| Title | : | The Castle of Thorns |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 309 |
| Publication | : | Published November 3, 2021 |
After surviving years with a debilitating illness, Gisela must prove she is more than her ailment. She discovers her father, King Werner of Tursch, has been growing desperate for the herbs that are key to her health. So much so, he’s willing to cross paths with a deadly legend of Todesfall Forest to retrieve the remedy.
Knorren is the demon of the forest, one who slaughters anyone who trespasses into his land. When King Werner steps into the demon’s territory, desperately pleading for safe passage for the sake of his daughter's health, Knorren toys with the idea. However, not without a cost. King Werner must deliver his beloved Gisela to the demon or suffer dire consequences.
With unrest spreading through the kingdom, and its people growing tired of a king who won’t put an end to the demon of Todesfall Forest, Gisela must make a choice. To become Knorren’s prisoner forever, or risk the lives of her beloved people.
Perfect for fans of Holly Black and Sarah J. Maas. This is a dark retelling you won't want to miss out on!
The Castle of Thorns Reviews
-
I loved this book especially the darkness of it! Dark things are always my favorite! But I really loved the dynamic between the leads because it was a build up of them not only learning each other but themselves. And how sometimes things aren’t as they are or as is planned.
-
YIKES. Oh my god, YIKES.
So.
The main reason why I downloaded/bought/read this book is that for years I've had an idea of a story in my head of a demon in the woods who falls in love with an ailing princess. I was rather excited to read this because it seemed to align with the idea I had and maybe the author channeled my subconscious and wrote the book I was hoping to create.
After reading though this book, I want to just return it asap. It is so horribly written with characters that just suck written on the page that I can't believe this isn't the author's first book.
LET'S DIG IN, SHALL WE?
1.) We don't exactly know what the illness that the ailing princess has. Is she epileptic? Is it cancer? What? The symptoms are throwing up, seizures, and dizziness/vertigo. All right, they don't have ICD10 in this world, so we need to go into a bit more of a clinical care / expression of the seriousness. The juvenile handling of the illness and the way it was kind of just a given issue didn't sit right with me. So that's the first issue I had.
2.) The king and the daughters have no depth. They are point A to point B characters. They exist only to give the character conflict, they have no depth. Daughters except one by the name of Jenna hate the princess because the King cares more about her than them. King is overly protective and indicates the only way to keep his daughter alive is to travel to the witch in the forest who has the correct herbs / medical knowledge to keep the illness at bay.
3.) The demon is literally slaughtering villages, people left and right. Apparently he killed the Prince who existed 500 years ago. We don't really know why. He just did.. ... Sure Jan. (We know where this is going.) Anyway, witch house has to be accessed through the forest the demon is currently accumulating since he is killing all these villages.
Which brings me to the issue with the demon. He is a downright asshole of a character. No warmth, humility, sadness, anything. He just kills, kills, kills. Like a legit killing machine. A terminator that is shaped like a fox.
Upon the King taking it upon himself to get through the woods for this herbal medicine, the Fox / demon tells him that he will let him go if the King gives his daughter to him. Okay. ( There is a bit of a side story here: the King decides to trick the demon and give a villager in place of his daughter... the demon finds out it ain't the princess and he slaughters the girl and drags her carcass (which is so mutilated and the author goes into detail about this, by the way) to the village where her family is, which causes an uprising. The father is like, oh whatever, guess that's that. )
Surprise. The demon in the woods is actually tight knit with the witch and the witch is giving some VAGUE hints about her knowing his true history. He himself doesn't remember, thinks he has come from hell and is told to get back to hell he has to have a noble ... make a correct decision with their heart? What kind of logic / explanation is that? Anyway. Again, the demon is just a horribly written character and it's obviously of no surprise this is our prince. Fuck. It is the prince, lets just be real.
So, as we know, the princess goes to move into the castle. There is a random person from the village in there which surprised me because literally in the previous character the demon HAD NO TIME to grab said village woman so how in the world did she end up there? He even said there was no villager in the castle and it had been abandoned for years. Oh. There is also a random gnome that shows up to talk to the demon and give some weird pep talks and shit. Don't know who he is, don't care.
So cue the most god-awful forced romance ever. Like, he is killing and treating her like shit, treating the people around him like shit but he is developing feelings and it makes him stop killing... which confuses me because WHY was he killing people in the first place. If it was so easy to shut off his 'kill mode' how the hell did it get turned on in the first place? Did the witch say, 'oh by the way, go kill people for 500 years?' No. She knew he had been killing people, SHE KNEW what she was doing and just sitting on her ass letting it happen.
