As Old as Time
By Liz Braswell
Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Fairy Tale, Young Adult 421 Pages
Available in Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover, and Paperback
First Published: Sep. 6, 2016
Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
Who cast the curse on the Beast and his castle? Find out in the exceptional novel “As Old as Time,” which delightfully enchants readers with a new spin on Disney’s beloved love story, “Beauty and the Beast.”
Comparable to the original film, Belle switches places with her father Maruice to become the Beast’s new captive. Shortly after, she begins to have visions of a woman she believes is her mother. This leads to a terrible new mystery that forces Belle to discover horrible truths about who her mother really was, pressuring her and the Beast to come together to save everyone from the destruction of her mother’s wrath.
“As Old as Time” vividly takes readers on a thrilling adventure into the world of the Disney classic film, by creatively recapturing the heartwarming love story of Belle and the Beast. This delightful novel presents fans with an additional contemporary love story about Belle’s parents Maurice and Rosamund. These two love stories beautifully intertwine to explain who Belle’s mother really is. Giving readers the answers of how and why she placed the curse on the Beast and his castle in the first place.
This novel simultaneously retells the original story of “Beauty and the Beast” with a twist. Exploring what would have happened if Belle had accidentally destroyed the rose before the curse was broken.
Author Liz Braswell beautifully chronicled this idea, crafting it into the perfect genres of fantasy fiction, young adult and fairy tale, and releasing it on Sept. 6, 2016. “As Old as Time” beautifully explores the topics of love, sacrifice and selflessness while touching on sensitive and triggering topics like kidnapping, gore, assault and murder.
Readers will enjoy revisiting their favorite characters including Lumiere, Mrs. Pots, Chip, Cogsworth and more while being introduced to some new intricate and distinctive characters.
Braswell did an impeccable job recapturing the characters, while filling in vital missing pieces from the original story. Her words flow naturally, gradually revealing new twists and turns that keep the reader highly engaged, begging for more. Her incredible use of vivid language made this story even more of a hit, allowing the reader to easily transport themselves into the storybook to live out the adventure with a front row seat.
The only downside is the flow of the story itself.
The reader bounces between the timelines of the two love stories, taking place decades apart. This aspect really requires the reader to pay close attention to each chapter so that they can make clear connections between both stories, taking this enchanting novel to a 4.8 out of 5 stars.
Fans of Disney and “Beauty and the Beast” will have zero difficulties immersing themselves into this brilliantly expanded story, which pairs nicely with a warm cup of tea.
