I always wanted to know what came after for Belle and the Beast. I’m a die-hard Belle fan, she is my Queen, and I have high expectations regarding her. Does that mean that any other telling is wrong, absolutely not. But this is the first book I’ve read that continued the story of Belle, not just a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale.

Rebel Rose is a continuation of Belle and Lio’s (Adam – which is still a bit weird to me, why change his name?) story, after the curse was broken and them subsequently getting married. Shortly into the book, Prince Lio must face the consequences of the 10 yearlong curse and visit King Louis in Versailles. Belle journeys with him and gets to meet Lio’s cousin, Bastien. During this visit, they see the French Revolution come to their doorstep, as well as Bastille Day with a beheading. Belle is mysteriously drawn to a shop that holds another magical mirror (just like the one the Beast gifted to her) and she receives a vision from the Enchantress of a future to come if she does not accept becoming Queen and stop Aveyon from following in France’s footsteps.

This book wholey centers around Belle and her learning to accept the life she’s married into. But this didn’t quite feel like the Belle I know and love. She seemed whishy washy, arrogant, and had a lot of self-doubt that lead to her holding back her valued opinions. My Belle is independent, strong, not afraid to stand up for herself or others when something is wrong. All the characters felt half done, there needed to be more depth to them. With that said, I did love Marguerite. She was a breath of fresh air in this book, and a wonderful friend to Belle from their first meeting. It was wonderful to see Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, and Cogsworth in their human forms. The villain was sneaky; but I saw the reveal coming from a mile away, especially with Belle’s suspicions and wasn’t quite pleased that it was who it was.

The worldbuilding was by far my favorite aspect of this book. The author seamlessly blended fantasy and history together, and provided such lush descriptions, that you could easily picture this world inside your head and this made for an easy reading experience. In the end, I felt like the plot was rushed and that the pacing was sped up. But I’m still very intrigued by the concept of the Queen’s Council and the role they play in helping our Queen’s come into their own.

Overall a good book, but it took me quite a while to get into it. This story is a continuation story that happens after the events in Beauty and the Beast. The beginning of the book was pretty slow and there was a lot of political going-ons that you had to weed through in order to get to the action in the last third of the book. The book focuses on how Prince Lio (formerly known as the Beast) can best help his kingdom from falling subject to the same issues as France during the French Revolution. I did enjoy the introduction of new characters and the expansion beyond the castle and Belle’s home village from the original story as well as the appearance of favorites from the original as well as the magical twist just like in the original story. I’m interested to see what comes next in this series.

eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This book is a great option for Disney lovers who want a twist!

The book starts with Belle, the very one from the disney story. With the curse broken, it's now time for the Beast and Belle to move on to the next part of their lives. For Belle, one of her main struggles of this book is centred around her identity, and determining who she is and who she wants to be. How does a peasant turned Queen deal with such an abrupt change? Her journey to accepting her title, and still speaking up for the people of Aveyon, was fascinating to follow, though I did question if Belle herself would likely need this development.

There was also plenty of political intrigue -- seeing Belle navigate the politics of the court life was very interesting. Unfortunately some things were rather predictable, such as the antagonist of the book, but overall it was still an interesting experience. The historical aspects were also quite well done

Disclaimer: I received the e-arc of this book from the publisher. Thanks! I also bought my own copy. Support your authors! All opinions are my own.

Book: Rebel Rose

Author: Emma Theriault

Book Series: The Queen’s Council Book 1

Rating: 4.5/5

Diversity: Lesbian side character, gay side character

Recommended For...: retelling fans, fantasy fans, historical fiction fans, ya readers

Publication Date: November 10, 2020

Genre: YA Retelling Historical Ficiton Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (romance, gore, violence, revolution, PTSD symptoms)

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Pages: 352

Synopsis: Happily ever after is only the beginning as Belle takes on the responsibility of becoming queen and learns to balance duty, love, and sacrifice, all while navigating dark political intrigue—and a touch of magic.

It’s 1789 and France is on the brink of revolution. Belle has finally broken the Enchantress’s curse, restoring the Beast to his human form and bringing life back to their castle in the province of Aveyon. But in Paris, the fires of change are burning, and it’s only a matter of time before the rebellion arrives on their doorstep.

Not so very long ago, Belle dreamed of leaving her provincial home for a life of adventure. But now she finds herself living in a palace, torn between her past as a commoner, and her future as royalty. While Belle grapples with her newfound position, there are those who would do anything to keep her from power.

When she stumbles across a magic mirror that holds a dire warning, Belle wants nothing more than to ignore the mysterious voice calling her to accept a crown she never desired. But violent factions of the revolution may already be lurking within her own castle, and doing nothing would endanger everything she holds dear. With the fate of her country, her love, and her life at stake, Belle must decide if she is ready to embrace her own strength--and the magic that ties her to so many female rulers before her--to become the queen she is meant to be.

Review: this was a really good book and a really interesting historical take on the Disney princesses. I really like the historical aspects and from what I could see and what I know of that time., I believe that it is mostly accurate. I felt like the character development was pretty well done as well as the overall plot of the book. The book kept me hooked and I pretty much read it in one sitting.

However, I did have some issues with the book. I feel like the book was really slow paced and that the action portions of the book were here and there. The book is also weirdly written in that a lot of things are repeated that I felt were unnecessarily repeated. I also didn't like that Adam's name was changed to Lio in this book. I like the little explanation that they gave for why, but his name is Adam and I don't know why the author went with that. I also felt like the world building could have been a little bit better.

Verdict: It was good!

What a lovely historical YA fantasy novel that does a great job of mixing in several sub genres! If you like historical fiction, this one is for you! It also has fantasy and some mystery as well!

One thing to know about me: I am *SUCH* a sucker for a good retelling.

Utterly unique and unequivocally captivating, REBEL ROSE is just that.

Picking up directly after the events of Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, this (somewhat-twisted) tale follows Belle and her prince, former beast Lio (not Adam, as Disney tie-in media would have you believe!) traverse married life and rulership together. Yet not all is what it seems: France is on the brink of a revolution (yes, *that* French Revolution), and Belle's feeling stifled in her new royal role.

Chaos, yearning, and magic ensue, thrusting our familiar Princess into a world of revolutionary politics and lies, of love and deception.

Yet for a princess who's constantly touted as being one of the most "progressive" of the Disney Renaissance era, the Belle of this book feels a little... watered-down. Gone is the spirited, innovative bookworm, unafraid to venture into uncharted territories. No, REBEL ROSE's central character is a little more mellow, a little more meek. Her fiery, adventurous spirit is silenced by... her new husband? Oh, Belle. You're supposed to be smashing the patriarchy, paving the path for future Disney leaders like Moana. You're not supposed to regress into silence.

Regardless, the French Revolution setting was gripping, the magic intriguing, and the Disney *spark* imbued within each page. It did get gory, at times -- warning, there *is* a pretty violent decapitation that's depicted within the first few chapters -- but it's definitely set in an immersive, realistic historical setting.

For any Disney fan -- or anyone who's ever wondered what *really* happens after "happily ever after" -- give this title a peek. Despite its few shortcomings, it really IS quite great.

I'm looking forward to the next instalment in the QUEEN'S COUNCIL series!

DNF at 41%.

I wanted to love this so much. I am a huge fan of Disney, and the French Revolution is a time that I am very interested in, but this did not work for me. I think I need to come to terms with the fact that historical fantasy is not for me. I enjoy historical fiction, and I love fantasy, but I tend not to like anything that mixes them together. Additionally, this did not feel like a continuation of Beauty and the Beast. Besides the character names (except the prince, whose name I already forget but confused me so much because the general understanding is that his name is Adam and it was not Adam in this), and references to things that happened in Disney's adaption, nothing really felt like it was the same cast of characters. Belle was meek and subservient, and from other reviews, this is something that she overcomes in the book, except she shouldn't have to because she never was like that before the events of this book. There was also so much repetition in her thoughts, and so little actually happening, that I struggled to pick the book up. I thought about finishing for the sake of it, but I just couldn't keep going. I hope others enjoy this more, but it did not work for me.

I am a huge fan of Beauty and the Beast. It's my favorite Disney film. I am passionate about my love for that movie, the characters, the music, all of it.

I was THRILLED to find a book set almost immediately after the wedding of Belle and Lio (I thought his name was Adam this whole time and was completely thrown off by his name). I have seen the memes about what might have happened to them in Revolutionary France, and was so excited to see a book that responded to something I've always wondered.

Belle and Lio travel to Paris so that they can become reacquainted with the king and court since it's been 10 years since anyone has seen Lio. Belle still feels like she doesn't fit in anywhere, and on the streets of Paris, she realizes how real and how terrifying this revolution might be. They head back to the castle with ideas about how to keep themselves safe in the midst of the political turmoil facing France.

I did really enjoy this novel. The setting against the French Revolution was so much fun to read, and getting to know the characters post-curse was a blast. I think the author had a firm grip on the characterization and setting. Belle had a lot to learn, both about her new role, and about herself. It was a really, really fun book.

