Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC
What can I say, it's a gay retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and I loveee retellings. I really liked how it was written and the characters are pleasant to read. Definitely a yes for fans of retellings.

I absolutely loved this novel.
Such a great story with defined characters and a great plot.
What drew me in the most was how fleshed out the characters were
The writing style was fluid and relateable.
The cover was fascinating as well.
A reviting read overall
Definitely recommend adding this to your TBR!

ABSOLUTELY ADORED THIS BOOK!!!! The characters were fantastic, the world building was done phenomenally, I couldn't put this down

I feel like I've been waiting my whole life for a gay beauty and the beast retelling and I am so glad to have found one!!

Like in the original, I love the character explorations! Though this felt much sweeter than most retellings like it, but I appreciated that sweetness!

Would totally recommend.

I just adore Beauty and the beast retellings and make it gay? 10x better! This was honestly one of the most gripping books I’ve picked up in a while. I sat down one evenings after work and next thing I know I’m half way through and then woke up the next day and immediately finished it! Cannot recommend it enough I had a great time

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 Stars
🌶 1/5 Steam Rating
📝 Both 1st & 3rd Person POV; Queer Rep (MLM, Trans, possible Demi)

This was a unique and queer retelling of Beauty & the Beast. Most of this book is written from Ren’s POV in 3rd person, but it does have a few portions from Florian’s POV in 1st person towards the end. This is told in a more modern day France, though the Beast’s home is French Chateau that’s been practically frozen in time. This book has a wonderful cast of characters, just like the original story had.

There were a few points that felt a little slow, but overall I enjoyed how unique this storyline was, especially the twist on the rose and the curse. Although the overall plot points of this book were similar to the Beauty & the Beast story we all know and love, it was unique enough that I wondered how it’d get there or how it’d deal with certain aspects of the storyline. I definitely recommend checking this one out.

A beautiful and magical queer retelling

Cursed by his brother in a lonely castle, Florian is losing his mind. Because the only way to break the curse is true love's kiss, and even if a girl fell in love with him, he could never love her back. Ren is working hard to keep his family alive, trying very hard not to fall into prostitution or drugs. When one of his father's ships returns, fortune seems to smile upon him and his family again, until his mother disappears because of a rose. Ren is forced to go to a strange castle to rescue her and finds himself trapped there...

I've read too many Beauty and the Beast retellings to count, but I love them so much that I keep wanting to find more. This one did not disappoint! Of course, since we all know the story so well, some points are predictable. But this one had a twist I did not see coming that I absolutely loved. The characters are really fascinating and quite well written. They both have dreams and hopes and I loved how they evolved throughout the story and with one another. The romance was soft, innocent and deeply genuine in a way that really touched me. The queerness of it all was very well introduced and made perfect sense. I really enjoyed the story and the writing that really pulled me into this beautiful and dangerous world. The magic and curses were quite unique and I loved the way the author revisited the original story. The fact that it was set in the South of France also tugged at my French heartstrings even if the side that is depicted here isn't the best. The end drew a few tears of emotion from me and I would love to read other books by this author!

I really recommend if you like queer retellings!

"I love you so much that it's even worth losing you."

TW: death, blood, violence, kidnapping, child abuse, SA, homophobia, transphobia

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

I enjoyed this. Set at a good pace and I read the entire thing in one sitting.

Diese Fantasy-Geschichte erinnert in ihrer Grundidee sehr an "Die Schöne und das Biest", unterscheidet sich jedoch in vielen Details sehr stark von dieser gut bekannten Geschichte. "The Fatal Rose" fühlt sich trotz der jugendlichen Protagonisten teilweise sehr düster und dramatisch an, enthält sehr viele fantastische Elemente und eine Menge queerer Charaktere. Die Geschichte wird zum Großteil aus Rens Sicht erzählt, es gibt jedoch auch immer mal wieder kurze Abschnitte aus Florians Sicht.

Ren ist ein gut aussehender, 17jähriger Junge, der in der ärmsten Gegend Marseilles' lebt, seit sein Vater die Familie vor vielen Jahren verlassen hat. Er fühlt sich für seine Mutter, seine kleine, schwer kranke Schwester und die immer stärker an Demenz leidende Großmutter verantwortlich und versucht die Familie mit seinen Jobs über Wasser zu halten. Durch eine unglückliche Fügung wird seine Mutter in einem Schloss festgehalten, und Ren nimmt den Platz für sie ein, weil seine Familie sie mehr benötigt als ihn. Während er zuerst nicht an Magie glaubt und den "Master" des Schlosses, Florian, für seine Grausamkeit hasst, begreift er mit der Zeit, dass Florian genauso in diesem Schloss gefangen ist wie er. Aber während die beiden sich anfreunden und langsam Vertrauen zueinander aufbauen, rennt Florians Lebenszeit davon...

