What could possibly be better than a Beauty and the Beast retelling, you ask? A why-choose retelling with Fae, of course! Needless to say I was over the moon when I learned of the existence of the Beasts of the Briar series by Elizabeth Helen.
Attention: I will be reviewing all books of the series in this post (gradually), but everything apart from the first book will be hidden so that you will not see any spoilers for the rest of the series (unless you want to, of course).
Note: “Elizabeth Helen” is the pseudonym of the sisterly author-duo Elizabeth and Helen.
Bonded by Thorns
Book 1, Bonded by Thorns, was Fairyloot ‘s Romantasy pick of August 2024. It was immediately clear that this was going to be straight up my alley, so I couldn’t wait to start reading. And spoiler: I read the entire thing with a stupid grin on my face that refused to bulge until well after the last page.
Bonded by Thorns introduces us to Rosalina, a bookish girl who struggles to find her place in a town that considers her the daughter of a madman. One day, right when her former, abusive, boyfriend proposes, she finds herself lost in a magical and dangerous realm. She offers to take the place of her father as the captive of a vicious Fae lord, after which she makes a bargain with him and the other residents of the castle in order to win back her freedom.
So much love
I’ve loved this book as from the start. It’s everything I look for in a retelling: romantic, spicy, surprising yet true to the original. At one point, I just wrote “lol” in my review journal. That sums it up rather nicely.
While this story is clearly a Beauty and the Beast retelling, I also got some vibes from other fairy tales, notably Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. Furthermore, it clearly uses some classic Fae mythology details, such a bargain magic.
I loved the castle and its library. It creates classic fairy tale-vibes, and makes the reader almost desperate to stay a bit longer in this enchanting realm. I was also really interested by the take on the curse. On the one hand, I thought the effect of the curse was really original, something I hadn’t encountered before. On the other hand, I felt the reason of the curse was a bit lame. That’s one over-reacting witch, for sure.
On to the best part of the book: the beasts. The five princes are all trying the be book-boyfriend of the year. Lucas, though, this version’s Gaston? He’s seriously fucked-up. I’m not easily shocked, but even I thought the situation between him and Rosalina was uncomfortable to read.
If I had to offer one point of critique, it would be that there is lots of repetition in the narration. This can clearly help to get to know the world, but it felt a bit much at times.
One of the aspects I loved best were the frequent references to films and books. Rosalina is a proper story-nerd, which makes her a great main character as she’ll be very relatable to many readers. There’s also at least one direct quote from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which I thought to be a nice touch.
Without a doubt, five out of five gemstones:
Recap book 1
In the following section, you’ll find a recap that you can use to prepare for the next book. Of course, this is by definition full of spoilers, so it is hidden behind a spoiler tag. Enter at your own risk!
Want a recap before starting the next part? (click here, contains spoilers)
World: The book is partially set in the human world, and partially in the Fae realm. The story starts out in Orca Cove, a small town near the Briarwood Forest, in which the Rose Bush is found via which you can enter the Fae Realm. The Fae Realm is split into two: the Above and the Below. The four princes live in the Above, and more precisely in Castletree, the main castle of the Enchanted Vale via which you can access each of the four seasonal realms. The fifth prince, the Prince of Thorns, lives in the Below. Main characters: Rosalina: A bookish girl who works in the local bookstore and believes herself to be in love with her ex-boyfriend. She dreams of having her own library but she feels trap because she has to provide for her father. Lucas: A rich boy who has recently returned to Orca Cove. He used to be Rosalina’s boyfriend, but he abused her. He has now decided that he wants to marry her. Rosalina’s father: Thought to be “mad” by the other villagers, Rosalina’s father believes his wife was kidnapped by the Fae. Everyone else believes that he simply couldn’t cope with his wife leaving him. He spends every minute and every penny on finding a way into the Fae Realm. There are several Fae princes (= high rulers or high princes). Each has their own kind of magic. Keldarion, the Prince of Winter and Lord of Castletree. Ezryn, the Prince of Spring who always wears an armour and who wields rejuvenation magic. Dayton, the Prince of Summer Farron, the Prince of Autumn Dayton and Farron have an open relationship. Each of the princes are cursed to become a wolf every night (exept on the night of the full moon). Farron is the only one who hasn’t been able to control the wolf yet, meaning that he is locked up every night to ensure the safety of the others. Last but not least, there’s the Prince of Thorns, Caspian, who used to have a relationship with Keldarion in the past. Today, however, they are sworn enemies. Plot: Rosalina, a human girl, is put on the spot when her ex-boyfriend (who used to abuse her), publicly asks to marry him. Before she can answer, however, someone arrives to tell them that her father’s coat was found in the forest. Rosalina and Lucas go into the forest, they find the Rose Bush, and accidently enter the Fae Realm. Lucas leaves her behind however, and brings himself back to safety. Rosalina goes on and discovers that her father has been taken prisoner by a Fae male, Keldarion. She offers to take his place, which Keldarion accepts. Rosalina soon learns that, 25 years ago, a curse was placed over the Fae Realm. This curse turns the princes into wolves each night, and can only be broken when each of them finds their true mates. She makes a bargain with Kildarian: if she succeeds in helping them break the curse, she will regain her freedom. Things get a bit more complicated when Rosalina starts to develop feelings for each of the princes. And to make matters worse, there’s the Prince of Thorns who shows up unexpected and uninvited each time, and who seems to have a particular penchant for bothering Keldarion. In order to find their mates, Rosalina convinces the princes to host balls in each of their realms. During the first of these, it is revealed that it was Keldarion who made a bargain which doomed the Above, and he decides that he does not want Rosalina in danger anymore, sending her back to the human world, just as Rosalina realises she might be Keldarion’s mate.Book 2: Woven by Gold
Coming soon
Book 3: Forged by Malice
Coming soon
Book 4: Broken by Daylight
Coming soon
Notes on The Beasts of the Briar series
Age Category: For a mature audience
Representation: LGBTQ+ main characters, polyamory, mental health related struggles
Trigger warnings (click here, contains spoilers)
Abusive relationship
Do you want to discover more?
