DNF 30%
I have read another fariytale book from this author and loved it. But this just simply missed the mark for me.
It was just so boring and bland... Bonnie was not like i had hoped she would be...and all the new unessesary characters were just boring.

This was a sweet retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It was very light-hearted. I am interested in the sequel. I love Ms. Tempest fairy tale retellings! They are perfect for fans of K. M. Shea, Melanie Cellier, and Demelza Carlton!

I wanted to love this beauty and the beast retelling, but I didn't. to me it was too much like the oringal for my taste.

this was a great fairy tale retelling, I felt it kept true to the original story and was able to create a more modern story. Overall I really enjoyed reading it and look forward to more from the author.

Fun, light fantasy novel. This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a sprinkle of other fairytales. There are enough differences in the storyline and with the characters that you don't feel like you're experiencing the same tale we're all familiar with. I can't wait to read the second book in this duology to see how it ends.

I think that I might have enjoyed this book a bit more if I had read the ones before it but I did enjoy reading this book. It was a different take of Beauty and the Beast, it's always interesting to see how an author can change things up and yet keep the integrity of the original story in tact.
Bonnie wakes up in a place that is not her home, she's not sure where she is and can't locate her family. Thankfully she locates her father but is later separated from him. Bonnie ends up at the manor of the frightful beast and finds out that he and all of his subjects are under an enchantment that can only be broken by true love. Bonnie likes the beast, Leander, but she doesn't know if she actually loves him or could love him and marry him and doesn't want to give him false hope. So the only thing that she can think of is for them to go find out how to break it by visiting the fairies. But then they are separated and the book ends as a cliff hanger.

Another hit by Lucy Tempest! I loved her retelling of Aladdin in her first trilogy and this book didn't let me down. I really liked how both stories were connected in some way. Bonnie being Ada's best friend and all. Lucy Tempest has a way with words that just immerses the reader right into the world. such description and lovable characters. i cant wait to read the next book.

Lucy Tempest does it again! We met Bonnie in the Thief of Cahraman, and I loved her instantly then and was so excited to know her story would continue during the same timeline as Adelaide's. Bonnie's story starts off in the fabled land to her, Rosemead, where the villagers fear a beast in the castle. After Bonnie's dad is sent to be sacrificed to the Beast, Bonnie rushes off to rescue him. After exchanging her life for his, her world turns upside down by the new landscape and inhabitants of the castle. When Bonnie finds out the Beast is really the lost Crown Prince and that a curse has been placed on him, she makes it mission to help him and her new found friends break it once and for all. I can't wait to start the second book and see how Bonnie and her friends' story ends.

I received a review copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Once again Lucy Tempest has blown me away with another fantastic fairytale retelling! I absolutely love her writing style and the way she is able to put a spin on an original classic romance and turn it into an adventure you can’t put down. I adored her Aladdin series ‘Thief of Cahraman’ so much that I’ve read them time and time again. I have to say, I was slightly hesitant to pick up her Beauty and the Beast instalment as it’s my favourite fairytale, I was so wrapped up in Ada’s story, I had no idea I’d come to love Bonnie just as much! I’m glad I finally got around to reading it, I wasn’t disappointment in any sense and the book instantly made it to my favourites list!

We all know the story of Beauty and the Beast; a lonely bookish girl who lives with her father finds herself locked in a castle by a beast who is actually a cursed prince, they fall in love and she breaks the spell. You have all of that and more with the Beast of Rosemead. It’s predictable but at the same time, entirely different, from the mythical creatures of the cursed staff she befriends, the fact that she knew what she had to do to break the spell from the start as well as her desire to find Ada and reunite with her father, what’s even more interesting is that this first story doesn’t end at the castle like all of the other tales I’ve read.

What I really liked straight away is that you already partially knew our heroine Bonnie, if you’ve read the Thief of Cahraman trilogy that is! She’s the best friend of Ada, our ‘Jasmine’ thief sent to Cahraman to take part in a competition in order to search the royal castle for a mysterious magic lamp. Bonnies story begins when she follows Ada into the portal but instead ends up in a different part of the once forgotten world, the Kingdom of Arbore, with an added Robin of Loxley as a bonus. The way the author brings various fairytale characters into her story is brilliant, not only does it help build up each character in their own story from various perspectives, it magnifies the world building, introducing various lost kingdoms and their history.

Bonnie was a great heroine, she was young and innocent but with a desire to explore the world. Her wish to discover the unknown forgotten worlds past the Hornwood pulled her away from Ada into the Kingdom of Arbore where she quickly realised that her longing for adventure wasn’t as romantic and exciting as she imagined from her books. Instead she was forced to make life-threatening decisions to sacrifice everything she wanted in order to save what she loved most. I liked how she slowly became a stronger character throughout the story and the determination to save everyone overpowered her emotions. Whilst she knew she didn’t feel anything for Leander, she refused to give up on him. Their friendship was something I enjoyed, their constant bickering was enlightening, you could feel the subtle changes around the castle with her stubbornness.