Do you see the issue with the story?
And then there is the end, oh god the end:
This book is a straight up mess and I can't believe one has to pay for it. One star because of the attempt of the plot elements. -
This was one of the most original retellings of "Beauty and the Beast" I've found, although it's not a direct retelling as much as a Fantasy novel that takes the key elements from the fairy tale and reworks them smoothly into its own story.
What impressed me the most, and that I found the most unique element, is the female character having an incurable chronic illness that's treated realistically and empathetically. I have read other retellings and fairy tale-like Fantasy that had disabled characters, but I don't recall one with a chronically ill female character, much less one written this accurately, and in a "Beauty and the Beast" type of story. This would be the first chronically ill Beauty figure I read, and I loved it!
Princess Gisela is shown to suffer all the pains, inconveniences, and limited lifestyle her illness entails, without sparing us the most uncomfortable symptoms, without omitting what happens if she doesn't take her medication made from a herbal concoction, and above all, without having her magically cured. At one point, I was wondering, and fearing, to be honest, if she would be cured with magic for her Happily Ever After endgame, and was thrilled to see that this didn't happen. I'd sincerely have loathed such an outcome, it'd have marred the beauty of her storyline full of real and relatable struggles for a Fantasy. Now, this is what representation should ideally be: realistic, educational, sympathetic, no preachiness, no pushiness, with plausible ways to deal with the issue; and I do highly commend the author for this.
The relationship between Gisela and the Beast figure, Knorren, has good chemistry, although I wish they had meet a bit earlier and he had more onpage time, both alone and with her, as the story is mainly told from Gisela's POV, with less focus on his POV. I liked that the story addressed some of the questionable aspects of the fairy tale, such as the father's willingness to give his daughter away to the Beast to pay in his stead, as well as respecting the core redemptive metaphor of the fairy tale through the handling of Knorren's curse. But, it also created new questionable aspects, like the fact that the curse makes Knorren a monster he never was to start with and is way overkill to the point of astounding injustice. It is addressed directly in the story, but it still wasn't a satisfactory resolution because the enchantress is sort of forgotten in the last stretch.
One aspect I find was in need of improvement was the worldbuilding. From what I've surmised by the names, description of the culture, and use of German words and phrases, this world was basically a Fantasy version of Germany with a different name. But the setting is so little elaborated on and so underdeveloped and incomplete that some unaddressed questions arise. How come the royal family of this pseudo-Germany world are black, for example? Unanswered and brushed over aspects like this is why, although I enjoyed the book very much and would recommend it, I am not rating it higher.
Thank you to the author and BookSirens for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. -
I FREAKING LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! My heart is actually racing and all I want to do is talk about this AWESOME book I just read!!! Oh my word, I’m going to have a book hangover!!!
Anyway, if you haven’t read Beaumont’s books YOU ARE MISSING OUT!!! Her book, The Dragon’s Bride has been on my top favorite book list since I read it, and now The Castle of Thorns will be on my top favorite book list with it!!!
First of all Knorren won my heart over!!! I loved Ronar from The Dragon’s Bride so much, and still do! But Knorren is neck and neck with Ronar for my favorite book boyfriend list!!! You will LOVE him!! And Gisela is AMAZING!!! She is such a strong girl!! The characters have so much growth throughout the story, it’s so emotional, heartwarming and inspiring!!! Beaumont has a real gift for writing characters that are vivid and have so much depth!! This is a book that you not only will have trouble putting down, but when you finish you will also want to pick it up and read it all over again! You will NOT want to leave these characters!!
I obviously highly recommend this book! It’s great if you love fantasy, romance, adventure and retellings! -
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Fun fairy tale for adults!
I've been reading a lot of Young Adult fantasy lately for relaxation; and while this was just as enjoyable, I also enjoyed something aimed at an age closer to mine (63).
Our main protagonist, Gisella has been overprotected by her family. Through her coming of age journey, she finds she is stronger than any of them and has some great adventures in the meantime. Her kind heart ends up being more important than her so called weaknesses. I'd like to tell you more, but we'd be getting into spoiler territory.
I read the book in 2 days. It was enjoyable & easy to read. I enjoyed the character development, & especially the ending. I really enjoyed that it wasn't part of a series. Single novels seem to be becoming a rarity these days.
