#bryony and roses

[freckles-and-books]

Surprising no one, I’m reading another Kingfisher next.

[e-b-reads]

Books of the month: Oct 2024

Where has November gone!? Better late than never - here's a look back at October as a reading month. Read some more mysteries, started rereading some Diana Wynne Jones, checked occasional interesting-looking things out of the library. (As represented by this screenshot of the only relevant part of my StoryGraph wrap-up.) Here's some highlights:

The Case of the Baited Hook (Erle Stanley Gardner): An aptly named book, because I'd read one Perry Mason mystery a little while ago and found it fine, but I picked this one up at the library and immediately checked out several more on Hoopla when I finished. The hook was baited for me. They're such fun pulpy mysteries; this one specifically is full of ridiculous shenanigans, I think in a little bit of a tongue-in-cheek way. I mostly like the relationship between Perry (hotshot lawyer who is good at everything), Della (his confidential secretary who is good at most things, and sometimes better than him at a thing or two, to give her/the author credit), and Paul (private detective who complains a lot but always does everything Perry tells him). New ot3? The relationship is all in the dialogue and action so it's fun to read between the lines.

Charmed Life (Diana Wynne Jones): OK, I'm cheating and linking this post I made about the Chronicles of Chrestomanci, volume 1. Look, I like them a lot. Fun for kids and adults alike.

Bryony and Roses (T. Kingfisher): Until looking over my list of books read, I'd forgotten I read this in Oct, which doesn't sound like a great review, but it was short and gripping, so I read it in like one afternoon! My only complaint is, I wish it was longer. But it had everything it needed to, so maybe it's fine. I could tell Kingfisher had read and liked Rose Daughter (by Robin McKinley), but it was its own book, with a fun scrappy gardener instead of a beauty.

[bibliophilecats]

19 May 2023: Newest book

[themelodyofspring]

Sleepy Readathon | June - Week 4

I finished the audiobook for Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher (please appreciate the rose 🌹 I got to take the pic). It was a beauty and the beast retelling with a nice twist. Liked it a lot.

I'm currently reading Wolfsong by T.J. Klune and it's going well so far. Went from being a soft, fuzzy book to bombarding me with feels. It rained yesterday (monsoon season my beloved) and I got attacked by all varieties of insects last night because I was reading in the dark with a lamp on 🛋️

[ardentpages]

Book Report for Bryony and Roses (2015) by T. Kingfisher

ID: Detail from the cover of Bryony and Roses showing a mechanical bee on a floral burgundy background.

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Read in: February 2023 (audiobook format)

Readability: A relatively easy read, with a narrator whose internal monologue is full of dry humor.

Recommendation: I have a weakness for any story based off the French Beauty and the Beast tale, which is the inspiration for this novel. This is the most creative twist on the story I've encountered! I don't want to give much away, but there are elements that greatly ease some of the "Stockholm Syndrome" ickiness of the tale.

If you enjoy a good fairy tale with some light horror elements, or a slow-burn romance with witty banter as its foundation, check this out.

Further Notes:

I am always pleased when a beauty and the beast adaptation depicts the beast as polite from the very start. That's my big pet peeve against the Disney version (the 1991 animated one, not the live action re-make; I have faaaar larger fish to fry with that adaptation) — if the beast is both physically "unattractive" and has an unattractive personality to go with it, you've lost the central theme of the tale! So I'm glad this book's fearsome beast is kind and considerate — but also a sarcastic little shit. A truly winning combo!

The "beauty" not actually being "beautiful" by conventional standards is also refreshing. I love Bryony the plain, witty gardener who laughs too much and would rather get her hands dirty than dress up in finery.

