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The Beast
Alcor has it wealth, popularity, power. Whatever he wants, he has only to snap his fingers. He spends his days doped on dragonweed and enjoying the latest person seduced into his bed. He is cold, selfish, and cruel. Then a dark faerie shows up at his birthday party, and a night of drugs and debauchery turns into a nightmare of fire and blood, killing everyone—except Alcor. Instead of death, Alcor is left disfigured and cursed, unable to die, forced into a life of solitude, and his only hope for salvation is that someone can learn to love a beast…
135 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 18, 2019
18 people are currently reading
172 people want to read
About the author
Megan Derr
283 books2,936 followersMegan is a long time resident of queer romance and keeps herself busy reading and writing it. She is often accused of fluff and nonsense. When she’s not involved in writing, she likes to cook, harass her wife and cats, or watch movies. She loves to hear from readers and can be found all over the internet.
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meganderr.com
patreon.com/meganderr
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facebook.com/meganaprilderr
meganaderr@gmail.com
@meganaderr
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
December 9, 2019
4.25 stars
An extraordinary retelling of Beauty and the Beast. While dark, grim, and downright horrifying at the onset, watching Alcor’s metamorphosis was quite extraordinary, heart wrenching, and deeply satisfying by the end. Well written and generally well edited. Lovely prose. Highly recommended.
An extraordinary retelling of Beauty and the Beast. While dark, grim, and downright horrifying at the onset, watching Alcor’s metamorphosis was quite extraordinary, heart wrenching, and deeply satisfying by the end. Well written and generally well edited. Lovely prose. Highly recommended.
December 2, 2019
Broke my heart twice
This book was more than I expected. I cried through each and every chapter. The main characters are beautifully rendered and Meir, a fantastic secondary character, broke me into tiny pieces. Well written and a new favorite retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
This book was more than I expected. I cried through each and every chapter. The main characters are beautifully rendered and Meir, a fantastic secondary character, broke me into tiny pieces. Well written and a new favorite retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
November 28, 2019
3.5 stars
I think this is more of Alcor's journey towards redemption rather than his romance with Rohese. I liked THAT part of the story.
But the romance is underwhelming because the lack of interaction between Alcor and Rohese, as the one breaking the curse. Sure, Derr puts a twist of Rohese knowing Alcor previously... but I don't buy that that ONE and ONLY meeting in their teenager years will translate into love. Also the whole eight days of Rohese spending time with Alcor in the later years.
In fact, I buy more of Alcor's relationship with Meir, and Meir's unrequited love towards Alcor for the whole year they spent together.
I think this is more of Alcor's journey towards redemption rather than his romance with Rohese. I liked THAT part of the story.
But the romance is underwhelming because the lack of interaction between Alcor and Rohese, as the one breaking the curse. Sure, Derr puts a twist of Rohese knowing Alcor previously... but I don't buy that that ONE and ONLY meeting in their teenager years will translate into love. Also the whole eight days of Rohese spending time with Alcor in the later years.
In fact, I buy more of Alcor's relationship with Meir, and Meir's unrequited love towards Alcor for the whole year they spent together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2020
This was a beautiful retelling of the fairy tale Beauty and The Beast. It didn't center around the romance but was more focused on finding one's self worth, self respect and kindness. The Beast aka Alcor is completely reprehensible, and the harsh truths are difficult for him to swallow but through pain, friendship and a lot of soul searching he emerges the man he was always meant to be. There were so many touching moments between Alcor and Meir, the friend who helped him to see and feel again. The love between Alcor and Rohese could have been looked at as fast and insta, but their feelings were interwoven into the story from the very beginning. In the end Alcor proved with his actions that the changes were true and real, and both men were ready for their lives together to finally begin. I loved it. The author made me love and cry for all these men, for what they've done to deserve punishment and be happy when they found what they were looking for. Heartfelt story of love and redemption. (Told in single POV with the help of flashbacks, has no steam but causes myriad of feelings, so be prepared to shed a tear or two).
December 19, 2019
One of the best retellings of Beauty and the Beast I have ever read , and retelling which both follows and doesn't follow original tale too closely. You have to read it to understand - it mostly concentrates on Beast's journey of the redemption and that storyline was excellent IMO. Romance? Nooo, not really basically Ami stated it perfectly in her review IMO.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 28, 2019
Really good
4.5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed this one. I’m a fan of Ms Derr’s work as I think she is a very talented storyteller, and this one is a good example.
