The Rose Kiss

“just as a compass points true north, a man’s accusing finger always points at a woman”

The Rose Kiss is a charming Beauty and the Beast retelling with a dark twist. Belladonna “Lana” is a young girl in provincial France, obsessed with Aubon’s book of fairytales. When she overhears a conversation concerning herself; stating that she is one of the fairytales characters come to life, her whole livelihood is shifted.

Although this story was short, I found myself enthralled from the beginning. Lana is a strong female lead who I absolutely adored from the get go and while the story was hard to follow at some parts, I really enjoyed the writing and the overall ambience of the tale. I loved how original this retelling was and am so excited to pick up the next book! This was such a quick and easy read that I would highly recommend!

Beauty and the Beast with a twist.

The Rose Kiss started off slow for me but quickly picked up speed and held my attention. The twist of having a specific 'evil' character to focus on differs from the classic telling of Beauty and the Beast and adds a fun twist that can surprise you. The book gives you a satisfactory ending, even one Hadrian would approve of. After the "ages of misery" the book wraps up nicely to show you what it is "actually like to live happily ever after."

The Rose Kiss is a Beaty and the Beast retelling and mirrors the original quite well. Belladonna is the daughter of a financially struggling Lord and has to find a wealthy man to marry. However, she is adamant that she’ll only marry for true love. When a sorcerer sets her up, she finds herself lost in the woods before coming upon an enchanted castle with a beast roaming the halls.

The book was a quick and easy read and I quite liked the twists it took from the original story. The romance between the two bloomed naturally as they bonded over their love of literature, but there wasn’t really a chance for their to be much character development. What I loved most about the book was the Aubon’s Fairytales and how each one we’re told links in with the current story.

However, something about the book fell a bit flat and I found myself getting bored at times. I also felt Belladonna’s reactions to things were off at times e.g. she meets the beast and isn’t really terrified.

Overall though, the book was a quick and easy read with a nice spin on a traditional fairytale.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for a chance to read this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very different spin on the traditional tale of Beauty and the Beast. I did enjoy the fantasy component. The villain was perfectly evil, although I felt he was too easily defeated. He did remind me of Rothbart from Swan Lake.
I did like the focus pulling from a book of fairy tales, where our heroine was in a way "cursed" as well. That part was uniquely refreshing.

The Rose Kiss is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I do not usually enjoy retellings that are too similar to the original tale but I thought that Rome did a good job at balancing what aspects she drew from the original tale and those that she created.



The Rose Kiss features a female protagonist named Belladonna, the daughter of a poor Lord. In order to help both herself and her family, it is her duty to marry wealth--but she insists on following her heart. After agreeing to be set up, she finds herself in the presence of an enchanted castle.

I read this book in one sitting and can say I thought it was very well written and I was entertained throughout the entire story. I wish there had been a little bit more romance as I felt as though that would have made the book five stars. After recently reading A Curse So Dark and Lonely, I believe The Rose Kiss to be the more intriguing retelling. With that said, I do think that the book could have benefitted from a little bit more character development as I was left confused with some of the interactions and reactions of the characters.

I recommend this to any fans of fairytale retellings as it was a unique twist on the beloved tale.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was received as an ARC from BooksGoSocial in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have read so many renditions of beauty and the beast one of my favorite all time fairy tales so immediately I was excited for the chance to read The Rose Kiss. This book took the more proper English/Victorian approach and I must say I have never encountered a book like this before. I was intrigued by the back story of Lana and how she was destined to love a beast and bring famine to the Kingdom that she runs away and finds herself in the magic castle. But, she grows fond of the castle and its tenants including the mysterious best owner that could break the curse and be her destiny. There were many parts where I was smiling from ear to ear bringing back old memories when I was a child and I could not ask for more especially during this time of year. I know our teen book club will be intrigued as well and I know deep conversations are in our future.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Lana is the new Belle and Hadrian, the new beast. Trying to escape a series of bad suitors and a mysterious event, Lana flees and finds herself in a castle. Hadrian must keep himself hidden from her because of the curse.
Opinion
I love fairy tales reinvented! This one holds pretty close to the original but has some new twists along the way. This book will not disappoint the younger child in your heart.
Many thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Even though this was a beauty and the beast retelling it still had some really original plot point that I really enjoyed, the use of the roses has to be my favourite part along with the fairy tales. The enjoyed the writing style, and how there were equal amounts of character development and world building. The only thing I didn't enjoy about this was how quick the romance developed. There was no mention of them catching feelings for each other or them really even seeing each other that way until they were kissing, I wish there had been a bit of an insight to their feelings. But overall, I did really enjoy this book and will be reading more of this series as it comes out.

Fairytale re-tellings are always a bit of a gamble. They are a hit or a total miss usually. And as a - okay I admit - total Disney fan, I'm a bit partial to the original. But, every now and then I take a leap of faith and check out a re-telling So, I dove into the story of Lana, who is in search of a wealthy suitor to help pay off the debts her father has. Her father is consulting a seer, a prophet, who tells a tale where Lana is an evil witch, who will put a plague over the whole population. Unless she marries the prophet of course.
Lana flees for her life and ends up on a magical castle, with a disfigured host, who doesn't want to show himself to her. The story also includes singing flowers, who are slowly withering. And although Lana is enjoying her time in the castle, she still misses her father. When she is shown her father through a mystical mirror, she sees that her father is not well. The prophet is draining all of his funds.
Does this all sound very familiar? It is, but on the other hand, it isn't. Esme certainly gives her own flair to the characters and the story. So, the ending will certainly not exactly I be, what you would expect. A wonderful story. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

I didn’t get to finish before it vanished off my app. But from what I was able to read it was good. You have to read it in a new perspective almost forgetting about the beauty and the beast story we grew up with. But overall it’s good

I really enjoyed this take on beauty and the beast, it added a great twist and additional plot to it.

The Rose Kiss is a fun foray into the Beauty and the Beast tale. Darker than Disney, there are enough twists and turns to keep the reader's guessing. I loved the mythological basis that Esme Rome used to provide a rich tapestry on which to tell her story.

This book had a lovely storyline, was well written, and had great characters. The dramatic twist in the story lends an engaging quality to it, making it different from other fairy-tale stories. It was an entertaining and romantic read.

this was a beautifully done fairy tale retelling, it kept what I enjoyed from the original fairy tale and made it unique. It was a great start to the series and left me wanting more.

The description of this book calls it captivating and I couldn’t agree more with a statement in my life. I will be diving into anything this author writes.

A fun first book; the Beauty and the Beast retellings are getting a little thick on the ground, so we have to evaluate before grabbing it for out collection, but our fairy tale/romance set enjoyed it

This book was a delight! I always love Beauty and the Beast retellings. And this one was wonderful.
Right from the start I was so glad I picked this book up. Lana and Guarin’s conversation had me in stitches. One hilariously absurd statement after another, it was too good.
And the fairytale of Belmorta and Blackfang, a slight twist in itself of Beauty and the Beast. It was a really neat way of bringing the story together!!! And I was really curious to see how much of that story would connect with Lana’s.

I really loved the way the author retold this fairytale. I haven’t read any with a fantasy twist, so this was really new to me! (Aside from the usual magic in the Disney original)
Hadrian was so perfect for Lana. They shared interests and took up a friendship so easily, I loved seeing their love grow, it was nicely done.

Thankyou NetGalley and Books Go Social for the complimentary electronic copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Content: clean
Romance: kissing
Violence: the usual with B&tB but very minimal.
Language: none