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Roses and Thorns: Beauty and the Beast Retold
A greedy father. A beautiful daughter. A faceless noble. With a word, Aloysius bargains away Angelique's future for a hefty bride-price, and no one, not even Angelique's beloved mother can save her. Angelique is taken to a strange and marvelous estate where she is befriended by Culdun, her Liege's fey companion. And though Culdun hints at darker forces, Angelique is drawn to her host and ever so slowly, she wins Drew's trust. But old fears and an older curse resurface, threatening to drive them apart and banish Drew into an eternity of loneliness. Will Angelique's growing love be strong enough to save her Liege? Or will she flee once the secret is revealed?
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
About the author
Chris Anne Wolfe
15 books36 followersChris Anne Wolfe grew up in rural N.Y. where they counted cows instead of people for voting districts. She weathered a few cultural shocks to the “real” world and then finally settled in L.A.’s “not-so-real” world with a PH.D. in clinical psychology.
Before her untimely death from cancer in July, 1997, Chris Anne Wolfe had published four novels, romantic fantasies Roses and Thorns and Annabel & I, and Amazon adventure stories Shadows of Aggar and Fires of Aggar. The story of Beauty and the Beast was always a favorite of hers and she was quite proud to see her unique and moving interpretation of the story in print. She had many friends world-wide and is missed by all.
Before her untimely death from cancer in July, 1997, Chris Anne Wolfe had published four novels, romantic fantasies Roses and Thorns and Annabel & I, and Amazon adventure stories Shadows of Aggar and Fires of Aggar. The story of Beauty and the Beast was always a favorite of hers and she was quite proud to see her unique and moving interpretation of the story in print. She had many friends world-wide and is missed by all.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
March 6, 2021
A wonderful sapphic retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Kindle Unlimited.
It has enough difference in the characters and story to be unique and interesting, so I was never bored. It was magickal and tortured, yet with the message that true love can overcome all.
Drew, the liege of the castle is stricken with guilt and self loathing. Our beauty, Angelique, is full of wonder and strength in her own right. Their tentative romance is very slow burn, with Drew constantly trying to distance herself from the alluring Angelique, and her curious nature.
You really find yourself rooting for them, and feeling their own yearning for something more, that is so very strong.
It charmed me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But I am a lover of fairy tales anyway, especially of the sapphic bent, and add in a bit of a tortured soul in a protagonist - where love can overcome all. I swoon!
It has enough difference in the characters and story to be unique and interesting, so I was never bored. It was magickal and tortured, yet with the message that true love can overcome all.
Drew, the liege of the castle is stricken with guilt and self loathing. Our beauty, Angelique, is full of wonder and strength in her own right. Their tentative romance is very slow burn, with Drew constantly trying to distance herself from the alluring Angelique, and her curious nature.
You really find yourself rooting for them, and feeling their own yearning for something more, that is so very strong.
It charmed me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But I am a lover of fairy tales anyway, especially of the sapphic bent, and add in a bit of a tortured soul in a protagonist - where love can overcome all. I swoon!
December 31, 2018
“Roses and Thorns: Beauty and the Beast Retold” was the Lesbian Book Club BOM for December. I was glad to hear of this selection, because I’d been meaning to listen to it for awhile.
Unfortunately, the narrator pretty much ruined the book for me. When she didn’t sound bored, she was still only reading the book, not performing the book.
Trying to keep an open mind about the author’s work, I did finish the book. The story does have some interesting twists on the classic story, but it didn’t draw me in. MC Angelique (the beauty) is delightful. She’s endured a difficult life, being the daughter born of her beloved, now invalid, mother and her mother’s lover. Her father and brothers treat her badly.
MC Drew (the beast) isn’t exactly unlikable, but she’s written much darker than Drew and is more of a sympathetic character than a likable one….which is appropriate for the story. Drew had a wonderful life until she was betrayed by someone whom she believed loved her. The story portrays her as a monster because of her appetites…preferring women to men.
There’s a very slow build romance between them. Angelique is actually quite open to developing feelings for Drew. Drew, however, despite crafting an arranged marriage between them and being attracted to women, fights her attraction, believing she’s not deserving of Angelique’s feelings. It’s this part of the story that felt odd to me.
The story of Drew and Angelique’s family members was well-done, and I enjoyed the wrap up.
I rate the book as 3.5*, and the narration as 1.5*. Overall, “Roses and Thorns” was a 3* - meh for me.
Unfortunately, the narrator pretty much ruined the book for me. When she didn’t sound bored, she was still only reading the book, not performing the book.
