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End of Ever After #4
Human Again: A Beauty and the Beast Retelling
Azahr has always known what to expect from life. As the second son of Delphe, a great military future beckons, and he's content in his role as future protector of his brother Adlard's crown.
But when Adlard dies suddenly, Azahr is immediately thrust into the role of first son and future heir to the throne. Despite his best efforts, it quickly becomes apparent that nothing he does will ever make him good enough to replace Adlard. In the absence his beloved brother left behind, a dark void created by anger, frustration, and fear begins to open within Azahr. And in that void, a beast is born.
On the eve of his eighteenth birthday, Azahr crosses a faery when he refuses her hospitality from a relentless downpour. The faery condemns him with a curse that will haunt him and threaten his very humanity; a curse that empowers the beast and sets it free.
Exiled from his home, Azahr takes refuge in a forgotten corner of the kingdom, where he battles daily to hold the beast at bay. Until, one day, the door opens and a ray of light shines into his castle as Kiara enters and brings with her a heretofore unimagined hope of breaking the curse. If Azahr can just keep himself together long enough for Kiara to see in him the man he could, and may yet, be.
Human Again is the fourth in a five part companion series that rewrites the classic tales of happily ever after.
But when Adlard dies suddenly, Azahr is immediately thrust into the role of first son and future heir to the throne. Despite his best efforts, it quickly becomes apparent that nothing he does will ever make him good enough to replace Adlard. In the absence his beloved brother left behind, a dark void created by anger, frustration, and fear begins to open within Azahr. And in that void, a beast is born.
On the eve of his eighteenth birthday, Azahr crosses a faery when he refuses her hospitality from a relentless downpour. The faery condemns him with a curse that will haunt him and threaten his very humanity; a curse that empowers the beast and sets it free.
Exiled from his home, Azahr takes refuge in a forgotten corner of the kingdom, where he battles daily to hold the beast at bay. Until, one day, the door opens and a ray of light shines into his castle as Kiara enters and brings with her a heretofore unimagined hope of breaking the curse. If Azahr can just keep himself together long enough for Kiara to see in him the man he could, and may yet, be.
Human Again is the fourth in a five part companion series that rewrites the classic tales of happily ever after.
282 pages, Paperback
Published February 4, 2020
4 people are currently reading
334 people want to read
About the author
E.L. Tenenbaum
16 books69 followersE.L. Tenenbaum is an author, writer, wordsmither-er, and versificator. When not distracted building new worlds or puttering around her Substack, she enjoys presenting about writing, and has been a visiting author at schools around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 10, 2020
Okay, so... this could've been a bit better?
There will be a bunch of spoilers here because I feel like I can't fully review this book without them. Read at your own discretion...
I don't hate this book, at all. Let's start with the positives:
I think this is a fresh take on the Beauty and the Beast fairy- or I guess faery tale. I think this is the first version of the story that I've read where, not only is Beast our main character but we're inside his head 100% of the time. I thought that was interesting. I also loved how the beast isn't a physical beast, it's more of a psychological beast; that's a great change, especially seeing as the Beast has always been a compelling, complicated, very troubled character. So, all in all, it was interesting to see this portrayal of him.
What I liked but didn't really love... the relationship between Beauty and him. Something didn't click. And it happened from the very beginning, there was always this feeling in the back of my mind like, "so, if he wasn't "saved" in the end...why did she stay? Thanks, this is a lot more of a Stockholm Syndrome story now." I don't know, it just didn't feel right. I'm not only comparing this version with the Disney version, by the way. I'm comparing it to all the other versions of this story out there: both Disney versions, the 2014 french movie, Phantom of the Opera which, in essence, is a B&B story. That Beastly movie with Vanessa Hudgens. A Court of Thorn and Roses. There's like a million and a half versions out there so, there's a lot to compare this to. So, with this in mind, I don't think this one hits the mark. And it's awfully frustrating because I think the writer is amazing. I was also a bit confused about Prince Alex's appearance here, like there was a slight hinting of "he's not as charming as he seems" but I just never understood the importance of mentioning this if you're not really going to do anything with him; I guess it could also be the fact that, from this series, I've only read the previous installment and this one, so it could just be my lack of knowledge.
