I was so thankful for the chance to read this book before it comes out! This book is a retelling of the classic fairytale Beauty & the Beast, set within a world that has its own unique folklore surrounding fairytales. It's a fun YA retelling that is enjoyable for all ages.
The best way I can describe this book is that it doesn't read like your typical novel - it reads like a fairytale. Once you realize the narrative style is so unique, you're able to fall in love with the world and the storytelling.
From what I can tell, this is going to be a series, and I will definitely be trying the next one!

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.

I’ve read a few retellings of Beauty and the Beast throughout the last few years, but sadly this didn’t pull me in. I kept putting it down, but then making myself finish it.

I did not like the characters, I couldn’t warm up to them. The beginning is confusing and felt like it was not part of the story. The plot was like the original, but there was an added “complication”.

I wanted to like it, because the description of the book made me request it on NetGalley, but it was not my cup of tea.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced readers copy ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this but I decided to set it aside at 25%. At that point I still wasn't drawn into the story and didn't connect with the characters. They were one dimensional and their actions didn't follow their words. The writing was all over the place with many errors and sentences randomly ending. It had a lot of potential with the retelling mixed with magic but the writing style was the downfall. Thank you for giving me the chance to read this.

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review! all thoughts and opinions are my own.

i absolutely love the original fairy tale of beauty and the beast, so i definitely had high expectations while coming into this book.

since the novel is a retelling, it stuck to pretty much the original plot of beauty and the beast, so it was a good and simple read. i wished that the author would expand and embellish on the original plot because the plot of this novel was pretty predictable. nevertheless, i did like how the author included new and unique stories such as the one about belmorta and blackfang's bride.

i did like the main character, lana, though she was a very stereotypical female lead. she's beautiful and smart with lots of suitors, but she turns all of them down because she wants to find true love. apparently she is special and has a good heart, because she can see the castle and hear the fairies.

i liked hadrian and his side of the story, which i wished that the author explored more with the concept of magic. the pacing was really slow at the beginning, but it definitely picked up during the last half of the book, where lana meets hadrian. the banter and funny humorous moments between the two of them were the best parts.

since this was an arc, i won't blame the book for missing an entire page and having some sentences that are cut off. i hope that these small errors will get fixed soon!

all in all, this was a solid retelling and it was enjoyable. i liked reading it and getting lost into this fantasy world. i would recommend for anyone looking for an easy and fun read!

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."

I so badly wanted to love this book. The cover is stunning, I adore retellings and the concept intrigued me. Unfortunately this just fell so flat. I really struggled to read it and nearly DNF'd multiple times. The plot was underdeveloped and jumped about, rushing between different scenes leaving me confused, particularly at the start. We didn't even get to the castle for the main beauty and the beast plot until 40% of the way in and when we did the pacing was all over the place.

I really hate leaving negative reviews so I want to keep this short and to the point: I did not enjoy this book. The characters and the plot were not well developed and because of this I really didn't care about what was happening. Everything was very basic while also being convoluted and honestly I'm just confused - I truly cannot articulate how I feel any better than this. 'What did I just read?' is pretty much where my brain is at right now.

*I recieved an arc via netgalley in exchange for an honest review

"There’s a reason people keep telling fairy tales. They last because they touch on something true."

The Rose Kiss is a Beauty and the Beast retelling that follows Lana as she flees to a mysterious castle and learns that her favorite fairy tale may not be complete fiction. This is a quick and easy read, and I like the author’s writing style. The love story, though predictable, is well done. I love that Lana and Hadrian bond over their love of literature and knowledge. Of course, I love all of the library scenes. That was always my favorite part of Beauty and the Beast. Their relationship grows slowly, and you can tell they have a strong connection.

I like the magical elements too. The magic of the castle, the supernatural beings that inhabit this world, and Hadrian’s backstory are all unique and interesting while still paralleling the story of Beauty and the Beast. There is a different spin on the rose, which is interesting. However, I wish this aspect of the story were developed more.