Trying to keep an open mind about the author’s work, I did finish the book. The story does have some interesting twists on the classic story, but it didn’t draw me in. MC Angelique (the beauty) is delightful. She’s endured a difficult life, being the daughter born of her beloved, now invalid, mother and her mother’s lover. Her father and brothers treat her badly.
MC Drew (the beast) isn’t exactly unlikable, but she’s written much darker than Drew and is more of a sympathetic character than a likable one….which is appropriate for the story. Drew had a wonderful life until she was betrayed by someone whom she believed loved her. The story portrays her as a monster because of her appetites…preferring women to men.
There’s a very slow build romance between them. Angelique is actually quite open to developing feelings for Drew. Drew, however, despite crafting an arranged marriage between them and being attracted to women, fights her attraction, believing she’s not deserving of Angelique’s feelings. It’s this part of the story that felt odd to me.
The story of Drew and Angelique’s family members was well-done, and I enjoyed the wrap up.
I rate the book as 3.5*, and the narration as 1.5*. Overall, “Roses and Thorns” was a 3* - meh for me.
May 5, 2017
Mmmm, so unexpectedly disappointing. The writing isn't half-bad, but the plotline suffers majorly from unoriginality, because in a desire to subvert the "Beauty and the Beast" archetype, the author ends up simply gender-bending the Beast figure and making the pair a LGBT one, which I find as cliché and facile as merely making Beauty a male and Beast a female as it's not hard to find in most retellings. Definitely needed more substantial twists than that to be memorable.
September 4, 2021
“Don’t tell me who I can or cannot love, Drew. I am the mistress of my own heart and I have given it to you.”
A really delightful f/f retelling of Beauty and the Beast that has my entire heart. Every time I read a queer fairy tale retelling I'm absolutely consumed by it; there's just something really special about seeing a well-known story like this through a queer lens. And especially told like this; Wolfe nails the perfect storytelling voice, the fantasy, the dreaminess, the magic. I adored all of the language. This is pretty short (and that's my biggest and only complaint; I would have loved to have seen more detail of what happened in the months that Angelique spent in the castle, rather than gloss over so many little events) but it's still an absolutely convincing romance; extremely swoon-worthy. They had a lot of chemistry and I loved Angelique's determination. Drew's 'bestial' nature is tied to her desire for women and the shame she was made to feel; maybe a bit on the nose for a lesbian retelling but I still really really loved it.
I'm glad to have discovered this author; will certainly read more of her work.
March 25, 2019
4.5*
I really enjoyed this, and I enjoyed it so much I read the whole book in a day. Fantasy, wrapped up with a very sweet romance, worked very very well. Although there were few surprises and a few flaws, on the whole, the story drew me in until I didn't care about anything other than the fate of the characters.
Excellent. I would recommend this book.
I really enjoyed this, and I enjoyed it so much I read the whole book in a day. Fantasy, wrapped up with a very sweet romance, worked very very well. Although there were few surprises and a few flaws, on the whole, the story drew me in until I didn't care about anything other than the fate of the characters.
Excellent. I would recommend this book.
June 7, 2020
YES. A retelling done in such a way that despite knowing exactly what would happen, I was 100% INVESTED in HOW it would happen in this version. Didn't want to put the book down, and my heart genuinely sped at parts.
The world felt full and interesting and wonderfully magical. The characters learned things and had arcs, both individually and together. The plot and romance were PERFECTLY paced. The message of queer love not being demonic and the damage done when growing up thinking so was just...so well done, powerful, emotional.
The text needed proofreading, and there were a lot of inanimate objects doing things (e.g. "the gloved hand waved"), but honestly everything else about the book was so good that I simply didn't care.
The world felt full and interesting and wonderfully magical. The characters learned things and had arcs, both individually and together. The plot and romance were PERFECTLY paced. The message of queer love not being demonic and the damage done when growing up thinking so was just...so well done, powerful, emotional.
The text needed proofreading, and there were a lot of inanimate objects doing things (e.g. "the gloved hand waved"), but honestly everything else about the book was so good that I simply didn't care.
May 14, 2018
This was a very interesting take on Beauty and the Beast. The use of magic in the story differed a bit from the classic novel and the Disney version but utilizes it wonderfully. I would've liked to have known a bit more about the magic in that world and the magical creatures, such as the fae, but otherwise, the story was lovely. The lead heroine was just like Belle: a strong woman who believed in her heart and took everything with stride, doing her best to treat others the way she wished to be treated. Definitely will read again!