Another thing I appreciated, is in this day & age, the last thing most of us need is to be scared (we get enough of that today in the real world). While Ms. Beaumont makes it clear who tends to be good & who tends to be evil, the "bad guys" aren't so scary that it caused me any issues with reading. In fact while I think the target audience is fanciful adults, I don't see any reason that a teen couldn't read this.
While I've heard her name shared around, I believe this is the first book I've read from Ms Beaumont. It won't be the last!
All & all, Good Stuff. -
THE CASTLE OF THORNS is a fantasy story loosely based upon Beauty and the Beast. Gisela has epilepsy, but no one understands (or knows) her illness. Luckily for her, a witch knows which herbs to use to treat her. All that is good until her supply runs too low for the usual trip by sea. Instead, they will have to go through the forest where a man-eating monster-fox lives.
This is a sometimes dark story with plenty of death before Knorren realises the error of his ways. Gisela also has a couple of sisters that really should be in Cinderella rather than this story! Jana is sweet with her, but she still coddles Gisela, making her think she is weaker than she is.
Some of the supporting characters didn't do anything for me and actually left me wondering what their purpose was. It is fast-paced, especially near the end when it wraps up with a hop, skip, and a jump.
This was an enjoyable read that I have no hesitation in recommending.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books! -
I loved this book. As someone who suffers with seizures I found Gisela's "fits" (as they are referred) to be relatable. You can tell that Beaumont has lived experience and wrote from a place of personal experience and knowledge. This may be the first book I've read with epilepsy rep and it is something I would like to see more of.
Knorren is a adorable murdery fox and I loves him. Lol. The character growth of both Gisela and Knorren is wonderful. This story kept me turning the ebook pages (I finished in 2 days) so that speaks volumes as to how much I love it.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories with a political side, sarcastic and murdery characters, stubborn no nonsense characters and characters you really hope fall off a cliff. 🤣
*I was gifted an arc from the author which I voluntarily read and chose to review* -
Thanks to Booksirens for the eArc of this book and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
As much as I am a sucker for Beauty and the Beast retellings, this book did not do this for me.
I dunno perhaps I didn't feel the chemistry, the love. It felt a bit dry. And I think too much of political issues that should have been more in the background.
And the beast's name, please. I just couldn't
Knorren the name and here is this brand called Knorr so yeah. I am not judging or anything, don't get me wrong, but that name I just couldn't simply warm up to the guy. -
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This was such an amazingly emotional journey. I rarely get emotional over books but this one got into me really good! I connected with all of the characters. Gisela definitely was mature just like her age. She was literally thinking like a normal down to earth person would think. Normally in fantasy books heroine are so baddass women that they yell at their parents, acts like spy all around to get the things they want. Gisela was a girl like you and me. She wasnt like this magical warrior princess. Its phenomenal! I started the book at night thinking, I will read a little, than continue tomorrow but I had to finish the book in a one go! Writing was very good to me. I absolutely loved the style of the author. I even read the Acknowledgment part (which I never done before) and that was also heartwarming! It made the story much more from the heart. There were many German references that adds story a much of the culture. I am sad to finish this book. I would love to read maybe sequels or prequels of this world so much. Thank you Elle for creating this emotional fairy tale for us!
My best read of 2021 so far! :) I am so proud! -
I was pleasantly surprised with this short (309 pages for me is short) retelling of Beauty and the Beast from Elle Beaumont. I’m not a fan of retellings. I actually have grown to hate them profusely lately. They’re prolific nowadays, and they usually only change a couple of things about the original tales and present as a new, “better” story. To that fact, I’ve read a ton of Beauty and the Beast retellings, spins, modernizations, etc., and while Beaumont’s The Castle of Thorns is unmistakably a retelling, it certainly feels much better done to me than most other retellings on the market.
The absolute best thing about TCoT is the villain. There truly are no redeeming qualities to him; he’s a large beast, particularly violent, and shows no remorse for being so. He doesn’t possess any handsomeness to make the maiden fall for him, which truly made this a great retelling for me. I know the attractive villain is a trend right now, but I find Beaumont’s Knorren to be one of the best beasts in a Beauty and the Beast retelling overall. The end of the story brings about change but not at the expense of character development. And the heroine, who usually just falls for the Beast because he’s hot, does not do so here because she’s actually awesome and has some scruples in the noggin.
