A Thornless Crown and a Beastly Romance: A Mixed Bag
“Crown of Briars” promises thorns and tangled paths, but what I found was more of a lightly bristled stroll through familiar tropes with occasional sparks of originality.
Let’s start with the premise: a Beauty and the Beast retelling with magic, dragons, and a mysterious assassin heroine? Sign me up. But somewhere between page one and the final chapter, the book lost its footing. The title, for one, sets a darker, more tangled expectation, “Briars” implies danger, consequence, stakes. Ironically, there are no briars. Not metaphorical ones either, unless “mild confusion” counts.
The relationship between Sybelle and Varius is where I struggled most. Their dynamic is full of potential: enemies-to-lovers, power imbalances, emotional wounds, but the execution felt rushed and emotionally erratic. One minute it’s murder threats, the next it’s undying devotion. Varius proclaiming he'd abandon his kingdom after a few interactions felt more like a plot device than authentic character growth. The emotional payoff never quite lands because the groundwork simply isn’t there.
Stylistically, the book reads like a YA fantasy that occasionally dips a toe into more mature waters, without fully committing to either tone. That genre-blending can work, but here, it creates tonal whiplash. The prose itself is clear and accessible, which I appreciated, but the thematic depth didn’t match the story’s ambitions.
Sybelle is introduced as a deadly, highly trained assassin, but rarely behaves like one. Her choices often seemed reactive, confused, or flat-out contradictory. It was hard to reconcile her reputation with her actions on the page. Similarly, her dragon companion, Azure, is both delightful and underutilized. I wanted way more of that bond, and way more worldbuilding in general. Why is she the only one of her kind? What’s with the dragon’s sudden appearance? These lingering questions weren’t the good kind of mystery; they just felt like narrative loose threads.
There are glimmers of real creativity here. Sybelle’s magic system had a fresh feel, and the story occasionally flirted with compelling fairy tale atmosphere. There’s definitely a market for this kind of spicy, fantastical romance, and I can see it clicking for fans who want a high-drama, low-subtlety kind of ride.
It didn’t quite hit the mark for me, but I don’t regret the read. Sometimes a book doesn’t work on a personal level, but still has value, and Crown of Briars is one of those. If you enjoy fairy tale retellings with a moody beast, a fiery heroine, and a dose of steam, this may still be your cup of enchanted tea.

Happy release day!

Crown of Briars follows Sybelle, a half-fae from the Earthen Court who has trained all her life to marry and kill the Wraith King, Varius of the Shadow Court. All to save her Kingdom. Except when she arrives at the Shadow Court, she learns that things aren’t really what they seem.

I knew as soon as I read the dedication that I would love this book. "To all the readers who were disappointed when the beast turned into a human. Varius, in all his monstrous glory, was written for you." I mean, come on! This is right up my alley.

Much to the chagrin of my husband, I literally stayed up all night to finish this book, which is something I haven’t done in years. It was a fun, dramatic, and sexy time, and I can’t wait to read more by the author.

Also, one of my favorite aspects of the story was the sentient castle. I loved how much it helped Sybelle uncover secrets about the curse, as well as tease the characters by sending them places they didn’t expect.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for providing the arc!

Crown Of Briars is the best Beauty and the Beast retelling so far, and I loved it so much!

All her life, Sybelle knew she was raised to become the Wraith King's wife. Her father and sister don't like her because she is half fae. So when the king sends his steward Clermont for her, she is ready. But she isn't going so easily. Sybelle embarks on the journey with her ever so opinioned maid, Ramia. There is a plan at hand to kill the king when she has cut off his source of power, a rose. But of course, feelings get in the way, and Sybelle finds out that not everything that she has been told is the truth.

Loved the retelling and really enjoyed the banter between Sybelle and her dragon Azure, who constantly reminds her of her shortcomings as a human. I also really enjoyed Enzira's kindness and Tislora's witchyness. The castle is sentient and has a wicked sense of humor. The world building was the best, and their enemies to lovers' story was slow and steady. Nothing felt rushed.
Thank you, Netgalley and Willow Haven Press, for this ARC. All opinions are entirely my own.