What I absolutely hated was, first of all, the dad. Dude...okay, we get it, Azhar is and will never be anything like his brother but...what about a redeeming arc? What about a final conversation or confrontation, whatever you want, where Azhar is like "I'm going to become a better man than you ever were" or something. WE NEVER GET CLOSURE ON THIS! I needed closure. I needed more conversations, more interactions with the family aside from Azhar being left out. We literally never get to know his sisters aside from knowing Amellia gets married to some boring guy. It really bothered me through the book. And another thing, why does "Belle" stay? Okay, so you come back from being with your family because you suddenly miss and love the beast? When did this happen, because we literally never see you feel any way towards him other than him being your best friend... So, can you please explain??
Also, I would be really REALLY pissed off if the guy I've protected my entire life, took an OATH of life or death to protect, went with him to the ends of the earth if he demanded of me, gave the position that I was CLEARLY meant to have to some random farm boy who he literally never talked to other than that one night where they attacked some ogres. Like, YOU JUST LEARNED HIS NAME!! YOU'VE KNOWN ME MY ENTIRE FREAKING LIFE... DUDE!!
Also, the curse. And the resolution. It just... I liked the fact that it was like a mirror, reflecting this anger he has inside of himself and amplifying it. And then the curse breaks but it doesn't really break. He never gets to live the rest of his life with a happily ever after because he can't control himself. In fact, he freaking hits the woman he claims is a balm for this entire anger he feels to the world AND LEAVES HER WITH HIS SON????? I can't get over the last few lines of this shitshow. Like he literally said, "I don't consider this boy my son, so I leave her with it. I hope he gets to read this and understand why I did that." I'm sorry, if my dad wrote me a letter explaining why he left my mother and me because "it'd be better for us if he wasn't there" talk about being selfish. This isn't you trying to protect your family. This is you being a freaking coward and running away from responsibility because you gave up on trying to be a better man for your own flesh and blood. You keep telling yourself that your dad was this and that but honey, YOU ARE THE EXACT GODDAMNED SAME. In fact, you're kinda worse than him; your dad sent you away to boarding school, he didn't flat out leave you and your mother alone to fend for yourselves and went his merry way. This isn't you protecting them, this is literally you leaving them in the middle of the woods with nowhere to go and a pack of wolves coming towards them ready to pounce on them as soon as you're out of sight. Nice one, Azhar; father and husband of the century.
The end just left a really REALLY bad taste in my mouth. Let alone in my mind. What the hell was that? Seriously, what the hell was that. And I'm not even going to talk about the snippet we got of bad-ass-speaks-her-mind Snow White we got at the end there. Oh no, I'm saving that one for later and I wanna know what that's about.
I think the whole problem was Azhar. You keep blaming other people for what happened to you, you keep blaming other people for what you're clearly doing to yourself and take absolutely no responsibility for it. Could this have been avoided? I honestly do think so. I feel like shit didn't have to hit the fan the way it did in the end if he'd have taken a different way about things. Nothing he did made sense, nothing he did I could sympathize with. Also, this book is just filled with dread; very few moments where you felt happy about something going on with the characters or even feeling good about what's going on. It felt like a constant dread, a constant feeling of sadness and anger and grey, just very very grey cloudy skies throughout the entirety of the book. Maybe that's why it took me so long to read, I always read like five or so pages at a time twice a day because I couldn't, for the life of me, keep feeling so sad all the time.
And this truly sucks because I had such high hopes for this book. I was sitting there, looking at my Goodreads notifications, waiting for them to announce this book had been finally published. As a matter of fact, when I saw that it was pushed back (because i had actually made a reminder for its original publication day) I was so dissapointed because I wouldn't get to read it as soon as I'd hoped.
I don't know what's going on with the books I'm reading this year, but this has been the third of three so far that I have finished reading and wasn't completely in love with the ending. But, unlike the other two, I will certainly do everything in my power never to remember reading this shitshow. EVER.
P.S. I beg of you, please don't ruin Snow White for me.
There will be a bunch of spoilers here because I feel like I can't fully review this book without them. Read at your own discretion...
I don't hate this book, at all. Let's start with the positives:
I think this is a fresh take on the Beauty and the Beast fairy- or I guess faery tale. I think this is the first version of the story that I've read where, not only is Beast our main character but we're inside his head 100% of the time. I thought that was interesting. I also loved how the beast isn't a physical beast, it's more of a psychological beast; that's a great change, especially seeing as the Beast has always been a compelling, complicated, very troubled character. So, all in all, it was interesting to see this portrayal of him.
