Bryony and Roses

The manor house itself is a wonderful character. It lays out hopeful dresses for Bryony, wanting someone to dress up for dinner. It practically seems to pull up its own sod to allow her to plant her seedlings. Yet at the same time, if the Beast tries to tell her anything about his own past, candles start going out, a cold breeze blows, and the demeanor of the house becomes threatening. Theres a rose plant in a courtyard that seems important, but Beast cant really talk about it, and its strangling a beautiful tree. Bryony isnt very fond of roses, so she has to resist the urge to rip it out. Meanwhile, there seems to be an intruder who occasionally paces her room at night, and in Bryonys dreams a seductive man asks for her help but wont tell her what kind of help he needs.

Bryony and Roses is also a great contender for best first line: “She was going to die because of the rutabagas.” Doesnt that just make you desperately want to know what death-by-rutabagas means?

The dialogue is wonderful, as always seems to be the case when I read a Kingfisher tale. The same is true for the relationships between charactersromantic and not. As well as the characters themselves. She has so many wonderful strengths as a teller of tales.

The was terrific. It’s *not* the same story as the recent Disney ones, a great deal is different. I like this far better. It’s funny, the writing is a lot more subtle and effective and the characters are much more plausible. Unlike the movies (where you’re expected to simply suspend disbelief and buy that she fell for him for no good reason), in this one you can see why she might like him; he’s great. Instead of heavy handed posturing about the female lead being independent..this one simply is; she makes her own choices and makes no apologies for it. I was impressed with the concept, plot, pacing, char dev and other technical features. If you read a lot of modern genre fiction the style will seem extremely familiar..but it’s well done. Overall, it’s currently my favorite take on Beauty and the Beast.

Wow. This book blew me away. It’s the story you know, with a couple of twists and surprises along the way. It also subtly corrects some problematic aspects of the original story that tend to bother modern sensibilities.
I absolutely loved Bryony, our Beauty, and the Beast (he’s definitely in my top five favorite Beasts). It’s hard to get witty banter and sarcasm pitch-perfect in writing since so much of sarcasm is in tone of voice, but Kingfisher manages it beautifully. I enjoyed their interactions practically from the moment they met. It’s one of the few Beauty and the Beast retellings where the romance is not only believable, but also very organic. These two are a good fit for each other and it shows from the beginning. Bryony’s sister Holly is also a huge treat to be around.

It’s hard to read a retelling of Beauty and the Beast without comparing it to the Disney movie or the Robin McKinley books. I had a very difficult time with the first 40% for that exact reason. Girl ends up in enchanted castle. Meets a beast. Gets trapped in castle. Must break a curse. We all know the rest. How do you distinguish your story from the others? Look no further than Bryony and Roses.

In this retelling, Bryony is traveling home and gets lost at the castle. Not her father. She is “kidnapped” for her gardening abilities. At least that’s how it’s presented. There are still elements of the original tale. Every night the beast asks her to marry him. The castle is enchanted. The beast was once human. Still there are some nice original elements that makes this book stand out. The house is enchanted, not just the objects within it. Things appear and disappear at will. The beast has a hobby. There’s a strange visitor. It’s a rather original retelling.

While fun, it’s not perfect. I didn’t feel any chemistry between Bryony and the Beast. The Beast was too much “perfect nice romance novel guy.” and Bryony was an under-developed snarky (and dislikeable) female with too much inner dialogue. Still, there’s potential and originality here. I’m curious to see how Kingfisher’s other retellings are.

I loved the book up until the very end. The exchange between the Beast and Bryony is witty and absolutely delightful. The ending, however, seemed rushed, forced and not very enchanting and left a bad taste. There is also a small reference to Beauty which is totally off the wall, mean-spirited and disturbing. I think this could have been an instant classic which just missed the mark.

Update: I initially gave this 4 stars because most of the book is absolutely delightful. But the more I think about it, the half a page or so about Beauty (yes, that Beauty) troubled me so much that I had to bring this down to 3 stars. I’m even considering 2 stars. Why did she have to include that in this book? I just don’t understand. It totally ruined my otherwise enchanting experience reading this book.

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