May 13, 2020
This might be the most chill, cheesy Beauty and the Beast retelling I've experienced in a while. It wasn't exactly the melodrama like I typically enjoy, but it wasn't really trying to be. I enjoyed Wolfe's writing style a lot and felt carried along for the ride even during some of the quieter moments. It's on the shorter side and as you can tell by my timestamps I was compelled to blow through it in the space of two days. A relatively simple but not at all bad take on the story sprinkled with fey and magick and lesbians.
Angelique, our beauty of the hour, I found to be likable and unique. The dramatic irony of knowing Drew's secret while she didn't made me go AAAAAHHHH and was in large part what kept me reading to find out when she would figure it out.
I suspect that this book may have been left unfinished or at least not as polished as it might have been in light of Wolfe's passing. There were occasionally scenes that felt poorly paced or too short. The ending especially felt rushed. Still, even with that in mind, everything was tied up neatly and the plot didn't suffer overall from the shorter scenes.
I made a false call that there was going to be a literal beast in this retelling; alas, what I thought was the reveal that Drew has a void-head was actually just an illusion to disguise a human face. Spoilers: This is one of few times where I was only mildly irked by the lack of an actual terrifying monster instead of extremely irked. I totally understood what the story was going for.
It reminded me a lot of a bit of dialogue in The Witcher 3 wherein an NPC refers to himself as a freak and then reveals to Geralt that, no, he's not a werewolf, he's gay, and the world has treated him horribly for it. This theme is the sort of thing the book addresses, proves as false, and gives a nice, soft resolution to.
Rest in peace, Wolfe; I'm really glad to have been able to experience this work.
Angelique, our beauty of the hour, I found to be likable and unique. The dramatic irony of knowing Drew's secret while she didn't made me go AAAAAHHHH and was in large part what kept me reading to find out when she would figure it out.
I suspect that this book may have been left unfinished or at least not as polished as it might have been in light of Wolfe's passing. There were occasionally scenes that felt poorly paced or too short. The ending especially felt rushed. Still, even with that in mind, everything was tied up neatly and the plot didn't suffer overall from the shorter scenes.
I made a false call that there was going to be a literal beast in this retelling; alas, what I thought was the reveal that Drew has a void-head was actually just an illusion to disguise a human face. Spoilers: This is one of few times where I was only mildly irked by the lack of an actual terrifying monster instead of extremely irked. I totally understood what the story was going for.
It reminded me a lot of a bit of dialogue in The Witcher 3 wherein an NPC refers to himself as a freak and then reveals to Geralt that, no, he's not a werewolf, he's gay, and the world has treated him horribly for it. This theme is the sort of thing the book addresses, proves as false, and gives a nice, soft resolution to.
Rest in peace, Wolfe; I'm really glad to have been able to experience this work.
May 17, 2018
Length: 4.5-5 hours
Smut: Yes (once) & implied (a couple times)
Fair warning, I binged this book in a day, and I still have residual "I-just-finished-a-book-what-is-life" feels.I know some of you get me on this. Anyway, moving on.
Roses and Thorns was incredibly easy to read, the phrase "easy on the eyes" comes to mind. It seems strange to apply the phrase to a book when it is normally used in another context but it kind of makes sense. The language, the structure, and the pacing are all even and moderate. That is, until near the end where the pacing picks up suddenly and the effect is so jarring that the reader is left feeling disoriented and confused. Otherwise though, everything else is solid.
Going to the meat and bones of the story, I liked the author's unique take on Beauty and the Beast. She extracts some core aspects from the original such as: a strong female lead, a tortured cursed soul, their romance, elements of greed, and elements of violence, and the damage of ignorance. She takes these details and weaves in an element of magic that elevates a familiar tale into something all-together new.
My final thought is I'm glad it wasn't just rehashing of Beauty and the Beast with LGBTQIA characters, Roses and Thorns is its own story and is worth reading.
Smut: Yes (once) & implied (a couple times)
Fair warning, I binged this book in a day, and I still have residual "I-just-finished-a-book-what-is-life" feels.
Roses and Thorns was incredibly easy to read, the phrase "easy on the eyes" comes to mind. It seems strange to apply the phrase to a book when it is normally used in another context but it kind of makes sense. The language, the structure, and the pacing are all even and moderate. That is, until near the end where the pacing picks up suddenly and the effect is so jarring that the reader is left feeling disoriented and confused. Otherwise though, everything else is solid.
Going to the meat and bones of the story, I liked the author's unique take on Beauty and the Beast. She extracts some core aspects from the original such as: a strong female lead, a tortured cursed soul, their romance, elements of greed, and elements of violence, and the damage of ignorance. She takes these details and weaves in an element of magic that elevates a familiar tale into something all-together new.
