I am in awe of this author. Her writing is so immersive and captivating. This Beauty and the Beast retelling is one of the best I've ever read! And considering its similarities to A Court of Thorns and roses I feel Lopez has achieved everything Maas failed to do for me.
The characters are excellent! I loved Revi. He made for a fantastic beast prince of the Fae Winter Court. Getting insights into his personality and why he does what he does was so believable and made me totally root for him. The added element of his cousin and the ultimate betrayal that comes with their relationship was so powerful. Lopez builds up the tension so well and truly shows that the best intentions for the wrong reasons can be devastating.
Kienna is truly an incredible female lead. Although there were fare fewer chapters in her point of view than I expected from how these types of romantic fantasy retellings are usually done, they were all spot on. She's a wonderful character and I enjoyed the fact that the arc wasn't really hers. That part of the story is all with Revi, but nonetheless, Kienna had a lot to do because she has to work her way through all the secrets and a few lies as well.
I absolutely love how Lopez manages to weave in the classic character of Gaston in such an unexpected way that works brilliantly with the story and makes the character so much more powerful because he isn't evil, he's trying to force a point. There is such a powerful lesson there, but I'm not going to give away any more than I already have. Just read it!
I've now read 4 of the books in this collection and I have been blown away by each of them. This series, even if it's featuring works by different authors, is clearly a labour of love and I just know all the books are going to be equally good. Definitely a must have for anyone who loves fairytale retellings. And The Winter Prince in particular should be read by anyone who loves Beauty and the Beast. Whether you did or did not enjoy ACOTAR, this retelling overshoots it by a lot in every way and deserves to be on every fantasy-lover's bookshelf.
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