A Ruin of Roses

"Life is a battle we cannot win. The question becomes, do we want to go down peacefully, or fight until out last breath? I choose to fight."

Good morning ladies and gents! The tale of sleeping beauty has become quite a progressive story. What began as fairytale, then a Disney animation, then a live action movie has made a come back to literature, in this dark retelling romances, A Ruin of Roses. Check it out!

P.S. I know most of us don't like Aurora, but she's a bad bitch this time, promise!

Goodreads' Blurb

A spicy new twist on an old classic - a deliciously dark Beauty and the Beast reimagining.

I could save him, but he would ruin me. The beast. The creature that stalks the forbidden wood. The dragon prince.

He has suffered a fate worse than death. We all have. A curse put upon us by the mad king. We are a kingdom locked in time. Shifters unable to feel our animals. Stuck here by a deal between the late king and a demon who seeks our destruciton.

The only one keeping this kingdom alive in Nyfain, the golden prince to a stolen throne. The last dragon shifter. He's our hope. He's my nightmare. When he catches me trespassing in the forbidden wood, he doesn't punish me with death, as he's entitled. He takes me, instead. Forces me back to the castle as his prisoner. Seeks to use me.

Apparently, I can save him. I can save the whole forgotten kingdom, locked away by the demon king's power. But it would mean taming the monster beneath his skin. It would mean giving myself to him. I would mean my ruin.

'A Ruin of Roses' was a simple story. A girl does something she wasn't suppose to for the greater good and gets punished for it, the classic hero trope. The beast is a prince in disguise, dark yet regal, as is seen with any swoon worthy prince. The twist of the story is the demons. I've never seen a demon in maleficent nor sleeping beauty, so it really threw me for a loop. They added a little sin to a fairytale classic. Demons and shifters living in co-existence, the oppressors and oppressed linked together through lust as a ramification to fifteen years worth of stalled time. Their beast suppressed and inadequate amounts of tail leaves only the demons for personal enjoyment.

How can you recognize the first tug of love? For us the answer is apparent after deep introspection. For true mates the question may not be simple. Although it really should be! It may be because I'm a bit cynical but love is something that has to be grown. I obviously love the fated mate, true mate/shifter love novels I review but do they really have to fall in love so easily. It's like love at first sight for them but on the inside. Have any of you watch Korean Odyssey, the k-drama? When Son O-gong puts on Geumganggo and the braclet digs into his skin and squeezes his heart, forcing him to love Jin Sun-Mi? Its feels like that. Is it real? Is it fake? Is it just at the beginning of the relationship and then real love sets in? Or are they tricked for their extended existence?! When ya'll get an idea, DM me.

Finley (our FMC), is a badass in biology! For those of you that think that's lame, just know that she could poison you with, cinnamon, nutmeg, sage, etc. and you would be none the wiser. She is absolutly brilliant! She's stubborn, strong minded, loves pointy objects, ambitious, a herb-ologist, and can fight. I'm in love <3! Characters like Finley are reasons I love K.F. Breene. Not only can she create worlds you wish you could just portal jump to but the characters have substance and goals and are relatable. Finley is fighting her social construct by wearign what she wants to wear (pants), enjoying activities that make her better (swordplay and herb-ology), and is rebunking marriage! Relatable problems to so many girls, hell, women, around the globe.

Book Review

Nyfain (prince) and Finley's relationship entertained me. Watching the chase between the two caused a lot of laughter to randomly errupt. The ending when Nyfain and Fin have a heart to heart was a great repreive. Definetly needed to cope with the book's conclusion. Breene's writing was on point and inviting. Smut levels dirty. I do hope for a bit more adventure in the next book as there wasn't a lot once Finley is kidnapped and taked to the castle.

The cherry on top of 'A Ruin of Roses' is the example opportunity. That "even as nothing, you can become something." (I hereby patent this statement, no copyrighting. LOL!) An ordinary, poor village girl with no education, worth, or pristege. Set out into the forbidden woods to save her Nana. A person deemed as no one taughter herself through books and experiements how to save her village. If a girl in rural village could do that, you as a human living in the twenty-first century certainly could too. Become something :)

Ending Hint:

'If he wanted me to play hero, I would. And I'd make him my damsel'

-- Finley's mind about 'her' prince

*Double P.S. This book ends in a cliffhanger and book two releases on KU November 12, 2021*