The Bookworm's Feast

I woke when the mighty oak screamed

-Wray Delaney, The Beauty of the Wolf

This book was such an easy read and at times felt like it had a kind of rhythm to it for me. In an Elizabethan England setting, we primarily follow the stories of The Sorceress, Beau a great beauty, and Randa the beast, in a gender reversed retelling of Beauty and the Beast (that I’d add “loosely” retells).

Wray Delaney is a pseudonym used by Sally Gardner, a successful children’s author. This is her second adult book, the other being An Almond for a Parrot that, I’m not going to lie, is still in my behemoth tbr pile.

There are a fair few fairytale retellings out there now, and this one is definitely a darker adult version. I felt it had hints of Frankenstein, and maybe a pinch of Dorian Gray about it, which I really liked and helped develop the characters in roles. The language used at times evoked a feeling that, yes, you are observing the 16th Century – but used sparingly so that it wasn’t a labour read or too odd to our ears for modern English.

Although I comment on this being an easy read, this does still get three stars from me (I enjoyed it, but I didn’t love it – 5 is reserved for absolute favourites). The switching of POV was not always clear and sometimes reverted back a bit in time – only becoming clear later down the line.

Odd bits did also jar for me, such as some of the word choices, and to be honest, the sexual descriptions dotted throughout. I’m not adverse to them, I’m a big girl, but they just made me cringe and grated against other parts of the book.

On the whole, I’d recommend this book – I did enjoy it, I’m just not obsessed with it.

🖤🖤🖤

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley.