I really loved this Beauty and the Beast retelling. The prose was lovely for the novella format (though I think it would have become grating over a longer format) and worked perfectly for the story it told. I loved the aromantic flavoring of the fairy tale and I love Alys, the main character. The transformation of the tale made this a wonder to read, a fairy tale retelling that despite its leisurely pace, kept me hooked. This book was a fun way to pass a few hours on International Asexuality Day.

The Language of Roses feels like a genuinely fresh and radical take on the Beauty and the Beast tale, and does it without throwing in too many twists to lore or worldbuilding. This version manages to hit all the familiar beats, but it is evident just how modern its approach is, both in the centrality of queerness (aromanticism and sapphic love truly are at the heart of this) and in its approach to the complexity of humanity. This is not a story meant to be "dark" in the way some retellings have been: it is rather focused on toxic relationships, as opposed to evil individuals. I love its lyrical moments, and honestly craved more of them, and I can't say this ultimately blew me away emotionally; it is more a work of stylistic efficiency and thematic power that I truly admire.

Thank you, NetGalley and Queen of Swords Press for the chance to read this ARC!

Four out of five stars, I truly did enjoy it. I am very much on the aroace spectrum, and while there is not explicit confirmation Alys is, she feels real and true enough along that I can find myself relating to her easily. To be asked to marry and to be in love with someone-- one of those things is easier than the other, on any level. Like Alys, I cannot force myself to love if I have never romantically loved and it does not come so naturally to me.

A beautiful spin of Beauty and the Beast-- but with him was cursed his sister, who holds the servants. Alongside them are familiar figures from other fairy tales: a girl who dropped jewels and flowers from her mouth with every word, a grieving enchantress-mother who cannot see what has happened, the man who broke his promise and struck his wife thrice.

Alys and Grace grow in companionship against Grace's oppressive Beast brother, trying to soothe his personality, coax him into a better frame of mind, tailor their behaviors to please his moods. A love cannot easily grow between a beauty and the beast she attempts to pacify-- but a deep relationship can grow between herself and his sister.

This is, of course, sapphic-- it's a book by Heather Rose Jones, of course-- and I really appreciated the relationship, as well as the neat storylines tied off at the end.