Everyone loves a good fairy tale. But there are only a few who can appreciate the recreation and retelling of a fairy tale to fit into today’s world, and even fewer authors who can write one without royally messing it up. Or, that’s what I think anyway.

Alex Flinn is one of those authors.

In Beastly (the book, not the movie), Alex Flinn takes the story of Beauty and the Beast and gives it a modern twist. By making the setting present day New York City, she makes the story and the characters easier to relate to. You know, beside the whole magic part. Unless you have been turned into a beast and have two years to break the curse by falling in love, then that’s a different story.

Kyle Kingsbury is handsome, rich, popular… and a jerk. When he crosses paths with a witch, even the Kingsbury charm cannot get him out of being turned into what he really is: a beast. The witch gives him two years to find someone, fall in love, and receive a true lover’s kiss. If he fails he’ll remain a beast forever.

At first, Kyle thinks all hope is lost. His father, a famous news castor, hides him from the world so no one will find out, giving him very little chances to go searching for the love of his life. Then he meets Lindy Owens and realizes that even the average looking girls can be beautiful.

It’s the same storyline as the original, besides the setting and a few minor changes with some characters. The one thing I loved about this book was the characters were so life like. I immediately hated Kyle, but slowly grew to love him throughout the story. I also could connect easily with Lindy because we are very similar. I also practically fell in love with supporting character, Will Fratalli, the blind tutor. I feel that you always can tell who a great writer is when you have some sort of feeling for all the characters, not just the main ones.

Although I loved this book, I have to admit that there were a few things that I didn’t like about it. The main issue I had was that in some spots the dialogue was unbelievable. I’d stare at the page thinking, Would anyone ever really say that? Not all the dialogue was like this, but there were a few lines.

My second issue was that part of the ending was a bit corny. And of course it was the part right after Kyle turns back to his human form. But after a few pages of corny dialogue and unbelievable actions, I was able to get right back into the story and enjoy the non-corny ending.