Customer Reviews

Roses & Thorns: Beauty and the Beast Retold (Muse Fairytale)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Roses & Thorns is a touching retelling of the "Beauty & the Beast" fable with a lavender twist. We all know the old story. A young, handsome noble whose cruelty and selfishness had caused pain to many was cursed. He was condemned to appear to be the beast he had behaved until he could learn responsibility, compassion, how to love and finally be freely loved by a young woman.

The author, Chris Anne Wolfe, did not merely place a lover of women in the role of the callous beast. Instead she took an opportunity to explore how a hateful and homophobic society condemns those seen as different. Thus forcing the condemned to shamefully hide who they are in an effort to win acceptance, approval and possibly even love.

Years ago, Drew, a young noble woman was condemned as "the most perverted, grotesque of creatures known to our earth" because she loved another woman. Sadly the object of Drew's affections had more interest in gaining access to her father's wealth and having Drew cursed was part of the plan. ...Drew was cursed to live in a parallel, magical time and place until she could find another woman who would love her in return.

Drew internalizes this hate to the point of not expecting or believing that she could or should be loved freely by another woman. Drew's shame prompts her to cloak her female identity from any accidental visitors to her realm. Over centuries no young woman was willing to look beyond Drew's mask to know her as a person, let alone love her freely. It seemed to Drew that her damnation was deserved.

Bound by the curse, Drew once again barters for the hand of a traveling merchant's daughter. But Angelique, this latest young woman to arrive in Drew's domain, is different. .... This charming, romantic fantasy is a delightful way to pass an afternoon. Quite enjoyable, it is unnecessary to read the fable as more than a love story. However, elements of the story returned to me after reading it. This is not just a "simple" retelling of the beauty and the beast story.

The late Ms. Wolfe succeeded in creating a new fable for the lesbian (and gay) community from this old tale. She reminds us that there are many "beasts" in this world who would like to condemn us for being different. People who use fear of that difference to achieve some personal gains. She points to our love as our ironic redemption in the face of such hate and fear. This multifaceted story is what fables are supposed to be. Read it and be charmed.

I thought the premise for this book was excellent, but I feel that the story could have been quite a bit stronger. I felt that the book shortchanged itself by being as short as it was. A longer book could have had more details, more background, and more of the elements that make a compelling fairy tale retelling. The book was not bad, but I felt it could have been quite a bit better.

A well-written re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, with a bit of a twist where the beast is concerned. I liked the well-developed characters, the beauty of the romance, and the mystical and magical qualities of the story as well.

"Bitter Thorns" is a timeless, elegantly-written tale of secrets, consequences, and the love that conquers them all. A re-work of the classic "Beauty and the Beast" fairytale, Chris Anne Wolfe surrounds the reader with her beautiful imagery, instilling the characters of Drew and Angelique deep within our hearts. Never before have I been so intriqued by any romance. The love that blossoms between the two heroines, despite Drew's cloak-covered facade, and Angelique's initial 'purchase', stirs emotions in the reader so that they cheer outloud at every heartfelt revelation. You'll become deeply involved in the lives of these two women, their love for each other, and the forces that both seperate and unite them. Definitely a fairytale re-write that makes the original pale in comparison!

(This book is the first in Pride Imprints "From the Lion" series, retellings of classic tales for 'open-mided adults'. The second book, "Queen's Champion: The legend of Lancelot retold" is also a much encouraged read. I myself, however, am curious as to whether there are any other works in this "From the Lion" series. I simply want to find more treasures like "Bitter Thorns!" If anyone reading this has info to share, please email me!)

I grew up reading fairy tales, watching all the Disney animated features... and loving them. But it wasn't until I read this one when I realized I was just accepting what Disney and others presented to me.

Roses & Thorns is exceptionally written by Chris Anne Wolfe. I don't see how anyone could be disappointed by this book. I found that I could identify with both of the main characters. I fell in love with them as they fell in love with each other. And the beast is not who or what you might expect.

If you're like me and like to read books more than once, this book is definite worth it.

And when you're finished, seek out other books by Chris Anne Wolfe - published by Windstorm Creative ...they are likewise exceptional.

