-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!

🖤 Vibes:
shadow daddy, a curse, seelie/unseelie faes, SLOW burn, arranged marriage, a dragon, monster-ish romance


📖 TL;DR:
What can I tell, maybe I was just in need of a really to-the-point romantasy, but I LOVED this book. Hence my 5 stars. I'm not saying is a literary masterpiece but it really did it for me. Crown of Briars really left me with that happy feeling and made me love the characters and be part of their world. Even being a retelling, I was constantly surprised and intrigued with what was going to happen next. It’s cozy, cute, and the stakes are high but not to the point of making you super anxious about what’s going on. The beast and beauty portrayal is very well done.


🔥 Spice Level:
2/5 - slow burn, steamy spice, wish there had been more scenes and more monster-ish spice


⭐ Things I give a thumbs up:

» The twists
» A strong FMC without being a can-do-all by herself vibe
» THE LIBRARY MOMENT
» The Magic Castle
» FMC powers

🤷🏻‍♀️ Things that made me want to hit my head against the wall:

» I don’t feel the dragon added that much to the plot
» Can’t believe this is just a standalone
» The goatee

🎯 Would I recommend it?:
Definitely, mostly if you’re in need of a cozy romantasy that you can devour in a day (like I did)

I really enjoy Beauty and the Beast retellings and this adult spicy retelling was such a good time for me. There were elements to it with Sybelle's abilities that were unlike other retellings that I really enjoyed. I loved that the author embraced the beast and I loved the shadows coming out to play for the beast. One of my favorite characters hands down was definitely the dragon Azure, I love a great dragon character and Azure was no exception. This book had so much in it that I just loved. I cannot wait for the next book in the series, I am so excited for Snow Whites retelling.

Wow… just WOW.

The way I devoured this book?? Needs to be studied... like documented case study. Somebody call the academy asap!

Crown of Briars by R.L. Perez is a gorgeously done Beauty and the Beast retelling, but make it fae and make it dark. The tension between Sybelle and Varius?? Chef’s kiss. It was the kind of slow burn that hurts a lil, but in the best way. The chemistry felt natural, nothing felt rushed or thrown in just to be spicy. And when the spice did hit?? Yeah… 🌶️🌶️🌶️ I had to take a lil walk.

I also really loved the way fae magic was portrayed, it felt different and unique from the usual stuff we see in fae fantasy and added so much depth to the story (but I won’t spoil it… just know it was 🔥).

This is technically the second book in the series, but you can read it as a standalone. I’m def going back to book one now and I already know I’ll be reading the rest of this series too.

If you love retellings, rich fantasy worlds, emotional tension, and a fae man who’s broody but lowkey soft?? Go grab this. Immediately.

I liked it. Kind of a dark and twisted beauty and the beast retelling. Sybelle is smart and strategic, the wraith king is mysterious and sharp tongued. The world building was awesome. The romance was slow burn and enemies to lovers. This story is full of magic and deception. I highly recommend.

"To all the readers who were disappointed when the beast transformed into a human. Varius, in all his monstrous glory, was written for you."

*screaming*

They had me at the dedication. I'm a sucker for Beauty and the Beast retellings. I mean, what book girlie doesn't want to be whisked away to a castle with morally gray MMC and a giant library? Is that not how all the dark romance girls got their start!

But as far as those retellings go, this one may be my favorite. I loved every second of it. It does a great job expanding both Sybelle's (Beauty) and Varius' (Beast) characters, but I especially like Sybelle's. I also loved the version of Gaston.

I really loved everything about it and immediately downloaded Crown of Slumber and Crown of Twelve as soon as I was done reading.

I can't get enough.

Undecided between 4 & 4.5 ⭐️

Thankyou NetGalley for this ARC.

This Beauty and the Beast retelling was full of almost every Romantasy trope/convention you can think of but I absolutely ate it up. I was a bit hesitant at first as it did feel like I was reading another *very* popular B&B retelling but as a standalone book, I think I enjoyed this one more. It was like the adult version.

The story was done well, the spice was excellent and I really enjoyed the character development.

I received an ARC for this book and so I hadn’t read anything else in this interconnected standalone series of spicy fairytale retellings but now…. sign me up!!!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If there is one thing about me it's that I love a beauty and the beast retelling!

The tension in this is *chefs kiss*. I was kicking my feet and giggling like a little girl!

Some tiny aspects of the plot I felt could have been explained better but I picked up what the author was putting down. Overall very enjoyable read and I'm excited to check out the other stand alones in this series

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If there is one thing about me it's that I love a beauty and the beast retelling!

The tension in this is *chefs kiss*. I was kicking my feet and giggling like a little girl!

Some tiny aspects of the plot I felt could have been explained better but I picked up what the author was putting down. Overall very enjoyable read and I'm excited to check out the other stand alones in this series

Slow-burn romance, playful banter, dual point-of-views, a dragon, and fae... what more could you want!

R. L. Perez did a stellar job with this Beauty and the Beast retelling! I often find retellings to be a difficult task to take on because you need the key elements the audience knows and loves from the original story, but also an added twist that makes it new and exciting. Perez did exactly this! I noticed the parallels to Beauty and the Beast, yet I was still on the edge of my seat, unsure of where I would be taken next! Furthermore, if you were the person who wanted the Beast's perspective in addition to the Beauty's, you will find it right here.

