I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.  All opinions are my own. 

A young princess deals with a deadly curse and a plot against her kingdom in author Alison McBain’s “The Rose Queen,” the first book in The Rose Trilogy series.

The Synopsis

The Rose Queen was a fantasy finalist for 2019 IAN Book of the Year, and also a finalist for the 2019 Literary Classics Book Award. In addition, it was named as one of the best books of 2018 by the reviewer website Bookshine and Readbows. What makes it so intriguing? Perhaps it’s because the Beast doesn’t always wait for Beauty. Sometimes, Beauty IS the Beast. Princess Mirabella is betrothed to a repulsive old man a year after her mother’s death. She refuses the marriage, only to find out her betrothed is a sorcerer as well. He takes his revenge by transforming her into a savage and frightening beast, giving her an ultimatum: she has three years to solve the mystery of her curse—or die. Exiled to her mother’s estate to hide the scandal, Mirabella learns that the sorcerer was not alone in keeping secrets. Her grandfather was murdered before Mirabella was born, and her mother’s death is looking less and less as if it came from natural causes. The only point in common to all their ruined lives: her father, the king. Faced with a conflict between saving her family and saving her own life, the choices Mirabella makes will change the future of the kingdom—and magic—forever.

THE REVIEW

This was a compelling and unique retelling of a classic fairytale. Immediately, the author made the story stand out by steering away from the usual romantic tropes of beauty and the beast by combining the two protagonists into one character, and leaving behind the romance in lieu of a story of family, duty, and the lengths people are willing to go to in order to do the right thing. The world-building is astonishing, as the author really makes this kingdom and the characters unique and visceral in their depiction.

The rich atmosphere and the immersive experience readers get from delving into this narrative form provide a solid foundation on which the author can develop and bring to life a completely new take on this fairytale, turning it into an epic fantasy driven by nefarious politics and family secrets. Mirabel is a fantastic protagonist who stands out not only for the curse she must bear, but for the twists and turns that reveal harsh realities about her family, and the foes she must face are also stellar on the page, as they also highlight the struggles many young women must face when dealing with outrageous actions of the men in their lives.

THE VERDICT

Compelling, entertaining, and thoroughly entertaining, author Alison McBain’s “The Rose Queen” is a must-read fantasy novel and a much-needed twist on a classic fairytale. Filled with untold dangers, secrets, and lies, magic, and sorcery, and twist, and turns that readers will not see coming, this narrative is one book readers will not want to put down. If you haven’t yet, please be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

About the Author

Alison McBain (1979-not dead yet) was born in Canada, raised in California, and arrived in Canada with a few detours along the way. She has over two hundred poems and short stories published in magazines and anthologies such as Flash Fiction Online, On Spec, and Litro. Her debut and award-winning novel is The Rose Queen: Book 1 of the Rose Trilogy, and was shortly followed by a collection of her short fantasy fiction called Enchantress of Books. When not obsessing over her plan of survival for a zombie apocalypse, she practices origami meditation and draws all over the walls of her house with the enthusiastic help of her kids. In her spare time, she is one of the editors at Scribes*MICRO*Fiction (which publishes flash stories & poems and is always open for submissions). You can chat with her at @AlisonMcBain or read her blog at www.alisonmcbain.com.

https://www.instagram.com/alisonamcbain

https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01BQZ9IDW/about?ccs_id=f750020f-500d-4d7e-8907-1428291f8979