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A review by onthesamepage
Rebel Rose by Emma Theriault
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really wanted a lot more out of this.
The concept of "what happens after the happily ever after" is one I love but rarely see executed well (see: pretty much all Disney sequels), and I'm sad to say this was not an exception. I liked the idea of it: bringing Belle and the Beast's story into a historical context does give the story itself a much fuller backdrop. The author did a great job explaining how Aveyon and its prince relate to France and French royalty. In fact, I don't have any issues with how the historical fiction element was handled, and would've loved to see more of that in the book. My issue is with the characters.
None of the characters we know and love feel like the Disney characters. Early on in the book, Belle and Lio (aka the Beast) have a discussion where they stress the importance of being honest with one another, and yet all Belle does throughout the story is lie to Lio to save him from the painful facts that he probably can't handle. On his part, instead of remembering that Belle is pretty fierce, Lio tries very hard to confine her to her home because it's not safe outside. We're told that Lio relies on Belle, that she's his anchor, but he doesn't act like it at all, and prefers the advice of a cousin he hasn't seen in over 10 years to the advice of his wife. Even Cogsworth had a distinctly different flavor to him. I don't remember him being so angry, especially not towards Belle. Mrs. Potts and Lumiere at least felt in character.
There's also a mystery plot surrounding a possible revolutionary within the castle, but it's really not that mysterious. Very disappointing with the reveal and how everything went down in the end.
The writing also didn't grab me. There's a lot of unnecessary explanation and telling rather than showing, and I felt entirely disconnected from the characters and the events that were unfolding. The plot lacks urgency until the last 15% of the book, and while I could have been okay with that provided there had been good character development, that was lacking as well. Belle and Lio spent most of the story apart, which is also a shame.
I'm still curious to see what other books in this series will be like and will be continuing, but I wouldn't recommend this one.
The concept of "what happens after the happily ever after" is one I love but rarely see executed well (see: pretty much all Disney sequels), and I'm sad to say this was not an exception. I liked the idea of it: bringing Belle and the Beast's story into a historical context does give the story itself a much fuller backdrop. The author did a great job explaining how Aveyon and its prince relate to France and French royalty. In fact, I don't have any issues with how the historical fiction element was handled, and would've loved to see more of that in the book. My issue is with the characters.
None of the characters we know and love feel like the Disney characters. Early on in the book, Belle and Lio (aka the Beast) have a discussion where they stress the importance of being honest with one another, and yet all Belle does throughout the story is lie to Lio to save him from the painful facts that he probably can't handle. On his part, instead of remembering that Belle is pretty fierce, Lio tries very hard to confine her to her home because it's not safe outside. We're told that Lio relies on Belle, that she's his anchor, but he doesn't act like it at all, and prefers the advice of a cousin he hasn't seen in over 10 years to the advice of his wife. Even Cogsworth had a distinctly different flavor to him. I don't remember him being so angry, especially not towards Belle. Mrs. Potts and Lumiere at least felt in character.
There's also a mystery plot surrounding a possible revolutionary within the castle, but it's really not that mysterious. Very disappointing with the reveal and how everything went down in the end.
The writing also didn't grab me. There's a lot of unnecessary explanation and telling rather than showing, and I felt entirely disconnected from the characters and the events that were unfolding. The plot lacks urgency until the last 15% of the book, and while I could have been okay with that provided there had been good character development, that was lacking as well. Belle and Lio spent most of the story apart, which is also a shame.
I'm still curious to see what other books in this series will be like and will be continuing, but I wouldn't recommend this one.