With his arrogance Alcor was a hard character to like in this chapter. His treatment of others was appalling. I’m not sure he deserved the curse he received but you have to give it to the faeries, their curses are both harsh and inventive but they also teach the person the error of their ways.
I did like Alcor the beast. Once he remembered what happened he grieved the deaths but also didn’t try and shake the responsibility. He accepted the pain that came with his injuries as part and parcel of what he deserved without trying to sidestep it and find a cure. He took to learning how to survive well and was happy to learn new skills. I loved his friendship with Meir and how he opened up from petulant to friendliness.
I enjoyed watching him reconnect and relearn who Rohese was. I’m still not sure why he didn’t recognise and remember Rohese at the start but I put it down to the drugs. Their time together during the snow storm was lovely to read and I hurt for Alcor with what happened afterwards, but I also understood and respected Rohese for his reservations.
Great read
4.5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed this one. I’m a fan of Ms Derr’s work as I think she is a very talented storyteller, and this one is a good example.
With his arrogance Alcor was a hard character to like in this chapter. His treatment of others was appalling. I’m not sure he deserved the curse he received but you have to give it to the faeries, their curses are both harsh and inventive but they also teach the person the error of their ways.
I did like Alcor the beast. Once he remembered what happened he grieved the deaths but also didn’t try and shake the responsibility. He accepted the pain that came with his injuries as part and parcel of what he deserved without trying to sidestep it and find a cure. He took to learning how to survive well and was happy to learn new skills. I loved his friendship with Meir and how he opened up from petulant to friendliness.
I enjoyed watching him reconnect and relearn who Rohese was. I’m still not sure why he didn’t recognise and remember Rohese at the start but I put it down to the drugs. Their time together during the snow storm was lovely to read and I hurt for Alcor with what happened afterwards, but I also understood and respected Rohese for his reservations.
Great read
August 29, 2022
I liked the prose and it was a nice retelling of an old fairy tale but I didn't believe in the main relationship at all. LI had no reason to love MC, not in the present and especially not in the past, and MC had deeper relationships with, well, anyone else he befriended.
April 6, 2020
Absolutely beautiful.
September 3, 2024
4.5 🌟's
ah 😭
ah 😭
July 14, 2021
Not quite a Disney "Beauty and the Beast," but a good story....
Prince Alcor has it all, until one night when two very different beings crash his birthday party. The first, beautiful but humble, offers Alcor a few small gifts...and Alcor disdainfully throws him out. The second, a dark fae, destroys Alcor's life -- and turns him into a horrible beast. Now Alcor wanders the countryside, reviled by everyone, until he meets Meir...another cursed soul. Alcor and Meir make their way to Alcor's family's country house and are able to live quietly -- as Alcor s-l-o-w-l-y begins to rejoin the human race. When Meir is murdered, Alcor is devastated -- his only friend is gone. However, when a ghost from Alcor's past reappears, Alcor begins to see that he may not be the beast he's come to accept.
It's a nice story. I'd hesitate to call it a romance since mostly we're reading about how much Alcor hates life and himself, until his friendship with Meir shows him the importance of connecting with others. The 'romance' with Rohese seems almost incidental -- mostly there to pad out the "Beauty and the Beast" elements. For me, the most interesting character is Meir -- and sadly, we don't ever get to know him much at all, except retroactively, as Alcor reads his journals and sees the man who really rescued him.
Prince Alcor has it all, until one night when two very different beings crash his birthday party. The first, beautiful but humble, offers Alcor a few small gifts...and Alcor disdainfully throws him out. The second, a dark fae, destroys Alcor's life -- and turns him into a horrible beast. Now Alcor wanders the countryside, reviled by everyone, until he meets Meir...another cursed soul. Alcor and Meir make their way to Alcor's family's country house and are able to live quietly -- as Alcor s-l-o-w-l-y begins to rejoin the human race. When Meir is murdered, Alcor is devastated -- his only friend is gone. However, when a ghost from Alcor's past reappears, Alcor begins to see that he may not be the beast he's come to accept.
It's a nice story. I'd hesitate to call it a romance since mostly we're reading about how much Alcor hates life and himself, until his friendship with Meir shows him the importance of connecting with others. The 'romance' with Rohese seems almost incidental -- mostly there to pad out the "Beauty and the Beast" elements. For me, the most interesting character is Meir -- and sadly, we don't ever get to know him much at all, except retroactively, as Alcor reads his journals and sees the man who really rescued him.
