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When I saw Thorn of Rose by Emily Deady in my Book Bub feed, I had to read it for several reasons: - the word "Rose" in the title, - the beautiful rose red cover, - the clean, sweet romance, and, most importantly, - the fairy tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast!
Do you have a favorite fairy tale retelling? I always compare the retellings to the Disney animated movies I watched as a child. I adore Aladdin and Tangled the most, but Cinderella, Mulan, and Beauty and the Beast are next.
Thorn of Rose is told in the point of view of both the Beauty, Isabel, and the Beast, Aden. It was interesting to experience the world through Aden's beastly senses. Kind, gentle, selfless Prince Aden is my favorite character in this novel, though his adorable puppy, Warrior, is a close second. Aden is heartbroken when Warrior doesn't recognize him in his beastly form.
In many animated Disney movies, the main characters have a pet. Jasmine has a tiger. Belle has her horse. Which pet is your favorite? Mine is the cricket in Mulan.
In this novel, Prince Aden is transformed into a beast when he saves his brother, Ian, the Crown Prince, from a magical attack by an evil Majis. In order to protect his family from his ever-increasing beastly aggression, Aden runs away to the northern mountains where he hides in an abandoned villa, the same remote family villa where Isabel Bielsa travels to retrieve ancient scrolls demanded by the governing council. If she doesn't return with the scrolls, her deathly ill father will be thrown in jail.
My least favorite character is Isabel. Except for our mutual love of books, reading, and libraries, I couldn't relate to her. She is too vain. Her complaints about men admiring her beauty and ignoring her brains annoyed me. Men have never been interested in my beauty or my brains; they usually ignore all of me. Plus, Isabel is mean and rude to Aden throughout most of the story. I've never met a man in beast form, but I hope I would be nicer.
Their meeting at the villa is my favorite scene in the novel. It's not a typical meet-cute, as Isabel and her servants attempt to kill Aden, because of his beastly appearance, until he talks and tries to persuade her to trust him. She doesn't, but she's forced to get to know him better when the only bridge across the river is destroyed by a flash flood and she can't return home until it's fixed. As Isabel's feelings for Aden grow, will his curse be broken before the last rose petal falls? You have to read the novel to find out.
I rate this novel 3 out of 5 roses. I liked most of it.
Thorn of Rose is the second book in Emily Deady's series, Fairy Tale Royals. The first is Shard of Glass: A Cinderella Romance about Aden's brother, Prince Onric, and a palace maid, Ashlin. As soon as I can afford a Kindle gift card, I intend to buy it. I'm hoping Ashlin will be more likable than Isabel.