Secondly, and pretty much just as importantly, Gisela is a fabulous Beauty. I quite like the incorporation of all of her attributes and how she learns the depths of her own strength along the way. She’s also not anachronistic, which I really loved. She has a heinously debilitating illness, and her father the king coddles her for it, even at the expense of the lives of those in his kingdom. How this plays out in the story is fantastic, and I won’t go into much detail because it will spoil things.
While I quite enjoyed the book, there were a couple of drawbacks that knocked the rating down from 5 to 4. Mainly, the pacing for the story was quite off for me. I felt the build up to the climax was done well, but the falling action and resolution were rushed and character development suffered for it. I felt like I had to go back and reread some of the action parts at the end several times to understand what was happening. Additionally, the romantic denouement was a bit abrupt. Because there were several story aspects happening at once, one overshadowed the other. In this case, the romance suffered for the subplot of kingdom politics. Perhaps with more fleshing out and a bit more length, the two could have been more seamlessly incorporated.
As to some of the proofreading sides of things, the grammar was inconsistent. The same characters would use correct grammar in one sentence and incorrect grammar in another. Some readers may not notice this, but it did jar me out of the story quite a bit. Also, when the characters were prepping for bow usage, they “notched” their arrows instead of “nocking” them. Just small things that lend authenticity to a narrative for me but maybe not for other readers.
I could truly go on and on about how much I enjoyed the story in this book. As I mentioned, I was quite shocked with how compelling I found the story. I look forward to reading more from Beaumont in the future.
My thanks to Book Sirens and the author for the complimentary eARC, for which I freely give my own opinion. -
*SPOILER ALERT*
I hate giving bad ratings and I hate dnfing a book even more. Unfinished stories leave an empty space in my heart. But this one is bad enough that it's worth it.
I DNFed at 31%. I dragged myself on as long as I could.
What was the problem?
1. Show don't tell. One of the most fundamental rules of writing. The author told us what to feel and didn't make us feel it. When Gisela learnt about people dying because of her or that the Knorren was asking for her as part of the bargain she feels 'chills in her spine, ice in her veins and dread in her heart'. I didn't feel any of that. It was just a meh.
2. The characters all felt 2D. They were wooden and had no depth to them. They lacked personalities. We're told that her sisters were all just cruel mean spirited women who'd rather send their youngest sister away to be eaten by a demon and yet there is no evidence except a few dialogues to 'prove their maliciouness'.
3.The king was just plain stupid. He only cared for Gisela. He doesn't give one iota about his people, the villagers and the thousands of men he sent to their deaths to retrieve a herb for his precious daughter. He doesn't give a shit about the riots or the problems his people face. Instead he wants to have a CELEBRATION after that poor girl was sent in Gisela's place. Really? Your people are dying at the hands of a demon and you want to hold a feast, eat cake and dance around a bonfire??
4. Jana was probably the only nice person in this book. Though we don't see much of her anyway.
3.Coming to the MC, Gisela was supposed to be kind and gentle and thoughtful and brave. Instead she was just a vain, selfish, naive sobbing mess. She kept praying to Wurdiz (😒) nearly every page and started crying at every single thing.
You sisters tease you? Cry.
Your father scolded you? Cry.
You can't hold a pencil? Cry.
She was 'covering her mouth and sobbing' at every damn thing. I mean, come on! She cried when she found out hundred of men were sent to their deaths for 15 years while retrieving her medicine. How can she be so naive? I mean, what did she think? That the herbs just magically floated over to the castle over the deadly forest with the man eating beast?? Of course people died, you dolt!
If she's so kind and cares about her people so much then why does she spend so much time designing and picking out a dress for the celebration?? The same celebration she criticized her father for indulging in.
4. Knorren. At first I was like 'Forget the beauty! Embrace the Beast! ' then it was more like 'Embrace the beast and stick a dagger in him while you're at it'.
Knorren was just an overgrown fox with nothing to do except kill people with no distinction. He doesn't kill animals but kills humans? Why?
Then we learn he's in cohorts with the same witch who cursed him??
I dont even have a clear picture of how big he is? The author says that he's the size of an oak tree. But he hides in the bushes and grass?? How??
Edit: I learnt through other reviews that Knorren is the Golden prince and Jannik or whatever and he was cursed for betraying a girl or something and that's enough to quench my curiosity without making me read this entire book.