"You are mine, dannahla. A thousand curses could not tear me away from you."
‎
‎𐙚⋆°.🪞𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
‎⌞ Tropes ⌝
‎
‎⤷ Arranged marriage
‎⤷ Enemies to Lovers
‎⤷ Beauty and the beast retelling
‎⤷ Monster romance
‎⤷ Magical castle/doors
‎⤷ Sentient library
‎⤷ Bookish Fmc
‎⤷ Dragon
‎⤷ Slowburn but spicy
‎
‎𐙚⋆°.🪞𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
‎⌞ Characters ⌝
‎
‎⤷ ⌞ Varius ⌝
‎
‎shadowking - his bloodline was cursed by a witch which turned their seelie form into unseelie form
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‎If a beast, then why a pookie!! I honestly loved him from the very start 🤭💘 he was like this perfect combination of sweet and grumpy so of course i ate him up literally and figuratively!!
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‎⤷ ⌞ Sybelle ⌝
‎
‎half human - half fae
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‎can be categorized as badass/clever fmc. she had power of gemstones and a dragon too but ngl it took me some chapters to start loving her idky 😭 oh ik 🤡 it was because of gerard 👎🏻
‎
‎𐙚⋆°.🪞𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
‎⌞ Plot ⌝
‎
‎"He must wed her to break the curse.
‎She must kill him to save her kingdom."
‎
‎The worldbuilding was pretty solid I'd say and the plot was great too, there were a lot of plot twists in the end that i was like "how long is this going to take!!" *but in a good way*
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‎(tho acc to me there were a few plot holes ?! like Sybelle wrote down the curse then showed it to Varius but he was still like he has to tell her what was required to break the curse 🤨)
‎
‎𐙚⋆°.🪞𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
‎⌞ Sexual Tension/Spice ⌝
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‎If you ask me I'll say 3 out of 4 stars are for this section only heheh
‎
‎The revel scene is going to live in my head rent free
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‎𐙚⋆°.🪞𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
‎⌞ Side characters ⌝
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‎The maids; Ramia and Enzira. They were shown so kind, caring and considerate. Loved loved loved them. um tho ngl i was at one point suspicious of Ramia lol, that's how yk the plot twists slayed heheh
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‎Princess Eira; Sybelle's friend from the winter court. She was just mentioned a few times but enough to make me want to read her book too (which is "crown of poison": snow white's retelling)
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‎Tislora; she was a complex character honestly, but at least at the end of the book i didn't dislike her. I lowkey wanted her to be a traitor 😭 cuz i was lowkey jealous of Varius caring for her 👹 but she was a good woman savannah 😔
‎
‎Release date of this book:
‎⤿ 4 August 25
‎
‎*Thank you to the author, victory editing and netgalley for the eARC*

4.5 stars!

the premise sounded promising and the beautiful cover influenced me to read it— amazing book cover! the book is perfectly marketed as beast and beauty retelling, it can also fall under category of monster romance too. i usually have the complaint with standalones that they don't tie up properly, but this one was perfect!

sybelle's character was so exciting to explore— she's badass, quite relatable, strategic, observant and savage!! my favourite characters were azure and eisa.

varius, what a fantastic mmc he was! shadow daddy with wings, horn and claws and " my wife!". he was charismatic demon prince with a bit of vulnerability and a sharp tongue and that made him perfect!

the smut, tension, heat and pull between varius and sybelle was chef's kisses! and twists at the end was so surprising and it was one of the best element done in the book.

the writing style was written in first pov but i thought the sentences could have been flowy, that wasn't a bit problem with me as i felt r.l. perez's style is with short sentences. but the description of castles and how they were different was a fantastic one!

even though the book was a great one, i felt sybelle's magic was not explored— the blues in her shadows, how even she got the shadow to begin with?, varius's interest in those shadows wasn't even given importance to. i felt that the pace was a bit off (slow) around 35%— i felt after that point the story really took off.

if you're looking for a beauty and the beast retelling with plenty of spice, twists and great husband-wife banter— this book is for you!

thanks victoria editing co-op & r.l. perez for the arc, i had a wonderful time reading this!

reviews will be posted on goodreads and storygraph. i will be recommending this book over my instagram & threads. and for helping with promotion, i will be posting annotations over my pinterest.

