Hello there readers!

Today I’m gravitating back to fairytale retellings with my review of Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher.

Beauty and the Beast was always my favorite fairytale, and until now I hadn’t had the chance to read anything by Kingfisher, but their reputation precedes them, so I dove right in. Let’s see how this read went!

Blurb

Bryony and her sisters have come down in the world. Their merchant father died trying to reclaim his fortune and left them to eke out a living in a village far from their home in the city.

But when Bryony is caught in a snowstorm and takes refuge in an abandoned manor, she stumbles into a house full of dark enchantments. Is the Beast that lives there her captor, or a fellow prisoner? Is the house her enemy or her ally? And why are roses blooming out of season in the courtyard?

Armed only with gardening shears and her wits, Bryony must untangle the secrets of the house before she—or the Beast—are swallowed by them.

GoodReads

Amazon

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The Review

This was a pretty good YA fairytale retelling, though it wasn’t quite a homerun for me.

In this tale, young Bryony is lost in a blizzard and finds herself at a strange manor. After resting, she discovers that she cannot leave and that she must share the grand space with a terrifying beast that can talk. As Bryony gets to know this strange creature, she learns of the magic of the manor and must figure out a way to stop its malevolent reign.

I liked how much this retelling varied from the tale that we all know and love. There were plenty of nods to the original with the abundance of rose references and the beast, but the magic system was very different and separated itself from the original enough to read with excitement.

There were lots of great themes in this novel for a teen reader, and I enjoyed learning more about gardening in the process. Each chapter had plenty of magic and mystery throughout, and though I would have preferred the clues be distributed out more evenly throughout, the book did a good job of keeping me on my toes. I’m not one for an abundance of romance, but I really enjoyed that element of the story. It was subtle and didn’t completely take over the plot.

Bryony was a curious yet stubborn young woman. Her backstory was interesting, but I wanted a little more from it. Bryony did keep things lively with the occasional jokes and cursing, but beneath that she felt a bit beige to me.

Overall, not a bad book. If you love fairytale retellings with magic and mystery, you’ll probably have a good time.

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this book review. I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you read this book? Are there other similar books you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

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