Kissed is a bind-up of three retellings by Cameron Dokey. I’ve read Dokey’s retellings before, called Once, and I quite enjoyed it. Kissed consists of Belle, Sunlight and Shadow, and Winter’s Child. I will give a detailed review of each story below. Belle (2 stars) Belle is a retelling (it’s obvious from the title) of the fairytale beauty and the beast. In this version, Belle (short for Annabelle), is the third daughter of a rich family. Her father owns a shipping company but he likes doing woodworking in his spare time. Belle has two older sisters. Both are extraordinarily beautiful, that Belle always feels inferior compared to them. One day, her father’s ships are just lost in the sea. The shipping company went bankrupt and Belle’s family moves to countryside near a forest. In this forest then Belle will encounter the beast. There are still a lot of aspects from this retelling that I haven’t told you, such as the woodworking that Belle also takes interest in. This would play a part in her relationship with the beast. Also there’s a Monsieur LeGrand who is her father’s partner in the shipping company. Monsieur LeGrand often helps the family when they’re in trouble. He’s also the one who introduces Belle to the tale of a beast who lives in the heart of the wood. Nevertheless, you get the idea of this version of …show more content…
I haven’t read the original tale so my criticism (I guess, kind of) is based on the Disney version. My first problem with this retelling is the fact that Belle was feeling insecure with her appearance. I know and I believe that every woman has felt this insecurity, but I don’t like the way it brought up in this story. Belle is one of my favorite Disney princesses because she’s a big reader (I’m a reader) and she has a big desire to see the world. Appearance doesn’t really being talked about. But in this version, Belle made such a big deal out of