December 3, 2022
Another Beauty & the Beast retelling.
This one is quite short and I wish the characters would have been more developed. We spend a lot of time with Alcor, who have been cursed and disfigured by a dark faerie, but not much with Rohese the healer.
Love is the way to break the curse but I feel those two didn’t spend much time together, even if they knew each other when they were youngers.
The climax part also happen pretty fast and by the end I was telling my self :"That it? Where is the rest?”
This one is quite short and I wish the characters would have been more developed. We spend a lot of time with Alcor, who have been cursed and disfigured by a dark faerie, but not much with Rohese the healer.
Love is the way to break the curse but I feel those two didn’t spend much time together, even if they knew each other when they were youngers.
The climax part also happen pretty fast and by the end I was telling my self :"That it? Where is the rest?”
May 12, 2020
This was a uniquely tragic and lovely retelling of Beauty and the Beast. This gets a permanent spot on my reread shelf.
December 15, 2020
Does this book deserve 5 stars? Who knows? But it made me happy and I loved it, so I guess that's good enough for me.
I've always been a sucker for a good Beauty and the Beast retelling, so when I came across this one, I knew I had to read it. I'm also a big fan of LGBTQ+ literature, usually for good reasons like representation and all that jazz, but sometimes I just love me some gay boys and that's all there is to it.
This book was interesting. I wasn't sure what to expect after having read one of Megan Derr's fairy tale collections, but this was everything I wanted those stories to be and more. Where her collection was short and felt underdeveloped, this one felt more complex and complete. I still could have done with some more development. Coming in at 210 pages, there was room for more, but I'm happy with what I got.
One of my favorite things about fairy tale retellings is the way that authors can twist and change stories, subvert expectations, and add depth where there might have been little before. This story does a lot of these things and is a unique take on my favorite fairy tale.
I'm not going to elaborate on the story really, but if you like fairy tales, gay boys, and a little bit of magic, I think you'll like this book. It starts out a bit rough, but that is over before it really begins and then the rest of the story makes you forget about the first few pages.
Gosh, I just freaking loved this book. So good.
I've always been a sucker for a good Beauty and the Beast retelling, so when I came across this one, I knew I had to read it. I'm also a big fan of LGBTQ+ literature, usually for good reasons like representation and all that jazz, but sometimes I just love me some gay boys and that's all there is to it.
This book was interesting. I wasn't sure what to expect after having read one of Megan Derr's fairy tale collections, but this was everything I wanted those stories to be and more. Where her collection was short and felt underdeveloped, this one felt more complex and complete. I still could have done with some more development. Coming in at 210 pages, there was room for more, but I'm happy with what I got.
One of my favorite things about fairy tale retellings is the way that authors can twist and change stories, subvert expectations, and add depth where there might have been little before. This story does a lot of these things and is a unique take on my favorite fairy tale.
I'm not going to elaborate on the story really, but if you like fairy tales, gay boys, and a little bit of magic, I think you'll like this book. It starts out a bit rough, but that is over before it really begins and then the rest of the story makes you forget about the first few pages.
Gosh, I just freaking loved this book. So good.
January 29, 2024
Beautiful. 🥀🥰
To be clear upfront, this is a redemption story with romance to support, but romance isn’t necessarily the focus. Unlike with the typical ‘Beauty and The Beast’ rendition, the romance element doesn’t get introduced until well over halfway through the book. And even then, it’s kind of rushed by comparison.
My heart ached soooo much at some points in the book and I had some water slippage going on.
To be fair, Alcor is essentially just a super spoiled man-child, like so many of his peers, who is forced to endure the punishment of his family’s doing. He is forced to accept the wrongness of what he could have been and endure the hurt of what it’s like living outside his entitled bubble.
Despite his fated love with Rohese, I think his true redemption was his relationship with Meir. And oh how beautiful that was!!!!
To be clear upfront, this is a redemption story with romance to support, but romance isn’t necessarily the focus. Unlike with the typical ‘Beauty and The Beast’ rendition, the romance element doesn’t get introduced until well over halfway through the book. And even then, it’s kind of rushed by comparison.
My heart ached soooo much at some points in the book and I had some water slippage going on.
To be fair, Alcor is essentially just a super spoiled man-child, like so many of his peers, who is forced to endure the punishment of his family’s doing. He is forced to accept the wrongness of what he could have been and endure the hurt of what it’s like living outside his entitled bubble.