My final thought is I'm glad it wasn't just rehashing of Beauty and the Beast with LGBTQIA characters, Roses and Thorns is its own story and is worth reading.
July 10, 2022
I have read this book 4 or 5 times now over the years. There isn’t anything that makes this stand above the other Beauty and the Beast retellings. However, there is just something so comforting about this book that I find myself reading it again and again.
January 24, 2022
A very tender and magical lesbian retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with a major focus on characters and relationships rather than on a riveting or spellbinding plot - it isn’t mind blowing story wise, but an enjoyable, sensitive, and sort of comforting read?
We follow Angelique (our Beauty), whose father essentially trades her for the patronage and riches of a mysterious, otherworldly person he meets while traveling one night named Drew (our Beast). Drew is under a curse, which of course must be broken by finding a woman who will love and marry her; she also serves as the protector and guardian of a magical castle and its surrounding lands, which seem to be somewhere between reality and another magical realm.
This story doesn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel when it comes to the Beauty and the Beast, except at 2 points: 1) it’s obviously sapphic - Drew is a woman, although Angelique isn’t aware of this for quite a while and 2) there’s a stronger emphasis on consent - Drew is moved to make a “trade” for Angelique after meeting Angelique’s father, who is pretty cavalier about his mistreatment of his daughter; she also insists that Angelique must choose to stay with Drew completely of her own free will. (Angelique is pretty compelled to move in with Drew in order to help provide for her ailing mother and to get out from under the thumb of her abusive father, and furthermore doesn’t know that Drew is a woman - so you could argue against whether or not this is full willing consent, but hey, the book tries & for Angelique, it’s a better opportunity than any other she might have in her small village.)
The relationship is the focus here, and I loved seeing it play out; it is tender with a great touch of angst — Drew has a tendency to become brooding and angry at her own situation, but is always gentle with Angelique; Angelique sees the tenderness and kindness in Drew, but clearly has some lingering trauma due to the abuse she has been through at the hands of her father. Ultimately, the story is about the two of them finding their way through their own issues - Drew, of learning self acceptance and letting herself be loved, and Angelique gently but determinedly claiming her own agency in order to pursue her own wants and needs.
The writing and setting have a dreamy, magical quality that feels just a touch old fashioned - it feels like stepping into my favorite genre of film: the good old 1980s/early 90s fantasy or fairytale that is vaguely middle age ish, generically Europeanish or Britishish but with no true sense of time or place to anchor anything, the costumes are a little cheap, and glitter is used generously on every single stage (nothing green screened, all of it real effects) — it feels dreamy and a tad dated, which adds an almost nostalgic layer.
My biggest issue is that the ending was a bit rushed - everything is resolved pretty quickly. I think I would have been happy for another 50 pages or so at least, and I feel a little bit cheated that I didn’t get to see a lesbian fairytale wedding at the magical castle. The author of this book unfortunately passed away at a young age due to cancer, and I have read that she had other sapphic fairytale retellings in the works, but I can’t see any sign that any have been published, which feels like a major loss in general, and especially for the sapphic community.
Still, this has the makings of a beautiful comfort read, and was a small treasure to have learned of. (also— all I ever want I. Life is to read stories that involve a tragic,broody, powerful lesbian fey prince who is brought to her knees by the woman she loves — this genre mostly exists in my head, but damn if this book didn’t get close!!!)
November 15, 2019
This was probably pretty ground-breaking back in the early 1990's, but the big twist was obvious reading this today. Still, good for Wolfe pushing the needle back in the dark ages of Don't Ask Don't Tell, and it still holds up as a good retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
I would have liked more about Beauty's thoughts on her own sexuality before she starts proclaiming her love, and little more expansion on the witch character, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling.
September 26, 2017
Dark yet sweet and quite entertaining, truly a shame it was so very short!
February 23, 2009
There's a fantastic story in here. Unfortunately, it's lost under a flood of awkward writing: Angelique's family dramas are only roughly sketched in, Drew's reasons for simultaneously despairing and going through the motions of curse-breaking are never explored, the magic that surrounds Drew's castle suffers from a near-complete lack of world-building, and, sadly, the contortions that the narrative voices go through to mostly avoid using pronouns for Drew are tremendously irritating and not at all mysterious, partly because the reader knows right from the beginning that Drew's "secret" is that she's a woman but mostly because it's so clumsily done that it makes nongendered language into a torturous ordeal of sentence fragments and epithets, which I certainly hope was not the intended message!
