Rose Daughter (urspr publ 1997; utgåvan 1998)

This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The human characters were beautifully written and the story enjoyable. However, the rose-gardening sections got a bit tedious and the Beast was a bit dull. I like roses and gardening, but not that much. Using manure from a unicorn was definately an interesting (and amusing) use of unicorns.

I much preferred the retellings by T. Kingfisher (Bryony and Roses) and Melanie Karsak (Beauty and Beastly). ( )

Loved this book, but I felt like I've read it before, oh that's right it's almost exactly the same as Beauty. Down to certain passages being almost identical. But I love this story and this book! I did notice differences and I liked them too! ( )

3.5 stars. ( )

I dithered between 3-1/2 and 4 stars. The story pulled me in pretty readily but I kept expecting a different plot, so I was occasionally distracted. To be fair, I probably read this book too soon after reading 'Beauty' and need to give this folktale a re-reading. ( )

This is McKinley's second retelling of Beauty and the Beast--the first was Beauty. In this audio book. There are some neat updates--one of Beauty's sisters, Lionhearted dresses as a man to apprentice in town, and becomes known as a son in the family. Beauty is a gardener, ad when her father steals a rose a pact is made that either Beauty's father will be killed or Beauty will be The Beast's companion. The descriptions of the house--all of the places McKinley puts flowers is amazing. The magic is more subtle than other versions, but delightful. ( )