Thank you so much to Willow Haven Press & NetGalley for kindly allowing me to read this E-ARC in exchange for my feedback.

This is a dark and sultry retelling of Beauty and the Beast with fae, dark magic and it is for those who especially wish the beast never turned human.

Let's start with the parts I loved—the castle was almost sentient, and seemed to have a humour of its own, which was quite unique. I loved the underlying themes of acceptance, not judging a book by its cover, and prejudice. The magic system was so unique to me—I have never read anything with this sort of magic system before! But, that being said, I do wish it was explored a little bit more (although I know this is a series so perhaps the magic system is delved into in other books).

I really enjoyed Azure, she was so witty and playful. But again, I would have loved more of her! I also would have really liked to hear more backstories of the side characters, such as Ramia and Enzira, as I liked their characters but wish they had appeared more or had a little more use in the main plot of the story. I kind of felt that they seemed a little bit like filler characters at times.

I do feel that the middle part of the book fell a little flat, and not an awful lot seemed to be happening. Although once I pushed through, things definitely picked up again to deliver an action-packed and twisted ending.

I did not see the twist coming at the end, which really took me by surprise! I feel like it's easy to read a book and predict what might happen, but with this I didn't get that feeling at all.

Overall a lovely read that I did end up enjoying!

Some of my favourite quotes:

"I might not have had horns or fangs or a tail, but that didn't mean I couldn't proudly display the body that belonged to me."

"You're a violent little creature, aren't you?"

"For you alone hold the key to destroying me entirely."

This one had everything I love- broody immortal demon hunter, fierce heroine on the run, and tension so thick I could feel it. Mist and Lily’s enemies-to-lovers dynamic is pure chaos in the best way, with heat, trauma, and snark flying. Loved the found-family demon crew and the darker, emotional edge. Big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I’m already ready for more!

Thank you to Willow Haven Press and NetGalley for granting me the ARC of Crown of Briars 😊

This is a great retelling of Beauty and the Beast! The parallels between the original story and this one are so subtle and finely wove into the story yet there's no mistaking it as a retelling. I loved the curse element in this book and the way Sybelle's magic works!

There are some fun twists at the end which I guess could be obvious to some but I found myself guessing at how the plot would turn out and on many parts, I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong 😅

The only thing bringing down my rating from 5/5 ⭐️ is I felt the romance went from 'maybe I like him' to 'I would die for you' a bit too quickly.

I really wanted to love Crown of Briars — the premise had everything I’m usually a sucker for: enchanted forests, political intrigue, and a touch of forbidden magic. And to be fair, the world-building was rich and the writing had some lovely moments.

But… I never fully clicked with the characters, and the pacing dragged in places. It felt like it was trying to do a lot, and while some plot points landed, others left me a bit underwhelmed. Not a bad book by any means — just not a standout for me personally.

Still, if you’re into slow-burn fantasy with lush descriptions and morally grey royalty, this might hit better for you!

Crown of Briars is a Beauty and the Beast retelling—and one of the best I’ve read in a while. It keeps the heart of the original tale but leans darker, sharper, and more emotionally complex. With slow-burn romance, powerful magic, and a beast who actually feels beastly, this one surprised me in the best way.

Various, the beast in question, is grumpy, surly, and absolutely not trying to win anyone over. He’s got a temper and a monstrous appearance that genuinely unsettles the heroine, Sebylle. I really appreciated that she feared him at first—there’s no instant intrigue or swooning here. For the first quarter of the book, I couldn’t imagine how a romance between them would even work… but when it does start to shift, it feels incredibly earned and satisfying.

Sebylle is a strong, stubborn heroine with a sharp tongue and a will to survive. She doesn’t fall easily, and her resistance makes the emotional build-up even better. Their dynamic is tense, prickly, and slow to thaw—but so worth it once it does.

