very lovely

Bryony & Roses by T. Kingfisher.

I was at first a little surprised at this being a version of Beauty & the Beast & then delighted as it's not a story I've read & I only know the outline through cultural osmosis.

Kingfisher's flair for character is on full display here & the story bubbles along amidst verbal sparring & growing romance, against a backdrop of Gothic mystery.

Anyone complaining about the narrator just isn't familiar with overly correct, slightly posh RP Englishwomen! She makes it feel a bit pony girl but she's nice & relaxing to listen to & suits the story.

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More Beauty and the Beast

Narrated by Justine Eyre
Bryony and her sisters have sunk in the world after their rich merchant father lost all his money and then died. Bryony has taken over the gardening at their little cottage and while, travelling to a friend for turnip seeds, she gets lost in a vicious snow storm and stumbles across a magical house, a strange beast-man, and a rose garden. Yes, it's a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but not quite in the way you expect. I love T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), and this somewhat creepy take on the fairy tale is excellent. The audiobook narration works reasonably well, but the English accent is very Queen Elizabeth circa 1955. There's a bit of an overexaggerated RP twang. Ah, I checked, she's Canadian doing an English accent. It's just a bit too London posh. Jamp orff instead of jump off.

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Tale as old as time

So this is a 'Beauty and the Beast' story, even though Bryony would not describe herself as a beauty.

There's a Beast, a rose and a girl who stumbles across an enchanted mansion during a storm, it's definitely not the Disney version and whilst I liked all the characters, the story didn't draw me in, it was enjoyable enough but not enough happens to really appreciate the bond Bryony and the Beast form.

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Beauty and the beast retelling

I struggled with this, I found the narrator was really off putting for me, she sounded super nasally and very much like an actor doing a performance of a character rather than the character themselves,
I found the story fairly slow going - Bryony seems like a pretty passive character for a lot of the story, she knows something odd is going on with the house/beast but doesn't really put that much effort into finding out what. It wasn't terrible, but it feels like not much happens once Bryony goes to live in the house until the last 20%

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Enjoyable long novella

Mixed reviews about the narrator but I’m glad I gave it a go because I enjoyed this and thought the narrator's voice fit the story well. Lovely gentle story of Bryony the gardener and her encounter with the beast and magic.

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There isn't much to say

"Without praise or blame": utterly average. There isn't anything that stand out, not something to remember.

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Oh dear, the narrator..

It’s lucky that I’m a real fan of TJ Kingfisher because the narrator would have made me give up long ago. Her odd inflection and emphasis on certain syllables just spoiled this book for me. The story appears to be a standard Beauty and the Beast, but the characters are vivid and relatable. Once you get past that voice!!

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3 people found this helpful

Loved the story

Not my usual type of book but it was an interesting retelling. I really liked the characters.
The narration was a struggle.

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just a reworded original.

If you want a fun and witty Beauty and the Beast story that barely strays from the original, then this is the perfect book for you. The dialogue is funny, the pace is fast enough.
But if you are looking for a retelling that's a bit different, then carry on searching.
This is a fab book, but much as i love the story, it bored me to death so stopped the audiobook halfway through. It's just too exact to the original fairytale, and i saw no point in rereading that.

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What does T Kingfisher have against roses?

The narrator has a very theatrical style and I can see why some would find it annoying but I thought it suited this story very well. A very fun and surprisingly romantic 5 hours. Gardeners will love this especially.

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