The Wrath of Roses

Tales So Wicked #1

by Violet Taylor

The witch’s wrath has left me isolated, broken.
A Beast unable to even touch another living soul without ruining them.
My only solace comes from watching the one I’ve fallen in love with from afar. Fleur.
She’s beautiful, spirited, and everything I desire. I can’t give her what she needs, but there’s one in the village who can
Gabriel is tall, strong, and handsome—all things I once was. As my days grow lonelier, I accept that I need them— both of them.
They’ll act out every dark, twisted fantasy my monstrous form prevents me from participating in.
And with any luck, they’ll grow to enjoy their new prison.
But the closer we become, the more the roses wither and die. The castle is changing . The curse exacts a greater toll each day.
Unless… Is it possible Fleur is meant for more than satiating my most carnal needs?
Could she be the one to break the spell?
Or is it too impossible for anyone to love a Beast?

Contains dark themes including graphic violence, blood, sexually explicit content, dubcon, 18+
Full list of content warnings are available on my site.

Genres: Fantasy, Dark Romance, Retellings, Fantasy Romance, Dark, Romance, Romantasy

288 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 18, 2023

About the author

Violet Taylor is a crystal and candle shop owner by day and a paranormal romance novelist by night. She spends her free time fantasizing about living in an isolated mountain cabin with her wonderful husband and herd of fur babies. She prefers her books with magic, mates, and plenty of muscles.

Reviews

[astarion's bhaal babe (wingspan matters) · Rating 4 out of 5]

S O H O T.


also, have a random pedro pascal as joel miller gif because he's also hot.

[jess.manora · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at Page 200. Idk how or why I got that far.

[Ryann Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I DEVOURED this Beauty and the Beast retelling!

This has to be the spiciest retelling I’ve read in a long time! The plot was action packed and the tension was SIZZLING the entire book. The book follows Belle, Beast and Gaston and we get all 3 POVs and let me tell you this sexual dynamic with Beast playing out his fantasies with Belle and Gaston had my reaching for batteries and ice water. 🥵🥵🥵 I mean the spicy scenes in this book (which there are many) were so detailed and creative that I felt like I was there 🫠💦 (please hold while I reminisce and then take a cold shower) ok back to the review….

The character development and vulnerability we get to see with the different POVs really made this book stand out against the rest. The beast and Gaston are complex and dynamic and Belle is fierce as hell. Each one surprised me so much throughout the book and made it so much fun anticipating what would come next.

The curse is prevalent in the retelling but it has a dark and grotesque nature to it which gives a much more threatening tone to the story and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. AND THE ENDING!!!!! Gahhhhhhhh. I’m obsessed with this book. If you like retellings or dark romance or MFM or magic….READ THIS BOOK! It will shock you in all the best ways.

”How lucky the cursed are, to know love after all.”

[Keri M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fairy tale reimagining that will leave you all kinda of hot and bothered. This was so spicy, so sexy and just so different. Fleur, Gabriel and the Beast will leave you wanting more!

[Tea&Biscuits · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore a good fairytale retelling and The Wrath of Roses by Violet Taylor hits just right. This steamy book has a great take on Beauty and the Beast. I was pleasantly surprised by the unfolding dynamics of the characters. The beginning of chapter 25 had me gasping. I just love when an author can shock me. Well played, Ms Taylor. I’d just like to take a moment to address the elephant in the room. The elephant being what the Beast is packing!!! The size of her what now?! Haha. Golden.

This audiobook is narrated in duet style by Bridget Bordeaux and Troy Duran. Bridget never ceases to amaze me with her performances. She has great range and I’m always pulled into the emotion of her work. I connected to Fleur instantly because of this. My favorite part of Troy’s performance was without a doubt his French accent! He also narrated the Beast with the perfect demeanor. Troy also made it easy to differentiate between the multiple male characters. A great cast for a delightful book.

Book: 4/5
Spice: 3.5/5
Narration: 5/5

I’d like to thank Dark Star Romance for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

[Lauren 🦂 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was touch and go for a while, especially since the author likes the term ‘Snatch’ and I got the ick. But I powered through and this Beauty And The Beast erotica actually had a sweet ending.

[Esraa · Rating 3 out of 5]

‼️Check the trigger warnings please before reading this because it’s not your typical dark romance read‼️

Ok you have been warned😅‼️

I listened to this on audio and I loved how she took a well-known fairytale and turned it into this steamy retelling with these twists. I especially enjoyed the performance of the narrators; the male narrator did the beast's voice so well, and the female narrator was very passionate in her narration. Do I need more retelling? Probably yes!

[Nhitlebooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - Pure smut with a dash of plot. Wow was this spicy!! There were a lot of unnecessary, gory deaths in the story though that I found off-putting. Hence the round down.

[Jeliza Torres · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not a fan of retellings but the spiceeee was hot in this book

[amanda Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arc review

Ok first off I have to come clean and say i absolutely love beauty and the beast retelling so it’s no surprise to me that this book was an easy 5⭐️s!

The spice was fricken amazing ! The first beauty and the beast retelling Iv read where there is spice while he is the beast which … OmG yes !!

I will say this book is on the darker side of the fairytale retelling and while it follows the original story it definitely has its on spin on things which was fantastic for me

*mmf
*enemies to lovers
*stand alone
*beauty and the beast retelling
*3.5🌶️

[Amanda Jester · Rating 3 out of 5]

The blurb is misleading

The Beast "needs them both" so I thought this would include MM. It doesn't. There is a touch of it in the epilogue but it is made clear that the Beast and "Gaston" never interact that way fully. Also, if you're one of those who want the Beast to remain that way and not turn back into the prince this is not the book for you. One threesome. One DP. And a very high body count. A lot of innocent people die horrible deaths for no reason. I really wasn't rooting for the Beast by the end.

[⚡eli⚡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

''How lucky the cursed are, to know love after all.''

Thank you author and Dark Star Romance, for providing an ALC in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.

Overall: 5/5
Performance: 5/5
Story: 4/5

The Wrath of Roses, written by Violet Taylor and narrated by Troy Duran and Bridget Bordeaux, is the first book in the Tales So Wicked series. Listen.. we all know the original fairy tale, but what a delicious and filthy story author created. Sexy, violent and somewhat fresh story. I was surprised in the best way! Troy and Bridged were AMAZING with their portray of the characters! Troy's deep and distinctive 'beast' voice and Bridge's silky and sensual timber - wonderful combo! 🔥

There's no need to describe the plot. Just get comfy and listen to this audiobook, because it will make you feel all kinds of emotions. *wink wink

Just - go read or better yet, listen to this! It's an experience for sure!

The story contains dark themes including graphic violence, blood, sexually explicit content, dubcon, 18+. Full list of content warnings are available on author's site.

[kymagirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prince Renard’s grief and actions lead him to be cursed to transform into an isolated, violent Beast until he finds love. Belle (h) wants to find a love who’ll appreciate her need for independence and not just expect her be a traditional village-wife, and leaves her village since she’ll never find that with Gaston (H), her possessive former lover, standing in the way of her finding happiness with anyone else. The Beast has secretly spied on Belle and Gaston for years and becomes determined to imprison them in his castle to fulfil his unrequited sexual needs, needs that go unmet due to his grotesque anatomy. The trio share an interesting dynamic in their relationship that gradually moves from rough sexual acts to also include an emotional connection. A dark ultra-hot and steamy BATB reimagining with lots of gory violence, death, torture, dubcon, DP, and more.

[louise ʚଓ · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is a roughly 300-page dark romance retelling of beauty and the beast. you have your standard kidnapping, stockholm syndrome, and general beastly shenanigans (murder) but with smut and monster-fucking (of course). gabriel (gaston) is creepy and rape-y (duh) and the beast (renard) is creepy and violent (duh), and somehow fleur (belle) ends up with both of them in a happily-ever-after throuple.

yeah, don't ask. i needed something quick and dirty and i got it. back to my regularly scheduled books tomorrow.

[Susanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved!! This book such a perfect twist to beauty and the beast witch is my favorite movie! it had soo many perfect twists and turns that kept you on your toes! And the smut was on point!! If I could buy this book in physical form I would in a heartbeat!!

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited to get this ARC. This is a dark, spicy, beauty and the beast retelling. Violets descriptions are amazing! I felt i could see a movie in my head while reading.

I loved Belle, she was kind of a badass. There is a lot of spice and steam!!! Check those TW! There was a couple parts i was shocked! I really enjoyed this story over all, and enjoyed watching the dynamics of belle Gaston and renard develop and change. This book was HOT. 🤪🤪

🌟 5
🌶️ 5

[Alecia Kirby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This freaking book kept showing up on my FYP on TikTok and the description really got me curious. Not only was there a dark, actually GOOD plot, but this book constantly had me confused who I wanted the FLC to end up with.