On Angelique's family, I feel as though her father could have been drawn in much subtler strokes, with more emphasis on how betrayed he feels by the "weak" people around him and less explicit emphasis on his own weaknesses and greed -- far less is needed, since the entire structure of the story rests on the weakness of the father and since the changes for this interpretation nicely highlight that weakness as greed. (When he dies and no one cares, there should be at least a little pathos!) Angelique's brothers are almost complete ciphers, and Angelique's mother's family gets throwaway lines that are very nearly the only characterization anyone in that family has.
The flashback scene that should have been the heart of Drew's story is barely two pages long, and it's only clear that it is a flashback and not a verbal recounting by the pronoun changes and the lack of quotation marks -- neither of which, I'm sad to say, the editing to that point primed me to read as deliberate rather than accidental -- and, for a searingly traumatic experience, it's almost completely lacking in tension or richness of description. ("Noooo!!! [sic]" is not, young padawan knights aside, dramatic.)
So, all right, we have young Drew, twenty-one years old and raised in glorious isolation by her father to believe that she'll grow up to be Count and marry a nice young girl; we have conniving witchy step-mother who preps Drew's father and then sets up Drew to be disinherited and cast out; we have, again, terribly naive young Drew all alone in this world, believing her family who says she's a monster. Drew spends around fifty years wallowing in a broken heart and severely bruised pride and then at least a hundred more theoretically trying to break the curse but actually setting herself up to be rejected over and over again, thereby proving that her family was right and she was wrong. Great backstory, right? And yet, no. It's astoundingly dull, multiple exclamation points aside.
The curse is never very well drawn, since it seems to consist mostly of saying that Drew will be twenty-one and stuck in a valley on the borders of fairyland until she gets married, but it only takes a little bit of clever wording for Drew to go charging off to Angelique's rescue after all. (Also, fairyland? Well-used to set the scene; completely irrelevant to all of the plot. There was practically an entire cutlery set on the mantelpiece in the first act in order to draw a knife in the third, if you'll allow a cliche. Why are the Old Ones serving Drew? What's the point of the snakes? What are the poachers looking for? Why is Angelique learning magic? We'll never know!) The corresponding curse on the wicked step-mother came completely out of left field; I'm not sure if there were hints of it that I just missed, but with a little more build-up and a little less what-the-heck-just-happened-there the whole setting up for the revenge killing could have been a great ending. As it is, of course you know that Drew's going to shrug and walk out -- the dramatic rescue has already been completed at this point -- but she stands there listening to the step-mother rant for two pages first, probably with the same what-the-heck-crazy-lady look on her face that I had reading it.
I really like what this story could have been, though. It's definitely a fairy-tale retelling with far more to the story than just a clever concept (lesbian Beauty and the Beast!). I'm almost tempted to give it three stars.
(Also? The illustrations in this edition are...well, okay, the little roses are cute and the silhouettes are incomprehensible but still somewhat cute. I think it might be the ridiculously typeset captions on the silhouette illustrations that crack me up: they use some retro-eighties pixelated font that is either a severe typesetting error or some artistic choice which I am completely incapable of understanding. This may be a metaphor for the entire book, actually.)
On Angelique's family, I feel as though her father could have been drawn in much subtler strokes, with more emphasis on how betrayed he feels by the "weak" people around him and less explicit emphasis on his own weaknesses and greed -- far less is needed, since the entire structure of the story rests on the weakness of the father and since the changes for this interpretation nicely highlight that weakness as greed. (When he dies and no one cares, there should be at least a little pathos!) Angelique's brothers are almost complete ciphers, and Angelique's mother's family gets throwaway lines that are very nearly the only characterization anyone in that family has.
The flashback scene that should have been the heart of Drew's story is barely two pages long, and it's only clear that it is a flashback and not a verbal recounting by the pronoun changes and the lack of quotation marks -- neither of which, I'm sad to say, the editing to that point primed me to read as deliberate rather than accidental -- and, for a searingly traumatic experience, it's almost completely lacking in tension or richness of description. ("Noooo!!! [sic]" is not, young padawan knights aside, dramatic.)
So, all right, we have young Drew, twenty-one years old and raised in glorious isolation by her father to believe that she'll grow up to be Count and marry a nice young girl; we have conniving witchy step-mother who preps Drew's father and then sets up Drew to be disinherited and cast out; we have, again, terribly naive young Drew all alone in this world, believing her family who says she's a monster. Drew spends around fifty years wallowing in a broken heart and severely bruised pride and then at least a hundred more theoretically trying to break the curse but actually setting herself up to be rejected over and over again, thereby proving that her family was right and she was wrong. Great backstory, right? And yet, no. It's astoundingly dull, multiple exclamation points aside.