I had such high hopes for this book. Severely disappointed. 🙁 Pretty cover though 💁♀️
I'll give 1 star for making Knorren a fox. 🦊
☆ -
The Castle of Thorns was a unique take on a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. While this story is more classified as an adult fantasy, it can be read by a younger YA audience and be enjoyed by readers of a variety of ages. The story opens with our “beauty” Princess Gisela. The story opens with her as a child and gives an introduction to her chronic illness, epilepsy, although it is undiagnosed. Her father, King Werner, gives her herbs that help subside symptoms, but do not cure her. As her father worries greatly about her well-being, he protects her and can sometimes stifle her freedom for fear of her health worsening. Unfortunately, the only way to collect the herbs is to travel through a dangerous route that includes a murderous demon fox known as Knorren.
For the past 500 years, Knorren kills for his own pleasure and shows no remorse for his way of life. When Werner and Knorren cross paths during a journey to collect herbs, Knorren strikes a surprising bargain, Knorren will let Werner live in exchange for Gisela. The portrayal of Werner was well done, as he is a father desperate to protect his daughter, however, he sometimes goes overboard and sacrifices the needs of his people to accomplish this. Another interesting addition to the story are Gisela’s sisters who are overshadowed by her in their father’s eyes. While they love her as a sister, there is a lot of resentment, as they do not receive the same attention as Gisela. Eventually, Gisela ends up with Knorren and is together with him as a prisoner in the castles hidden in the thorns.
The story includes both Knorren and Gisela’s perspectives, so the reader can follow each along on their journeys. While Gisela’s characters growth was more gradual over time, Knorren’s was a little rushed for me. He begins to care for Gisela and cannot explain why and I would have loved a little more build up to this change of heart. Gisella’s journey from being sheltered from everything to learning to not only be mentally stronger but physically was a unique take. She knows she has limitations from her illness, but I liked that she explored how she is more capable than she thinks. Both Knorren and Gisela share many fun interactions with a lot of wit and I love the two characters opening up to each other.
Overall, I love fairytale retellings and this was no exception. Gisela is a standout hero as she is “normal” where she is relatable to the average reader. While she has an illness that is her defining characteristic at the very beginning, it is not who she is as a person. While there were some elements that were predictable and followed the source material, I greatly enjoyed this rendition. This novel was a very fun read and I cannot wait to read more from this author!
**I want to give a special thank you to BookSirens and the author, Elle Beaumont, for a review copy of this very entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.** -
Thank you to BookSirens, the publisher and the author for and ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
3.5 Stars
There are a lot of good ideas in this book. It is ultimately a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but it introduces some quite original elements to it. Our female MC is princess Gisela, who is chronically ill and has "fits" that leave her weakened and could cost her her life. The only way to help her manage her sickness is to periodically obtain some herbs from a witch who lives on the other side of the forest. Unfortunately, a big fox-like monster, Knorren, has claimed that forest and kills anyone that tries to cross it. Knorren is vicious, he has killed (and at least partially eaten) hundreds of people over the 500 years or so that he has been around.
One of the things I liked about the book is the treatment of Gisela's illness. She is not magically cured by the end of the story, and yet she manages to grow and find her HEA. Her symptoms are described with realism and empathy, her struggle to get out of her shell too.
Both MC, Gisela and Knorren, find growth by learning about what they are actually capable of. Gisela goes from overprotected wallflower to capable stateswoman by deciding that only she will decide what she can or cannot do. Knorren ultimately breaks the curse by remembering who he is and allowing some very disconcerting feelings. The interactions between them are fun to read. She is afraid of him but refuses to give in to fear. He doesn't understand how this little girl stands up to him.
I found the pace a bit uneven. As a reader, it is clear from the beginning that Gisela will go and live with Knorren, and yet the "before" drags a bit too long.The book uses this time to describe Gisela's family and her few friends, and how they all treat her because of her illness, but it feels unnecessarily long. And then the wrapping up of the story happens in a only few pages.
It is described as young adult, but I would say it's probably for slightly younger audiences. I can see this as a very enjoyable read for an upper middle grader. -
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
So getting into my review, Overall I felt this book needed about 100 pages more, containing development of Knorren's feelings for Gisela, backstory, and world building. Knorren felt a little flat as a character, especially since in the chapters from his POV he basically just talks about how he doesn't know why he cares about Gisela over and over and over again.
