Beau and Bett

Beau and Bett by Kathryn Berla (Review)

Published by Amberjack Publishing

Release Date: June 25th 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Retelling, Romance

Retail Price: $12.99 USD

Purchase From: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, and Book Depository.

CW/TW: Mentions sexual assault & r*pe.

Rating:

3 Stars

After Beau LeFrancois's mother wrecks Bett Diaz’s luxury SUV, his family faces an impossibly large bill—with no car insurance to help pay it. To pay off the debt, Beau spends his weekends working at the Diaz Ranch.

Beau’s prepared to work, but he’s definitely not prepared for the infamous temper of Bett Diaz, also known as "The Beast" at school. As Beau learns the secrets behind Bett’s tough exterior, he finds himself falling for her . . . until he catches Bett in a lie.

A contemporary twist on a classic fairy tale, Beau and Bett is a timely story of family, friendship, and the power of speaking out and standing up for yourself.

Firstly, I would like to say a huge thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher, Amberjack Publishing for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had such high hopes for this novel, but I was unfortunately a little disappointed (to say the least). So, where did it go wrong? Well, let's focus on the positives first, shall we?

Beau and Bett was actually a pretty cute, light and fluffy read, and I sped through it fairly easily. The relationship in this book was cute enough, and I actually really loved how it was a contemporary romance told from the guy's perspective. I also really liked how this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling that wasn't based off of fantasy or set in a magical realm. It's definitely a unique take on the classic tale and I really enjoyed those aspects of it. Unfortunately, that's about as good as it got for me.

There were a few let-downs, one of them being the dialogue and language used. The main character, Beau, is meant to be around 16-18 from what I gathered, but sometimes he reads as a 12 year old boy (and this is coming from a 16-soon-to-be-17 year old!) It's just not realistic for a teenage boy to be thinking or saying some of the things Beau does... The dialogue is horrendous at times, and I'm only saying this because I honestly don't know anyone who uses some of the phrases said in this book, such as "Golly dance," and "Furifying mess." I'm honestly not even sure if furifying is a word? Is it some sort of regional or provincial slang I'm unaware of?

There's also the issue of the pace of the novel as a whole. The novel was too fast paced in my opinion- both the ending and Beau and Bett's relationship itself felt rushed to me. I would have liked more development in their relationship, as it felt like Beau was still hung up on Maisie, his crush, for the majority of the novel. The ending tried to deliver a strong message- but it wasn't as powerful as it could have been, and it fell a bit flat to me. The story delivers multiple messages, three of which are that: 1) love is one of the most important things in the world, 2) even rich people don't have perfect lives and 3) you shouldn't judge someone by their appearances or possessions. Beau judges Bett because she seems like a rich spoiled girl, and seems to have the perfect life. The first message is actually embedded throughout the book, as seen in this quote that stood out to me, "We don't got any luck but we gotta lot of love so that's all that matters." The last message is driven home at the end of the novel, "There's a little beast in every person. And in every beast, there's a human heart with a story of how it got to that place."  It is a really good message, if not overused, but it felt more told to the reader rather than shown. 

One of the things that bothered me most in this book was the use of spirit animals. Spirit animals are used as a plot device here to symbolise the characterization of Bett through Beau's eyes throughout the novel. However, Beau is Cajun and American, whereas Bett is of Latinx descent. Therefore, as spirit animals are a part of Native American culture, and neither of the main characters are from this culture, I felt that this symbolisation using spirit animals was misplaced and inappropriate. 

Overall, this novel was a cute, fluffy and quick read, but it was really underwhelming for me. The concept had so much potential, and it could have been an amazing novel, but the overall execution of the novel was disappointing. I would recommend it for people who possible need to get out of a reading slump or want a quick read, but otherwise, I personally would not bother.