Mundie Moms

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Blog Tour / Book Review: Beauty by Nancy Ohlin

Welcome to the first stop in Nancy Ohlin's BEAUTY blog tour. I'm excited to share my review of Nancy's latest release, BEAUTY.



By: Nancy Ohlin
Published by: Simon Teen
Released on: May 7th, 2013
Source: book from publisher to review
3.5 Stars: It's a Good Read / I Enjoyed It
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add it to Goodreads

Looks to kill for...

Ana is nothing like her glamorous mother, Queen Veda, whose hair is black as ravens and whose lips are red as roses. Alas, Queen Veda loathes anyone whose beauty dares to rival her own—including her daughter.

And despite Ana’s attempts to be plain to earn her mother’s affection,
she’s sent away to the kingdom’s exclusive boarding school.

At the Academy, Ana is devastated when her only friend abandons her for the popular girls. Isolated and alone, Ana resolves to look like a true princess to earn the acceptance she desires.

But when she uncovers the dangerous secret that makes all of the girls at the Academy so gorgeous, just how far will Ana go to fit in?

I have a weakness for fairytale retellings, and I really like what Nancy did with Beauty. She took the story of Mirror, Mirror / Snow White and gave it her own touches, and spin. I have loved Snow White since I was young, and Nancy's Snow White is a little different than the one I grew up loving. In Beauty we get to see the relationship between Ana and her beautiful mother Queen Veda. While the Queen looks more like the classic Snow White than Ana, Ana does have her own beauty, and it's one she grows into, by learning to accept who she really is.

Ana is a character who is strong in her own right. She wasn't a character who stood out to me as being incredibly strong, but instead it's her quiet strength that I liked. She's defiant in a way you wouldn't except a Princess to be. Yet she also grows into the person her Father had trained her to be. I have to say I liked the way her deceased Father played a role in the story and aided Ana. 

Ana is a beautiful girl despite her out ward appearance. The Queen is constantly told her daughter will rival her for beauty, but Ana wants nothing to do with her mother, and does everything she can to make herself look ugly. I mean she literally lets herself go. She doesn't take care of her body and eats all the wrong things. In her "ugliness" she wins the Queen's favor. I admit, I liked this defiant side to Ana, because she didn't want any sort of approval from her mother. Her mother really is a wretched character. One thing is for sure, Ana can't hide from who she is forever, and at the Academy her mother set up for 50 of the land's elite girls, Ana finally steps into the role she's meant to have. 

Just like in the classic story, the Queen is jealous of anyone who rivals her beauty. Ana's best friend and each of the girls start to change in ways that aren't what I or Ana excepted. There is definitely something sinister going on at the academy, which Ana takes it upon herself to uncover. Let's just say this is an enjoyable read with a creative spin on a beloved story. Beauty is a fast paced, enjoyable read, and one I'd recommend to fans who enjoy fairytale re-tellings.

About the Author:



I am the author of Thorn Abbey, a YA retelling of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, and Beauty. a YA retelling of the Snow White tale. 

I've also contributed to several celebrity novels, including a New York Times-bestselling YA trilogy.

I'm currently hard at work on my next YA novel, which will be as romantic and mind-bending as Thorn Abbey (I hope!). 

My favorite cures for writers' block are long walks, long showers, popcorn, chocolate, and really expensive coffee. I talk to myself a lot while I write (you know, to make sure the dialogue zings).

Visit Nancy via her: Website | Twitter | Facebook 

The Giveaway:
Thank you to Simon & Schuster, I have one copy of Nancy's BEAUTY to giveaway! To enter, please fill out the form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

8 comments:

  1. Definately going in my TBR list...
    my favorite is Belle
    not your typical princess...
    she saves the prince in the end

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  2. Rapunzel and I have Tangled to thank for that.

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  3. Rapunzel, I always loved her long hair

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  4. I love Belle from Beauty and the Beast!

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  5. My favorite fairytale character is Sleeping Beauty. She doesn't do anything ridiculous (like eat an apple from a stranger!) to get into her predicament.

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