Let’s just say I wasn’t disappointed in the end 😏

The spice was soooooo H O T but I honestly enjoyed the story and the concept of it just as much!

4.6 ⭐️

[britt · Rating 5 out of 5]

yall i was going to give this book a 3 but then the last 100 pages kept changing my mind and that last chapter + epilogue sealed the deal! this dark romance is a 5 star read!!!

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book if for everyone who understood why Belle loved the Beast as a beast - and wished he stayed that way.

The characters are wonderfully written and while there’s a bit more spice than plot, I found that a lot of action was very compelling! Too often when a book is more spice than plot we see it drag a bit, but Violet masterfully propels the story forward by weaving together a terrifying reality for those under the Witch’s curse and the downright sinful bedroom actions to create this novel.

There wasn’t a single moment in which the story dragged, and I found myself hanging on to every word! The spice had me hot under the collar, so you definitely want to read this alone!

[Becca Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE! 🥵 Spicy -Beauty and the beast retelling leaves you wanting to keep reading all night. And the BEAST 😉💪🫢 READ THIS BOOK! It’s literally one of the spiciest books I’ve ever read!

[Knead2Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐: 4.5
🌶️: 5!
This is a beauty and the beast retelling. I enjoyed the story. It was a bit rushed in the plot development aspect (hence the 1/2 star drop), but the spicy was excellent. This was the darkest romance that I've read, so it was a bit shocking at times. 🤣 The writing is lovely. The author did an amazing job of incorporating little nuggets from the Beauty and the Beast movies, without it coming across as cheesy or over done. Let's be honest, I'd read an entire series based on this one book.
I was part of the ARC team, but my review is honest!

[Rita Paolantonio · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars (although at times I considered giving this book less than 2 stars)

I have read other things by violet taylor that I liked but this book was not one of them. The good part of the book was the smut, it was pretty good and got even better later in the book once the boys learned how to share Belle better. Really it was a cool premise adding Gaston to the mix, it just didn’t quite live up to expectations.

For starters, my biggest issue with the book was that Gaston and the beast were both actually bad people. I love dark romance and I’m even fine with gruesome murder in many books I read but generally speaking I like there to be a productive motive or at least for every character to be equally immoral which Belle was not. Many times in the book the beast unnecessarily kills and hurts innocent people and his staff and that kinda ruined things for me with him. Especially because the book would make it seem like the beast was gaining humanity and “getting better” but then he would nail parts of a dead body on the servent quarter walls to indimidate his staff completely disregarding any change from earlier that chapter. In a similar vein, I’m all for dubious consent and CNC scenes but Gaston has a passage really early on in the book we’re he decided that he will take Belle and rape and marry her regardless of if she likes it because no one would stop him and that also made me not really into him early on. I guess they both get “better” throughout the book and Taylor does make it clear that Belle is turned on in every smutty scene that’s actually written but the implication that they would have continued anyway wasn’t personally my favorite.

On top of that issue, Belle herself seemed a bit bland, even more so than the movie version of Belle. Her stance of independence and wanting more from life than marriage and then the epilogue with her submitting to both men and having kids was kinda annoying but expected. She also seems totally chill with Gaston murdering innocent people very recently so that’s interesting. Another big issue I had was with the plot itself. The added “villain” was very underdeveloped and dealt with so quickly it didn’t seem necessary to write and the ending with MULTIPLE fake outs of twists that weren’t actually twists was a weird ass decision.

Overall, a cool premise that vastly underdelivered. Even the smut itself wasn’t good enough to redeem the book, the smut was just okay. Violet Taylor has written some good fun short smutty books but this isn’t one of them.

[April Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do not be fooled by the cover! This beauty and the beast retelling shows all the fun sexy fantasy you might have imagined when you think back on belle and beast and how all that would even work. I loved every minute of it. What a ride.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sydnie Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably one of the best spicy retellings I have ever read. The characters were so dynamic and had so many layers to them, I felt like I got to learn new sides to some of my favorite and beloved fairy tale characters. The backstory was just wonderful and the chemistry between all the main characters was off the charts! I had no problem zooming through my read of this book as it was fast paced and well written. The plot kept you invested and the spicy scenes were H-O-T! This book deserves a lot of hype and I will definitely be recommending it to my reader friends. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[shabomb26 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was everything and a little more than I expected. I finished it in a few hours and didn’t want to set it down. Be sure to read the trigger warnings because there is violence, gore and dubcon. But it’s perfect for those that love darker and adult fairytale retellings. Gaston and the Beast make a a great team and Belle is no damsel. I really loved the multiple viewpoints throughout the book getting to experience not only Belle’s thoughts but Gaston and the Beast as well was perfect for me!

