Reviews - Iron Rose | The StoryGraph

29 reviews for:

Iron Rose

Abigail O'Bryan

3.91 AVERAGE

aliterarykerry's review

5.0

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

I’m a sucker for a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and this one hits all the notes for me. Lydia is a fierce, driven FMC whose sense of purpose guides her. Nothing — NOTHING — will stop her from doing what’s needed.

And then Adam! It wouldn’t be hard to love a Beast like him.

I loved how the dynamic between Lydia and Adam unfolded, and this story works without any spice. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

romantasy_introvert's review

4.0

medium-paced

Thank you to Abigail for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a fun twist on Beauty & The Beast. As most fantasy novels, the beginning started out slow and it took me a little while to get fully engaged in it. But once we met "the beast", aka Adam the MMC, things really started to pick up. Both Adam and Lydia had their own past trauma and secrets that they kept from each other, and it was interesting to watch their relationship grow while also watching the revelations unfold. For being a standalone novel, there was just enough action and romance to keep you satisfied without overdoing it in either aspect.

This was a great debut novel for Abigail, and I'm so excited to see what she releases next!

frawst_disasta_reads's review

5.0

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Look, did I ask myself “Do I need to read another Beauty and the Beast retelling”?
I did.
Did a buddy read convince me to read?
Yes.
Was this absolutely pure gold?
Yes.
This felt wholly imaginative while wrapped in a recognizable tale. I loved the plot twists, the callbacks to the film, and the characters.
If you read no other BatB retellings, please do yourself a favour and read this one.

Content Warnings

janie_curtis's review against another edition

5.0

Beautiful just beautiful

emmybird86's review

5.0

I had to read this Beauty and the Beast retelling. I loved how different the story is from the original tale. Our Belle character is so strong and loyal yet grows so much in her confidence in herself. She is a natural born leader. I adored the Beast and his story. I loved Gavin so much! I cannot wait to read more by this author.

jasmine314's review

3.75

adventurous sad tense fast-paced

zoetic's review against another edition

5.0

Reminiscent of a seasonal drink that you can enjoy year-round, Iron Rose is a captivating retelling that I couldn’t put down! Blending nods to the Disney film with original elements, this fantasy tale explores femininity and the transformative effects of war on innocence.

reignited_reader's review

4.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I don't often read fairytale retellings but the blurb of this one sounded really interesting and I'm so glad that I jumped into it. The Beauty and the Beast aspect was present, though not right away in the book, and the author's version only leaned on it rather than feeling too close to original. She was able to put quite an imaginative twist on the classic story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Read if you love:
Beauty and the Beast
Fairytale Retellings
He Falls First
Secret Identities
Fierce FMCs
Multiple POVs

erin_brigid's review

4.25

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I tend to avoid retellings but I’m SO glad I read this! Such a refreshing take on a classic story.

Lydia is a complete bad ass that you can’t help but love. Not only is she completely determined, she’s also strong af (like mentally she’s a bad ass and physically she could take me out). I think I would have immediately started crying if I was in front of the Crimson Lord for 1 second, but she just keeps going toe to toe with him🤭

Who doesn’t love the beast? Like we can all agree he was it growing up right? Ok well this beast IS STILL IT! He’s caring and fiercely protective. His development from cursed beast to who he is today was nice change from the classics.

Definitely recommend if you’re a fan of beauty and the beast, or just of badass fmc’s. Easy to read and kept me engaged until the end!

aloveforlifeandliteracy's review

4.0

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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