Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay

Genres: Young Adult, Sci-fi, Romance
Publication Date: July 23rd 2013
POV: Alternating - First-person, Present tense
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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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.

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This book was absolutely nothing like I expected. Even the blurb didn't give away the fact that this was a futuristic sci-fi and not a high fantasy. And it wasn't much of a Beauty and the Beast retelling, either. There was not much left of the original tale. The only similarities I saw was that their love could break a curse, but even the details of that were very different. Besides the drastic change in story and setting, one of the more major changes is the fact that there is no clear beauty and no clear beast. They were both a little beautiful and both a little beastly, and I really loved that about it. The whole point of the story is that we are all the same, we are all human in the end, regardless of the differences we see at first glance.

 

“Beauty is wherever you find it, and Beast is there when you need to defend it.”

This book wasn't the type of book that made me want to yell with excitement or made my heart race. It had a lot of darkness, but being a standalone novel, it didn't have time to dwell on it. It had to bring a resolution sooner than in a series, so I am left mostly with feelings of peace, warmth, and happiness. It was a love story, not an adventure. The setting and story itself reminded me a great deal of books such as Under the Never Sky and Cinder. But the atmosphere, feelings of peace, HEA, and the focus on the power of undying love reminds me more of For Darkness Shows the Stars.

Isra and Gem were amazing characters who had been through so much, had been put through so much by others, and still found the courage in themselves to love without reservation. They were brave, incredibly kind, and capable people whose love was real and tangible, beautiful and selfless. And it saved the world. And although that leaves me with incredible warm and fuzzy feelings, my blood is not pumping. I am not holding back any emotions that want to burst out.

"I am her monster, and she is mine. But right now none of it matters."

Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay (Juliet Immortal #2)

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Publication Date: October 9th 2012
POV: Alternating - First-person, Present tense
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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Seductive companion to the popular Juliet Immortal, in which former lovers—Romeo and Juliet—meet, not as true lovers, but truly as enemies.

Cursed to live out eternity in his rotted corpse, Romeo, known for his ruthless, cutthroat ways, is given the chance to redeem himself by traveling back in time to save the life of Ariel Dragland. Unbeknownst to her, Ariel is important to both the evil Mercenaries and the love-promoting Ambassadors and holds the fate of the world in her hands. Romeo must win her heart and make her believe in love, turning her away from her darker potential before his work is discovered by the Mercenaries. While his seduction begins as yet another lie, it soon becomes his only truth. Romeo vows to protect Ariel from harm, and do whatever it takes to win her heart and soul. But when Ariel is led to believe his love is a deception, she becomes vulnerable to Mercenary manipulation, and her own inner darkness may ultimately rip them apart.

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This book was amazing! It made my heart leap! I really enjoyed Juliet Immortal, but one of my favourite things about it was Romeo, even though he was the villain in the first book. He was clearly a tortured soul, and they make the absolute best love interests! So I knew I would enjoy this one even more, and I did.

At first Romeo's assignment was just to make Ariel believe in love. It didnt matter whether or not he loved her in return. It had an alternating POV between Romeo and Ariel, and whenever it was on an Ariel chapter, I would forget he was faking it, and I would totally be swooning along with Ariel. Oh.My.Gosh! This guy knows how to woo! Then it would switch back and I would remember he was faking it, but only in the beginning. He had serious feelings for her fairly early on, but it took forever for him to realize it. He was always like, "It's been so long, I dont remember, is this what love feels like?" It was so sweet to watch him falling in love without realizing it, but his wooing is still my favourite part. Jeez, this guy is like magic! No wonder his name is synonymous with romance. And once his love becomes real, it only gets better!

“My chest aches, but not with fear or sadness. With hope. With love. I love her. I love her, and it is better than anything else I can remember. "You found me.” 

I mostly really liked Ariel too. She was a very broken girl who really needed to be loved. But the Ambassadors were right about her potential for evil, and needing to win her over to good before it was too late. I hated seeing how easily she turned against Romeo. If their love was so amazing she should not have doubted him. She should have stayed true to Romeo! But luckily, Romeo remains awesome, and loves her and forgives her and that is what she really needed to permanently banish the darkness from her soul. And they live happily ever after.

“She is so beautiful. Perfect. Mine.No. Not mine. I am hers.”

Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay (Juliet Immortal #1)

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Publication Date: August 9th 2011
POV: Female - First-person, Present tense
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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The most tragic love story in history . . .

Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.

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I really didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. I am usually not a fan of retellings. But this book was crazy intense! As you can probably guess from a book that deals with love and death. And all the supernatural elements were almost overwhelming. It was one of the most surprisingly original books I have read in a long time. Just change the names from Romeo and Juliet to something else and you wouldn't even be able to tell it was a retelling. If you love YA romance with intense emotions and life or death situations, this is for you!

I also love all the characters. Ben most of all, of course. I love a guy with a protective temper. And Juliet. And Ariel, even though we hardly got to know her, but we saw the life she lived through Juliet. And Romeo. I could not stop myself from falling for Romeo a little bit too, even though he is a psychopath. His life had just been so sad and miserable. He was a tad pathetic at times but I cant really blame him after everything he's been through. Maybe I should be blaming him, but I don't.

But there were several things I didn't understand. Why didn't Nurse appear to explain things to Juliet earlier? When she finally did, she said it wasn't happening quickly enough, and I still don't know what she was talking about or what Juliet was suppose to be accomplishing. And then Nurse showed her how she died the first time, and I don't understand what really happened. What were the circumstances surrounding her death and how did she end up in the tomb? Why was Romeo pretending to be dead and what did he expect to happen?

The ending was good but not perfect, but maybe I am being too picky. They were better off where they ended up, where no one knew where they were and no one was after them. But I wish things could have been different where Ben is concerned. And I guess that might be another thing that I didn't fully understand. What exactly happened to Ben? Was that the same person? They had a lot of chemistry throughout the book, but I think they hit it off a little too quickly in the end. It felt forced compared to the first time they met in Ben's truck, where you could really see the sparks flying. But I guess that moment isn't everything. I have the proof of all the book up to that point that they are meant to be. There is no denying their chemistry, Ben's intensity, or Juliet's pure devotion. And I cannot wait to see more of this world in Romeo Redeemed and more of the great supporting characters.

"I don't care if I'm not the first." His head tilts and his lips move within a whisper of mine. "As long as I'm the last."