[Jayden Winge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wrath of Roses is truly a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Seems that it goes along with a classic version, much spicer! Loved the dynamics of the characters as well as the details of scenery and objects. Only negative I will say is I wish there was more. Felt very rushed, like the story line felt rushed. Will read again and again, and definitely worth a read for others who like a good spicy book. Just wanted more.

[Cassie C · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting into with this book at first, but the very beginning with the laying of the curse did raise my hopes. I enjoyed the idea of the subversion of the typical fairytale with the violent descriptions of the Beast’s rage and actions. And at first the writing seemed quite good and appropriate to the times. However, that elevated writing style just made the crude sexual references that much more jarring, and in more of a disconcerting way than anything.

The one aspect of the whole book that I did like about this subversion was the idea of both men finding a way to be with Fleur. However, I was hoping for a bit more in the growth of all three, but especially the men. It seemed like way too soon we were throwing around the word “love”, when all the characters had yet experienced with each other was trauma. By the end, both men had grown in that they became slightly less competitive with each other and focused at least somewhat less on what Fleur could give them versus what they could give her, but that was the full extent of it. The Beast’s redemption seemed a bit hollow when he really only comes to care for Fleur, but will gladly massacre the servants or anyone without a thought. And really the same goes for Gabriel, especially in the end. I thought there was maybe a way for things to be salvaged, but then we’ve got Fleur and Renard doing it while Gabriel’s off killing servants. Not exactly romantic for me.

Also, while there were times that the nods to the Disney version of this tale were interesting to see, it became a bit excessive with how much this tried to follow it. With so many different versions of Beauty and the Beast out there, it did not need to follow so closely with Disney’s.

[Alaine McDaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wrath of Roses- Violet Taylor
Narrated by Troy Duran and Bridget Bordeaux

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Narration 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧

The emotions this book brought out of me was completely unexpected. We all know the story of Beauty and the Beast and this reimagining is probably as close to the original as you can get yet at the same time there’s the added dynamic of adding Gabriel, the Gaston of this story, added into Fleur (Belle) and the Beast’s relationship. Just like the original, I did NOT like Gabriel. I kept hoping that it would be true to the original that the Beast would end up killing Gabriel, I just did not see a redemption arc for him, but I will say the ending honestly surprised me and my reaction to what happened surprised me just as much. I don’t want to say too much and give anything away, but the ending alone was everything!

Troy and Bridget did a phenomenal job on this narration. Troy is one of my favorites and he had the perfect low growly voice to portray the Beast. And Bridget was perfect to voice Fleur. She always does such an incredible job.

[Natalie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

---------🎧🌹🥀AUDIO REVIEW🥀🌹🎧________

What an epically dark retelling.

This is the first book I have read by this author, and let me tell you, it will not be the last. This book has all the fairy tale elements you would expect from a beuty and the beast retelling, but it is oh so dark and oh so spicy.

The beast has been obsessed with Fleur ever since he first saw her in the village and so he decides to take her and Gabriel who is also very much infatuated with Fleur, prisoner and have them play out his dark and dirty fantasies as he watches.

This book is full of twists and turns. It has the sweet elements of falling in love and seeing past the beasts appearance, but it is also very dark. It was such a good book, and I loved every second of it.

The narrators were amazing. They brought Fleur, Raynard (the beast), and Gabriel to life perfectly, infusing all the emotions and feelings from the book into a phenomenal performance.

[Brooke (brookes_booknook) · Rating 4 out of 5]

a tale as old as time 🖤

I love a good retelling and this book was such a good one! It gave me angst, longing, tension and more.
Fleur and Gabriel catch the eye of the Beast. After The Beast watches them for a while he falls in love with Fleur decides that he will take her and bring her to his castle. He also decides that he will take Gabriel as well seeing as he can’t be with Fleur in all the ways she needs.
Watching as they all slowly start getting to know each other and form their relationships in different ways was so sweet. While Gabriel detests the beast Fleur finds herself enjoying his company.
What Elias does to Fleur while horrifying also brought Gabriel and Renard(Beast) together for one common goal.
Fleur and Gabriel’s love grows as does her love for Renard. The twist with the staff at the end I did not see coming at all. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful ending for them. A tale as old as time🖤

4/5⭐️’s
4/5🌶️’s