#bryony and roses

[freckles-and-books]

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

[cultivating-wildflowers]

2024 Reading - September

Another productive month. Which I know would rub some readers the wrong way, and sometimes that mindset isn't great for me either, but as a girlie who likes her lists? I'm happy getting to check off stuff.

The biggest accomplishment this month was FINALLY finishing The Disorderly Knights. It took me so long that by the end of the story, I'd already forgotten what happened at the beginning. But it's done, and I have the next book on my shelf. For next year. Maybe.

Total books: 10  |  New reads: 9  |   2024 TBR completed: 2 (1 DNF) / 29/36 total   |   2024 Reading Goal: 63/100

August | October

potential reading list from September 1st

#1 - The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown - 5/5 stars

After hearing people rave about the movie and then the book, I snagged a cheap copy from my local used bookstore and decided to check it out.

It was so so worth it. Absolutely breathtaking. All of the assorted narratives--the different characters, the historical background, the technical details--came together so perfectly and resulted in a captivating story. I love every bit of it. I cried.

#2 - In the Forests of Serre by Patricia A. McKillip - 5/5 stars ('24 TBR)

This is exactly the sort of story I was craving. Absolutely spellbinding.

More like this: I had the sense this story reminded me of something else I've read, but I'm blanking on it just now. If I remember, I'll come back here. It might have been a fairy tale kind of story. It's a bit like the first Earthsea book. Perhaps Robin McKinley, Patricia C. Wrede, Madeleine L'Engel, Shannon Hale.... Diana Wynne Jones. It feels like a Ghibli movie.

#3 - The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 2 by Beth Brower - 4/5 stars

A fun installment! I am quickly losing track of the cast, but I can totally see the author's vision of this being a delightful period drama.

#4 - The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett - 4/5 stars

Note to anyone I've recommended this series to: I unfortunately have to retract that hearty recommendation and replace it with...several caveats.

I finished! Honestly, I don't know why it took so long, because once I made myself sit still and read it was easy-ish going; I just had trouble sitting still.

Ok, so "easy" is not the right word. With this series, the first half of each book tends to be a slow build-up, while the end careens rapidly downhill to the conclusion and the ever-brilliant (and painful) reveal.

And, uh.... This got much darker and more intense than I was prepared for. (If I made a habit of reading more in this line, I might have seen that coming, but epics aren't my usual fare.) Narratively, it all worked very well, but it was right on the edge of what I can tolerate.

Still, with 200 pages left to go, I absolutely planned to keep reading the series, well aware that it would be...an experience. Then I saw a blurb for both Book Four and Book Five, skimmed some super vague reviews for Book Four ("Five Stars. owowowowowowowowowowww") and freaked out. And, against all my usual inclinations, hunted for spoilers. And now I'm scared. (But, weirdly, less stressed about the conclusion? Which is an odd experience.)

#5 - Od Magic by Patricia A. McKillip - 3/5 stars (audio)

This confirms my suspicion that McKillip is one of those hit-or-miss authors for me. The first book of hers that I read was The Changeling Sea, six years ago, and I remember absolutely nothing about it. Then In the Forests of Serre blew me away. Od Magic? Another middling story.

Don't get me wrong; McKillip's writing is gorgeous. It immediately draws you in, connects you to living, breathing characters, and paints the most vivid pictures. But the story here just kind of...wanders along. It's a pleasant journey, but not very exciting.

Note: I didn't dive into "Od Magic" because of how much I loved "In the Forests of Serre". I needed an "O" title, and realized McKillip had a few. 😅

#6 - Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones - 5/5 stars (reread, audio)

We all know I love this. 'Nuff said.

#7 - Yours From the Tower by Sally Nicholls - 4/5 stars

Another Tumblr rec! And a read that had the unfortunate pressure of me getting to it on the heels of 1) a so-so fantasy and 2) a historical fiction adventure that wrung me out. I did my best not to go into it with any expectations outside of being pleasantly charmed, and charmed I was. 90% of it was a fun, light read with just a touch of drama, but my stars, the end had me rolling. There's something so fun about epistolary novels when it comes to twists and big reveals.

#8 - Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher - 5/5 stars (audio)

A gorgeous little story.

#9 - Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher - 4/5 stars (audio)

Largely enjoyable, but the ending felt rushed.

#10 - The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke - 4/5 stars

An impulse pick from the library. I wanted something short and sweet and discovered this after finishing Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. As is becoming a habit with Clarke's writing, I enjoyed this book. I loved the variety of styles and tones within the collection.

DNF*

The Element of Fire by Martha Wells - Not a bad story, but by the 15% mark I remained bored and vaguely confused and unable to pay attention, so I gave up. I like Wells's writing style (obviously), but this was evidently her debut and is a bit dull around the edges. For some reason it reminded me vaguely of The Curse of Chalion, which I love, so might be worth checking out if you enjoy Lois McMaster Bujold. Goodreads also shows that fans of T. Kingfisher might enjoy this one as well. (Note: Paladin's Grace [below] also had the same general feel as The Element of Fire and The Curse of Chalion)

The Anthropology of Turquoise: Reflections on Desert, Sea, Stone, and Sky by Ellen Meloy ('24 TBR) - I was hoping for a more scientific exploration of color. Instead, this book is a collection of (in my and my friends' opinions) weirdly stuffy, stilted essays. I don't usually mind slow, descriptive/lyrical writing, but this is something else. If you don't mind a deeply personal and conversational writing style and a book you can sit with for several months, definitely check this one out, because it has merit; it's just not for me.

Zao's Tales by J.A. Sommer - I'm still vaguely unclear on how this book arrived on my shelf (it was a gift from my mother and she bought it to support someone?). Decidedly not for me. Also...now I don't have a "Z" title for my alphabet challenge lol.

just kidding, I found another one that was kind of on my radar and ordered it from the library, whoo

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher - I'm learning that Kingfisher really straddles the line on what I'm willing to tolerate content-wise. This one was a "no" based on that.

The Sea at the End of Everything by Emily McCosh - The writing style was not for me. Sorry, Ruby.

*I'm starting to wonder if I should bother recording books I DNF.... They make up fully a third of the books I've picked up this year.

Currently Reading:

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks - just started

[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.

[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 🛋️

[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

[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.

---

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)

[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.

[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~

[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?

[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.

——————————————

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

[sheltiechicago]

Forgotten Fabric Scraps Find New Life as Charming Animal Sculptures

Artist Bryony Rose Jennings transforms forgotten fabric scraps into unexpected works of art. Like putting together a puzzle, she carefully chooses and stitches each textile scrap together until she creates a colorful animal sculpture. As a result, these whimsical handmade figurines are brimming with character.