Despite his fated love with Rohese, I think his true redemption was his relationship with Meir. And oh how beautiful that was!!!!
February 23, 2020
This retelling of 'Beauty and the Beast' is retold from the Beast's POV (third person) and so becomes mostly about the back story of why he is a spoiled brat to begin with, how he becomes a beast, and what he was up to until his beauty arrived. The merchant father stealing the roses doesn't even happen until the 68% mark - but trust me, its worth to see the ups and downs he goes through, and how he made himself a better person long before the beauty character arrived.
The plot is well written in how it manages to to take out all the problematic aspects of domestic abuse and yet stay essentially the same story.
However, I would have liked more world building to get more of sense of the universe this is set in - its feels all too generic and off brand fantasy tropes as written without the sense of a truly original new world, which is too bad, because I've seen Derr do some fantastic world building in some of her other works.
March 28, 2021
An enjoyable read for a cozy weekend.
It's story follows the beast and the hardship of losing everything, including being rather hideous. He ends up wandering the world (mostly in passing) until, a few years after the curse started, he ends up settling down. After even more tragedy, we eventually meet the beauty and by then, the book is nearly over.
While I did enjoy the story, it was nice to see the struggle of the Beast and the company he found along the way, but I felt that the romance itself came rather short. I hardly felt the connection, nor did the 'magical' moment really feel like it was magical. It kinda felt stupid, honestly. It reminded me of someone stubbing his toe and waking up with a broken curse, that's how... silly it looked.
Either way, it was a decent book. Good enough and definitely above average. Though, it's not as beastly as I'd preferred.
It's story follows the beast and the hardship of losing everything, including being rather hideous. He ends up wandering the world (mostly in passing) until, a few years after the curse started, he ends up settling down. After even more tragedy, we eventually meet the beauty and by then, the book is nearly over.
While I did enjoy the story, it was nice to see the struggle of the Beast and the company he found along the way, but I felt that the romance itself came rather short. I hardly felt the connection, nor did the 'magical' moment really feel like it was magical. It kinda felt stupid, honestly. It reminded me of someone stubbing his toe and waking up with a broken curse, that's how... silly it looked.
Either way, it was a decent book. Good enough and definitely above average. Though, it's not as beastly as I'd preferred.
April 6, 2021
Read twice in Fairytales Slashed 2, once here.
So much can be told in such a short novel. The main character was an entitled asshole, but he really did not deserve such suffering, emotional and physical.
___
A very imaginative take of Beauty and the Beast, with an entitled young noble who may be an asshole, but not a cruel or evil person. Because of the deeds of his father at the behest of the king when he was but a young boy he gets cursed with immortality and is then burned alive. Living a very painful existence as a horribly disfigured nobody, forgotten by all, he learns to somehow cope with the help of a friend.
My only criticism: The love of young Beauty was instant after one short meeting and he was more in love with the idea of him rather than his actual personality. How can such a deep love come from one short meeting with a bratty young noble? At least Beauty is forced to acknowledge later on that he was not in love with the real person. Other than that I absolutely loved and adored this story. It is sad, even devastating, but also hopeful and of course full of morals.
So much can be told in such a short novel. The main character was an entitled asshole, but he really did not deserve such suffering, emotional and physical.
___
A very imaginative take of Beauty and the Beast, with an entitled young noble who may be an asshole, but not a cruel or evil person. Because of the deeds of his father at the behest of the king when he was but a young boy he gets cursed with immortality and is then burned alive. Living a very painful existence as a horribly disfigured nobody, forgotten by all, he learns to somehow cope with the help of a friend.
My only criticism: The love of young Beauty was instant after one short meeting and he was more in love with the idea of him rather than his actual personality. How can such a deep love come from one short meeting with a bratty young noble? At least Beauty is forced to acknowledge later on that he was not in love with the real person. Other than that I absolutely loved and adored this story. It is sad, even devastating, but also hopeful and of course full of morals.
December 20, 2019
This was a slightly different version of Beauty and the Beast, and was a sometimes charming, sometimes haunting, but always beautiful read. It focuses more on Alcor’s (the Beast) transformation from spoiled to humble with his reintroduction to Rohese (Beauty) only took place in the last quarter of the book. Whilst I usually go for books with a longer interplay between the two love interests, this book was better for not focusing this type of relationship and instead, how Alcor grew into himself through Meir and Mutt and caring for his house was what made this book special and a gem to read.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
March 24, 2020
It is a short story with the topic of "Beauty and The Beast". I read a lot of Megan Derr's books, and I love her writing style and her sense of humor in many books.
