Absolutely devoured this book! I could not stop reading it! Love how quick paced it was, the plot kept me intrigued and the spice was done very well!
Also the dragon? My love. Great characters and character development! Definitely recommend this book to anyone who’s interested in a monster/fae romantasy!!
Thanks to NetGalley, Willow Haven Press and R.L. Perez for the e-arc💗

Firstly thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the digital arc. This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling but with fae. I devoured this book. It took me on a wild ride of emotion and caused me to chuckle (barbed penis 😂) in a few places. It was quick paced and the FMC and mmc were both likeable characters. Perfect slow burn romance.

#CrownofBriars #NetGalley

Epic, romantic, and full of magic—Crown of Briars absolutely delivered on the fantasy feels. Strong heroine, rich world, and just enough danger and heat to keep me flying through the pages.

✦ Beauty & the Beast Retelling Rec & Review ✦

Crown of Briars
by R.L Perez

Book 2 ✦ Crowns of the Fae series
Interconnected Standalones
547 pages

Pub Date: Aug 04 2025
ARC: @negalley

𝐷𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑂𝑉
𝐴𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑒
𝐸𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑒 🏰
𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑒
𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐 & 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑠
𝐵𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟

I saw this one on NetGalley and didn’t hesitate to request an early copy. I mean, (1) I enjoy R.L. Perez’s writing style, (2) I couldn’t resist a Beauty and the Beast retelling with a twist and (3) look at that cover!

Crowns of the Fae is a romantasy series set in the world of Valora filled with deadly fae courts, dark magic, and steamy romance. Each book in the series is a standalone novel that can be read in any order and features a different fairy tale retelling with a unique twist.

Every generation, a human royal princess is given to the Wraith King to marry to help the deadly shadows recede. No one really knows what happens once the human princess goes to the unseelie kingdom and that is where the mystery lies, and the story begins.

I enjoyed Sybelle and Varius’s journey. 🔥 I was captivated from the start. It was hard not to be with strong, likeable, flawed MCs with all the banter and tension, cool magic, a dragon bestie, amazing cast of side characters, blood bargains, dark secrets, an enchanted castle that runs the show 🏰 (seriously!), political intrigue, and serious heat! I thought the dual POVs added great depth to the story and that ultimate sacrifice scene… 😲. I flew through this. It was an easy read that I couldn’t put down.

Book 1, Crown of Slumber, is a Sleeping Beauty retelling. I haven’t read this one yet but added it to my tbr. Book 3, Crown of Poison, will be a Snow White retelling about Sybelle’s best friend, Princess Eira (set to release in June 2026).

✦ Thank you Willow Haven Press and Netgalley for an early read!
Rating: 4.5/5

This book has been a fun one to read, as it contains a lot of character development and action that I found quite interesting. It was not my favorite read as I felt that the romance scenes to be a little bit overly written and it could have been shortened a little bit as I felt it was a bit unnecessary to describe what they did in a lot of detail.

I did appreciate the writing style though, it was very thorough and I like reading back and forth the different POVs that the story had to offer. The character development was great on both of the main characters, and I had guessed who was the culprit that had made the curse exist to this day. I also believed that the relationship bonding between the different characters were proven to be enemies to friends and I found that quite heartwarming.

However, I would give this book a 3-star rating due to the character development, and I felt it was a good read. Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing of the ARC for my honest review!

If you want a steamy fae re-telling of Beauty and the Beast you will LOVE this book. It has everything of the fae combined with the Beauty and the Beast story curse and all. This Beast definitely isnt as cuddly as the Disney version , but he is steamy with a heart. Sacrifice, magic, loyalty, and love rolled into a wonderful story.

This book had me at "Beauty and the Beast" and fae. I really enjoyed this book and the shape the narrative took. Sybelle and Varius were both very headstrong characters, and I enjoyed watching them butt heads and slowly warm up to each other.

Thank you to NetGalley and Willow Haven Press for the ARC.

Plot 4.5/5
Characters 4.25/5
Ending 4.25/5
Interest 4.5/5

Overall 4.25/5

-This was such a fun and entertaining read. I flew through it and barely saw the pages turning (partly because it’s an ebook). The plot line of separate realms with a marriage pact, fae, magic, curses and all the betrayal in world. It really was a great book. At first I was quite confused about many things in the world, involving the contract, the why but as I read on, everything started to unfold and it was quite satisfying to start understanding everything.

-I liked the characters. I was a bit apprehensive at first but eventually I started warming up to them but by bit as they loosened up and I got to know who they really were. I didn’t like their relationship at first, it truly was hatred but not cute hatred. It was done in a way that I didn’t really want to see them together. But ultimately I came around and they convinced me. Where I had issues were the sexual discussions and scenes. If anyone knows me, they would know I don’t really like anything involving sex in a book, so I really don’t need to know how his thing is different from a human one.

-I had expected the ending to turn out the way it did. There were moments of surprise that kept me on my toes but as a whole, I understood quite quickly what should happen. But it was still satisfying to see it come to an end, in a way I was hoping for something a bit more extreme in difficulty. But I can’t say it must have been easy for the characters.

Absolutely obsessed! This book was so good. Retelling of Beauty and the Beast but in a complete different way. Dark and secretive. Fae, different courts. Secret identities. DRAGON! Enemies to lovers. Magic. The beast is the shadow king. Who said that the beast as a human was better? Beauty loved books but she takes nerd to a whole new level I love the way her brain works like she needs to solve every puzzle and find out what makes everything tick. I love the characters and storyline. The world building was absolutely amazing and I ate up every single page. There is spice. But the slow burn is wickedly good! Would definitely recommend reading this book! -Kerin Ray

Jaw dropping, sexy, intriguing, rollar coaster of a book! This is beauty and the beast for fantasy loving adults. The magic systems using gem stones was refreshing, the curse placed on the fae was intriguing and the mischievous castle is a favorite!