I have two small complaints: 1. Lio is sent away for much of the book and I would have loved to get to know him better. I think the way he and Belle worked together politically was very well done. They felt like a team. I missed him when he wasn't an active part of the plot. 2. There was a lot of telling, rather than showing throughout. That bugged me, but I think if I was a younger reader I probably wouldn't have noticed.

Overall, it's a great YA addition to the Disney Princess canon. It was a quick read and has so much to offer: historical fiction, romance, mystery, suspense. I know a lot of teens that would gobble this up, just like I did.

Beautiful fantasy novel that engages readers and has them wishing for more! A solid work of writing for all ages.

I received an E-arc of this title from Disney Hyperion via NetGalley for review. Thank you! This in now influences my opinion

Unfortunately this one just didn’t work for me. I LOVE retellings so I was super excited to start this one. Unfortunately everything kind of fell flat for me. The characters, the plot...I wasn’t engaged or invested and found it way to easy to put down. The one thing I did enjoy was the French Revolution setting. I found that interesting and it did add some enjoyment to an otherwise kind of just “okay” storyline.

Woo. I had such high expectations going into this read and I had to stop reading about 3 chapters in. Belle's need to be not a princess, not this, not that was just annoying. It felt like the whole Beauty and the Beast story was rubbish and she should have just not been there or broken the curse because she didn't actually love the prince.
Honestly this could have been amazing but it just missed the mark with me.

Sadly, this book missed the mark for me. I was bored from the beginning and the more I read, the more I wanted to be done with this book. I know it's harsh but I feel like I didn't get what I thought I would find when I requested this book. If you're like me, when you see this book, you think you'll get a Beauty and Beast retelling with at least some of the story focused on the romance. Here, I didn't feel any love or chemistry as the two characters already had broken the curse and were married. Instead, for most of the book the Beast is gone, away on some political mission as King and Belle is left on her own. She didn't want to be Queen and let other people make the decisions way too easily. As for the revolution and politics, I didn't care much about those which left me disappointed.

Overall, this book was not for me but perhaps it will be for you.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

This was such a fun surprise! I love that books take the stories behind the Disney princesses and drops them into the time period they were actually from. This story is about Belle during the French Revolution and right after the Beast was changed back. Belle is my favorite Disney princess and I really love what they did with her story!

*eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

DNF

I couldn't get through this one. I was excited to read a continuation of Belle's story, set against the French Revolution. There was just one problem- I don't love the Disney retellings. Rebel Rose and the rest of the Queen's Council series seemed more of a retelling beyond the movies, but Rebel Rose picks up right where The Beauty and the Beast left off. Not a bad thing, but not what I was looking for when I picked up Rebel Rose. I just couldn't get past the first few chapters.

The Queen's Council is a rather interesting entry into the realm of retelling's, more specifically Beauty & The Beast retelling's. I found it to be really unique that it's rather a continuation, than a direct retelling.

I have mixed feelings because it is a continuation, I feel like it needed more elements of the original story but at the same time it needed to be it's own entity. It just feels like there was a lot of potential that wasn't fully developed.

Rebel Rose (The Queen’s Council #1) by Emma Theriault, 345 pages. Disney Hyperion (Buena Vista Books), 2020. $18. LGBTQIA
Language: PG13 (17 swears, 0 “f” + French swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Now that Belle has married the Beast, Lio, she is ready for her adventure. They begin their tour of the continent by going to Paris to reestablish Lio’s alliance with King Louis XVI. Unfortunately, Belle and Lio soon return home instead of continuing their travels in order to protect their kingdom from the revolutionaries destroying France.
Answering the question of what happens after the “happily ever after,” this book picks up where Disney’s movie ends. Theriault brilliantly places the story into history and smooths down the rough edges of the Beast’s curse being lifted. As Belle adapts to being married to royalty, she learns to trust herself, despite all she has suffered through, encouraging readers to do the same.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I'm a huge fan of Beauty and the Beast and I went into this book with high expectations. I was intrigued when I saw that the author intertwining the French Revolution with Belle and Prince Adam's story, but in all honesty, it fell flat. The whole story line seemed to drag on and I found myself wanting to skip parts of the story just to finish. Although Belle is central to the story, she was not the Belle that I grew up knowing: smart, opinionated, courageous, and stubborn. Instead, the Belle in the story is meek and full of self-doubt and someone who cows away from the mantle of leadership. There was so much potential in this to be amazing--I was so disappointed that it missed its mark.

I grew up a huge fan of Beauty and the Beast and love reading fairy tale rewrites based on the story, so when I read the description for Rebel Rose by Emma Theriault, I was quite excited. Sadly, I felt that I really had to motivate myself to read more and eventually finish it. Mid-way through I realized I was not really invested in any of the characters, or even cared about the plot.

