Dragon Rose Review: A Beauty and the Beast Retelling by Christine Pope Review

This year I have found myself rereading favorite books to see if they still hold up. Examples include East by Edith Pattou, Sun and Moon Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George, Beauty by Robin McKinley. On a random whim I decided reread Dragon Rose by Christine Pope to see if I still liked it. I had remembered the book containing extremely dark elements that I generally try avoid reading about and yet still holding my interest. My memories turned out to be correct and I found it to be quite enjoyable for the most part.

The book introduces the reader to cursed town ruled by the dragon Theran Blackmoor. Five hundred years ago Theran was a man who for unknown reasons was cursed to become a dragon. The lands he ruled were also cursed and every few or more years he demands a bride. No one knows what fate befalls the poor girls and the towns lives in constant fear. When Rhianne's closest friend Lilianth is chosen to be the next doomed bride she volunteers to take her place. Taken to the dragons castle she is surprised to find herself attracted to her new husband. Cloaked behind fabric Theran never reveals his dragon form nor demands anything of her. They are husband in wife only in name. He is kind to her and supports her interest in painting (which she had been previously scorned for by the townsfolk) but Rhianne wants more than that. She wants him to love her as she has grown to love him. But with Theran seemingly trying to keep her at a distance Rhianne doesn't seem to have much hope. To add more to her problems she still doesn't know that fate of Theran's previous wives nor the identity of the mysterious handsome man who haunts her dreams. Can Rhianne through her artistic talent and love for her husband lead her to a happy ending? Or is she destined to share the same horrific fate all the previous brides have shared?

This Beauty and the Beast retelling is quite good if you can get passed the darker aspects of it. I personally wouldn't recommend this book to the faint of heart or someone who is struggling with a lot anxiety. However if you are looking for a good beauty and the beast retelling that gradually gets darker over time than I would say give this book a go. 

Rhianne is a good main character who's secret desire to be a painter is admirable. However her life in an extremely sexist town prevents her at first from living out her dreams. In the beginning her father's eyesight is fading and since he has no son to help him rune the family business her parents secretly have Rhianne help out with the painting. However when her repulsive suitor Liat Marenson discovers this he not only withdraws his courtship of her but tells everyone in town. All their wealthy customers then demand their money back and refused to buy anything from them afterwards leaving the family to fend for themselves. When Rhianne volunteers to become the dragons bride she does so not only to save her friend (who is already engaged to be married) but because she knows the dragon compensates his brides family with one thousand gold crowns. She knows that with her out of the house too the money will save her family and help improve the prospects of her three younger sisters. I liked that similar to Disney's Belle Rhianne sticks out of the crowned (albeit in a different way) but that she is still just as brave and kind as the originally Beauty as well.

Theran Blackmoor stole a piece of my heart too. I felt so bad for him. He has been cursed for five hundred years and gets no rest from the curse. He's not allowed to sleep and he is haunted by what happened to his former brides. Sometimes I just wanted to cry for him for all he has suffered. Throughout the story he is always cloaked so Rhianne never truly sees his dragon form. It is clear he is hesitant to pursue a stronger relationship with Rhianne but not because he dislikes her. The curse in this story goes farther than just changing his form and it is truly cruel to have to see Theran and Rhianne suffer so much because of it. 

The only other character I want to mention is Sar who is the head of the household. She reminded me of a stricter more no-nonsense version of Mrs. Pots. She has been working for Theran for many years seems to know more about him than any other person. She refuses to reveal certain secrets to Rhianne (for understandable reasons) and I couldn't help but wonder how much she knew about the curse. The book never reveals too much about her past but from what it hints I think Sar made the right choice to get away from her family who seems to be a little too close to each other. However I do have to complain that I was a little annoyed that Sar sort of looked down upon Rhianne for painting. However this wasn't a big deal and didn't detract from the story. 

The world of Dragon Rose is definitely a bleak one. Magic is seen as a thing of the past (with the exception of Theran) and it is seen as extremely evil. The backstory is that that mages (magic users) were cruel beings who were eventually hunted down and killed to put an end to their evil deeds. The towns populace try to avoid the taboo topic of magic and considering how its portrayed I can't say I blame them. Rhainne is a flashback is even reluctant to ask her grandmother if the all-to-real dreams she has is magic. Her grandmother claims she simply has a gift for seeing the truth and not to worry about it. I found this a little confusing and I whished they had delved more into the plotline of how she has them.

Overall Dragon Rose is a good book but is certainly not one of the best Beauty and the Beast retellings. I enjoyed it for what it was hope to read more of Christine Pope's books in the future to come. I give this book four out five stars. Until next time.