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A review by the_ya_assassin
Rebel Rose by Emma Theriault
4.0
I received an eARC from Edelweiss in exchange for a true review.
"Rebel Rose" was an exquisite retelling by Emma Theriault. To be perfectly honest, it wasn't a retelling so much as a continuation to the "Beauty and the Beast". Either way, it was historically accurate with the events that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. I found it very interesting to see it from a neighboring countries point of view (despite Aveyon not really existing) on these two eras in France.
This book is honestly all about believing in yourself. Belle insisted that she was just a normal, peasant girl who was married to a king. She is constantly demoting herself, doubting herself, because she doesn't want to have power over others, and others control her because of this weakness. By the end of the book, she accepts that she can be queen and by being queen, she can use her power to help others far more than staying completely the simple girl she once was.
The story is very well done. It takes us on a trip to Paris because of Belle breaking the curse over the Beast (aka Lio) - they have to explain why he has been missing for ten years (no one remembers he got turned into a Beast besides those in the castle). In Paris, the sparks of revolution are being flamed and Belle accidentally gets caught up in it. She was "pulled" to a mirror shop and sees a terrible future for Aveyon if she and Lio don't return ASAP. They do so, and they think it best to crown Lio as King and secede from France. They crown Lio, and soon here whispers of someone plotting against Lio. Lio's cousin, Bastien, persuades Lio to take action by visiting Aveyon's nobles, to see if he (Lio) can root out the conspirators. While Lio's away, Bastien takes full control of Aveyon, and treats Belle badly. Belle mistrusts him greatly, but doesn't know what she can do to stop him. She wants to find out how the commoners of Aveyon feel about her and Lio, so she embarks on a journey to her old town of Pleasance. There, she finds the starts of a revolution led by LeFou. She barely escapes before someone calls her out, with help from Marguerite (a female friend). They return to the castle and find out that Bastien has been lying the whole time. The day of the ball following up to Belle's event, Belle overhears a couple of men talking about assassinating Lio. Someone catches her, and they bind/ blindfold her and take her to the deepest cellar. There, she understands that Bastien has been playing them the whole time - he has been planning to take down Aveyon. LeFou enters, and Belle and him discuss how Gaston fell off the tower by himself. LeFou admits that he loved Gaston, and Belle soothes him. LeFou frees her and they escape to the upstairs. They meet up with Marguerite and her brother, and they plan to stop the assassination. They find the evidence to prove that Bastien was behind it all, and they make their way to the location of the ball. There, Belle confronts Bastien and she saves the day!
This series is titled "The Queen's Council" which I didn't quite understand at first. This book seemed more like a standalone, which it is, in a way. However, the queen's council is actually a magic-user who "councils" queens who are in need, who store past queen's strengths, fears, and weaknesses to aid future queens. Her name is Orella, and she was the one who placed the curse on Lio (aka the Beast) in the first place because she foresaw that Belle would be the savior of Aveyon.
The one thing I found lacking was the way it was written. I felt that it needed to be more lyrical and a bit more dramatic to set in the time frame. Other than that, excellent job to Emma Theriault and her amazing book!
"Rebel Rose" was an exquisite retelling by Emma Theriault. To be perfectly honest, it wasn't a retelling so much as a continuation to the "Beauty and the Beast". Either way, it was historically accurate with the events that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. I found it very interesting to see it from a neighboring countries point of view (despite Aveyon not really existing) on these two eras in France.
This book is honestly all about believing in yourself. Belle insisted that she was just a normal, peasant girl who was married to a king. She is constantly demoting herself, doubting herself, because she doesn't want to have power over others, and others control her because of this weakness. By the end of the book, she accepts that she can be queen and by being queen, she can use her power to help others far more than staying completely the simple girl she once was.
The story is very well done. It takes us on a trip to Paris because of Belle breaking the curse over the Beast (aka Lio) - they have to explain why he has been missing for ten years (no one remembers he got turned into a Beast besides those in the castle). In Paris, the sparks of revolution are being flamed and Belle accidentally gets caught up in it. She was "pulled" to a mirror shop and sees a terrible future for Aveyon if she and Lio don't return ASAP. They do so, and they think it best to crown Lio as King and secede from France. They crown Lio, and soon here whispers of someone plotting against Lio. Lio's cousin, Bastien, persuades Lio to take action by visiting Aveyon's nobles, to see if he (Lio) can root out the conspirators. While Lio's away, Bastien takes full control of Aveyon, and treats Belle badly. Belle mistrusts him greatly, but doesn't know what she can do to stop him. She wants to find out how the commoners of Aveyon feel about her and Lio, so she embarks on a journey to her old town of Pleasance. There, she finds the starts of a revolution led by LeFou. She barely escapes before someone calls her out, with help from Marguerite (a female friend). They return to the castle and find out that Bastien has been lying the whole time. The day of the ball following up to Belle's event, Belle overhears a couple of men talking about assassinating Lio. Someone catches her, and they bind/ blindfold her and take her to the deepest cellar. There, she understands that Bastien has been playing them the whole time - he has been planning to take down Aveyon. LeFou enters, and Belle and him discuss how Gaston fell off the tower by himself. LeFou admits that he loved Gaston, and Belle soothes him. LeFou frees her and they escape to the upstairs. They meet up with Marguerite and her brother, and they plan to stop the assassination. They find the evidence to prove that Bastien was behind it all, and they make their way to the location of the ball. There, Belle confronts Bastien and she saves the day!
This series is titled "The Queen's Council" which I didn't quite understand at first. This book seemed more like a standalone, which it is, in a way. However, the queen's council is actually a magic-user who "councils" queens who are in need, who store past queen's strengths, fears, and weaknesses to aid future queens. Her name is Orella, and she was the one who placed the curse on Lio (aka the Beast) in the first place because she foresaw that Belle would be the savior of Aveyon.
The one thing I found lacking was the way it was written. I felt that it needed to be more lyrical and a bit more dramatic to set in the time frame. Other than that, excellent job to Emma Theriault and her amazing book!