantastic twist on Beauty and the Beast's story, and, this time, I'm using fantastic in its literary sense of "a story that starts in the real world and then gets invaded by the magical". Harper is truly awesome and badass, and I would have loved to see Grey's POV through the story, he's so good and loyal. Rhen is interesting insomuch as he's different from what the character of the Prince usually is in these contemporary rewritings. He's much more pro-active in his life and passive in his curse, if that makes sense, while most other Princes linger in their resignation and frustration.

That was such a fascinating read, I can't wait to start writing my thesis on modern rewritings of B&tB and compare it with The Beast's Heart, A Tale of Love and Revenge, Uprooted or Once Upon A Time, Belle. If you guys know more rewritings in contemporary literature of the tale, please do drop recs, the more samples I have for my thesis, the better!

#a curse so dark and lonely #brigid kemmerer #beauty and the beast #fairy tale retelling #modern rewritings #the beast's heart #leife shallcross #beast - a tale of love and revenge #lisa jensen #once upon a time belle #cameron dokey #uprooted #naomi novik #rapha talks #rapha reads #books #books and literature #literature #i also need to get my hands on the original tale #idealy i want to send my thesis in june and defend it in july #but given that it's mid february and i'm barely starting re-reading the books and i haven't even written the abstract yet #or even contacted the professor i want to be my thesis adviser #it might have to be september #we'll see how it goes - and the thesis has to be between 45 and 100 pages so it doesn't have to be too long there's that too #we'll see we'll see #in any case do send me some more beauty and the beast modern retellings #i feel like 5 novels and the original tale is not enough for a master's thesis but i might also have the eyes bigger than the stomach #anyway anyway #i'm rambling

[extractandrecite]

“I would sometimes catch her with a wistful, faraway look on her face.”

— Leife Shallcross, The Beast’s Heart

#quote #literature #lit #quotes #Leife Shallcross #The Beast’s Heart #beauty and the beast #book quote #book quotes #cita #citação

[brightbeautifulthings]

The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross

"Enchantments and dreams: I suspect they are made of the same stuff. They each beguile the mind and confuse the senses with wonder and strangeness so all that was familiar becomes freakish, and the most bizarre of things intimate and natural. For the longest time after the curse fell, I did not know if I was a beast who dreamed of being a man, or a man who dreamed he was a beast."

Year Read: 2018

Rating: 4/5

Context: I received a free e-copy through First to Read from the publishers at Penguin Random House. Trigger warning: suicide.

About: It's been over a century since the Beast was cursed into a monstrous form, a century of roaming the woods like a wild thing and returning to his decaying castle to re-teach himself how to be a man. His invisible servants see to his needs but do nothing against loneliness. When a weary traveler finds his way to the castle, the Beast has visions of the man's beautiful youngest daughter. Desperate to meet her, the Beast tricks him into bringing her there, and Isabeau agrees to stay for a year. For the first time, the magic of the castle is affected by someone other than the Beast himself, and he begins to wonder if she might be the key to breaking the curse.

Thoughts: This is lovely, languid retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story from the Beast's perspective that closely follows the plot of the original fairytale. It's full of whimsical magic and lush descriptions that might be over-done for some readers, but I found myself fully enjoying Shallcross's world. I could almost see the castle in all its glory and decay, feel the course fur of the Beast's paw, smell the roses in the magical garden. The plot is slow-moving, and the biggest conflict is obvious from countless other retellings: the Beast must convince Isabeau to marry him to break the spell. That's all. There's no twist, little outside danger, and few surprises, but I was wholly immersed in the story, regardless.

It's very much a novel of character. We share all the Beast's inner thoughts and reactions, plus observe most of Isabeau's and her family's through the enchantment of the castle and the magic mirror. Far from being beastlike, the Beast is gentle, kind, and generous. He frets constantly over Isabeau's happiness and despairs of the impending loneliness when their year is up. Isabeau's character takes more time to emerge. She's kind, patient, and stubborn. Unlike the Belle of the Disney version, she doesn't love reading or, it seems, any particular pastime more than the others. Her struggle against her feelings for the Beast is fascinating, and the reader is able to guess that she dreams of him in his human form long before he realizes it. I was well-pleased with her ability to stand up for herself and the life she wants toward the end of the novel; in true heroine form, she shows a lot of gumption.

