This is a review of the audible novel, the author also has a novella with the same title and story.

I got Beautiful as an audible free original,  because I’ve heard a lot about JM but never had a chance to read her books. It had pretty average reviews, but the story worked really well for me and I enjoyed it a lot. It’s a retelling, of sorts, of  a fairytale I wasn’t familiar with, East of the Sun West of the Moon. It focuses on a young girl, named Hulde, who is a minor character, forgotten and ill-used in the original fairytale, and turns her into a fleshed out character. With the help of her mysterious bear friend, she learns about stories and a world outside the castle where her mother keeps her isolated and uneducated. She carves out her own story, choosing to be brave even when she is very afraid. The story has three parts, the first is the action from the fairytale, the second sees Hulde setting out on an adventure to learn about herself and the world, and the third sees her facing a dangerous new threat, with the help of the loyal friends she’s made along the way. I didn’t realize this at the beginning, so was really confused about why the story seemed to be wrapping up only a third of the way through. 

I really enjoyed the writing, which was helped by a rich, atmospheric narration. It’s all very fairytale like, in both mood and narrative structure. Even after the end of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, we meet characters such as mysterious old ladies that have cottages in the woods. 

I generally like fairytale retellings, and I loved how Beautiful takes a story that I imagine is pretty black and white, with the good prince and his brave wife facing off against the evil queen’s plans, and paints it will all sorts of shades. I also loved how Hulde was not only redeemed, but got a rich story of her own, on her own terms.