Ren ist ein Protagonist, den man schon nach wenigen Seiten ins Herz geschlossen hat. Das Leben hat es alles andere als gut mit ihm gemeint, sein Alltag ist ein immer währender Kampf und seine bisherigen Erfahrungen haben ihn sehr misstrauisch gegenüber anderen Menschen werden lassen, aber dennoch begegnet er den Menschen mit viel Geduld und Güte. Seine Liebe für seine Familie, insbesondere für seine kleine Schwester, war für mich spürbar.
Auch Florian konnte ich sehr gut leiden. Er ist sehr verschlossen und zerbrechlich, körperlich wie seelisch, und ich mochte es Ren dabei zu begleiten, wie er Stück für Stück Florians Mauer zum Bröckeln bringt und ihm zeigt, wie wertvoll und liebenswert er wirklich ist. Die Nebencharaktere wie Chou, Emi, Tilleul und Bouleau fühlten sich authentisch an und brachten die Hauptstory voran.

Ich mochte an dieser Geschichte sehr, wie sich der Fluch, der auf Florian und seinen Angestellten liegt, auf diese auswirkt und hierbei auf eine sehr innovative Art und Weise von der ursprünglichen Erzählung abweicht. Dennoch spielen Rosen in vielerlei Hinsicht eine prominente Rolle in der Handlung. Mir hat zudem sehr gut gefallen, wie Florians Schloss und die Magie seiner Welt sich in Rens Wirklichkeit des 21. Jahrhunderts einfügen. Ich mochte die vielen queeren Charaktere und wie unauffällig diese teilweise in die Geschichte eingesponnen wurden.

Obwohl die Geschichte durchgehend spannend war, fühlte sie sich stellenweise etwas langatmig an; insbesondere im ersten Drittel hätte man sie vielleicht etwas kürzen können. Dafür fehlten mir am Ende noch ein paar Hinweise und Hintergründe, über die ich gerne mehr erfahren hätte. Insgesamt war dies aber eine gelungene Romantasy-Geschichte, die ich für Jugendliche ab ca. 16 Jahren und Erwachsene empfehlen kann.

Fazit:
Eine romantische, dramatische und zutiefst emotionale queere Neuinterpretation von "Die Schöne und das Biest". Im Mittelpunkt der Handlung stehen zwei Jungen, die ihre sexuelle Orientierung akzeptieren und ihren eigenen Wert erkennen müssen, um eine Chance auf Glück zu haben. Sehr empfehlenswerte 4,5 Sterne.


In English:

This fantasy story is very reminiscent of "Beauty and the Beast" in its basic idea, but differs greatly from this well-known story in many details. Despite the young protagonists, "The Fatal Rose" feels very dark and dramatic at times, contains a lot of fantastic elements and a lot of queer characters. The story is mostly told from Ren's point of view, but there are also short sections from Florian's point of view.

Ren is a handsome 17 year old boy who has been living in the poorest area of ​​Marseille since his father left the family many years ago. He feels responsible for his mother, his little sister who is seriously ill and his grandmother, who is increasingly suffering from dementia, and tries to keep the family afloat with his jobs. By an unfortunate coincidence, his mother is being held in a castle and Ren takes her place because his family needs her more than him. While he doesn't believe in magic at first and hates the castle's "master" Florian for his cruelty, over time he comes to realize that Florian is just as trapped in this castle as he is. But while the two become friends and slowly build trust in each other, Florian's lifetime is running out...

Ren is a protagonist that you fall in love with after just a few pages. Life has been anything but kind to him, his everyday life is a constant struggle and his previous experiences have made him very suspicious of other people, but he still treats people with a lot of patience and kindness. I could feel his love for his family, especially his little sister.
I also really liked Florian. He's very withdrawn and fragile, both physically and emotionally, and I loved following Ren as he gradually breaks down Florian's wall and shows him how valuable and lovable he really is. The supporting characters like Chou, Emi, Tilleul and Bouleau felt authentic and helped the main story.

What I really liked about this story was how the curse placed on Florian and his employees affects them, deviating from the original narrative in a very innovative way. Still, roses play a prominent role in the plot in many ways. I also really liked how Florian's castle and the magic of his world fit into Ren's 21st century reality. I liked the many queer characters and how unobtrusively some of them were woven into the story.

While the story was gripping throughout, it felt a bit lengthy at times; in particular, the first third could have been shortened a bit. At the end of the story I was still missing a few hints and background informations that I would have liked to know more about. All in all, however, this was a successful romance story that I can recommend for young people from around 16 years of age and adults.