Rebel Rose follows Belle after she breaks the curse and restored Beast to his human form, Lio. However, not everything is happily ever after following their marriage as France decends into chaos from the revolution. As she works to prevent a similar revolution in Aveyon, she must decide between her former life as a commoner, and her new life married to nobility.

Despite the book being over 300 pages, it didn’t really feel like much happened.There is a lot of waiting around and when it looks like there might finally be some action, the situation quickly diffuses into more waiting around. At first I wondered if any action in the book was kept tame in order to keep rating down (it does seem to be closely based on the Disney version of Belle), but then I would remember the man who was brutally beheaded towards the beginning of the book and had his decapitated head paraded around.

It was especially frustrating throughout the book the amount of times Belle let herself be silenced by Lio, either to preserve his feelings or because he wouldn’t let her speak. Especially since a lot the information she had could’ve ended the plot of the book much sooner and might’ve prevented any trouble in the first place.

The plot is a little too obvious and predictable and was really just not for me. That said, I’m definitely someone who prefers a lot more action, and was expecting something a little more… bloody with the French revolution being a big part of the plot. However, I think that readers who enjoy books that focus more on relationship dynamics may enjoy Rebel Rose more than I did.

Rebel Rose is out now and you can buy your copy at your local independent bookstore.

Have you ever wondered dered what happened after the spell was broken?? What happened to the Belle a d the Beast? Did they live happily ever after with no problems? This book was so enjoyable. I loved that this was a continuation of the Beauty and the Beast story and that it was inserted into the French Revolution. I don't normally like historical fiction but the way this written was amazing. You got the retelling and it was integrated so beautifully into the French Revolution that it didn't feel forced and it didn't feel like facts were thrown at you for no reason.

Emma Theriualt’s novel is an interesting new twist on the tale of Beauty and the Beast. Following the tale of Belle after her marriage to Prince Lio (Beast) and their struggles to keep the princedom of Aveyon safe on the brink of the French Revolution.
Rebel Rose is not your typical retelling. In Theriault’s tale, Belle is haunted by magic, and Lio by nightmares. This gives a darker, more grown-up feel to the overall story, as well as the tension in France with the impending revolution. Belle wants to change the world, and to find adventure beyond the walls of the castle, where she lives as the wife of the prince, but not as a princess. But Lio’s cousin, Bastion, seems to put her down at every turn, undermining her decisions and she isn’t sure if she should trust him or not.
I liked how Theriault explored the positive sides of marriage and how a couple must work together in order to live a fulfilled life. While nothing too romantic or steamy ever happens, it is evident how much Belle and Lio loved each other with the way Belle thought of him and how she was the only thing that could comfort him in his sufferings. I appreciated how Theriault kept their love strong and didn’t bring them down a path many other authors (and films) choose where their love seems to die, and they end up fighting all the time. Keeping that pure and simple love between them was a big point for me.
I found the pacing of the book to be slower than I would have liked. Theriault takes her time exploring the story world and the characters and brings in the threat of war but only as background noise through most of the novel. Despite this, there were many subtle plot threads that led me along, wanting to know just what would happen next. One being Bastion. He was a puzzle of a character and I enjoyed his seemingly fluid loyalties and mysterious behavior.
“I don’t want a crown. I never wanted one.”
Belle’s story had more of a spiritual journey to it, than a physical one, as she struggled internally with what exactly her place was in the castle, and how she could better help her people. There were many lessons she had to learn that I can’t say for fear of spoilers, one of which was whether or not she wanted to take her rightful title as queen. I felt that, while Theriault did capture some of Belle’s best qualities, she wasn’t able to portray Belle in exactly the way that Disney did. Which is okay, as Belle is has a unique personality, but at the same time, it made her feel less than she could have been.
The same goes for Lio. According to Disney, the Beast’s name is Adam, so him being named Lio threw me off and had me painting the picture of someone else in my mind, not the somewhat awkward and impulsive Adam. However, Theriault was able to capture is kindness and protectiveness, while also giving him some unique quirks as a result of his long captivity in the curse.
Rebel Rose has earned a 7/10 for me, for its complexity, historical setting, and new twist on beloved characters. Theriault’s rendition of what happens after happily ever after is one that I would call compelling and intriguing, showing the many facets of married life, as well as the different ways women can be strong without wielding a sword or an immense power. So I would recommend this book to anyone who loves classic fairytales but with a more adult theme with a dash of history.
NOTE: I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley for review purposes only. All thoughts and opinions are my own.