[jonathanpongratz]

Book Review: Bryony and Roses

  Hello there readers! Today I’m gravitating back to fairytale retellings with my review of Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher. Beauty and the Beast was always my favorite fairytale, and until now I hadn’t had the chance to read anything by Kingfisher, but their reputation precedes them, so I dove right in. Let’s see how this read went!   Blurb Bryony and her sisters have come down in the world.…

[vvillowenna]

Spamming through The Apps every several pages of T Kingfisher books trying to make them last longer

[tinynavajoreads]

I just finished Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher and I voted to immediately reread it! Another lovely retelling of Beauty and Beast that I enjoyed and I have a feeling I missed quite a few clues and lore bits the first time around that would give more info to the story!

Weekly Bookish Question #408 (September 22nd - September 28th 2024)

[libraryofbaxobab]

August 25, 2023:

I swear this has to have been written especially to be catnip for me. I had no idea this was going to be a Beauty & the Beast and I couldn't be happier. My face hurts from grinning all day. Ahh, bantering gentle monster husband with a dry sense of humor, surrounded by secrets and speaking in code! I'm dead I have swooned and I have perished

10/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

[pennym]

some audiobook-specific recommendations from a variety of genres! id is in alt text and as always pls check storygraph/goodreads/etc for content warnings if you need them <3

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Renard, the urban fox (2021), by British textile sculptor and tutor, Bryony Rose Jennings.

[terapsina]

An Enchantment of Ravens - Probably the book closest to what you described looking for.

Isobel is a painter who creates portraits for the Fair Folk, but then she makes a terrible mistake, she paints mortal sorrow in the eyes of a fae prince.

And the book spends a lot of time inside a forest. And there's lots of forest aesthetics.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries - This one's about a scholar who's writing the first encyclopedia of faerie lore (in a world where everyone knows fae exist).

She's very good at understanding what makes the fae tick and very bad at getting through simple human interactions. Because she always somehow manages to insult people by being too frank, or not smiling when she should, or failing to react the way she should.

Anyway, then her annoying, irritating, infuriating colleague shows up in the middle of her latest field research trip on The Hidden Ones and... well then we get into the mystery of all this story is about.

Lots of fae lore. Quite a few fae. Winter aesthetics. Quite a bit of magical forest stuff too.

Nettle & Bone - A darker story here.

This one more plays with the fairy tale elements than has the Fae themselves but there are fae present. There's also a Goblin Market and a former knight she rescues from it.

Anyway book follows a princess from a minor kingdom, a third daughter, who spent the last decades in a convent when she finds out that the prince of a neighboring - much more powerful - kingdom has been abusing his wife, her second oldest sister... and probably killed her first oldest too.

So obviously she goes off to finish three impossible tasks to be able to kill him.

Bryony and Roses - A Beauty and the Beast retelling.

No fae. But some not not-fae, and lots and lots of magical roses. And definitely keeps to the vibes described.

Bryony gets caught up in a snow storm, takes shelter in a house that shouldn't be there, and then makes the massive mistake of cutting a rose to bring home to her sister before leaving.

does anyone have any good fae/forest nymph/ forest magic fantasy books? preferably w a romantic subplot. something that reads like a hozier song?

[ofliterarynature]

SEPTEMBER 2024 WRAP UP

[loved liked ok nope dnf reread* (book club)]

Bryony & Roses • The Paragon Hotel • The Invisible Library • (The Magic Fish) • The Gathering • Paladin of Souls • Mislaid in Parts Half-Known • Red White & Royal Blue* • North Woods • The Empty Grave* • Barda • Lost in the Moment & Found • The Creeping Shadow* • The Spellshop • Lalani of the Distant Sea

* * * * *

Lockwood & Co - not much to say, but it was fun revisiting an old favorite! It's becoming clearer with age and rereads that there are things about this series that I don't like, but the things I like definitely outweigh them - the way it does ghosts and uses a casebook structure among them! Would highly recommend if you're looking for something a bit spooky and mysterious.

Lost in the Moment and Found - this book was very hard to get into, because as it warns you, the opening involves a child experiencing grooming and gaslighting from an adult, and it is tense. Oof. But that said, between this and Mislaid in Parts Half-Known, I think Antsy's story and the Shop Where the Lost Things Go might be my favorite place and narrative arc we've seen yet.

Barda - I was obsessed with Ngozi's Check Please! for a number of years, and I think she's a very funny person in general! I read this on the strength of that alone despite no previous knowledge of the DC characters involved. I do honestly think this needed to be twice as long to get the depth of story necessary for an outsider, but dang did she pack the emotions in! I can fully see why she's obsessed with these characters, even if I don't feel like I have enough info to get into it myself.

North Woods - honest to god I'm so glad I picked up a copy of this at the library book sale, because I don't know if OR when I might have gotten to it otherwise. I don't really have the words, but it's one of those slow, literary, speculative, books that you have to work to put together that I love to listen to on audiobook and just marinate in for a few days. I would highly recommend to fans of Emily St John Mandel.

Red White & Royal Blue - I'll be honest, I somehow found myself on a FirstPrince fanfic binge and eventually hit a point where I thought to myself, you know, I've only read the book once, maybe I should go check that out again. It was fun! Remarkably similar in tone to the fanfic, so keep up the good work yall ;D

Paladin of Souls - Y'all. I'm so mad it took me this long to get to this after Curse of Chalion. I've seen this recommended so many times independent of the first book and they were so right, I loved it. Character-driven fantasy, great world building, a middle-aged female character who's on a journey of self-discovery and also so done with everyone's shit (including the gods, lol).

The Gathering - a murder investigation in Alaska with vampires *sounds* cool, but... the vampires are people, they're sentient, they have a culture, but they're also deeply hated and treated like predatory animals and are designated a protected species? It's trying to say something, but I'm not sure it works. Definitely taught me that I don't like crime novels or thrillers, but some bonus points for being unexpectedly queer.

The Magic Fish - I've see this around, but tumblr finally convinced me that I needed to read it and I got it onto the book club list. It was completely not what I was expecting, it was so much better! The description really led me to think it would be a lot more YA-ish and be about the son, but his mom is just as important to the story! It's got fairy tales, it's got complexity, the art was incredibly beautiful, ah!!! I'll be needing to get my own copy so I can read it again and think about it some more.

The Invisible Library - tumblr apparently finds this book very divisive, and both times I've asked about it there's been a 50/50 split on whether people liked or hated it lol. SO I went in with very low expectations, and I thought it was fun! It's not a great work of fantasy, I will give you that, but I do enjoy a tropey alt/historical fantasy adventure on occasion, and this filled that niche pretty well. It also didn't lean into a romance plot like I was afraid it would, and as long as it continues to do so (or at least handles it well), I think I could have fun with the rest of this series.

The Paragon Hotel - this is somehow my third Lydsay Faye, and while I don't think I've particularly loved any of them, she can really write a very solid book! A good read, with queer identities playing an unexpectedly major part in the plot!

Bryony & Roses - I have so far epically failed in my goal this year to read more of T Kingfisher's fantasy backlist, but I saw this on hoopla and thought I could fit it in. A very good time as always!

DNF

The Spellshop (16%) - I've read the author's YA in the past and (mostly) liked it at the time, and have been meaning to read her previous adult book for ages. Unfortunately, I've been having terrible luck with anything recent being marketed as cozy fantasy. I put 2 hours into this on audiobook and my initial impression of the story was earnestly quirky, charming, and anxious. Perhaps better than L&L, but I wasn't feeling much more than a vague interest and decided to cut my losses before my feelings entirely soured.

Lalani of the Distant Sea (10%) - this book sounds really cool (yes I did love Moana), the mythology and worldbuilding in the bit I read was interesting, but it is very much written for a younger reader. If I had any in my life currently I would be happy to give this to them! Just not the right pick for me right now.

[cursedlegacies]

rivals to ???

these two always ready to throw down during duelling club?? are they fighting or flirting??? yes.

this is another pic that can be summarized as "lots I love, lots I can learn from," but there was progress so I'm glad. I like bryony for how she came out looking, I like cassandra for technical reasons.

I just think they're a lil silly~

[six-costume-refs]

Why do you think it’s now standard for the teal alt to get pants? It works well for Parr but for the other three typical teal covers (Seymour, Boleyn, Howard) I feel like the shorts would suit better. Seymour is sort of a stretch but teal has actually never played Seymour with pants - it’s either been a skirt (Liz, Bryony, Shannen) or shorts (Jen, CJ, Vicki)

I think it was ultimately a redesign for Paisley Billings as a result of the changing cover/costume system.

Similar to what you pointed out with Seymour, teal didn’t always have a super clear default. It did originate with shorts, with Vicki Caldwell, Jennifer Caldwell, and Cherelle Jay all wearing shorts as either their primary or one of their primary variations. But then Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert had shorts but they weren’t a primary variation, and Bryony Duncan, Elizabeth Walker, and Shannen Alyce Quan all never had shorts OR a particularly generic variation in general. (Also, quick note that Jen did wear her H skirt for Seymour).

Compare that to pink alt, orange alt, and redesigned black, which all always had a consistent primary variation even when some had different variations on top of the main:

(L-R: Vicki Manser with shorts, 2019 West End; Nicole Kyoung-Mi with pants as effectively her primary variation, 2019 pre-Bway US Tour; Bryony Duncan with Howard skirt as effectively her primary variation, 2019 NCL/2021 UK universal swing. Cassy Lee A variation, 2019 UK Tour; Hana Stewart, 2019-21 West End; Zara MacIntosh, 2019-21 West End)

So by the time they got to 2021 West End cast change and the changed alt system, orange/pink both had obvious designs to use, but teal didn’t have anything standardized. That’s probably how we got to the spot of there even being something new.

But as far as why they decided to go for pants rather than shorts or a skirt:

(L-R: Danielle Rose and Paisley Billings, 2021 West End; Elizabeth Walker, 2019 NCL; Grace Melville and Leesa Tulley, 2022 UK Tour; Monique Ashe-Palmer, 2022 West End)

A. Danielle and Paisley got switched in their alt costume assignments, with Paisley originally being intended to have orange. This was after at least initial fittings. It may have been even farther into the process. It’s possible that Paisley got pants purely because she had already been fit and patterned (or with construction even started) for pants with orange alt. That may be supported by the style of her pants, which were the front lacing style that orange typically has. This differed from both all previous teal pants and the next variation as worn by Grace Melville, all of which had side lacing, although with Monique Ashe-Palmer they have switched back to front lacing. So…it’s possible that it was a logistical thing with her having just already been fitted for that style of pants. It’s also just more straightforward and easier to consistently fit for future actors.

B. Still might have just felt like pants were the best fit for Paisley and/or her covers. Shorts were mainly just given as a convenience thing to the alts who were also Cleves covers so they’d only need to change the top, which Paisley obviously didn’t need since she wore principal for Cleves. A skirt would have been most in line with the typical design for B/S/H as 3/4 of her 2nd/3rd covers, but they may have felt like it just wasn’t a good fit for any number of reasons (maybe too many skirts between principals and it being the primary variation for Esme/Rachel/Roxanne). The pants with peplum is undeniably a Parr variation, but Parr was one of her second covers and orange alt for Seymour/Parr has always used pants with peplum as well. The peplum shape also really helps to visually distinguish it. Might have just felt like it was ultimately still different and generic enough to work.

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First photoset; all photos directly from each actors’ Instagrams

Second photoset: posted by @/claudiakariuki, @/elizabethswalker, @/gracemelville_, @/leahvassell

[endlessly-cursed]

hpma; the green gals 💚🌺🐍

bryony rose ; shreya battersea-parsons ; jupiter durand @praetoring @cursed-herbalist