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A review by tien
The Beast's Garden by Kate Forsyth
4.0
I loved [b:Beauty|41424|Beauty (Folktales, #1)|Robin McKinley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1294192311s/41424.jpg|2321285] by [a:Robin McKinley|5339|Robin McKinley|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1314406026p2/5339.jpg] and I adore Kate Forsyth so I thought that The Beast’s Garden would be a wonderful magical retelling. Despite the horribleness of the setting (I meant the nasty gruesome war rather than the actual place), I thought that this would be an excellent foil for Beauty’s courage and generosity. In the end, whilst I have very much enjoyed the story, I’d say that The Beast’s Garden is inspired by (rather than a retelling of) ‘The Singing, Springing Lark', the Grimm Brothers’ version of Beauty and The Beast.
‘The Singing, Springing Lark' is quite a bit different than the well-known tale of Beauty and The Beast and if you know your literature, you’d know that Grimm Brothers’ version will be much darker. This means that our heroine must be very determined, intelligent, brave, and persistent in order to win a life with her love. Ava was young but bounteous in courage. Her courage carried her to Leo, sustained her through turbulent times, and brought her to her destined future.
It’s very clear that Kate Forsyth has done her research and I loved knowing that most characters are real historically (the exception being Ava & Leo and their family). The novel was just intricately woven together into a seamlessly stunning love story amidst destruction. It’s just like how that red rose on the cover stands out! My only grievance was the lack of magic. I’ve always associated Kate Forsyth with magic and I kept expecting something magical to pop up but aside from some hint of the gypsy, I drew a complete blank.
The Beast’s Garden has a lot to offer the readers. The friendships cultivated by Ava were true and lasting. Both Ava and Leo were bound by a force neither could fight off and by embracing love, they found a little safe haven in a dark world. As with all war fiction, you’d always wonder how you yourself will act and we are shown just how courageous some can be in fighting for humanity whilst others sought only to destroy. A smashing read and highly recommended to historical fiction fans.
Thanks to Random House Australia via NetGalley for eARC in exchange of honest review
‘The Singing, Springing Lark' is quite a bit different than the well-known tale of Beauty and The Beast and if you know your literature, you’d know that Grimm Brothers’ version will be much darker. This means that our heroine must be very determined, intelligent, brave, and persistent in order to win a life with her love. Ava was young but bounteous in courage. Her courage carried her to Leo, sustained her through turbulent times, and brought her to her destined future.
It’s very clear that Kate Forsyth has done her research and I loved knowing that most characters are real historically (the exception being Ava & Leo and their family). The novel was just intricately woven together into a seamlessly stunning love story amidst destruction. It’s just like how that red rose on the cover stands out! My only grievance was the lack of magic. I’ve always associated Kate Forsyth with magic and I kept expecting something magical to pop up but aside from some hint of the gypsy, I drew a complete blank.
The Beast’s Garden has a lot to offer the readers. The friendships cultivated by Ava were true and lasting. Both Ava and Leo were bound by a force neither could fight off and by embracing love, they found a little safe haven in a dark world. As with all war fiction, you’d always wonder how you yourself will act and we are shown just how courageous some can be in fighting for humanity whilst others sought only to destroy. A smashing read and highly recommended to historical fiction fans.
Thanks to Random House Australia via NetGalley for eARC in exchange of honest review