And I have to give a shoutout to Azure. She was just a baby dragon in the earlier book, and now she’s back and sassier than ever. Every scene she’s in adds humor and heart—she might be my favorite character in the whole series.

The pacing lagged a bit in the middle, but the world-building and emotional payoff more than made up for it. The final act brings everything together with curses, courtly stakes, and just enough heat to make you want more.

If you love fairytale retellings with bite, beastly love interests, sassy dragons, and romance that actually takes its time, Crown of Briars should be at the top of your TBR.

This was the first fairy tale re-telling I have read and thus, wasn’t sure what to expect but I loved it!
The plot was great, it filled in some details we know about the original and put a spin on things with some twists and turns I did not see coming.
Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale and this book did not disappoint!

Beauty and the Beast has been my favorite fairytale since I was a child. I have read and enjoyed many stories inspired by it during my life, but I would now consider this to be one of my favorites. Beauty and the Beast but with fae...what's not to love?! It did get a bit predictable at times, but had just enough twisty parts to keep me invested and reading!

This is an epic fantasy romance retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but I found it very unique.

Most importantly, the MCs - Sybelle and Varius - don't immediately fall in love. I suppose that this is true in the Disney version as well, but here it's a slow burn and you really see them grow together and work through their differences. Varius' character development was very strong, too, and I found myself really embracing him as a lovable Beast. I do wish that it was a bit less of a slow burn on the romance, but it did allow the characters time to really come together.

The descriptions here were so beautiful, and the magic system was well done. I felt immersed throughout, and while it's long, the story does move along pretty quickly.

Overall enjoyable - I want to go back and read Book 1 in this series and pick up book 3 when it's out in 2026 as well!

I absolutely ate this up! I loved the other 2 books in this series (crown of twelve and crown of slumber). This was a beauty and the beast inspired story! I will admit I was a bit thrown off by the beast being red but that's also because this was my first book where there was an MMC with a tail/ shapeshifting beast like this. It was such a good story. The tension, banter and magic system was amazing. The dragon that could smell power and communicate with Sybelle was so fun.

Recommendation: 🌕🌕🌕 - (Out of 5 🌕)

Genre: Fiction, Romantasy, Fantasy, Romance, Fairytale Retelling

Length: 624 Pages

Pace: Slow

Moods: Romantic, Happily Ever After,

I love a fairytale retelling and one based on my favorite fairytale, Beauty and the Beast, will always be a win for me. R.L. Perez has written a unique retelling of Beauty and the Beast with all of the expected easter eggs; there is a rose, a library, a sentient castle, a blue dress, a handsome male villain who is full of himself, characters who do not appear in their true form, a main female character with 'Belle' in her name, a curse and a beast.

Crown of Briars is the second book in the Crowns of Fae series. Each installment can be read as a stand alone and you can jump in and begin your journey at any point in the series. I didn't hate this book but I also didn't love it. There was a lot going on, many moving parts, and sometimes it was too much to take in and follow. For example, Sybelle's best friend is a dragon that no one else knows exists. While reading, I never really grasped why there was a single dragon in the story and what it's purpose was. Ater finishing the book, I read the book blurb and discovered that the dragon was Sybelle's familar, even though Sybelle was not a witch. The book contains several contradictions, Sybelle comes from a human kingdom that despises Fae and yet she is half human and half fae. Some of the storylines are too much, both Varius and Sybelle's fathers were beyond evil. So evil, they excessively used and tortured the females in their lives. These things don't make the book unreadable, they just make it harder to focus on the storyline.

Synopsis:

The Court of Shadows and the Earthen Court have a long standing contract, every generation a human female will be married to the Wraith King. This agreement is beneficial to both parties, but for the human court it ensures that the deadly, poisonous shadows created by the Shadow King stay out of their kingdom. Sybelle was born, bred, and trained to infiltrate the Court of Shadows and assassinate their king. After arriving in the Court of Shadows she discovers that not everything is as it seems, not everything is as she was brought up to believe, and the Wraith King is not what everyone believes him to be. Sybelle develops feelings for Varius and the people in his court. She believes she is the key to save them and lift the curse that has been plaguing them for hundreds of years.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This romantasy really had me hooked! I love a good Beauty and the Beast retelling and - THIS - hit the spot. The writing is flowing, the characters feel real, the story is captivating and I loved the twists and turns.