The curse is never very well drawn, since it seems to consist mostly of saying that Drew will be twenty-one and stuck in a valley on the borders of fairyland until she gets married, but it only takes a little bit of clever wording for Drew to go charging off to Angelique's rescue after all. (Also, fairyland? Well-used to set the scene; completely irrelevant to all of the plot. There was practically an entire cutlery set on the mantelpiece in the first act in order to draw a knife in the third, if you'll allow a cliche. Why are the Old Ones serving Drew? What's the point of the snakes? What are the poachers looking for? Why is Angelique learning magic? We'll never know!) The corresponding curse on the wicked step-mother came completely out of left field; I'm not sure if there were hints of it that I just missed, but with a little more build-up and a little less what-the-heck-just-happened-there the whole setting up for the revenge killing could have been a great ending. As it is, of course you know that Drew's going to shrug and walk out -- the dramatic rescue has already been completed at this point -- but she stands there listening to the step-mother rant for two pages first, probably with the same what-the-heck-crazy-lady look on her face that I had reading it.
I really like what this story could have been, though. It's definitely a fairy-tale retelling with far more to the story than just a clever concept (lesbian Beauty and the Beast!). I'm almost tempted to give it three stars.
(Also? The illustrations in this edition are...well, okay, the little roses are cute and the silhouettes are incomprehensible but still somewhat cute. I think it might be the ridiculously typeset captions on the silhouette illustrations that crack me up: they use some retro-eighties pixelated font that is either a severe typesetting error or some artistic choice which I am completely incapable of understanding. This may be a metaphor for the entire book, actually.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2023
i cant read it as soon as the “but i am the most perveted creature on this earth”? what did i expect idk a sapphic version of beauty in the beast not sex slavery 😭
December 2, 2018
Roses and Thorns
While it was a quick read, I found it to be fantastic. Too often, I feel like LGBT romances rush the romance (almost writing the ridiculous u-hual stereotype)but that wasn’t the case with this one. I was pleading for Drew to come to their senses. I couldn’t stop reading and loved the storyline.
While it was a quick read, I found it to be fantastic. Too often, I feel like LGBT romances rush the romance (almost writing the ridiculous u-hual stereotype)but that wasn’t the case with this one. I was pleading for Drew to come to their senses. I couldn’t stop reading and loved the storyline.
November 17, 2021
Roses and Thorns by the late Chris Anne Wolfe follows a genderbend retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The story is “as old as time” 😉 and follows Angelique who is promised as a wife to a mysterious noble by her father in exchange for wealth. However, arriving at the magical castle Angelique is surprised to see that her soon to be spouse is faceless and distant. Will the curse be broken and will they live happily ever after? Nothing is what it seems.
Roses and Thorns is a nicely written tale still fitting even 25 years after its publication. While the story is primarily a rewriting of Beauty and the Beast, the tale also holds elements and themes from Cinderella that mix well together with its primary source.
My biggest comment on the story is a positive as well as a negative one which is that I wanted more out of it. I wanted to spend more time not only with the main characters but also with other character’s like Angelique’s family. I felt that if they were a little more fleshed out and had more scenes we would’ve understood their characters more and the climax of the story wouldn’t be as vague as it is now. While I do understand that the focus of the story is on the evolving relationship between Angelique and Drew, the second twist of the story felt more out of pocket than surprising. You don’t get to know a lot about Angelique’s family and then to make them the antagonist near the end of the story felt off and confusing.
On the other hand, the chemistry between Angelique and her mysterious betrothed Drew is done exceptionally well. Every scene is bursting with tension and love. The focus on their growing relationship, their conversations and closeness really completed the beloved romantic tale. The scenes between Angelique and Drew are also heavily focused on touch as Angelique slowly closes the distance between her and her betrothed. It is done so well that when the flame between them finally ignited and the chapter faded to black that I booed at the pages.
If I had to note one more thing it is that Drew’s gender is given up a little soon. I think it’s largely because of a typo since the story does revolve around Angelique finding out Drew's gender later in the story. But the accidental use of the right pronoun made it so that I, as the reader, already discovered the big twist before the main character did.
Lastly, the worldbuilding is just about enough for a short story and a fairy tale. It’s fantastical, magical and fey-like long before the fey became such a popular element in fantasy. I like the curse that is put on Drew, while I would’ve liked them to be a Beast like in the original tale, the spin that Wolfe puts on it is also original and creative.
All in all, it was a very lovely and magical read. If you need a good Beauty and the Beast retelling that is not quite like the others and a quick read, I strongly recommend this one.