Conclusion:
A romantic, dramatic and deeply emotional queer reimagining of "Beauty and the Beast". The story centers on two boys who must accept their sexual orientation and their own worth in order to have a chance at happiness. Highly recommended 4.5 stars.

This book is a gay retelling of The Beauty and the Beast. I personally love retellings, especially when they’re stories that challenge the original cishet point of view.

The concept of this retelling was of a curse, but slightly different than most of the ones I’ve read thus far. In this case the curse slowly disfigures Florian and entraps him from the inside out in a net of thorns. This made the curse a bit more intriguing to me as it took time for the curse to fully make him into a ‘monster’. I’m kind of bummed that the author didn’t provide much of a backstory and history regarding magic in this world. I would’ve loved to read about how it was woven into the world, how it was used and by whom, etc.

I had a hard time getting into the story because I had to get used to the background and was struggling hard to figure out at what time it was set and how it linked with the actual world we live in. But once I learned more of the backstories and the story picked up pace it was a bit less important to me. I do however need to point out that even thought the pacing of the friendship and romance growing between Ren and Florian seemed alright, we didn’t always get a clear time indicator showing us how much time had actually passed between scenes. This sometimes made it feel off for me because it seemed some things changed rather quickly, whilst I’m assuming now after finishing it that more time had actually passed than it felt like when actually reading the novel.

A thing I absolutely loved about the story is the names of the side characters. As someone who speaks a little French it was adorable to see the names pop up at first! I have to admit that I even giggled when I met some of them for the first time. Another thing I loved is that the relationship between Ren and Florian never felt forced and actually grew with the weeks passing. I do have to remind myself that living in an enchanted castle and spending every day together forms a different kind of bond than one that would’ve been formed outside the curse. Lastly, I truly loved reading about the side characters. Chou, Saule, and Emi were adorable, and I got so excited when I realised there was trans rep in this retelling as well!

The writing was nice with and we got some lyrical descriptions that were beautiful. It truly did hurt whenever I still found an error within the writing that hadn’t been picked out when the book was being edited. I know it’s easy to overlook mistakes, but some of them were sadly incredibly noticeable when reading. (“he’s has had” for example)

Thank you to NetGalley and Evernight Publishing for providing me with a copy of The Fatal Rose in exchange for an honest review.

There was rich worldbuilding that I sincerely enjoyed. The chemistry of the characters was also a shining point of this novel. The start was a bit hard to get through but it definitely increased in quality after that. I also enjoyed the stakes of the novel and I always love a twin revenge story. The writing did a wonderful job at conveying the overall aesthetic and themes of the novel without seeming too purple-prosey.

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher, who provided me with an electronic copy of this book in return for an honest review.***

The Fatal Rose is a sweet modern YA adaption of the Beauty of the beast with two male protagonists as main characters.
Ren and his family are dirt poor and barely survive in the slums in Marseille. Florian was enchanted by his twin brother and now lives for around 300 years in a magically hidden chateau in the woods with his magically altered house staff.
The two meet in a similar way as in the fairy tale and slowly anger and hate from Ren and fear and despair from Florian becomes love.
It is a very sweet story, although at some points also very dark-sided. It is a slow-burn, and story about learning about the feeling of love and sexuality. The relationship did not feel like it was a result of Stockholm syndrome, and consent in the (inexplicit) sexual scenes was very outspoken, both things I highly appreciate. As always though, with characters that lived for ages already, the age gap feels weird to me. Florian is around 300 years old, but the author decided to let the characters stay at their age when they got enchanted so he is a teenager like Ren is. This for me is always a little bit of a stretch to imagine, because I know magic, but he still lived through this whole time and made certain experiences which is a part of maturing. It can the argued though that because of his upbringing Ren also had to mature fast and is not your typical teenager, so it did not bother me that much.
The story has a nice pace and is beautifully written. I liked the new interpretation and ways in which the story was unique to the original. It has the right amount of hurt so that it is still a cosy read for a rainy day that makes you all giggly for Ren and Florian because they are so incredibly sweet to each other.
Only the main antagonist was kind of an easy obstacle at the end which took away his powerfulness for me. Afterward, the whole ending was a little bit too sweet for me personally, but I suppose very fitting for a happy ever after.

I should start by thanking NetGalley and Evernight Publishing for providing me with this amazing book in exchange for an honest review!

Now to the important part. The synopsis is terrible! If I was going by just that I would have never read the book. And because of that, I don't suggest you to either. Just go in blindly!

This book is a gay retelling of The Beauty and the Beast. I have quite a hard time with retelling because usually, they are similar to each other, being it regarding the concept, the writing style, or the cliché scenes.