Highly recommend this story for vibes and a good time. The things you'll find sexy will make you question yourself but just enjoy the ride!

This book was a 4,5⭐️ read for me! I absolutely loved everything about it!
The characters and their relationships, the world, the curse and the magical system! Everything was so well developed and you can definitely tell the plot was well planed and a main focus! And the twist at the end? Did not see it coming! Who knew he was behind it all??
The relationship between the dmc and the mmc was *cheff's kiss! The yearning, the enemies to lovers, the mixed feelings! The party?? 10/10!
I was unable to put it down! So so so good!

This book was amazing. I absolutely loved it. Put me in the library anyway and I will be happy. This retelling was one of the best ones I have read. I think it needs to be on everyone shelfs.

I don't know if i was expecting sth different or if this just didnt cut it but I had to force myself to rad this book and Finish just so I could send this review. This just fell a little flat for me.

Crown of Briars did a great job of capturing the essence of Beauty and the Beast, which is my favorite fairy tale. Sybelle and her Shadow King's love story and journey towards breaking the curse was full of those twisty turny moment that keep you turning the page. I love how the stones were incorporated into the magic system. I'm eager to read Eira's story.

-Thank you Netgalley and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review-
4⭐️
Other than a few criticisms that I have, this was such a cozy romantasy read

To start, Sybelle’s magical powers was so fascinating. I’ve not read any book yet that ties someone’s magic to the ability to wield gemstones. I also enjoyed that this wasn’t a verbatim retelling of beauty and the beast, it felt original. I also enjoyed the creativity around the seelie and unseelie fae and how they appeared, and I was toootally imagining Varius as a huge tiefling with wings. I enjoyed the plot twists, I feel like the author left just enough bread crumbs for me as a reader to have sneaking suspicions of what was to come, but didn’t make it blatantly obvious with overexplanations and handholding.
I enjoyed the pace as well, it didn’t feel incredibly slow, like it was being dragged out.

A few criticisms I have was some side characters felt a little underdeveloped, I loved Enzira, but I do wish we knew more about her. I also really hoped for more lore on Azure, because I loved the idea of a dragon familiar! Lastly, the name of the book being “Crown of Briars” threw me off, thorns were mentioned, but nothing that I remember of briars.

I enjoyed this book overall! The fae world was atmospheric, the cursed castle setting was a standout, and I really liked the magical gemstone system—it felt fresh and added depth to the story. Sybelle is a strong protagonist, and the enemies-to-lovers tension between her and Varius definitely brought the drama.
That said, some parts didn’t quite click for me. The emotional intensity was a bit much at times, and I found the romance a little fast in places. Still, the pacing kept me turning pages, and the darker fairytale elements worked really well.
If you enjoy fantasy romance with high stakes, a broody fae king, and a fierce heroine, this is worth picking up.

I found with this book that it was a little hard to get into, and as with the original beauty and the beast, I get annoyed with how long it takes for them both to realise they're nice people! I did however really appreciate the character arc between Varius and Sybelle; and didn't expect the twist near the end! I'd have loved to have seen more with Varius getting to know the dragon but I still felt it was a good book overall.

I don't know if i was expecting sth different or if this just didnt cut it but I had to force myself to rad this book and Finish just so I could send this review- I enjoyed absolutely nothing about it-

I definitely love a beauty and the beast retelling!! This was probably one of my favorites I’ve read so far. Also hello, an arranged marriage? The cream of the crop. My favorite character was definitely Azure, if you know you know. Also - the castle?? Definitely up there too.
One thing I found myself wishing for was more of an in depth look at the FMCs powers. I thought that was pretty interesting and would have definitely loved more.
All in all, very solid read and would definitely recommend if you like a fairytale retelling. :)

Crown Of Briars, where to begin???? Absolutely amazing Beauty and the Beast retelling featuring unseelie fae.

4.5 🌟

The Characters:
Both the FMC and MMC have their own plans on how to reach their perspective end goals going into a contract marriage between their two Courts. The gemstone magic the FMC possesses is extremely unique, and I loved that she was also extremely intelligent. No damsel in distress here, she's a woman with a plan, and she comes with a dragon! The MMC is your typical shadow daddy (with horns and a tail 😂); however, his power plays into the plot in an interesting and large manner.

The Romance:
The way their relationship progressed was a little fast, but that's to be expected with a Beauty and the Beast retelling, especially when it's encapsuled in ~550 pages. (Can we applaud a Standalone romantasy ???👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻). And the spice????? Very well written and loved the mutual teasing they did. Banter and chemistry off the charts. It wasn't an overbearing amount of spice, but just the right amount. The only negative to the relationship is we do get a little bit of the miscommunication trope (more like keep secrets until they burst trope) but they figure themselves out quickly. Just kind of annoying that it happens more than once. Really my only ding to this read.

The Setting:
I'm a sucker for a magical, almost sentient, building and the Shadow court brings that in droves.

The Plot:
The overall storyline was fantastic. The unseelie forms was an interesting take on the "beast" aspect of this retelling. The history and the mystery was laid out plainly and everything made sense. I loved the aspect the FMC and her magic played in breaking the curse. I also enjoyed the fact that throughout the book she was gleaming little bits of information and we as readers were watching her put it all together, rather than being in the dark until the last 50 pages like some books.

Overall really enjoyed this book and would 100% recommend. I devoured it in a day and maaaannnn am I glad that I didn't have to go to work tonight so I could finish it in one sitting 😅

***Thank you R.L. Perez and Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op for this ARC in exchange for my honest review***

Review was posted on both goodreads and storygraph!