Roses and Thorns is a nicely written tale still fitting even 25 years after its publication. While the story is primarily a rewriting of Beauty and the Beast, the tale also holds elements and themes from Cinderella that mix well together with its primary source.
My biggest comment on the story is a positive as well as a negative one which is that I wanted more out of it. I wanted to spend more time not only with the main characters but also with other character’s like Angelique’s family. I felt that if they were a little more fleshed out and had more scenes we would’ve understood their characters more and the climax of the story wouldn’t be as vague as it is now. While I do understand that the focus of the story is on the evolving relationship between Angelique and Drew, the second twist of the story felt more out of pocket than surprising. You don’t get to know a lot about Angelique’s family and then to make them the antagonist near the end of the story felt off and confusing.
On the other hand, the chemistry between Angelique and her mysterious betrothed Drew is done exceptionally well. Every scene is bursting with tension and love. The focus on their growing relationship, their conversations and closeness really completed the beloved romantic tale. The scenes between Angelique and Drew are also heavily focused on touch as Angelique slowly closes the distance between her and her betrothed. It is done so well that when the flame between them finally ignited and the chapter faded to black that I booed at the pages.
If I had to note one more thing it is that Drew’s gender is given up a little soon. I think it’s largely because of a typo since the story does revolve around Angelique finding out Drew's gender later in the story. But the accidental use of the right pronoun made it so that I, as the reader, already discovered the big twist before the main character did.
Lastly, the worldbuilding is just about enough for a short story and a fairy tale. It’s fantastical, magical and fey-like long before the fey became such a popular element in fantasy. I like the curse that is put on Drew, while I would’ve liked them to be a Beast like in the original tale, the spin that Wolfe puts on it is also original and creative.
All in all, it was a very lovely and magical read. If you need a good Beauty and the Beast retelling that is not quite like the others and a quick read, I strongly recommend this one.
July 2, 2015
I'm a fan of Chris Anne Wolfe's work. This was the 2nd story of hers I read and I found it to be an enjoyable twist on an old tale. Definitely recommend.
May 10, 2021
I absolutely loved this reimagining of Beauty and the Beast.
January 15, 2019
Great story. It could have been longer, though.
This story was a perfectly paces love conquers all, story. So many lesbian romances, rush things. The main characters go from strangers, to fanatically devout lovers, within a disturbingly short amount time. Sometimes within a a few pages. It was refreshing to see, the story take it slow.
I just wish the author would have expanded the world. I feel so much was left unexplored. The story felt like an abridged version of a much larger tale. Distilled down to just the romance. There were so many missed opportunities to see the wonders of the fey lands through Angelique's eyes.
It would have been nice, to have more of Angelique's back story. I found myself wondering why her stepfather hadn't already married her off for profit. He was greedy, with little to no regard for her happiness. I would have thought he would have jumped at the opportunity to cement an alliance or trade deal, with Angelique's hand in marriage, as soon as she was of age.
This story was a perfectly paces love conquers all, story. So many lesbian romances, rush things. The main characters go from strangers, to fanatically devout lovers, within a disturbingly short amount time. Sometimes within a a few pages. It was refreshing to see, the story take it slow.
I just wish the author would have expanded the world. I feel so much was left unexplored. The story felt like an abridged version of a much larger tale. Distilled down to just the romance. There were so many missed opportunities to see the wonders of the fey lands through Angelique's eyes.
It would have been nice, to have more of Angelique's back story. I found myself wondering why her stepfather hadn't already married her off for profit. He was greedy, with little to no regard for her happiness. I would have thought he would have jumped at the opportunity to cement an alliance or trade deal, with Angelique's hand in marriage, as soon as she was of age.
January 23, 2024
Debo admitir que me gusto demasiado, aunque la mayor parte de la lectura fue predecible, no sentí que desperdicie mi tiempo con este libro y en su mayoría la relación entre los personajes principales a mi parecer fue aceptable, sin embargo toda esa tensión emocional-sexual que existía no me pareció bien resuelta. Para mi fue una lectura muy corta y apresurada en cuanto a desarrollo de historia quizás unos capítulos más y el final no se sentiría como un termino tan abrupto, pero de igual forma destacar la dinámica de la historia y su representación w/w, es difícil encontrar estos tipos de libro en mi idioma, pero es bueno tenerlos a disposición en ingles que es un idioma flexible en cuanto a compresión.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 1, 2018
The amount that I detest the Goodreads UI cannot be overstated!
