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whattamess's review against another edition
2.0
Creative but lacking connection
Pro: Great imagination and creativeness on Christine Pope’s version of Beauty and the Beast.
Con: Over 90% of the book consisted of inner dialogue. I felt as though I was reading a school text book. There was no connection to characters, or a feeling of love for me.
barefoot_james's review against another edition
4.0
Second book in the Tales of the Latter Kingdoms series. This is a stand-alone book.
This is a very good retelling of The Beauty and the Beast: however, it contains some issues that prevent me from giving it a five star rating.
The story is told in the first person. As a result, we watch as the protagonist falls in love with her husband, but we don't see her husband falling in love with her. Due to his experience with his previous wives, he knows that she will likely die an early death while the nature of the curse prevents him from saving her. There is nothing to show that he distinguishes her to be different from her predecessors.
The development of the story is slow. After all, this is a romance. We get a lot of details on her daily life. The breaking of the curse, however, seems rushed by comparison.
The protagonist meets all the conditions for her to break the curse early in the story. As the author has presented the curse, the protagonist could have died at any point in the latter half of the book and the curse would have been lifted as soon as her husband had completed his condition.
This is a very good retelling of The Beauty and the Beast: however, it contains some issues that prevent me from giving it a five star rating.
The story is told in the first person. As a result, we watch as the protagonist falls in love with her husband, but we don't see her husband falling in love with her. Due to his experience with his previous wives, he knows that she will likely die an early death while the nature of the curse prevents him from saving her. There is nothing to show that he distinguishes her to be different from her predecessors.
The development of the story is slow. After all, this is a romance. We get a lot of details on her daily life. The breaking of the curse, however, seems rushed by comparison.
The protagonist meets all the conditions for her to break the curse early in the story. As the author has presented the curse, the protagonist could have died at any point in the latter half of the book and the curse would have been lifted as soon as her husband had completed his condition.
lizardinabigwizardhat's review against another edition
5.0
There are certain books in the world that I refer to as "fluffy books". They're those books that are short and sweet but really pull at the heartstrings and need to be reread every so often when you get tired of drama and violence. This is one of those books, and might I say, it may be the best of those books. Rhianne is a bit of an airhead and, yes, is overly dramatic at times, but it's the minutiae of this story that get me. The development of minor characters. The fantastical twist on a classic tale. The weaving of words. All of it. I loved it.
bookph1le's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book very much. It was well written and the world building was good. However, I thought the romance was a little thin. By the end, I was still trying to figure out what had caused Rhianne to have the feelings she did for Theran. More complete review to come.
fmcfranny's review
4.0
this was an interesting beauty and the beast retelling. I was a little disappointed we didn't get to see him without the hood but the curse itself was interesting and I had to stop and think about whether it was really deserved. Not saying he wasn't a butthead but the brides being punished was a bit harsh. what did they do?! Some craziness going on up in the family that cast the curse. All in all a good read though.
chandelierskies's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
heavenn98's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lifeand100books's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a sucker for Beauty and the Beast stories, and Dragon Rose was just that. At times it moved a bit slowly for my liking, but I enjoyed the sci-fi elements of it enough to see where it went. Ultimately I'm glad I stuck with it as I'd like to read some of the other fairy tales Pope has redone.
pjshreve's review against another edition
2.0
The book had promise, but just couldn't deliver. I feel like the heroine spent so much time in the book wandering and wondering, only to have the answers slammed home in a quick paragraph or two. It was a quick and breezy read, but left me feeling unfulfilled.