What I liked but didn't really love... the relationship between Beauty and him. Something didn't click. And it happened from the very beginning, there was always this feeling in the back of my mind like, "so, if he wasn't "saved" in the end...why did she stay? Thanks, this is a lot more of a Stockholm Syndrome story now." I don't know, it just didn't feel right. I'm not only comparing this version with the Disney version, by the way. I'm comparing it to all the other versions of this story out there: both Disney versions, the 2014 french movie, Phantom of the Opera which, in essence, is a B&B story. That Beastly movie with Vanessa Hudgens. A Court of Thorn and Roses. There's like a million and a half versions out there so, there's a lot to compare this to. So, with this in mind, I don't think this one hits the mark. And it's awfully frustrating because I think the writer is amazing. I was also a bit confused about Prince Alex's appearance here, like there was a slight hinting of "he's not as charming as he seems" but I just never understood the importance of mentioning this if you're not really going to do anything with him; I guess it could also be the fact that, from this series, I've only read the previous installment and this one, so it could just be my lack of knowledge.
What I absolutely hated was, first of all, the dad. Dude...okay, we get it, Azhar is and will never be anything like his brother but...what about a redeeming arc? What about a final conversation or confrontation, whatever you want, where Azhar is like "I'm going to become a better man than you ever were" or something. WE NEVER GET CLOSURE ON THIS! I needed closure. I needed more conversations, more interactions with the family aside from Azhar being left out. We literally never get to know his sisters aside from knowing Amellia gets married to some boring guy. It really bothered me through the book. And another thing, why does "Belle" stay? Okay, so you come back from being with your family because you suddenly miss and love the beast? When did this happen, because we literally never see you feel any way towards him other than him being your best friend... So, can you please explain??
Also, I would be really REALLY pissed off if the guy I've protected my entire life, took an OATH of life or death to protect, went with him to the ends of the earth if he demanded of me, gave the position that I was CLEARLY meant to have to some random farm boy who he literally never talked to other than that one night where they attacked some ogres. Like, YOU JUST LEARNED HIS NAME!! YOU'VE KNOWN ME MY ENTIRE FREAKING LIFE... DUDE!!
Also, the curse. And the resolution. It just... I liked the fact that it was like a mirror, reflecting this anger he has inside of himself and amplifying it. And then the curse breaks but it doesn't really break. He never gets to live the rest of his life with a happily ever after because he can't control himself. In fact, he freaking hits the woman he claims is a balm for this entire anger he feels to the world AND LEAVES HER WITH HIS SON????? I can't get over the last few lines of this shitshow. Like he literally said, "I don't consider this boy my son, so I leave her with it. I hope he gets to read this and understand why I did that." I'm sorry, if my dad wrote me a letter explaining why he left my mother and me because "it'd be better for us if he wasn't there" talk about being selfish. This isn't you trying to protect your family. This is you being a freaking coward and running away from responsibility because you gave up on trying to be a better man for your own flesh and blood. You keep telling yourself that your dad was this and that but honey, YOU ARE THE EXACT GODDAMNED SAME. In fact, you're kinda worse than him; your dad sent you away to boarding school, he didn't flat out leave you and your mother alone to fend for yourselves and went his merry way. This isn't you protecting them, this is literally you leaving them in the middle of the woods with nowhere to go and a pack of wolves coming towards them ready to pounce on them as soon as you're out of sight. Nice one, Azhar; father and husband of the century.
The end just left a really REALLY bad taste in my mouth. Let alone in my mind. What the hell was that? Seriously, what the hell was that. And I'm not even going to talk about the snippet we got of bad-ass-speaks-her-mind Snow White we got at the end there. Oh no, I'm saving that one for later and I wanna know what that's about.
I think the whole problem was Azhar. You keep blaming other people for what happened to you, you keep blaming other people for what you're clearly doing to yourself and take absolutely no responsibility for it. Could this have been avoided? I honestly do think so. I feel like shit didn't have to hit the fan the way it did in the end if he'd have taken a different way about things. Nothing he did made sense, nothing he did I could sympathize with. Also, this book is just filled with dread; very few moments where you felt happy about something going on with the characters or even feeling good about what's going on. It felt like a constant dread, a constant feeling of sadness and anger and grey, just very very grey cloudy skies throughout the entirety of the book. Maybe that's why it took me so long to read, I always read like five or so pages at a time twice a day because I couldn't, for the life of me, keep feeling so sad all the time.
And this truly sucks because I had such high hopes for this book. I was sitting there, looking at my Goodreads notifications, waiting for them to announce this book had been finally published. As a matter of fact, when I saw that it was pushed back (because i had actually made a reminder for its original publication day) I was so dissapointed because I wouldn't get to read it as soon as I'd hoped.