Annabel & I - ISBN 1883573963
Death, Sweet Suitor Mine - ISBN 159092049X
Shadows of Aggar - ISBN 1886383308
Fires of Aggar - ISBN 1886383421

Maybe I just had far too many expectations of this book. I was really excited when I first found it on Amazon -- not only a re-told fairytale (a tactic I really love), but a lesbian perspective as well? ... But the book doesn't measure up. Although it's an original and intruiging take on the classic tale, the romance (I felt) is severely lacking. The character of Angelique was terribly two-dimensional and trite: the beautiful, perky girl who doesn't even bat an eye when she finds out she's being courted by a woman. (^_^ Sorry, I wanted more angst. I felt the story lacked real conflict, and so I was never really drawn into the plot.) Drew was much more interesting and well-rounded. The villains were cardboard, and the whole fairy-village idea added fluffiness that made me sorely miss the dark and brooding atmosphere of the original tale. There's a dark and almost terrifying intensity to the basic premise of the fairytale -- a woman trapped in an abandoned castle slowly falls in love with her tormented captor. But that was lost in this version. A cute book, a nice story, but sadly unrealistic and unsatisfying.

THIS IS ONE OF MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOKS. I HAVE RE-READ IT MANY TIMES AND IT REMAINS AS MAGICAL AS THE FIRST TIME. THE CHARACTERS ARE "FULL"AND I FELL TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH THEM ALL. THE PREMISE IS A BEAUTY AND THE BEAST STORY BUT WITH A TWIST (CHRIS WOLFE WRITES LESBIAN FICTION). IT'S A BEAUTIFUL STORY AND I DONT WNAT TO GIVE AWAY ANYTHING BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY SECRETS UNREVEALED UNTL LATE IN THE BOOK.....BUT I DID WANT TO SAY HOW VERY MUCH I ENJOYED EVERY PAGE, I ONLY WISH IT WERE LONGER....

I am partial to retelling of fairy tales. I've read at least 5 other re-tellings of this particular one. The ones that retain the magic are M/F and the only other one that is F/F strips the story of the magic and sets the story in early twentieth century USA. When I reached the end of this book - a novella in reality - I wanted more. Wolfe writes with a deft hand. It is a pity she died so young. I wondered for a while what the monstrosity of this particular beast was, only to find that her love of women made her a monster. The delight of this story for me was in following Angelique as she works to convince Drew that she isn't a monster and that Angelique does in fact love her and wants to spend her life with Drew.
I've only had the book a short time and have already read it twice. It is one of my two favorite retellings of Beauty and the Beast

Released previously as "Bitter Thorns", this is a book that will leave you with a warm glow inside. Wolfe captures that essential bit of magic required to write fantasy novels; this may not be a literary classic, but it is the embodiment of enjoyable romance-fantasy.

The maidens are fair, the villians are vile, emotions run high, and the lovers Wolfe creates are urgently sweet.

The plot line of Roses & Thorns is simple and uncomplicated, but when you consider the story to be a fleshed-out fairy tale rather than a pared-down novel, it's not that much of a problem. The characterization would also be rather thin for a novel but as a retelling of a known fairy tale, it works alright.

If it hadn't been for Culdun and Drew's stepmother, Roses & Thorns would have had a bit too much man-bashing for me, and it still may have too much for some people: Angelique's father and brothers are all pretty horrible, both to her and in general, and Drew's father turns his back on her. But Culdun is a major character throughout and is very positively portrayed. The small cast also helps here; while the majority of men may be presented as jerks, there are still only four of them and the narrative never implies that all men are like this. It is also quite important that Drew's trouble is not traceable to a man-- hers stems from her stepmother.

The thing I like best about Roses & Thorns is how it plays with and subverts common tropes of Beauty and the Beast. The Beauty character's good looks are not a draw for the beast; indeed, Drew is initially displeased that Angelique is so pretty. Furthermore, the beast is not physically disfigured. In fact, she is more bound by her own mind and her conviction that her stepmother was right to call her a monster than by the curse her stepmother placed upon her. While the book doesn't say this outright, one can infer that the curse might never have taken effect if Drew hadn't believed her stepmother was right. The story is then simultaneously a delightfully retold fairy tale with twists about both Beauty and beast and an examination into how society can make us believe that there is something wrong with who we are (specifically that there is something wrong with women being attracted to women) and how damaging that belief is. Yet it remains a tale and does not try to preach; I think it is phenomenally well done.