The Borrowed Rose: Beauty and the Beast Book Recommendations and Retellings

Please note:  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Most Beauty and the Beast retellings are based in fantasy and magical in some way.  That's the nature of most fairytales.  In this update, I have three retellings for you with fun magical twists!  Plus, all three are currently available via Kindle Unlimited , which is an awesome way to access an seemingly endless supply of fairytale retellings. Enjoy! Roses in Amber is one of the first retellings I've read that makes great use of the original, original Beauty and the Beast fairytale , along with fun nods to Disney's version .  Beauty and her family retire to the countryside due to financial turmoil, just as in the original tales. She and her father venture back to the big city when they learn their fortunes may have turned and on the way back... that darned rose. But this time, Beauty picks the rose and the tale unfolds.  Beauty leads the story in this retelling with agency and growi...

I read a lot in 2024 - just five shy of 100 books according to my Goodreads profile .  I've realized I don't love reading goals - they muck with the quality of what I'm reading.  Sometimes a quick and easy book is just the thing; sometimes I'm eager for a 1,000 page tome.  I'm an achiever by nature and if a goal is set, I'll strive towards it.  But reading is a passion and I don't want to muck with that, so I'm skipping a reading goal in 2025. All in all, it was a great reading year with some really excellent books.  I discovered Kate Quinn with  The Rose Code .  I enjoyed Violet and Xaden's dramatic fling in Fourth Wing and Iron Flame , and I re-read the first five of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series .  Gabriel de León in Empire of the Damned is one of my favorite not-so-heroes.  And both the Ilona Andrews Clean Sweep series and Spellslinger series by Sebastien de Castell were super fun.  What about Bride by Ali Hazelwood and ...

I see you there.  I think you love Beauty and the Beast tales just as much as I do.  They are fun, challenge the status quo, and scratch that inner call-of-the-wild itch we don't want to admit.   I read an interesting book that well articulated why I appreciate a Beauty and the Beast story over other selections.  Why I gravitate towards a werewolf or shifter romance for an easy weekend read. Hey you!  I'm not the only one!  Beauty and the Beast is a tale as old as time (see what I did there), showing up throughout the ages in various forms and myths.  The oldest version is likely " Cupid and Psyche " from the second century AD.  "The Woman Who Married a Snake" was another early version in Indian culture, shared orally and finally appearing in print in 500 AD (p 15).  Each age and culture has it's version of Beauty and her Beast.  And it turns out we love it just as much in today's culture. In The Meanings of "Beauty & the Bea...

Roses play a significant role in many Beauty and the Beast tales. Have you ever wondered about the symbolism of the rose in Beauty and the Beast ?  Me too. Roses bid welcome on an ornate trellis before a lovely wrought door in an image by Tama66 via Pixabay The rose played a key role in the original tale by Madame Barbot de Villeneuve and in Madame LePrince de Beaumont's shortened version .   While I'm not a literary expert, I can wield a keyboard like a fiend.  Some research and voila, a few interesting tidbits.  We'll explore the setting at the time of the original tale and the importance of the rose in 18th century France when Mesdames Barbot de Villeneuve and LePrince de Beaumont penned their tales.  We'll also look into the symbolism of the rose and what it's hinting at for the leading characters. Beauty's Setting in the 1700s in France Decadence was happening in 18th century France.  Louis XV was king for most of the century.  Lush and lov...

Warwick Goble's Beauty & the Beast, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Do you wonder what classifies a story as a fairy tale?   I 've been wondering that lately, as I read a wider variety of  Beauty and the Beast tales.   Plus, h ow can I discern if a retelling is a true fairy tale or a fun rendition using the BATB premise of girl falls for beastly guy?   So I did a bit of light research (resources at the end), and here's what I found about the general make-up of a fairy tale: There's a moral lesson to be learned There's a heroine or hero There's an obstacle, task that needs to be accomplished or ordeal to be endured There's magic involved There are friends or other characters supporting the protagonist There's a happily ever after - the ordeal is overcome! and...   I'm not sure of the reliability of this source , but it sure sounds legit and rings true with what I know of the original Beauty and the Beast tale: A fairy ...

After reading the fully loaded original version of Beauty and the Beast by Madame Barbot de Villeneuve , the shortened version by Madame LePrince de Beaumont is lack luster.  Sorry, fellow fans, but it just kinda is.  It establishes the important basics that make up the elements of consistent BATB tales, but there's not much drama, conflict or interest to draw you in. Let me restate that I am not a literary critic, reviewer or smart in literary analysis in any way.  Just to be clear.  The comments that follow are those of a girl who loves to read and who loves to read  Beauty & the Beast  tales. Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont, 1711 - 1780 Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont was a French author, living in the 1700s.  She wrote her version of  La Belle et La Bête as a magasin - an instructional handbook for parents and teachers.  It appeared in Le Magasin des Enfants in 1756.  She was quite the writer, producing upwards ...

I am not a literary critic, reviewer or smart in literary analysis in any such way.  Just to be clear.  I love to read, and I love to read Beauty and the Beast tales - in the case you haven't read previous posts.  While this project has increased my interest in literary analysis and I'm learning it can be a bottomless hole on the interwebs, for now, I'm keeping posts simple for us plain folk.  However, I have found a few analyses and reviews that I respect and will reference them for your edification. The OG Beauty and the Beast Reflections on the original - La Belle et La Bête by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de   Villeneuve , written 1740: Barbot de Villeneuve, author of the original Beauty and the Beast Did you know that Beauty is the daughter of a fairy!?! And the Prince's cousin!!  /ewww Monkeys, parrots and birds attend Beauty while at the enchanted castle. The Beast woos Beauty in her dreams, as her "Beloved Unknown."  She doesn't fall...