dear emily, I’m sorry you went through the things that made you write this, but unfortunately it took me like 30% to get interested and then you lost me again at 60% or so… may you rest in peace but please never make me read this again.

xoxo

Kill the Beast is one of those beware fighting monsters lest you become one (or however the saying goes) kinds of books. There's a good amount of fantasy setting and magic, but the individual character development is the real story.

The main character is a deeply flawed woman, and strangers and loved ones alike get caught in her carnage. This made for a sometimes frustrating experience reading and witnessing her lashing out at everyone and throwing a punch before thinking twice, but the author made you care for her by the end. Though I don't personally condone violence as an anger conduit, I did appreciate that a woman character got to be an angry violent maniac. The foil to the main character was kind and also easy to like, but I did feel like their strong friendship was a little rushed given such a short time period over the course of the novel. I also wish we got to see more of the ex. The animal companion was a star of course and added a much needed bit of levity.

At first, I was annoyed the twist was so obvious so early in the story, but, by the end, I felt the reader was supposed to figure it out before the main character so you could dread the big reveal. This was well written except one character was incessantly described as "little" like a dozen times (e.g. the little witch, the little apprentice). This is more of a personal pet peeve but I don't like to be reminded of the size of the characters all the time.

A major component of the story is loss of siblings and heavy violence and suicide is also discussed. This is a queer normative fantasy world(!), but it's not the focus of the story. If you're looking for a character-focused reimagined fairy tale, I think you'll enjoy this!

A delightfully bananas plot with a strong heroine.

I felt it took a few chapters for the book to find its footing, but once it did we were striding off into the thicket of curses, beasts, animals sidekicks and found family.

Loved the different relationships that develop between the characters, they felt realistic and considered.

Perfect for when you’re in need of a classic fairytale retelling with an adventurous fantasy twist!

This is really sweet. I didn't expect so many beautiful & touching quotes & urges toward intentional living. I appreciate that Renkl often points out that she hadn't learned better yet when relating stories, normalizing how easy it is to just do better once you know better & removing stigma from acknowledging mistakes.

I was also pleasantly surprised with how Renkl consistently echoes concepts from my other recent read "Botany of Empire" - without making a direct political point of it, Renkl fosters a respect and acknowledgement that local, old knowledge is best. She often includes in her commentary when a plant is the product of colonization vs something that has long standing local traditions, and what the locals call a plant instead of "official" names. Also shoutout to a Service Berry mention!

This is a very tender love letter to the natural world and what living along side nature looks like. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author, and she sounds so kind. Definitely a recommendation from me!