I like that Shallcross takes pains to remove the abuse from the story. The Beast regrets manipulating Isabeau into the castle and almost immediately releases her from her promise. She stays because she agrees to, not because she's a prisoner, and there's nowhere in the castle or its grounds that she isn't allowed to go. I read a few reviews accusing the Beast of emotional abuse, but I felt the opposite. He has a strong tendency to hover over her and worry about her well-being, but he gives her space when she asks except in the instance where her health is at stake. (If that constitutes abuse, I have news for you about the Disney version.) There's also the issue that the magic mirror is an invasion of privacy, and there isn't much of a defense for that other than to say that the Beast is a flawed hero. Most of his transgressions are committed out of loneliness, and while it's not an excuse, I could at least understand where he was coming from.

Since the Beast and Isabeau don't have much to entertain them in the castle, and one can only watch them playing music and reading to each other (cute) for so long, the magic mirror also shows Isabeau's father and two sisters adjusting to life without luxury. I was strongly reminded of A Court of Thorns and Roses here, but unlike Nesta and Elain, Marie and Claude rise to the occasion. I enjoyed watching them grow comfortable with their new skills and seeing their own potential romances play out. I love fairytale retellings but rarely love straightforward romances, so The Beast's Heart was an altogether pleasant surprise for me. I'd read it again, and I'll be looking for a copy for my personal library.

#book review #the beast's heart #leife shallcross #fairytale retelling #beauty and the beast #fairytale adaptation #first to read #penguin random house #4/5 #rating: 4/5 #2018

[awkwordreviews]

The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross | BOOK REVIEW

The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross | BOOK REVIEW

Book: The Beast’s Heart

Author: Leife Shallcross

Genre: Fantasy/Retelling

Edition: Hardcover

Published: May 3rd 2018

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Pages: 304

Buy: Amazon | Book Depository | Wordery

The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“‘There is always a way to break a curse.'”

Okay, so, Beauty and the Beastis quite possibly my favourite fairy tale of all time, and I…

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#book review #fantasy #goodreads #hodder & stoughton #leife shallcross #netgalley #retelling #the beasts heart

[ladyandherbooks]

Book Review 105 - The Beast's Heart

19/20

The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast told from the Beast's perspective. The Beast is cursed, immortal and lonely and when Beauty's father stays the night in his palace the beast dreams of his youngest daughter, Isabeau and when he wakes he is shocked to discover his hand has returned to being a hand of a man. Beast then realises that he must meet Isabeau if he is to ever be free from his cursed fate.The story also focuses on Isabeau's sisters and father as they adjust to living a year without her.

This was such a beautiful and unique retelling of a beloved fairy tale and is has become my favourite retelling. Telling this story from the point of view of the beast was very exciting and emotional as you can see how afraid, lonely and desperate the beast is and how desperate he is to be freed fron his curse. The inclusion of the story of Isabeau's family and their lives while their sister and daughter is away was also a great and unique addition to this tale. I have not read a Beauty and the Beast retelling that has such a focus on Beauty's family and I loved learning about them and seeing them grow and develop during Isabeau's abscence. They became fully fledged and developed characters rather than props for Beauty and the Beast's romance.

#bookblr #booklr #the beast's heart #leife shallcross #fantasy #beauty and the beast #book review #books

[aliteraryprincess]

18, 32, 65, 124, and 135 for the book asks please :)

Thank you!

18. your least favorite book ever

Jenny Pox by J. L. Bryan. God, that book is awful. Although maybe Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou has surpassed it at this point. I'm not sure. I hate both of them.

32. your favourite nonfiction novel book

Sorry, had to fix that. Anyway, The Brontës by Juliet Barker. Such an amazing biography!

65. a book that scared the crap out of you

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King. I read it when I was twelve, and to date it is the only book to have ever given me a nightmare.

124. the book you're currently reading

I'm reading three: Cometh Up as a Flower by Rhoda Broughton, Babel by R. F. Kuang, and The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross.

135. recommend any book you like!

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid, which is a loose and very dark retelling of the fairy tale "The Juniper Tree."

#answered #bookish asks