The Rose Gate: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

by Hanna Sandvig

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Once upon a time, a human girl was kidnapped by a fae prince...for her own good.

I was just minding my own business in the woods. At night. As you do when your family is as messed up as mine. When I was rudely abducted to Faerie by a grizzly bear.

Okay, so he’s actually a cursed fae prince named Leith. And yes, he did technically save me from the creepily intelligent wolves that were chasing me down. But now I’m trapped at his castle until they go away, and this prince is far from charming, what with the missing eye, and the curse, and did he cut his own hair with a sword?

I suppose it could be worse. Yes, the castle and it’s inhabitants have been cursed by the Unseelie Queen, but I don’t have a fox handmaiden back home to braid my hair every day. Or dresses that shimmer like starlight. And maybe the prince isn’t so bad, when he’s not growling at me. He might even be handsome under those scars.

But that’s besides the point. I’m going to figure out the curse this castle is under, save my new friends, and get back home before I lose my heart to this beast of a prince.

Until then, I hope there’s at least a decent library somewhere in this castle.

**If you wish that The Cruel Prince was a bit less...cruel, or think that Downton Abbey could be improved by having forest creatures as staff, try The Rose Gate! This is a sweet retelling of Beauty and the Beast that kicks off the Faerie Tale Romances series.**

*The ebook edition does not include the illustrations from the print editions*

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Book Details

Genre

Fantasy/Science Fiction Romance

Subgenre

Fae / Elf, Fairytale, Mythology-Based (Greek, Norse, Celtic, etc.)

Series

Faerie Tale Romances

Audience

Upper YA

Bell Peppers

🫑🫑

Profanity

1 None

Violence

2 Mild

Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco

3 Moderate

Publication Date

June 20, 2019

Language Versions

English

Fiction Form

Novel

Sensitive Themes

Animal harm or death, Kidnapping or abduction, War or battle scenes

Representation

Depictions of prayer, worship, or scripture

The Rose Gate

Die Schöne und das Biest – ein Märchen, welches ich immer wieder lesen könnte, aber in dieser Variante ist es zu einem meiner absoluten Favoriten geworden.Wir lernen hier Isobel kennen, welche sich mit ihrem Vater und ihren Schwestern in einem kleinen Städtchen unter anderem mit Lesen und als Aushilfe in der Bibliothek die Zeit vertreibt.Auch wandern zählt zu ihren Leidenschaften und wie es das Schicksal so will, entdeckt sie ein Rosentor und ist fasziniert von den Rosen, da diese offenbar sich merkwürdig verhalten. Und so nimmt, dank der Fairy Godmother, die Geschichte ihren Lauf und wir werden in eine wundervolle Welt hineingezogen.Der Humor zwischen Isboel und ihren tierischen Freunden, besonders Tait, ist einfach nur super süß und so lustig, und die ganze Geschichte fliegt einfach nur so an einem vorbei, denn sobald man Leith kennen lernt, den Bären kennen lernt, muss man einfach wissen, wie die Geschichte weitergeht und endet.The Rose Gate ist eine wirklich gelungene Erzählung des Märchens „Die Schöne und das Biest“, aber auf so leichte und schöne Art, die einfach Spaß macht.Der Schreibstil von Hanna ist leicht, flüssig, und ich war ab Satz 1 sofort in der Geschichte versunken. Das Englisch ist auch super einfach – somit steht einem wunderschönen Ausflug in die Welt von Isobel und Leith nichts mehr im Weg.

Cute, heart-warming fairytale romance!

What can I say, I simply love retellings!The Rose Gate is a Beauty and the Beast retelling written by Hanna Sandvig, the first in a trilogy of retellings in which each book will stand on its own. When I started reading it, I immediately felt as if I were watching a very cute movie—you know, the ones that come on TV, usually during the summer, set in a small town, with the relatable female lead and the romance you wish you could live. Those who have been following me for a while know that I especially love books when I can also picture them like this.The book is not long, which helped keep a good pacing to the story and it also gave it a fairytale vibe that I really enjoyed. After we get to follow our “Beauty”, Isobel, for a little while in her everyday life, we see what happens when she finds herself in the forest after dark, chased by a vicious pack of wolves. A bear saves her, and it turns out this bear is actually a broody fae prince, who brings her through the Rose Gate, a portal that connects our world to the fae realm of Tir Na Nog. Time moves differently here, and as she waits for the safety of morning in our world, Isobel spends two weeks in the fae realm—two weeks in which she befriends the inhabitants of the castle and uncovers the truth about a terrible curse set upon them and their Prince, Leith, by the Unseelie Queen. Unlike the original Beauty and the Beast tale, Isobel is not initially kept in the castle against her own will, better suiting the building friendship and romance between her and Leith.My favorite element of the story was, of course, the romance. What a surprise, really! *insert laughing emoji* I am a big Beauty and the Beast fan and I love the way the author recreated that dynamic between Isobel and Leith. (A special applause is reserved to Ms. Chloe, who was absolutely hilarious and very relatable in her love for Chris Hemsworth.) The story was a modern fairytale, fun to read and fast paced. I cannot wait to read the next book, especially since there were some carefully placed hints about it that tease which tale will be retold next!I recommend this book to lovers of fairytales and Beauty and the Beast retellings!

A delightful, humorous, light read

4.5/5 StarsI’d just finished reading some emotionally heavy stories, so I wanted something lighter to read, and this hit the spot perfectly. If it were a food, it’d be one of those light, sweet pastries at a cafe—a guilty pleasure LOLCharacters were likeable (especially Tait), and I enjoyed the modern twist to the beauty and the beast retelling. I also really liked the Irish flavour that was used for faerie-related aspects. Bonus that it’s got Christian themes, and is set in Canada <3Things that could have been better:1) Age is one of those things I like to know when I read a story. In this one, we know that Bel has “finished school”, but for a long time it’s unclear whether she’s finished high school and is about to enter college/uni, or if she’s finished school for the year, but is in college/uni, and is on summer break. It’s not until about half way through through that it leans towards finishing H.S., and not until the end of the book that you learn for sure that she’s 18.2) Character development:**Minor spoiler?**The author touched on deeper themes of forgiveness and grace (which I really liked), but doesn’t follows through to the end with this. Instead of digging deeper and resolving emotional/spiritual issues, it skips over this, and follows the typical “person A saves person B—the end”. Same issue with the family dynamic—there’s a lot that could have been unpacked, but it was only touched upon superficially. But I guess that’s what makes it a light read.Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the story and the writing style, and will definitely continue on with the rest of the series!

Memorably magical!

I love ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and this is the first retelling I have read in a modern setting. I loved this story. The heroine is charming, independent, intelligent and funny and I loved the original take on the Beast and his castle - he is someone we would all want to be the one to save - while Aunt Cleo is an absolute joy. The concept of the Rose Gate is quite wonderful and very imaginative, and I’m so glad I found this author and her books.

Beauty and the beast

Savage magic wolves, an enormous bear, a cursed fae prince with his servants all turned into animals, a human girl (beautiful of course) pulled into the fae realm to save her life are some of the ingredients for a riveting read. Looking forward to the next book.