Fairest of All is what Maleficent should have been. A story on how a villain became who they are, without ruining the good guys, and makes it seem like it could actually happen in the original story instead of just having no continuity. The Evil Queen actually loved Snow White and Snow's father. There are many pages where it goes on about how much she adored the two of them with every fiber of her being. She also didn't think she was pretty at all because she had an abusive father who called her ugly and hated her because she killed her mother in childbirth and looks just like her. The father was a mirror maker and died but he comes back as the magic mirror. The Queen is frightened by the mirror but when she gets control of it, she finally gets something she wanted, her fathers approval. He gave her his approval by telling her the truth that she is the fairest one of all. The King has these three haggard looking cousins that cause trouble and are kind of the villains of the story. She learns magic and becomes obsessed with her beauty after her husband dies. Her and Snow White's relationship is incredible and complex. This book is an incredible read and really dark and complex. The Queen doesn't become the hero in the end, she suffers the same fate she does in the movie. Although this time it has a respectful little twist in the end that doesn't ruin the original. It's one of my all time favorite books!

The Beast Within completely ruins everything the original movie did. First, Gaston is actually the Beast's best friend because he became the beast, but they forget about each other when Beast transforms, which was actually a slow transformation. He was also supposed to marry this girl who was a farm girl and turns out to be the Enchantress who is upset when the Beast rejects her after finding out she's a farm girl. Her sisters turn out to be the three witches from Fairest of All, a pointless and unnecessary choice by the way. And it turns out she was the one who sent the wolves after Belle in the movie to kill her and make sure she didn't break the curse. And apparently she put a spell on Beast to keep him from hurting Gaston to make sure that Gaston could stab him while he wasn't looking. Absolutely NOTHING to do with his good heart, just a spell! The girl also apparently decides to save the Beast and turn him back into a human because she's touched by Belle's love for him. Oh, and did I mention that the servants disappeared and the book is saying that they were all in the Beast's head and they would just turn back into lifeless object instead of the characters we all know any love? The Beast is completely unlikable, Gaston and the witches are pointless (besides Gaston in the climax), it's rushed, they ruin the charm the original movie had, they don't really go into Beast's back story on why he became the spoiled and selfish person he was, and they just make the Beast look despicable. They could have gone into being ignored by his parents so he became cruel because of it. If I ever get to work on the Disney sequels, I'm adding that bit of plot to The Enchanted Christmas. Belle is hardly in the book, which is the point, but this book doesn't make the love between her and Beast seem genuine like it was in the movie. The characters aren't fleshed out and it has even more problems than Frozen. So check out Fairest of All and give The Beast Within a SKIP!

By far!

Cool, I didn't know that Ursula is the next one! :D

Unfortunately *Sobs* I have heard that "Fairesf of All" is far better than "The Beast Within".

These sound cool, though. :D

I never read any of them but if I get to the library, I will check out Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen (and avoid the Beast Within).

I haven't read the other one, but this one I loved