I enjoyed this book, despite the text fairly obviously having been automatically generated from another format -maybe even just scanned and then rendered into electronic format for printing. There are several words in here that I tripped over until I worked out what was supposed to be there. The book itself too is falling apart after just one read.
That said, if you can cope with the above, this is a nice re-telling of the fairy tale. I love re-tellings of Beauty and the Beast anyway and this was sufficiently different to others that I've read that it was definitely worth reading.
I enjoyed this book, despite the text fairly obviously having been automatically generated from another format -maybe even just scanned and then rendered into electronic format for printing. There are several words in here that I tripped over until I worked out what was supposed to be there. The book itself too is falling apart after just one read.
That said, if you can cope with the above, this is a nice re-telling of the fairy tale. I love re-tellings of Beauty and the Beast anyway and this was sufficiently different to others that I've read that it was definitely worth reading.
March 28, 2022
CW Homophobia, abusive parent, parental abandonment
I believe Beauty and the Beast retellings are universally loved, and this sapphic retelling with witches and an implication of historical setting was just gorgeous.
Here we have a slow burn, WLW, marriage of convenience, with witches and Fae, it's angsty, there is pining, there is a woman coming to terms with her sexuality after being made to feel like a monster her whole life, all interwoven amongst a beautifully described setting and some heartwarming side characters.
I happened just to stumble upon this by chance and I'm glad I did. It was sweet, it was swoony, and I really enjoyed it.
I believe Beauty and the Beast retellings are universally loved, and this sapphic retelling with witches and an implication of historical setting was just gorgeous.
Here we have a slow burn, WLW, marriage of convenience, with witches and Fae, it's angsty, there is pining, there is a woman coming to terms with her sexuality after being made to feel like a monster her whole life, all interwoven amongst a beautifully described setting and some heartwarming side characters.
I happened just to stumble upon this by chance and I'm glad I did. It was sweet, it was swoony, and I really enjoyed it.
January 9, 2022
A gorgeous story! I love fairy tale retellings and sapphic ones are even better, so I was expecting to enjoy this novel, but I wasn't anticipating loving it so much. The writing was beautiful, the romance sweet and tender and the main characters very likeable. But I do wish that the magic had been explained a bit more and, also, the villain's reasons for doing what she did. All in all, a stunning love story.
June 20, 2017
This is my first book by Chris Anne Wolfe, and it certainly won't be the last. Beauty and the Beast is a favourite of mine, so when I saw that this was a lesbian retelling I had to read it. Angelique and Drew are a wonderful couple, and the twists and turns kept me hooked. I'm so glad this turned up in the 'recommended' section - I wouldn't have found it otherwise!
September 12, 2017
i'm always down to read a re-telling of a fairy tale that's re-imagined with a queer couple, and this book did prove to be an enjoyable re-telling
however, i would have preferred it if drew/the beast was cursed to be a beast in appearance instead of remaining an attractive woman who hides her appearance with an illusion based magic
however, i would have preferred it if drew/the beast was cursed to be a beast in appearance instead of remaining an attractive woman who hides her appearance with an illusion based magic
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2017
This really wasn't the best of the Beauty and the Beast re-writes. In fact, I barely remember it and I'm only off on writing my review by a few weeks. I know the main characters are both female, but I can't even remember if "beast" is transgender or not. The ideas were good. The writing to convince you to care about the characters just wasn't there.
November 29, 2018
I enjoyed this book. It was an interesting take on what is defined as a "monster."
I do feel like the story dragged a little in some place and leapt ahead too far in others. I would have liked to see a few more interactions between Drew and Angelique.
Overall I recommend this book if you enjoy fairy tales with an LGBT twist.
I do feel like the story dragged a little in some place and leapt ahead too far in others. I would have liked to see a few more interactions between Drew and Angelique.
Overall I recommend this book if you enjoy fairy tales with an LGBT twist.
January 4, 2021
I adore this book so much! Time and time again I find myself reaching for it. I’ve always loved retellings of Beauty and the Beast and this light hearted but beautifully written version never fails to illicit a wide range of emotions from me when I read it. By far one of the best modern retellings I’ve ever read. I cannot recommend it enough.
March 13, 2021
Beautiful and Erotic
Wolfe is a master of building erotic and romantic tension. In this wlw retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," beastliness is in the eye of the beholder. Blending faerie folklore and multiple complex, viscerally felt female characters, 'Roses and Thorns' is everything I love in a romance.
Wolfe is a master of building erotic and romantic tension. In this wlw retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," beastliness is in the eye of the beholder. Blending faerie folklore and multiple complex, viscerally felt female characters, 'Roses and Thorns' is everything I love in a romance.
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