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A review by janeeyre_914716
Gilded Rose by Emma Hamm
5.0
"This was a human woman. Not a human woman general who studied the tactics of war and secrecy. This was just a woman, a small one who had tucked herself into some nook of his home where they could not sniff her out. He had never been bested by another creature before...The Dread were the most terrifying beasts in the land. Humans trembled at the mere mention of his forces, and yet this woman had managed to not only evade him, but send a wave of uncertainty throughout the ranks."
This was totally wickedly amazing! Especially for my first Emma Hamm book. This was one of those that was a late night reading before bed on my backlit kindle but I can't remember when it picked up for me to the point I couldn't put it down and just devoured it even though I was devouring another one I'm currently reading but this one got my attention big time at some point and I found myself finishing it first before my other one I was way into.
I have to say though this retelling was well done and being actually close to the true Beauty and the Beast story was perfect! I did read or skim to see if Amicia was in the other two books in this trilogy and when I didn't see her name in them and the more I read this one, the more I wondered how Emma Hamm was going to lead into the next books or at least set them up. And oh boy did she build that up perfectly and I loved the twist to it and now excited to pick up the next book when I get a chance. The end was a great way to end this one and I saw some had issues with the King of the Dread trying to kill Amicia earlier by throwing her off a balcony but she survived despite a few broken ribs and broken leg and cut arm and all and then he decided to keep her alive but there was a particular reason as to why he kept her alive afterwards and it ended up being well written. I see that as a possible equivalent but more exciting to the wolves attacking Belle in the original Beauty and the Beast and yet, in that story, if you think about it, the Beast could've left her to the wolves and let her die but he didn't and ended up saving her for some reason he probably didn't know what and the rest is history. It was definitely different from other retellings of this timeless story I've read that I love and is my absolute favorite story so Emma Hamm nailed this one for me and that's saying a lot. This is so far my third favorite Beauty and the Beast retelling.
Top 3 Beauty and the Beast retellings I've read/remembered:
1- [b:Cruel Beauty|15839984|Cruel Beauty|Rosamund Hodge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1371652590l/15839984._SY75_.jpg|21580669]
2- [b:Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast|41424|Beauty A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast|Robin McKinley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1294192311l/41424._SY75_.jpg|2321285]
3- [b:Gilded Rose|50883711|Gilded Rose (Celestials #1)|Emma Hamm|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567807065l/50883711._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73269767]
This was totally wickedly amazing! Especially for my first Emma Hamm book. This was one of those that was a late night reading before bed on my backlit kindle but I can't remember when it picked up for me to the point I couldn't put it down and just devoured it even though I was devouring another one I'm currently reading but this one got my attention big time at some point and I found myself finishing it first before my other one I was way into.
I have to say though this retelling was well done and being actually close to the true Beauty and the Beast story was perfect! I did read or skim to see if Amicia was in the other two books in this trilogy and when I didn't see her name in them and the more I read this one, the more I wondered how Emma Hamm was going to lead into the next books or at least set them up. And oh boy did she build that up perfectly and I loved the twist to it and now excited to pick up the next book when I get a chance. The end was a great way to end this one and I saw some had issues with the King of the Dread trying to kill Amicia earlier by throwing her off a balcony but she survived despite a few broken ribs and broken leg and cut arm and all and then he decided to keep her alive but there was a particular reason as to why he kept her alive afterwards and it ended up being well written. I see that as a possible equivalent but more exciting to the wolves attacking Belle in the original Beauty and the Beast and yet, in that story, if you think about it, the Beast could've left her to the wolves and let her die but he didn't and ended up saving her for some reason he probably didn't know what and the rest is history. It was definitely different from other retellings of this timeless story I've read that I love and is my absolute favorite story so Emma Hamm nailed this one for me and that's saying a lot. This is so far my third favorite Beauty and the Beast retelling.
Top 3 Beauty and the Beast retellings I've read/remembered:
1- [b:Cruel Beauty|15839984|Cruel Beauty|Rosamund Hodge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1371652590l/15839984._SY75_.jpg|21580669]
2- [b:Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast|41424|Beauty A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast|Robin McKinley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1294192311l/41424._SY75_.jpg|2321285]
3- [b:Gilded Rose|50883711|Gilded Rose (Celestials #1)|Emma Hamm|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567807065l/50883711._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73269767]