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

Valentine’s Day is supposed to be all hearts and lace and chocolate‑dipped goodies… but let’s be real. Some of us prefer our romance with sharper edges.  Roses are lovely, sure — but a rose with thorns? Now we're talking. image by Ylantie Koppens via StockSnap I'm offering two tales that are edgier than the usual fairytale.  A little Beauty and the Beast -  a little paranormal chaos - a little “I might love you, but I also might bite you.” Welcome to Will You Be My Vampire?! — a Valentine’s mashup for fairytale fanatics who don't mind princes with emotional issues, heroines who take the lead and love stories just a touch feral.  This post brings you two books and two beasts that can make your V-day holiday just a little more interesting. But first, why vampires + Beauty and the Beast ? Why Vampires Fit the Beauty and the Beast Mold Like the Beast's tale, the romantic side of the vampire trope thrives on curses, isolation and inconvenient yearning.  Plus, the te...

So, how was your reading year?  Did you set goals?  Follow your moods? I've shared that I'm a mood reader and that's definitely reflective of what made it to my "read" pile in 2025.  No themes, other than the obvious, Beauty and her Beast. 📌 Quick note:  I participate in affiliate marketing. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks for your support!  My goal in 2026 is enough to fund the move to a more user-friendly site. 📖  Kindle Unlimited  (KU) choices won the day this year, and surprisingly many of them were recommendations that also happened to be available on Kindle Unlimited .  That's a win.  I love shopping independent bookshops, I also appreciate the flexibility of Kindle Unlimited and the publishing avenue it allows all authors. 2025 Beauty and the Beast Retelling Round-up I definitely jumped moodily around with these Beauty and the Beast retellings.  I set a goal of at least one retelling per m...

This is not a fairytale post - at least not yet*…   “A life without books is a life not lived, Dior. There’s a magik like no other to be found in them. To open a book is to open a door—to another place, another time, another mind. And usually, mademoiselle, it’s a mind far sharper than your own.” ― Jay Kristoff, Empire of the Damned I just finished Empire of the Damned , book 2 in the Empire of the Vampire series by Jay Kristoff , and I loved it! Empire of the Vampire series by Jay Kristoff Warning - it's a cliffhanger!  And while I'm not irritated by that, I'm anxious to find out what shenanigans Gabriel de León and his band of misfits will pull off.  I anticipated the ending, but wasn't disappointed in any way.  I loved the dual points-of-view throughout and the dynamic layers within the final scenes. Kristoff's style is grimdark, gothic and edgy; his use of language profuse and lovely.  His writing reminds me of what baroque might look like as a writi...