But this book, this was love at first read. The story is well written (as always), the characters develop during the story (even if it is short) and the ending is perhaps predictable, but it is not forced.
And even if I'm slightly sad about Meir's ending - for him, it was a happy ending and I do not begrudge him for it (or hate the Megan for writing it ;).
But this book, this was love at first read. The story is well written (as always), the characters develop during the story (even if it is short) and the ending is perhaps predictable, but it is not forced.
And even if I'm slightly sad about Meir's ending - for him, it was a happy ending and I do not begrudge him for it (or hate the Megan for writing it ;).
March 21, 2021
This wasn't at all what I expected nor was it what I'd call a romance but like all really good fairy tales in the end it was most definitely a love story! What a beautiful re-telling of The Beauty and the Beast! Wish there was more.
TAGS
-- Fairy Tale re-telling of "Beauty and the Beast" -- historical/fantasy -- dark -- tragic -- heart wrenching -- made me cry (a lot) -- loved Meir (another cursed soul), the Beast (Alcor) & Rohese (the healer) -- made me all warm and happy in the end -- pleasant surprise -- not ready to give it up -- going on my "to read again" list
TAGS
-- Fairy Tale re-telling of "Beauty and the Beast" -- historical/fantasy -- dark -- tragic -- heart wrenching -- made me cry (a lot) -- loved Meir (another cursed soul), the Beast (Alcor) & Rohese (the healer) -- made me all warm and happy in the end -- pleasant surprise -- not ready to give it up -- going on my "to read again" list
February 3, 2020
Absolutely adore this author's works! I kept looking at my progress as I was reading and as soon as I got to the end, I was all, NOOOOO! I wanted more! So I went to the author's website just in the off chance, there were some tidbits for this book. I didn't see any (are there ?), but I totally got lost and read the others. I've read them all before but I LOVE rereading them!
Hopefully I read more of this author this year!
Hopefully I read more of this author this year!
May 5, 2020
Sweet, cruel and wonderful
I am an absolute sucker for a well done retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story. Megan Derr rarely lets me down when she pens something and this oh darlings this was wonderful.
Her words are rich and evocative without feeling heavy or unnecessary. The story is fantastic and the HEA, which you know is coming feels sooooooooooooo good.
Read the book.
I am an absolute sucker for a well done retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story. Megan Derr rarely lets me down when she pens something and this oh darlings this was wonderful.
Her words are rich and evocative without feeling heavy or unnecessary. The story is fantastic and the HEA, which you know is coming feels sooooooooooooo good.
Read the book.
April 27, 2020
A wonderful read
This is an excellent adaption of beauty and the beast. I was hooked from the first page and really loved this story.
The characters and world building was wonderful as all Ms Derr’s stories are and I was captivated.
Thanks
This is an excellent adaption of beauty and the beast. I was hooked from the first page and really loved this story.
The characters and world building was wonderful as all Ms Derr’s stories are and I was captivated.
Thanks
December 15, 2023
i absolutely adore megan derr‘s writing style, it’s so poetic and beautiful. i also really enjoyed this reimagining of the beauty & the beast story, even though it had a lot more to do with the personal transformation of the beast instead of the romance between him and the beauty
April 4, 2024
I really liked this retelling of this story.
The only thing that kept me to give 4 stars was the abrupt end of the story. It felt as if Megan Derr was tired of writing the book and decided to rush the end ! Very disappointed with this !!
The only thing that kept me to give 4 stars was the abrupt end of the story. It felt as if Megan Derr was tired of writing the book and decided to rush the end ! Very disappointed with this !!
March 20, 2020
There were some typos and one or two continuity errors, but was up reading this at 3am and so intensely and viscerally attached to the Beast character.
March 22, 2020
I liked this. I just wish it was longer. There wasn't much romance at all, like I was initially expecting it to be.
April 30, 2020
A retelling of Beauty & the Beast with some interesting twists and turns. Bi/gay main characters of the dudely persuasion.
January 3, 2021
What a beautiful story.
February 8, 2024
This is a bit of a twist on the classic. It keeps the general feel, but few of the details. It was an interesting difference that the two MCs knew had met before the curse.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews