Skip to main content

Rebel Rose (The Queen's Council #1) by Emma Theriault: A Book Review

Rebel Rose (The Queen’s Council #1)

Author: Emma Theriault

Genre: YA Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Release Date: 2020

Pages: 348

Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Happily ever after is only the beginning in this epic YA reimagining of the princesses as young rulers of their lands, aided by a mystical group of women called the Queen's Council, whose job it is to advise queens throughout history.  


     My Review: Rebel Rose is the sequel to Beauty and the Beast during the French Revolution. Belle is married to the Prince of Aveyon, a principality of France. When the French Revolution starts, the kingdom of Aveyon decides to break away from France and form its own kingdom. However, Belle does not want to be queen. Through a series of events, Belle realizes that accepting the queenship is the best gift for the newly formed kingdom.


The story takes place shortly after Belle marries the Beast. While Belle is happy marrying for love, she does not want to be a princess and refuses to have a title. She believes that being a princess and a queen will prevent her from having the freedom she has always dreamed. Throughout the novel, Belle slowly warms to the idea of being queen and to accept the responsibility of the title. In this book, Belle spends most of the novel being unsure of herself. It is only through the help of others that she is able to gain confidence and self-esteem.


Overall, this novel is about confidence, friendship, and responsibility. The message of the story is to believe in yourself. There are a few characters that I liked. However, the rest of the characters are stereotypical and have little depth. The story itself was very slow moving. The plot is thin and seems drawn out. Most of the action happens in the last pages. I also found it a bit odd that the reason why the witch turned the prince into a beast is not because of his selfishness and that he needed to learn a lesson, but solely to make Belle to enter his life and make her his queen. Still, I like the historical aspects of the novel and the rise of Belle becoming queen. This book is perfect for those who want to learn what happens after the ever after in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast! I recommend this for fans of As Old As Time, Belle, and The Merchant’s Daughter!


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) by Lucinda Riley: A Book Review

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) Author: Lucinda Riley Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Atria Release Date: 2015 Pages: 463 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis: Maia D’Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home, “Atlantis”—a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva—having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each of them is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story and its beginnings. Eighty years earlier in Rio’s Belle Epoque of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio’s father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to
Post a Comment
Read more

A Noble Cunning: The Countess and the Tower by Patricia Bernstein: A Book Review

A Noble Cunning: The Countess and the Tower  Author: Patricia Bernstein Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: History Through Fiction  Release Date: March 7, 2023 Pages: 266 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A Noble Cunning is a novel based on the true story of persecuted Catholic noblewoman Winifred Maxwell, who rescued her husband from the Tower of London with the help of a group of devoted women friends in 1716.             A Noble Cunning is a novel based on the life of Winifred Herbert Maxwell (1680-1749), who became the Countess of Nithsdale in 1699.     Set amidst the 1715 Rebellion against England’s first German king, George I, the novel depicts the ruthless persecution of Catholics and the relentless determination of protagonist Bethan Glentaggart to save the life of husband Gavin after he is captured and condemned to death. Bethan faces down a mob attack on her home, travels alone from the Scottish Lowlands to London through one of the wo
Post a Comment
Read more

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki: A Book Review

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post Author: Allison Pataki Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Ballantine Release Date: February 15, 2022 Pages: 381 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you. . . . So begins another average evening for Marjorie Merriweather Post. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, Marjorie was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hard—even when deemed American royalty, even while covered in imperial diamonds. Marjorie had an insatiable drive to live and love and to give more than she got. From crawling through Moscow warehouses to rescue the Tsar’s treasures to outrunning the Nazis in London, from serving the homeless of the Great Depression to entertaining Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Hollywood’s biggest stars, Marjorie Merriweath
Post a Comment
Read more