My only critique is I wish we had spent more time in the Earthen Court at the beginning with Sybelle (The Beauty). I thought a few of the events in the first couple of chapters felt very sudden, fast-paced, and (at times) unneeded. Now that I have finished Crown of Briars, I do recognize the importance of all that was included. With that said, if we had more of a chance to visit with Sybelle in her home court at the start, the events later in the book would have felt more impactful. This didn't personally hinder my enjoyment of the book; however, if you prefer in-depth exploration of characters and their background, please recognize that Crown of Briars may not be as detailed as you like.

With that said, you will love Crown of Briars' exploration of an enemies-to-lovers romance with its slow-build and spicy scenes. Due to this, I recommend the book to a more mature audience. You also dive into the importance of embracing others and how there are always two (or more) sides to a story.

Review Posting: Goodreads (7/22/2025)

★★★

Thank you NetGalley and Willow Haven Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Crown of Briars had some intriguing ideas, but overall it didn’t quite work for me. The blurb sounded so promising, but it just didn't live up to the description...or its own title which, now that I think about it, made no sense. There weren’t any briars.

The romance between Sybelle and Varius was incredibly bizarre. There was hatred, fear, and lust, and then they were just intensely in love. Varius saying things like he'd be ready to abandon his kingdom for her so quickly felt more dramatic than earned. Their relationship lacked the kind of buildup that makes these stakes feel meaningful.

Stylistically, the writing leaned more juvenile than I expected. It read like a YA fantasy, but with some mature content added in. That mix didn’t quite land—it felt like it was trying to be an adult romantasy, but without the complexity you'd hope for in the genre.

Sybelle was described as a highly trained assassin, but she didn’t really act like one. She often came across as unskilled or utterly unaware, and made bizarre choices, which made it hard to buy into her character. I didn’t find either main character especially compelling, and the story just didn’t have the emotional or narrative depth I was hoping for. Information was kind of just haphazardly thrown out, still no idea how she got the dragon or why it's "hers," or how she feels about the fact that her mother was bred then murdered after she was born, or so many other things.

That said, there were some fun scenes and interesting ideas sprinkled throughout, and I can see how readers who enjoy fairy tale-inspired romances might still have a good time.

3.75 rounded up to 4

I enjoyed this book overall... fun story, good premise, liked the twist on the traditional Beauty and the Beast tale. Unfortunately, it was often too melodramatic. It really breaks the reading flow when you can’t help rolling your eyes. There was a lot of overreacting, raging, gasping, trembling... you get the idea. This would have benefited from a calmer head editing the more extreme soapiness out of it. This may not be labeled YA, but I think a YA audience would be really into it.

Thanks NetGalley and Willow Haven Press for the opportunity to read and review.

A Dark, Enchanting Retelling – ★★★★★
This is a darker, more intense retelling of Beauty and the Beast that really pulled me in. Sybelle has been raised her whole life as a weapon — the one meant to end the curse on her kingdom by killing the king of the Unseelie Fae. The Unseelie are not your typical fae; they’re monstrous, eerie, and terrifying.

King Varius is also trying to break the curse that has haunted his bloodline for generations. As part of an old pact, a human princess is sent to marry the fae king every generation.

What I loved most was how the story explores trust, prejudice, and vulnerability. Sybelle and Varius start off wary of each other, shaped by years of fear and suspicion. But there’s a slow-burn romance that unfolds naturally as they begin to work together.

The character development was a standout for me — I really connected with both leads and understood their choices and growth. If you enjoy dark fantasy, political tension, and emotional slow-burns, this is one to pick up.

Crown of Briars: A Beauty and the Beast Retelling by R L Perez.

The classic tale of Beauty and the Beast is reimagined in a Fae/Human world which follows Sybelle, a half-fae human princess, who has been raised with a singular purpose: to marry and kill the Shadow King, Varius, whom she believes poses a grave threat to her kingdom.

Sybelle is an engaging and likeable FMC, torn between her duty and her burgeoning feelings that all is not as she was led to believe.

Varius, and his Kingdom are trapped under a curse of worsening dark poisonous shadows. He believes that a human bride is their only hope for salvation.

The author’s immersive and engaging writing immediately captivated me and I was reluctant to put this down! It was everything I love in this type of romantic fantasy filled with heart pounding moments from both aspects of the development of the story arc and of course the spice! 🔥

Oh and Lordy, please please give me a dragon best friend and a magical sentient castle that brings me books!!!

A highly enjoyable 5 star read for me! Can't wait to read more from R L Perez!

Thank you so much to R.L. Perez and Willow Haven Press for letting me have this ARC!

First thank you RL Perez for this arc in exchange for an honest review. I LOVED this story, I love RL Perez’s writing as a whole but this book was just so fun and well written and it did not feel like it was over 500 pages lol I blew threw this. I loved the complexity of Varius and Sybelle on their own was beautiful but together it really was such a lovely Beauty and the Beast retelling. Azure stole the book for me I just love how witty she is the entire time and how true she always is to herself but also Sybelle. The magic system is so unique I honestly cannot think of another book I’ve read in the past few years where gems were so prominent. I also loved that Varius is such a badass shadow daddy 😮‍💨 the spice was spicing and an arranged marriage that truly was unique. LOVED IT. Definitely worth adding to your TBR!
✨ magic
🗡️ dark fae
✨ a FMC who is assured of herself
🗡️ courtly intrigue