In this one, the concept was of a usual curse, but the writing made it feel so magical and surreal! I marked so many passages and even writing this review I went back to read them and I just wanted to cry, swoon, squeal and laugh with these characters (especially Ren and Florian)!

In the 338 pages, the story never felt rushed or too slow. There was always the right amount of descriptions, character interactions, and romantic scenes. I got through it in a day and I never once felt anything but utter excitement to get to the next page!

My asexual heart was so obsessed because of how someone can write a 338 page romance novel and never once make sex a priority (there wasn’t even one sex scene in the whole book!!)! The relationship between Ren and Florian was never forced and it grew with time. We get to see all the little things that make a relationship grow into what is gonna be a life partner.

Also, we can’t forget about the amazing trans rep that this book has! There’s family bonding, found family, and a curse to break and all of this is done beautifully! I just can’t stop praising this book I swear!

This was basically a M/M retelling of Beauty and the Beast (though not the first one I've ever read), and I found the magic part of it really interesting. I was a bit frustrated that we never got to know more about Bastian, or why he hated his brother so much (there's GOT to be more there, it doesn't make sense otherwise). I felt that it relied pretty heavily on the story it was based off of, and that it felt a little repetitive unless you didn't have any familiarity with Beauty and the Beast at all. I was also confused as to why a supposedly French group of people would choose to call a male Belle when the masculine form exists (which felt more like a way to reference the original story and was an unnecessary callback). If you like queer fairytale retellings you'd probably like this, but there didn't feel like there was any point to the plot for me.

I have read a lot of beauty & the beast retellings but this was the first MLM one I read. I loved it. It was a quick, cute read. You really feel for the characters and start to wonder if the curse will ever be broken. The book is nothing special, in the case that it is a retelling. It still has it unique points. loved it!

This book is in the running for this year's best read for me. My all-time favourite trope when it comes to books/stories is hurt/comfort, and this book was just the right amount of hurt and the perfect amount of comfort. Ren's strength and bravery, Florian's determination and kindness, the beautifully written story... It was nothing short of perfection.
It took me an embarrassingly long time while reading to realize that this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but when I did, I got worried, because I don't like that story, at all. But in The Fatal Rose they changed all the things I didn't like about the original, and the result was a story I loved with all my heart. I read the last 3% of it for hours, literally, always putting it aside after a sentence or two just so it would last longer, and when it was eventually, inevitably over, I couldn't help but feel sad.
An absolutely heartwarming read, characters you can't help but adore, genuine relationships, communication...! So many stories nowadays lack communication so badly that it becomes annoying, but in The Fatal Rose, the characters actually communicate with each other (instead of sweeping their problems under the rug), and it is such a delight, especially the communication between Ren and Florian.
Words can't describe how much I have loved this book, it landed among my favourites, and I'll be recommending it left and right any chance I get, because this is wonderful in every way.

Unfortuantely, I was unable to truly get sucked into the story. Ren's nickname "Belle" didn't fit at all, as Belle is feminine, whereas Beau is masculine. Then, Ren's mother started acting weird and behaving oddly for someone with so much to lose. The plot just wasn't believable, but instead looked like it was pushed into a mold until it fit. I didn't finish this book, so I can't rate it either. I hope other people find more enjoyment in this story.

This was a fantastic queer spin on Beauty and the Beast. The fantastical elements that were weaved in here gave it new life without straying from what makes the fairy tale beloved.

While the dialogue felt strained at times, Bryant was able to create some truly beautiful and emotionally compelling scenes that kept you wanting more. The source material is admittedly slow-paced, and even though The Fatal Rose starts the same way, it gains momentum that ties up wonderfully in the end.

Although I'm not usually a fan of the "homophobic family member" trope, there was a slice of accurate historical romance here that made it authentic without going over the top. It was tackled in a way that still allowed Florian to grow and heal in a healthy manner. Much appreciated.

I was also keen to see a sex-positive book for LGBTQIA+ YA. It's so important to have examples of that in today's climate, and it was done quite tastefully.

The Fatal Rose is a great example of how to modernize a classic story and make it accessible to queer people. Well done.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

This is a cute, queer Beauty And The Beast-ish retelling. Though is this story the beast isn't unlikable or "ugly" which I kind of expected him to be, but I didn't really mind that. A retelling doesn't have to be just like the original (why would you read a retelling if it was the exact same in the first place.)
The characters are very adorable, there's a lot of queer rep, the romance is cute, and the story is great!
I kind of wish it was longer. I wanted the romance to be more slowburn, but maybe that's just me.
All in all it was a very enjoyable read, and I highly recommend it!