Gisela was an interesting character and as someone with a chronic illness it was nice to see a strong character with one. She has great development and I did like that aspect. It felt very realistic, and I liked how she is shown to find her own way in life and learn to live to the fullest while still having her illness. Too often characters are "cured" to find their Happy Ending, so this was a pleasant change.
It was very dark with a lot of blood and death, which is interesting but at times it felt like it was too much and was just violence for violence's sake. I also felt as if the beginning dragged and the end was too fast. We know that Gisela is going to live with Knorren, and it was unnecessary to make the beginning so long. Then, the ending could have been much longer. The events at the end of the story could've been explored more, but instead they were wrapped up in a few pages.
Overall I did like this book, it was enjoyable and an easy read, however the prior flaws listed stopped me from being able to give a five star review. If you like Beauty and the Beast retellings, then you will most likely enjoy this book. -
I received an ARC from BookSirens and am leaving an honest review. I will keep this spoiler free! I enjoyed the storyline of this book, it’s a refreshing twist on the “Beauty and the Best” theme. Perfect for adults who love fantasy and perhaps even advanced younger readers too. The concepts and themes of this book run along the “dark” side, but never to the point that it makes it uncomfortable or too intense. I loved the creation of a new world within this book and often times felt like a traditional fairytale. The characters themselves were very unique and there is a nice blend of multiple cultural elements to this book.
At times the relationships and character development felt rushed. Plot was definitely the priority for this book. I would have loved to see more of the history between the protagonist and her family, as well as more development between the protagonist and the antagonist, and the history of the world created as well.
Overall, this is an easy read and I believe it is enjoyable for a wide audience!
I tend to read more intense fantasy books that deal with much darker concepts and themes, so this was a nice change of pace for me and I am glad that I took a chance on it! -
The castle of thorns was a really different take on the whole Beauty& The Beast take. While it had lots of unique elements the story pretty much followed the storyline that I am sure everyone knows.
Gisela is the youngest of the king's daughter, a young girl plagued by a mysterious illness the could be the end of her. Because of this she has lived a pretty sheltered life, and into the mix the fact that her sisters pretty much hate her and she has the most attention from her father , we can say that her life wasn't easy.
I liked that Gisela got lots of nice character development, from a girl whos opinion was overlooked she became a woman who risked her life for the common people.
The Beast part really did surprise me because our beast is an ancient giant fox. A fluffy and deadly fox that pretty much won me over with his snark.
The story was ok and the writing was nice, easy to follow but I felt like it was just like every other story that is inspired by this classic tale. So this kind of dragged down my rating to 3.5 stars
I received an advance review copy for free from Booksirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. -
Rating 3.75/5 ⭐️
I enjoyed this book. I had a little bit of trouble getting into it because the beginning felt a little slow. Exposition is important but I think the rule of show don’t tell would help a little in this case. I think my biggest criticism is that I wish there was more of everything from the middle of the book and on. I loved the main character’s journey to both feel physically and mentally stronger. It was one of those character developments that make you feel good inside. The love interest was good, the story had a decent twist, and I personally enjoyed the ending. I wish there had been something a little more to make the ending hit harder. I’m not sure if adding more events or detail to the middle or end would fulfill this, but I just wanted something to push it a little farther. Overall, great story and I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a sweet, decently quick read. (For reference, I binge read so “quick” is a relative term.)
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. -
This was definitely a version of Beauty and the Beast I wasn’t expecting. It was wonderfully done!
Gisela is a princess that suffers from epilepsy. King Werner, her father, goes out and gets her herbs from the witch, Ylga. One day when Gisela runs out of herbs, her father goes out to get them, he encounters the fox beast.
Knorren is a huge fox that speaks. For the last 500 years, he goes about killing anyone that he encounters. When he hears from the king that his daughter is ill, he makes a bargain. He won’t kill anymore if the king offers up his daughter.
It’s really a well written story! I love Beauty and the Beast, my favorite fairy tale. It wasn’t a normal retelling, where the beast captures her father and she comes to the rescue. Gisela is truly a survivor, going about fighting for her life at every moment and her character build up is so amazing to watch. It’s really an amazing story! -
A beauty and the Beast retelling.
Trigger warning: there’s quite a bit of death, a little gore in talk of bones and bodies and blood. It’s not over done, but I was surprised at how many soldiers and villagers are just killed off
Interesting twist that the FMC has epilepsy. This ads a depth to her as a Beauty character because she has an inner strength borne of growing up with a chronic illness that affects every aspect of her life as well as contributes to the reason her father and the Beast are in more conflict than would otherwise be.