I also like the integration of the fairy tales that are referenced throughout the story. It’s like a story within a story and provides great context. Music and song lyrics are also an integral part of the story, and they sometimes set the tone of a scene while contrasting the mood in another. The fairy tales, music, and lyrics deepened my appreciation of the story.

As for the characters, I wasn’t a huge fan of Lana and felt that she acted selfishly and impulsively. As the story progressed, I liked her more, but she seemed really intelligent in some instances and then so oblivious in others. Overall, she just felt too self-absorbed, and her character felt inconsistent to me. I did like Hadrian and found his story more interesting and wanted more of his story. The antagonist and other characters also lack development, as did some parts of the story. That being said, I enjoyed the book enough to read it in one sitting.

Overall, this is a quick ya fantasy that will appeal to readers that enjoy Beauty and the Beast and HEAs. Thanks to NetGalley, Parako Press, and the author for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

first up, this beauty and the beast retellings was unlike anything i have ever read before and is set in France. i absolutely loved it! the writing was beautiful and the story was fabulous & the ending just kept making me smile!

it had romance of course and it didn’t overpower the story, it fit so well and just added something else to this story.

such a quick and easy read, very easy to fall into the story. love love

*I was kindly given this in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley*

This wasn't bad per se, but it could be better.

What I liked...
THE WRITING STYLE - I liked the writing style, it was an interesting almost third-person situation but you also got internal thoughts and most of the book seemed to be from inside Lana's head so it was a little different but I liked it. There were little bits of humour here and there and I wished there was more because those bits were great! There was also some badass quotes that made me want to love Lana if she had been like this more throughout the book. The one thing about the writing I did find bizarre was how chapters started and finished, there wasn't a natural flow to it. But it wasn't anything that was too irritating to read.

What I didn't like...
THE PLOT - I know this is a retelling, but to me, it was just basically beauty and the beast. There was not really much of an attempt at adaptation on the story. The love interest was still a prince and a hideous beast. Locked away in a hidden castle. Magical roses that lose petals as the curse progresses. An evil love interest that the MC has no interest in. Bonding over books and intellectual conversation in a library. A magic mirror that lets you see whatever you want. And Lana's name was BELLadonna... not exactly subtle. The only real difference is the idea of Lana having a prophecy...but that only really plays into the story for the first 3 chapters. After that it's just the plot of beauty and the beast really. Oh wait...and the giant crystal thing that I still don't understand much about or how it influenced the story. Don't even start me on the ending - so confusing.
THE CHARACTERS - I don't know if it was because of the short nature of the book or the fact that so much was trying to be fit into the small word limit but I feel like you didn't get to know the characters. The story of beauty and the beast works because they both sacrifice for each other at different points and find common ground which overcomes their outward differences. In this, you don't have that. They already have the common ground (both being intellectual) and they never compromise anything for each other. The differences of their outer appearances doesn't come into play at all. And they also go from literally no romantic interest at all to being in love? What? Where is the progression? When did feelings change? When did they fall in love? Why are we meant to root for them or even like them at all? It read like we were meant to base them on the story of beauty and the beast and therefore the author didn't need to write in their characters because we were already meant to associate the characters with those they were based upon - which is just disappointing. Lana is so utterly self-absored too, it's mentioned that only pure of heart can see the castle - but she does nothing worthy of that title. She wastes her fathers money, does nothing to help him, has people do everything for her, belittles people who she deems "less intelligent" and this is the pure of heart person we are meant to root for? I think not.

So yeah, this definitely missed the mark for me. I liked the concept of Hadrien's story I just wish we got more of that. I liked the mini story's we got throughout too but again, the overall plot and lack of character dragged it down.

*The ending of chapter 9 was also missing from my copy and some typos but I don't hold that against the book as it was probably just the copy I got from Netgalley.