Thank you to Willow Haven Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this gem. One of my favourite reads so far this year.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I will say that the first 40% or so was hard to get into, and would have probably deterred me from finishing it if I didn't feel compelled to keep going to formulate a review since I received an ARC through NetGalley. Regardless, the following thoughts are 100% my own and freely given.

The story presents itself as a retelling of Beauty & the Beast, and it leans very heavily in its identity through this fairy tale. I thought I wouldn't like it tying its identity so closely with the original fairy tale (the chapter POVs are titled "The Beauty" and "The Beast" and the main character's name is Sybelle, c'mon), but by the end it grew on me and I actually appreciated it. I'm still not entirely sure if I'm the target audience of fairy tale retellings, though, so I probably won't seek out any more.

I'm going to start with gripes and try to keep it spoiler-free, but skip down for what I liked.

The world building is good enough, but it definitely feels like an afterthought. We are provided a map (which I now realize is because this book is part of a series focusing on different courts retelling the fairy tales, because I was very confused why we had a whole map for a seemingly standalone story). However, some of the details are confusing and quite frankly didn't really make sense to me. The courts don't appear to be very far from each other, which makes some decisions in the worldbuilding lack sense -- traveling distances seem shorter or longer depending on what is convenient for the plot, making distances inconsistent, and the etymology doesn't quite make sense with there being no "common" tongue or at least courts close to each other that know multiple languages? Like, I get that they've been enemies for 200 years, but surely it wouldn't be THAT weird for the betrothed princess to learn Agnarrish when she's going to be living the majority of her life in the Shadow Court?

And the names of the courts. Obviously the names are supposed to be tied to the magic each court has, and they are elemental, but I feel like straight up calling it the "Shadow Court" and "Earthen Court" made it seem... corny. And the elemental connections of each of the courts were not explained well in this book. I still don't know why Sybelle has gemstone powers other than the fact that faes have unique powers? And her fae power is that gemstones have powers but she has to be touching them?

AND THE POWERS. Why is it never fcking explained why Sybelle has gained new powers? It happens MULTIPLE times and no one bats an eye, even at the END of the book - HSKUHDSKGJH???? That's probably my biggest gripe of the entire book. I also did not appreciate being confused about the whole gemstone thing until Sybelle decides to explain it to Varius.

By the end, I ended up loving Azure, but my god in the first 30% she is UNBEARABLE. She honestly reminded me of the whole Raya and the Last Dragon situation where the dragon was trying to be funny but ended up just being infuriatingly cringe-worthy. When the jokes died down, she became a much more well balanced character and I actually ended up quite liking her. But until that happened, I really was wishing Azure was written out of the book. I think my favorite line about Azure was Sybelle stating to the reader "Blue was our nickname for Azure." NO SHIT ITS A SYNONYM?

Every other character though, I genuinely did enjoy. All of the side characters I felt received the appropriate amount of attention and I love a good female camaraderie going on (Ramia, Enzira, Tislora, Eira...).

Then some other plot holes/confusing things that never got cleared up. Sybelle having new powers, Warwick being First Lieutenant but no one including the King knows him? One of the gems being described as the size of Sybelle's head and then later being able to fit in her pouch of gemstones/in pockets/in her cloak. A gemstone that big should be HEAVY.

And this is just me maybe, but every eating scene made me wanna puke with how much moaning with pleasure she was doing. Please just eat, I really don't need to know that many details. Just tell me it's delicious.

The "prophecy/spell" could have been written better IMO, it was a bit obviously stated and so I was rolling my eyes at them trying to decipher it. Like it literally spells out what you have to do, it's not some big riddle. I think Sybelle's position as a smart woman would have stood out better if she actually had to do some difficult deciphering of the witch's words.

Enough bitching. Onto the things I enjoyed.