If my review inspired you to pick up the first book, don’t hesitate to check it out at Goodreads or at the below online stores:
Amazon.nl: Paperback Edition
Special editions
Fairyloot has published amazing editions of this series. The first book, Bonded by Thorns, was part of their Romantasy subscription in August 2024. It has an exclusive cover, end-paper art, a reversible dust-jacket, foiling on the hardcover, digitally sprayed edges, and an author signature. It also included a bound-in author letter. I absolutely love, LOVE, the end-paper art of this edition, it’s simply stunning, as are the stenciled edges and the foiling on the hardcover. I did think the pages behaved rather weirdly during reading though. I’m not sure what exactly was off about them, but they definitely didn’t move properly. Very weird indeed.
In March 2025, Fairyloot held a presale for books 2 – 4. They will have the same customisations (except they will not include a bound-in author letter), and they will be distributed in June 2025. I, for one, cannot wait!
Similar to this
Although this series is a strong contender for the title, my all-time favourite Beauty and the Beast retelling will forever be A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer. If you haven’t read this marvellous trilogy and its spin-off trilogy yet, you absolutely should! My spoiler-free series review can be found here. I gave all three books 5 gemstones.
I was also reminded of another Beauty and the Beast retelling with Fae, namely A Prince so Cruel by Ingrid Seymour. This stories contained less elements of the original story though, apart from the fact that there was obviously a beauty and a beast present. It’s an entertaining story with amusing banter, and interesting worldbuilding elements. I enjoyed it well enough, but it was never truly exceptional and at times quite predictable. Until…the end. I was pleasantly surprised by the final plot twist, so much so that I immediately went online to buy book two. I also read the trilogy would increasingly become darker, so I was definitely intrigued. In the end, however, the story fell a bit flat for me, and while I gave the first book 3 gemstones, I gave the second only 2 and didn’t continue reading. However, it has quite decent ratings on Goodreads, so that might have been a “me-problem”.
Talking about definite “me-problems”: Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco. A very popular series, which I should have loved, but simply couldn’t. Nevertheless, there are some similar elements to be found compared to Beasts of the Briar, especially with regards to the bunch of “wicked” (at first sight anyway) but delightfully sexy princes. It tells the story of a witch, who is warned to always keep her distance from “The Wicked”. Which she doesn’t, of course. When her sister is murdered, she starts to investigate and soon finds herself acquainted with the princes of hell. While this series wasn’t for me (I gave the books 3, 2, and 1 gemstone respectively), I would definitely recommend you to have a go at it if you haven’t read it yet but liked Beasts of the Briar. My spoiler-free review of the series can be found here.
When talking about Fae romances with delicious male main characters, it’s impossible not to mention the most popular series in its genre: The Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. I have loved every single minute I spent in this world, and I cannot wait to return to it. This series starts out as a Beauty and the Beast retelling as well, but then morphs into a Hades and Persephone inspired tale, influenced by various other myths, legends, and fairy tales. My spoiler-free series review can be found here. I gave all of the books in this series 5 gemstones, apart from the first one that got “only” 4.
Last but not least, if you, like me, had a vague feeling you’d heard the title before when discovering The Beasts of the Briar, you might have been thinking about Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston (as I was). While this is not officially a Beauty and the Beast retelling, it certainly had elements that reminded me of the classic fairy tale. The story is set in an enchanted kingdom, in which royal magic has been able to prevent dark magic’s return for centuries. However, when a new queen is crowned, creatures from the woods arrive to demand the crown instead. My review can be found here. I gave this stand-alone book 3 gemstones.