Three and a half
I enjoy romance and I'm frequently entranced by fantasy so obviously the idea of a Beauty and the Beast retelling mixes both genres together perfectly. This is a YA version so suitable for all ages and I have to say that the cover art is beautiful !
Lana has yet to meet the man of her dreams and constantly refuses those who seek to court her. She's a young woman with strong ideas about what she does and doesn't want in a man. Perhaps her perspective is coloured by her love of folk and fairy tales or perhaps something's are just meant to be ? Her father seeks guidance from a man who frankly instantly felt creepy but nothing could prepare Lana for being accused of attempted murder ! She manages to steal away and winds up in a castle deep in the woods that she's never seen before. Here she hears constant singing, finds rooms and corridors rearranging themselves and then there's the little matter of the man she doesn't see who leaves her a note. Lana has found her way to the Castle of Refuge and she isn't alone !
Oo what did I think ? Well if blunt I initially struggled to like Lana as she came across as selfish and spoilt . She is part of a revered aristocrat family but knows her father is struggling with debts and yet we're told she bought twelve books in the last few days ! Hey I love books but honestly common sense has to prevail so no I had very little sympathy for Lana.
Of course the Beast is a Prince and I enjoyed his backstory although it was a tad unbelievable to me. There are fairies in this book although initially they are not that obvious but when they"appear" they are very funny and also quite endearing. In fact thinking about it they brought some much needed emotion into the story.
I think for me this story really took off from the moment that Lana first actually saw Hadrian in his beastly form. Things definitely picked up and became not just more interesting but also I found it much easier to engage with the couple. In fact if someone told me the second half of this book was written by someone else I would believe it because it became far more polished and exciting. Obviously there is a happy ending and as a hopeless romantic I cannot complain about that.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

This was a very charming and quick read, similar enough to the original source material while offering enough changes to make it unique. There was something very simplistic about it, which could be seen as a bad thing as I never got a full sense of the characters. But on the other hand, it did have a fairy tale feel to it, so I didn't necessarily mind. It's short and sweet, and though I would have loved more detail and more depth, I think it's nice the way it is.

Most of the complaints I have about it are technical. This is an uncorrected proof so I don't want to harp too much on the errors I noticed, but my copy did have a chapter that ended abruptly-- so abruptly that the sentence didn't even have a period at the end. There was also a weird time jump where one chapter ended with Lana running away and the next had her facing off against a wolf. Because of the weirdly cut-off sentence that I found later, I'm not sure if this is because part of the book was missing or if this was on purpose.

Over all, though, I enjoyed it. I liked the stories-within-the-story. The imagination put into those as well as in the main story was really impressive. I'm sort of hoping that Auborn's fairy tales are a common thread among these stories, and maybe Auborn herself will make an appearance? That might be fun. I liked Lana and found her habit of buying lots of books very relateable. I sort of wish the fairies were more present in the story, because they were charming and I liked their interactions with Hadrian.

It's simple, it's magical, it's a good re-telling of a classic fairy tale. I recommend it and I would definitely read more from this series.

This is an example of a book that had a lot of potential, but the execution just wasn't there. I thought the premise of this book sounded right up my street - especially as at the end of last year I went through a major beauty and the beast kick.

I think my biggest issue with this book was that the author told the reader what was happening a lot of the time rather than showing us. I felt like someone was telling me a story of what happened rather than reading it played out and I really don't like this in books. I can understand this is a personal preference but I really don't enjoy this in books.
I also didn't like our main character. She had some charming qualities about her but for the most part, Belladonna was a cutout copy of any other character and really didn't have her own opinion on things.
I will say, I didn't mind the ending which is why I boosted this rating but I doubt I'd continue with this series.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A fabulous tale, set in an alternative history, as there was never a royal family in Paris with Tristan as king, at least as far as I am aware! It has traces of old fairy tales while constructing a new very engaging tale, that drew me in from the start. It had the familiarity of an old tales, combined with a new perspective upon the old ones. In fact the story relates several fairy tales, which I enjoyed. Truly a magical experience.

“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!