Even though the buildup to the romance was so clunky and I'm not entirely sure how we got to where they would sacrifice their lives for each other, I'm glad they at least admit they don't know when it became that either. At least we're admitting love is one helluva drug. After the ballroom/revel scene though, I was all in on their romance. Varius and Sybelle's scenes were so sweet with the right amount of spice and after the 50% mark, the smut scenes started making more sense narratively. I was very shocked having a smut scene in like, the first chapter (I really could have done without details).

The magic system was actually pretty cool, having "fae powers" and Sybelle's power being channeling through gemstones, even though I wish it was ALL expanded on a little bit better.

I loved all of the side characters and the characterization of all of them were great. I've seen maids get left in the dust and I'm glad it didn't happen here.

I'm also glad they got a HEA even though I probably could have done without ANOTHER smut scene (cheapened the impact of the end IMO).

Azure ended up being a cool character and I liked how her and Sybelle were like a tag team secret partners in crime.

The mystery/whodunnit was done really well, and even though I sorta expected who it would be based off the original fairy tale I still was speculating about multiple characters at once. The lasdt 50% of the book as a whole was very well-paced and written, and I felt like we got out of the "telling not showing" that the beginning of the book was doing, infodumping exposition.

TLDR; get through about 30-40% and it'll pick up quickly. I read 50% of the book in 24 hours because I was enthralled at that point. However, I have probably decided I like original stories more than retellings based on how much of the plot I was able to guess.

This book was so good.

Beauty and the Beast retellings are my favorite trope, and this one is at the top of my list of favorites that I have read.

The world building was very unique and thorough. I could easily imagine each scene without it being over explained. The story itself was well balanced with lots of twists and turns. Some I was able to guess but others were a shock. The political intrigue was well thought out. The enemies to lovers aspect was believable, and the side characters were very easy to love.

I will definitely be continuing with this series and will read more from this author in the future!

Crown of Briars by R. L. Perez ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Willow Haven Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

🥀 Beauty & The Beast retelling
🔮 Magical Curses
🧚 Seelie and Unseelie fae
💍 Arranged Marriage
🐉 Dragon Companion

“Just because a creature appears frightening does not mean it is dangerous.”


If you love Beauty & The Beast retellings, here is one to add to your TBR! This plot driven story is a perfect mix of defeating magical curses and spicy romance.

We follow Sybelle as she embarks on her path of becoming the Wraith King’s bride and ultimately finding herself along the way. (As all the best stories go) This cast of characters was so fun to learn about and I enjoyed going along with them as we try to unravel the secrets regarding the curse and how to break it. The cheeky castle was one of my favorite parts of the story and I loved finding the nods to the original tale throughout. Sybelle’s dragon companion, Azure, was probably my favorite character. I will forever love a sassy dragon character and Azure sure checks that box.

If you’re looking for a quick paced read, where you kind of know what you’re getting yourself into, look no further. I had a great time with this one and will probably find my self returning for Eira’s story!

The previous book in this series of interconnected tales has been on my wishlist for ages. So, when I saw this book on Netgalley I just HAD to request a copy. I was quite excited when I got one!

This book was everything I had hoped it would be and maybe a little more. The writing is perfect! Easy to read, but still nicely flowing and a great mix of descriptions and emotions. Although it's not a thin book I absolutely flew through it. That's of course also because the story was really gripping. The author does an amazing job combining the most important elements of the original fairytale with a new and fresh world and story.

What I loved most about this book is the romance between the characters and how that progresses. It never feels rushed, but it also never feels like we're waiting and waiting and nothing happens. It helps that especially the heroine is headstrong and fierce and therefore at times quite confrontational. She's not afraid of calling people out, but she's also not afraid to feel sorry and say sorry when she's called out herself because she messed up.

I also really liked the magic in this book. Although it's actually not even that simple, it never felt like it was impossible to grasp what was happening. I also liked how everything was built up nicely. No discovery comes out of nowhere. Of course, magic does come with a few well timed revelations, but those revelations are hinted towards and the discovery of the magic has been talked about before.

I regret not picking up the previous books in the series and will for sure do so as soon as my wallet allows it!