I love that the enchantress continues to play a major part in the story, showing up often in the plot and pushing things along.
Some of the twists towards the end are guessable simply because it’s a retelling, but they are still satisfying to read.
I was appalled at the king. How absolutely and utterly selfish he was and did not care at all about the well being of his people and favored his daughter above all else. -
Thank you so much BookSirens for sending me an ARC of this novel for me to sink my teeth into!
Beauty and the Beast retellings are my favourite thing EVER. I just eat that up. I'm a huge sucker for that trope so from the get go I knew that I would just LOVE this. And I was not wrong.
I loved that this book seemed to lean into the folklore and fairytale aspect by having the "beast" be a demonic fox. And our protagonist is a bold and brilliant princess who had to deal with some nasty sisters.
Gisela also has a chronic illness, something that is rarely discussed in fantasy novels.
The romance, although not steamy, is just this gorgeous slowburn. The reader is sucked into it from the beginning and we fall in love with both of them as we read.
This is one of my favourite reads of 2021! -
I very much enjoyed this book. This book's pacing is really good and i enjoyed the characters in the book especially the demon fox and the princess. The conflict was interesting and i was actually shocked by some of the facts that unfold. The action was good and i actually felt this book was enjoyable since i never stopped reading this book and it kept my eyes on the book for two days and now im like i want to read more from this author since she did wonderful of describing. I can say this story is action, drama, kidnapping, fantasy, love blossoms, happily ever after, but it doesn't have any sexy scenes but that is okay since it is a good book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. -
Thank you to Elle Beaumont for allowing me a copy of Castle of Thorns.
Below is my honest review.
I recently joined a book club and this was the months read. I hadn't read anything by Elle Beaumont before so this was my first novel of hers but it's definitely not going to be the last!
I'm so glad I read this novel, It's amazing I loved every minute of it. I love the storyline, characters especially Gisela and Knorren. It's just perfect.
I found it to be like a retelling of Beauty and the Beast but not your disney version no this version is much darker!
I couldn't put this down I wanted to devour it so quickly.
I enjoyed it that much that I've bought the paperback.
I definitely recommend to everyone. -
I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a retelling of a classic story, beauty and the beast, but it added some fresh and interesting twists to it, such as the mc being chronically ill. It explained the situation in a way that made you understand and emphasize with her. I liked that at the end she wasn't magically cured, it made it less fantasy-cliche feeling.
The world building could have been better, I found myself being confused with all the names of places being dropped and not really getting to experience those places, but alas a book can only be so long! All in all, definitely a good read! -
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I really loved this story and its characters.
Elle created a beautiful world, full of very interesting characters.
Knorren is a great vilan with an amazing back story (although I wish I could know more about him). Gisela is also a fearful character, specially from the way most of her family treats her. Ylga has the best lines and her relationship with Knorren is so funny, as well Knorren and the dwarf relationship.
This story, more than a love story, it's about conquer your fears and learn how to trust in yourself, your feelings and the people that surround you. -
I received this from BookSirens in exchange for an honest review. This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling that I found quite enjoyable. I found Gisela likable and admired the inner strength she had despite having a seizure disorder. Knorren was also likable despite his villain tendencies. As long as you know the tale of the Beauty and the Beast you can easily predict what will happen. This was a nice spin on a classic story and didn’t feel over the top or boring. I’d probably read it again. This is a nice, quick and easy read. I’d definitely love to see a sequel if the author decides to continue their story in some way.
-
This book has a big piece of my heart because it's a story I would've wanted to read. Featuring a vibrant young woman who has epilepsy and struggles with how people perceive her as incapable when in reality she's always been the strongest of them all.
I love stories of self-discovery and redemption, which is really where this novel came from. If you're looking for a smutty read or one heavy laden with romance, this isn't a read for you but if you're looking for a gritty, heartfelt tale, definitely snag it!
Hurleburlebutz but Grimm Brothers loosely inspired this piece! -
I’m always a sucker for a Beauty and the Beast retelling and this did not disappoint. I absolutely loved the darkness of it. I adore Gisela and how it took being taken by the beast to find the best of herself as well as him. She is finally given a chance away from her father and she can prove to herself that her sickness does not define her.
I received the ebook ARC and I am voluntary leaving this review.
