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Rose Daughter

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Rose Daughter

By: Robin McKinley
Narrated by: Bianca Amato
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About this listen

"It is the heart of this place, and it is dying," says the Beast. And it is true; the center of the Beast's palace, the glittering glasshouse that brings Beauty both comfort and delight in her strange new environment, is filled with leafless brown rosebushes. But deep within this enchanted world, new life, at once subtle and strong, is about to awaken. Twenty years ago Robin McKinley enthralled listeners with the power of Beauty. Now this extraordinarily gifted novelist retells the story of Beauty and the Beast again - but in a totally new way, with fresh perspective, ingenuity, and mature insight. In Rose Daughter she has written her finest and most deeply felt work, a compelling, richly imagined, and haunting exploration of the transformative power of love.

©1997 Robin McKinley (P)2013 Recorded Books Fantasy Romance Fiction

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Read by Bianca Amato
Another Beauty and the Beast retelling and since I read T Kingfisher's Briony and Roses recently, it's hard not to compare and contrast. Both writers are excellent storytellers. Rose Daughter might be slightly lighter in tone though both focus on Beauty as a gardener. In this version we follow three sisters and their bankrupt father. The sisters are fully rounded characters in their own right, whichis a nice touch. They all have skills. Beauty's skill happens to be growing things are there are hints that she might actually bee a green witch. When Beauty ends up in the Beast's palace, she tries to save the Beast's roses which are slowly dying an an enormous glass house. It's a very pleasant listen with just the hint of the narrator's English accent sometimes defaulting to orff instead of off. I checked and she's South African so considering her English accent is probably learned, she does quite well. It does worry me sometimes that they don't have English narrators doing English accents. Surely there are enough English readers available.

Another Beauty and the Beast Retelling

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This book is - spoiler alert - a retelling of
Beauty and the Beast, so the plot is entirely predictable, but it is beautifully told for an adult audience. The style is lyrical and well written. The narrator takes a bit of getting used to, but is actually well matched to the tale, so worth persevering with. I loved it!

A lovely fantasy tale for a post Game of Thrones readership

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What I love about Robin McKinley is her respect for the Beauty and the Beast fairytale. Not only is Beauty one of my favourite reads/listens of all time, it's comforting and a beautiful variation.

And then there is Rose Daughter, a different variation again. Not my utmost favourite, but still a great listen.

Bianca Amato does a great job reading this.

Rose Daughter a Beauty and the Beast retelling

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I have to say this book was good, however the author first re telling called Beauty is definitely a better story. I found this booked dragged in places and went so fast in others! Overall tho it’s still an enjoyable take

An interesting take on a classic

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The descriptive parts, that go on endlessly, are a bit too much. There are countless details that don’t add to the narrative. On the contrary, they distract the reader/listener from the story. The Narrator, with her over-dramatized diction, accentuates the heaviness. The story lakes all of essential ingredients for an enjoyable novel: the magic, the pathos, the tension of a well-constructed plot.

Not my cup of tea

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The beauty of fairytales frequently lies in their brevity. The key notes of the chord struck with a surety which ties the reader or listener to all those nights before when a storyteller spun their web beside the fire. Sadly in this case, whilst the narrator gives it her all the story is far, far too rambling for an uninspired rendition of the tale and the depth which a long retelling could provide is never delivered upon. Our heroine, Beauty remains an insipid protagonist throughout. Listen to the previous 'Beauty' or better still to 'Bryony and the Roses' if you want a more entertaining version of the story.

Good work by a narrator saddled with an insipid story.

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