‘”Good luck convincing me to enjoy my stay with your attitude.”
“You’re very disagreeable,” he grunted. “Very loud, too.”
“You’re one to talk,” I scoffed.
He stopped his pacing, shot an exasperated look in my direction. “Do you have to answer back to everything I say?”
“Would you rather I go back to ignoring you?” I taunted, something I’d never done.
“I would rather that you’d do as you’re told. I would like for you to accept my gifts graciously, to dine with me, to possibly get to know me, as I am your host.”
“You’re not my host, you’re my jailer. I’m your hostage.”
“Would you stop?!” He shouted. “I’ll have you know that if you spoke like that to anyone else you’d be punished severely.”
“Oh, dearie me, what punishment could possibly surpass captivity by a monster? Being speared by a unicorn?”‘

Leanders character was great, he had everything you wanted in a man that had become a beast. He knew he was cursed as a child and had slowly come to terms with his life, but when others around him in his isolation were pulled into the same curse turning them into mythical creatures, his need to end the curse forced him to make difficult decisions, like kidnapping a young woman in hopes she will fall in love with him in the brief time he had left. As a beast, he’s stubborn, angry and frustrated, all the while keeping up as many manly appearances he could muster like the upkeep of his home, his need to dress and walk on two legs, as well as his royal etiquette and attitude. By this point, he would risk anything to help those around him as well as his cursed sister, our very own princess Fairuza who is currently competing against Ada for the Prince of Cahraman. You understood is decisions and felt the urgency in breaking the curse. When he started to put his faith into Bonnie, you could feel the acceptance of just leaving it up to fate when he was around her. The subtle ways he expressed his emotions were so sweet and heartfelt, you couldn’t help but fall for him!

The additional characters were a great aspect that you come to love and hate. Our very own Gaston in the role of Caster, a self entitled hunting hero who expects the world to go his way and can’t understand why Bonnie would want to save her father when he’s there to look after her and provide for her. He doesn’t understand the meaning of love and puts duty and status before anything else. He’s just as frustrating but that’s all part of his annoying character, to make us realise that everyone has flaws, beast or man. The characters you being to meet around the castle are wonderful, the details and expressions that are felt when Bonnie is around them is endearing, you know they’ve accept Bonnie as their savour but part of them has also accepted their fate to remain who they are forever. A pressure she feels at times but they would do anything to make her feel comfortable and safe.

Overall a fantastic story, I’ve already started the next book and it’s only getting better!

I absolutely loved this retelling of Beauty and the Beast! After thoroughly enjoying the previous trilogy in this series, with Ada in Aladdin retelling, I was not disappointed with this book. It maintained the basic elements of original story, such as their being a Beast, Bonnie (the Beauty in this story) taking her father’s place so he can be free, a curse that transformed the entire household, and an enchanted rose. However, there were certain changes made, which I feel was for the better. While Beauty and the Beast is a beloved fairytale for many, it has been seen as somewhat problematic in that many believe that the story shows Stockholm’s syndrome. So, I liked how in this book, the author allows for Bonnie to be freed by Leander (the Beast) and then has her make the decision to come back and help on her own terms. I thought that it was great idea. This book also has its version of Gaston, who in the retelling is Castor. He still has some of that toxic masculinity and can be singularly stubborn. But he’s more redeemable than the Gaston was. I also enjoyed the side characters, Clancy and Jessamine. I’m rooting for them to be happy together! All in all I enjoyed to ability the author has to weave together a fantasy word and how easy she makes it to be interested in. Can’t wait to read the next one!

I thought this was a very interesting book. I am always up for a Beauty and the Beast retelling. At first the main character Bonnie was very annoying and was hard to read sometimes, but over time she started to mellow out a bit. I like the idea of weaving together other fairytales and folklore into the story. It has a little bit of Sleeping Beauty with the fairies coming to bless Leander's baby sister and Robin Hood. I like how the story panned out and when I was getting towards the end it was hard to put down. I can not wait to read the next book.

I was so excited to read this book, but it fell short due to three fourths of this book is dialogue. I have not read any previous books by this author.

A fantastic retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I loved this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I love Beauty and the Beast retellings. In fact, Beauty by Robin McKinley is one of my absolute favourite books. However, with this one, I had a really hard time getting into it. It may have been partly the world-building. I still feel confused about it. The dresses, horses, and swords suggest something more medieval, but the dialogue is modern. Further, on the dialogue. It felt like the characters yelled too much and this was accentuated by the overuse of exclamation marks. I am one for the careful use of exclamation points, so having one almost every other page was a little too much. Lastly, Leander’s treatment of Beauty made me rather uncomfortable. Maybe it was getting a little too close to abusive. I mean this is a tricky subject because some would argue that even Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” carries this.
So, anyway. This book didn’t go super well and I doubt I will read any more books from this series.

P.S. I’m not sure if like the cover… The background, dress, and word art are beautiful, but the figure looks a little too much like a Barbie...

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review through Netgalley.

Ok, so this is not as good as the first novel in the series but pretty darn decent. Theif of Cahraman was better paced and had a better dialog to action ratio, but I'm not sure how I feel about how the curse was handled. I know this is a duology for this character, so I hope this will be better in the second book. I like the idea of Belle striking off on her own to fairie, and think that could be a blast to read.

This book is such a fun beauty and the beast retelling, very like the original Disney movie but with a twist. I loved the MC she is such a strong version of Belle and I love it. I really don't have that much to write, if you've seen the movie and loved it, you will love this book.

This book is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast with Bonnie Fairborn as the Beauty and Leander as the Beast. It is the fourth installment of the Fairytales of Folkshore by Lucy Tempest.

I enjoyed this retelling of Beauty and the Beast and thought the story was very good. It is the same as the original Beauty and the Beast. Bonnie seemed a bit too spoiled. The world setup was very good.

I'm a huge fan of beauty and the beast retellings and I really enjoyed this. Lovely romance and interesting characters.

Wow, I've been flying through this book. And I purchased the second book of the Rosemead Story.

I really like the classic fairy tale of the Beaty and the Beast and I read a lot of books that rewrite fairytales.
But this on is special, it is funny, sometimes sexy, spooky, a little brutal ( but hey it is a fairy tale after all) and I like the twist with the fairies and that there a so many storylines that lead to a big finale.

I am really excited to read the other books in the series.

A great thanks to the publisher for letting me read the wonderful fairytale.

Sadly I just couldn't get in to this writing style. I found the characters one dimensional and very confused. They where one way but trying to be something completely different. I love retellings but I found this one very tough to get through.