Review: Kill the Beast

Kill the Beast by Serena Valentino
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

SPOILERS AHEAD

This reimagined history of Gaston paints him as not a villain, but the devoted and thoughtful best friend to the prince-turned-beast. While that might make you think that Gaston deserves and will get a better fate than the original Disney story gives him, all this true history does is make it extra sad to see his final days play out.

Gaston’s memory wiped, the curse turns him into an arrogant, narrow-minded braggart, obsessed with Belle and killing the beast he thinks he remembers killing his parents. Of course, none of this is his fault - Gaston isn’t even targeted for a curse because of his deeds. No, he is a sad side effect of the true villains of this story, the odd sisters, who can see the past and future (as it stands in the present) and are intent on shaping things to their will. They want to the prince to be punished, and not break the curse or receive his happy ending with Belle, so they manipulate Gaston’s mind, driving him crazy with the need to kill the beast, save Belle, and have her to himself. In one page, he forgets his friends and family, his whole entire past, and who he really is. Because *magic.* This man whose kindness we see in action throughout almost his whole life dies as a subpoint in someone else’s story. That’s the true tragedy.

I can’t say I loved reading this book, but that’s probably because I had a feeling how it was going to end and was dreading that conclusion. I’m also not a big fan of stories where we’re told “bad things are going to happen, just wait.” Also, this part is my fault but I didn’t realize the stories in this series intertwined and referred to one another, so it’s much more confusing to read them out of order. This one was a gift, and I assumed it was a stand-alone retelling of Gaston’s story, which it is not. Also, why would you make me like someone and then torture them? 😭 The universe of this series is clearly complex and intertwined, and I can see a lot of people loving that aspect of it, but I’m not sure it’s for me.

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