I don't know what's going on with the books I'm reading this year, but this has been the third of three so far that I have finished reading and wasn't completely in love with the ending. But, unlike the other two, I will certainly do everything in my power never to remember reading this shitshow. EVER.
P.S. I beg of you, please don't ruin Snow White for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2021
A tough one to tackle, but the faery tales continue in this dark/gritty retelling of Beauty and the Beast!
Plus, this story includes a good look at the protagonist of the next book, Daimyon the Huntsman!
(Ever After is a series of companion novels, so they can be read in any order. However, it is recommended to read them in order of publication.)
***
Listen to a Behind-the-scenes of the book on my podcast, Oh My Word!:
https://www.eltenenbaum.com/bonus-epi...
Hear an interview with the reader of the audiobook, Chuck Wagner:
https://www.eltenenbaum.com/bonus-epi...
Plus, this story includes a good look at the protagonist of the next book, Daimyon the Huntsman!
(Ever After is a series of companion novels, so they can be read in any order. However, it is recommended to read them in order of publication.)
***
Listen to a Behind-the-scenes of the book on my podcast, Oh My Word!:
https://www.eltenenbaum.com/bonus-epi...
Hear an interview with the reader of the audiobook, Chuck Wagner:
https://www.eltenenbaum.com/bonus-epi...
September 6, 2023
Human Again is the fourth book in the End of Ever After series of fairy tale retellings. This one is told from the Beast's perspective and is in the past tense, almost as if he reminisces about his past.
This is also the hardest review of the four books I've yet had to write! Why? Because there are so many parts of this that I loved and yet other parts just didn't tick the boxes for me. The 'Beast' himself? I loved him. You got an in-depth view of his childhood and just what made him into a 'Beast'. For myself, it was never quite clear if he did indeed change into something else, or if he just was a human man enraged.
I think it was his family that annoyed me more than anything. Yes, I know that's how you're supposed to feel, but it was more along the lines of Amelia. She was old enough to understand how her father was with Azahr, but was content to just go along and believe what she was told without actually finding out if it was true or not.
I'm very pleased this was told by Azahr. Too many times, this story is from Belle's - or Kiara, as she is here - point of view.
This isn't my favourite of the series, but I am certainly happy to have read it. I have no hesitation in recommending either this book or the series but I would recommend you read them in order. Although these are companion books, it will definitely make more sense that way.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Feb 27, 2020
This is also the hardest review of the four books I've yet had to write! Why? Because there are so many parts of this that I loved and yet other parts just didn't tick the boxes for me. The 'Beast' himself? I loved him. You got an in-depth view of his childhood and just what made him into a 'Beast'. For myself, it was never quite clear if he did indeed change into something else, or if he just was a human man enraged.
I think it was his family that annoyed me more than anything. Yes, I know that's how you're supposed to feel, but it was more along the lines of Amelia. She was old enough to understand how her father was with Azahr, but was content to just go along and believe what she was told without actually finding out if it was true or not.
I'm very pleased this was told by Azahr. Too many times, this story is from Belle's - or Kiara, as she is here - point of view.
This isn't my favourite of the series, but I am certainly happy to have read it. I have no hesitation in recommending either this book or the series but I would recommend you read them in order. Although these are companion books, it will definitely make more sense that way.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Feb 27, 2020
February 17, 2020
i loved this series but this was my least favorite to be honest. it seemed to be very repetitive. book 2 was the best by far. They all can stand alone pretty well.
August 4, 2022
Woe is beast
I'm not sure what to make of this book. Some parts of it are really, really good. Other parts (especially the Disneyfied ones) are not good at all. I had so much hope for this series, due to the first book being such a brilliant twist on Cinderella. But the narrative voice of each book is becoming more and more full of hand-wringing and self-pity, to the point that it's tedious to read. What happened?
I'm not sure what to make of this book. Some parts of it are really, really good. Other parts (especially the Disneyfied ones) are not good at all. I had so much hope for this series, due to the first book being such a brilliant twist on Cinderella. But the narrative voice of each book is becoming more and more full of hand-wringing and self-pity, to the point that it's tedious to read. What happened?
April 20, 2022
I don't know why I struggled with Azahr's story. I love the manner in which the fairytales are interwoven. I love how the stories are coloured in and changed and made something more. But I just struggled to resonate with this one.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews