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Sisters Ever After #4
The Last Rose
The fourth book in the Sisters Ever After series of fairy tale retellings, this is the wild story of Mera, the only one who can save her beautiful older sister when she is kidnapped by the Beast who viciously rules over their small village.
For as long as Mera can remember, she and her sister Darina have feared the Beast who lurks in the castle above their village. On countless nights they have locked themselves into their home while the Beast led his hounds on the Wild Hunt, preying on anything in his path.
Now Darina has been kidnapped by the Beast, and only Mera can save her. But she soon finds that in the Beast’s eerie, magic-haunted castle, nothing is quite what it seems—including her own sister. Here, Mera will discover the dark secrets that have bound her village to the Beast for so long.
But in order to set them all free, she will have to face the most dangerous secret of all: the truth about herself.
For as long as Mera can remember, she and her sister Darina have feared the Beast who lurks in the castle above their village. On countless nights they have locked themselves into their home while the Beast led his hounds on the Wild Hunt, preying on anything in his path.
Now Darina has been kidnapped by the Beast, and only Mera can save her. But she soon finds that in the Beast’s eerie, magic-haunted castle, nothing is quite what it seems—including her own sister. Here, Mera will discover the dark secrets that have bound her village to the Beast for so long.
But in order to set them all free, she will have to face the most dangerous secret of all: the truth about herself.
256 pages, Paperback
First published December 5, 2023
15 people are currently reading
317 people want to read
About the author
Leah Cypess
68 books811 followersI wrote my first story in first grade. The narrator was an ice-cream cone in the process of being eaten. In fourth grade, I wrote my first book, about a girl who gets shipwrecked on a desert island with her faithful and heroic dog (a rip-off of both The Black Stallion and all the Lassie movies, very impressive).
After selling my first story (Temple of Stone) while in high school, I gave in to my mother’s importuning to be practical and majored in biology at Brooklyn College. I then went to Columbia Law School and practiced law for almost two years at a large law firm in New York City. I kept writing and submitting in my spare time, and finally, a mere 15 years after my first short story acceptance, I sold my first novel to Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins).
I live in Silver Spring, Maryland (right outside of Washington, D.C.) with my husband and four children.
After selling my first story (Temple of Stone) while in high school, I gave in to my mother’s importuning to be practical and majored in biology at Brooklyn College. I then went to Columbia Law School and practiced law for almost two years at a large law firm in New York City. I kept writing and submitting in my spare time, and finally, a mere 15 years after my first short story acceptance, I sold my first novel to Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins).
I live in Silver Spring, Maryland (right outside of Washington, D.C.) with my husband and four children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
July 31, 2025
This is a Middle Grade Fantasy/Magical Realism Suspenseful Retelling, and this is the fourth book in the Sisters Ever After series. I have the first three books in this series, but you can read this book as a standalone without any problems. Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my favorite movies when I was a kid, and I really love this take on the story. There was some suspense built into this book, and I got pulled into this story which made me want to keep reading. I loved all these characters in this book. I loved this book so much, and I have since ordered my daughter a copy of this book. I cannot wait to hear what my 14 year old daughter thinks about this book. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.
May 20, 2025
Review coming soon.
May 6, 2023
I’ve read two of the other three books in this Sisters Ever After series by Leah Cypess (I’m anxiously waiting for my local library to get “The Piper’s Promise” in!), so I was very excited when I saw Leah’s next book was coming out later this fall and jumped at the opportunity to read it.
Based off a classic fairy tale, “The Last Rose” follows 11-year-old Mera as she plans to save her beautiful older sister from a terrible beast who kidnaps people from their small village and turns them into hounds for his pack.
This book was my favorite in the series so far, because the retelling was so unexpected, yet it stayed just close enough to the classic version that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Also, the cover art alone is going to sell this book – it’s absolutely gorgeous! It’s the first cover in this series to not include both siblings, but I wasn’t upset in the least.
I would highly recommend this book to older children, young adults, and anyone who loves a great fairy tale retelling. I will purchase this book as a gift to my 10-year-old daughter to read again and again!
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review.
Based off a classic fairy tale, “The Last Rose” follows 11-year-old Mera as she plans to save her beautiful older sister from a terrible beast who kidnaps people from their small village and turns them into hounds for his pack.
This book was my favorite in the series so far, because the retelling was so unexpected, yet it stayed just close enough to the classic version that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Also, the cover art alone is going to sell this book – it’s absolutely gorgeous! It’s the first cover in this series to not include both siblings, but I wasn’t upset in the least.
I would highly recommend this book to older children, young adults, and anyone who loves a great fairy tale retelling. I will purchase this book as a gift to my 10-year-old daughter to read again and again!
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review.
April 27, 2023
This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, told from the perspective of Belle’s younger sister. So much of this was vague and unexplained. Only at the end, did we start getting the whole picture and by then I didn’t really care.
I think kids might like this story way more than I did, but I’m usually someone that enjoys children’s literature. This was very imaginative, and I enjoyed some of it, but it was lacking somehow. Characters development was nonexistent and I hated the beast. Even the sister was unlikable. I’m not sure I liked this. Mera was petulant and stubborn, while her sister, Darina, was obtuse and stubborn. The dad was deplorable and absent. Only the grandmother cared about this horrible family. So, I’m not sure this is something I would ever recommend because it just didn’t have any depth. I feel bad because Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairytale.
Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy. This is my honest review.
I think kids might like this story way more than I did, but I’m usually someone that enjoys children’s literature. This was very imaginative, and I enjoyed some of it, but it was lacking somehow. Characters development was nonexistent and I hated the beast. Even the sister was unlikable. I’m not sure I liked this. Mera was petulant and stubborn, while her sister, Darina, was obtuse and stubborn. The dad was deplorable and absent. Only the grandmother cared about this horrible family. So, I’m not sure this is something I would ever recommend because it just didn’t have any depth. I feel bad because Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairytale.
Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy. This is my honest review.
March 14, 2025
Emoji rating: 🫠 (what did I just read)
If you’re looking for content warnings, you can check the end of my review 😉
⚠️ ranting coming up ⚠️
I like this series, but I feel like the books are hit or miss. Thornwood was great, The Glass Slippers was mediocre, The Piper’s Promise was great, and this one was just as flat as a pancake.
I wanted to like this book. I really did.
Plot holes.
Unrealistic character motivations.
Nonexistent stakes.
But…I like to start off with the positive. So, let’s go with that first 😁
I looooove how Leah has certain recurring elements for each book in this series. There’s always a minstrel, which is so fun and unique, and I loved that we got more of a personal look at this minstrel. Sederic was easily my favorite character (other than Leo but yk he’s a doggie so). The fae magic is always such a fun touch (though it was very lacking in this one, but we’ll get to that). The plot was very unique and a fun twist on the original tale.
Don’t go on if you don’t want spoilers!!
Buuuut there were a lot of plot holes. There were these mirrors throughout the palace and a lady inside some of them who would laugh randomly or talk to the characters, but you never got so much as her name. Who is she? Is she fae? Why is she there? Why is she in only a few of the mirrors? Why are they covered in curtains? Honestly, it was a desperate attempt to keep the fae elements in the story. Almost like she jammed in a puzzle piece that looks almost right but doesn’t really fit. I think if she would have left the far elements at “the far queen cursed him because of this and that” it would have been fine, but genuinely like I’m so confused about the fae elements in this one 😂
So randomly at the end Ressa can shift? We had no hints of that and that doesn’t work for her character at all.
Sederic just kind of…gets over Darina? Even though he literally had stated millions of times how his “love would never die” and his devotion to her was eternal?! …Ok…
Also why doesn’t the Beast have a name? It annoyed me thought out the book that Darina just called him “Beast” or “the Beast” like girl you just spent months with him and fell madly in love with him, yet you don’t know if brother has a name? 💀 she’s constantly trying to convince everyone he’s not a beast all the while calling him Beast. It would have been frustrating enough at that point, but at the end Mera wonders if he has a name now, or if he would just be called Beast. For some reason that statement annoys me like if you’re gonna acknowledge the problem pleeease fix it.
What up with the castle? They mention that the castle changes and let’s you go where you want to go if it’s rooting for you? Is the castle…alive? Is it magical? Like why aren’t these things explained 😭
The characters were extremely unrealistic. I strongly disliked Mera’s character. I get it—she’s eleven—but she was so selfish and bratty 🙈 like normally they start off that way and then get some character development by the end of the book!! Sure she went through a lot but she is so unlikable. If she were a bit more of a likeable character I would have enjoyed this story a lot more—but she wasn’t. At the end she’s still counting on Beast leaving Darina and breaking her heart. And the dad just leaves at the end? Like what the heck the ending was so unsatisfactory 😭
The climax was rushed and practicing nonexistent. The solution to the problem was anticlimactic.
They kept saying throughout the whole book that “love is just a feeling” and “feelings change”. That made me the most annoyed of all. With that philosophy, why love at all? Why do anything at all? Why live? Everything changes, so why do anything? Love is not just a feeling. Sure—you can feel love—but I don’t always feel like I love my brother when he’s yelling at me for eating the last pack of fruit snacks. But I still choose to love him, because he’s my brother. Love is a feeling—yes—but it’s not just a feeling. It’s a choice. Darina chose to love the beast even though it was hard. That’s real love. That’s mature love. That’s unselfish love. She built the whole plot around this philosophy that love can fade because it’s just a feeling, making it incredibly unrealistic. Real love doesn’t fade, just changes.
So…there’s my rant XD
Content warnings/note for parents:
This is a kid’s book, and it was ok. Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend this one, but I’m also a teenager. A kid probably wouldn’t pick up on all the plot holes and problems I did. That being said, as for content, this book’s completely clean. There’s some magic elements, like characters turning into wolves, and magical roses that turn wolves to humans, but nothing super deep. There’s a kiss at the end, but you don’t even realize they’re kissing until the end of the kiss. There’s hinting at a man constantly being inebriated, such as “he may have already had too much to drink”. Also, when the beast changes from beast to human, he is unclothed, but he has a random blanket that he just walks around with around his waste (quite the uncomfortable mental image 💀) but that’s literally it. So…yeah! Pretty clean book, not very fun to read tho.
If you’re looking for content warnings, you can check the end of my review 😉
⚠️ ranting coming up ⚠️
I like this series, but I feel like the books are hit or miss. Thornwood was great, The Glass Slippers was mediocre, The Piper’s Promise was great, and this one was just as flat as a pancake.
I wanted to like this book. I really did.
Plot holes.
Unrealistic character motivations.
Nonexistent stakes.
But…I like to start off with the positive. So, let’s go with that first 😁
I looooove how Leah has certain recurring elements for each book in this series. There’s always a minstrel, which is so fun and unique, and I loved that we got more of a personal look at this minstrel. Sederic was easily my favorite character (other than Leo but yk he’s a doggie so). The fae magic is always such a fun touch (though it was very lacking in this one, but we’ll get to that). The plot was very unique and a fun twist on the original tale.
Don’t go on if you don’t want spoilers!!
Buuuut there were a lot of plot holes. There were these mirrors throughout the palace and a lady inside some of them who would laugh randomly or talk to the characters, but you never got so much as her name. Who is she? Is she fae? Why is she there? Why is she in only a few of the mirrors? Why are they covered in curtains? Honestly, it was a desperate attempt to keep the fae elements in the story. Almost like she jammed in a puzzle piece that looks almost right but doesn’t really fit. I think if she would have left the far elements at “the far queen cursed him because of this and that” it would have been fine, but genuinely like I’m so confused about the fae elements in this one 😂
So randomly at the end Ressa can shift? We had no hints of that and that doesn’t work for her character at all.
Sederic just kind of…gets over Darina? Even though he literally had stated millions of times how his “love would never die” and his devotion to her was eternal?! …Ok…
Also why doesn’t the Beast have a name? It annoyed me thought out the book that Darina just called him “Beast” or “the Beast” like girl you just spent months with him and fell madly in love with him, yet you don’t know if brother has a name? 💀 she’s constantly trying to convince everyone he’s not a beast all the while calling him Beast. It would have been frustrating enough at that point, but at the end Mera wonders if he has a name now, or if he would just be called Beast. For some reason that statement annoys me like if you’re gonna acknowledge the problem pleeease fix it.
What up with the castle? They mention that the castle changes and let’s you go where you want to go if it’s rooting for you? Is the castle…alive? Is it magical? Like why aren’t these things explained 😭
The characters were extremely unrealistic. I strongly disliked Mera’s character. I get it—she’s eleven—but she was so selfish and bratty 🙈 like normally they start off that way and then get some character development by the end of the book!! Sure she went through a lot but she is so unlikable. If she were a bit more of a likeable character I would have enjoyed this story a lot more—but she wasn’t. At the end she’s still counting on Beast leaving Darina and breaking her heart. And the dad just leaves at the end? Like what the heck the ending was so unsatisfactory 😭
The climax was rushed and practicing nonexistent. The solution to the problem was anticlimactic.
They kept saying throughout the whole book that “love is just a feeling” and “feelings change”. That made me the most annoyed of all. With that philosophy, why love at all? Why do anything at all? Why live? Everything changes, so why do anything? Love is not just a feeling. Sure—you can feel love—but I don’t always feel like I love my brother when he’s yelling at me for eating the last pack of fruit snacks. But I still choose to love him, because he’s my brother. Love is a feeling—yes—but it’s not just a feeling. It’s a choice. Darina chose to love the beast even though it was hard. That’s real love. That’s mature love. That’s unselfish love. She built the whole plot around this philosophy that love can fade because it’s just a feeling, making it incredibly unrealistic. Real love doesn’t fade, just changes.
So…there’s my rant XD
Content warnings/note for parents:
This is a kid’s book, and it was ok. Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend this one, but I’m also a teenager. A kid probably wouldn’t pick up on all the plot holes and problems I did. That being said, as for content, this book’s completely clean. There’s some magic elements, like characters turning into wolves, and magical roses that turn wolves to humans, but nothing super deep. There’s a kiss at the end, but you don’t even realize they’re kissing until the end of the kiss. There’s hinting at a man constantly being inebriated, such as “he may have already had too much to drink”. Also, when the beast changes from beast to human, he is unclothed, but he has a random blanket that he just walks around with around his waste (quite the uncomfortable mental image 💀) but that’s literally it. So…yeah! Pretty clean book, not very fun to read tho.
January 31, 2024
I pretty much immediately took a dislike to the headstrong protagonist's voice--when a character describes themselves as "someone who knows something is a bad idea and does it anyway," they're guaranteed to get on my nerves. But this was a short book so I decided to push ahead anyway because I am always interested in unique Beauty and the Beast retellings.
This did do some unique things with the story, particularly with the lore surrounding the Beast and associating him with the leader of the Wild Hunt--basically he was a fae left behind when the Faerie Queen left the human realm and never returned. However, I was not a fan of the messaging surrounding Beauty and the Beast's relationship, which is basically that you can't talk someone out of being in an abusive relationship, you just have to wait for the abuse to get bad, or the abuser to leave, and then take care of the victim. The Beast is given a lot of signature behaviors of an abuser, including isolating the victim from their family and training them to only believe his version of things. But it's excused away at the end with "I guess he really loves her, and has completely changed his victim's personality, so there's nothing to do but wait and see what happens."
I also wonder if this book suffered cuts for space, because there were some subplots hinted at that went nowhere that I would have liked to see developed more.
This did do some unique things with the story, particularly with the lore surrounding the Beast and associating him with the leader of the Wild Hunt--basically he was a fae left behind when the Faerie Queen left the human realm and never returned. However, I was not a fan of the messaging surrounding Beauty and the Beast's relationship, which is basically that you can't talk someone out of being in an abusive relationship, you just have to wait for the abuse to get bad, or the abuser to leave, and then take care of the victim. The Beast is given a lot of signature behaviors of an abuser, including isolating the victim from their family and training them to only believe his version of things. But it's excused away at the end with "I guess he really loves her, and has completely changed his victim's personality, so there's nothing to do but wait and see what happens."
I also wonder if this book suffered cuts for space, because there were some subplots hinted at that went nowhere that I would have liked to see developed more.
2023
June 7, 2024📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press
January 17, 2026
Not my favorite. Stayed mad at the sister, til the very end. Other than her, I enjoyed it.
January 24, 2024
okay
It was pretty far fetched and to think that some rose powder was all he needed after he ate a whole petal was pretty absurd. If it was just his will to become a man for Darina he should have been able to with the whole petal, not needing more rose dust.
Being able to shift to a hound is interesting. I was wondering about grandma since their mother had been able to shift. I wonder if what they thought was true, that their mother’s heart stopped when she tried to shift… who knows.
Interesting the names are different. Nobody called Darina Belle. Supposedly she was beautiful and kind and liked reading but you would think that her sister would still have known her better.
Overall just okay. There was a lot in this book that could have been explained better.
It was pretty far fetched and to think that some rose powder was all he needed after he ate a whole petal was pretty absurd. If it was just his will to become a man for Darina he should have been able to with the whole petal, not needing more rose dust.
Being able to shift to a hound is interesting. I was wondering about grandma since their mother had been able to shift. I wonder if what they thought was true, that their mother’s heart stopped when she tried to shift… who knows.
Interesting the names are different. Nobody called Darina Belle. Supposedly she was beautiful and kind and liked reading but you would think that her sister would still have known her better.
Overall just okay. There was a lot in this book that could have been explained better.
December 17, 2023
Well that was a painful read. The plot and magic are poorly constructed. The characters are some of the most unpleasant people I've read about in a while. It misses the entire point of the original Fairytale and then mocks it all. Van Helsing, I'm going to need a lot of silver bullets.
September 19, 2024
This is a unique retelling of Beauty & the Beast, told from the point of view of the Beauty's younger sister. I know that the success of Disney's "Frozen" set everyone afire with the idea of familial love and loyalty, and I think this series about sisters was probably inspired by that trend. This is a book for middle-grade readers, but I still enjoyed it very much. It's well written and adds a fresh perspective to this well-known story.
The names of the characters are very unconventional. I don't mind Beauty having a "real" name. She's only Belle in the Disney version. She's had a variety of names in other versions, but...Darina? It's one I have never heard before. The main character is Mera, Darina's 11-year-old sister. To me, Mera sounds more like a mermaid name, but I guess it's no big deal.
This is not the first time Beauty has had a sister. In classic versions of the story, she often has 2 sisters that are a lot like Cinderella's stepsisters, shallow and vain. Sometimes she also has brothers. In this case, she has a little sister with a big secret. Mera has the ability to transform into a "hound," as they call them. Basically, the Beast is a werewolf-type character stuck in the form of a wolf. In addition to Mera, there are others in the village who can transform and the Beast has control over "the pack." Therefore, Mera keeps her ability a secret as much as possible so as not to attract the attention of the Beast. When Darina winds up at the Beast's castle, Mera believes she was taken by mistake. That it's really her the Beast wants. So she sets out to "rescue" her sister.
I've read other retellings where the Beast is a werewolf, so this didn't exactly shock me. What did shock me was how they turn the tables on Beauty & the Beast by showing you how it might look to the Beauty's family and friends. They don't believe that Darina is at the Beast's castle willingly. When she announces that she loves him and they want to marry, people assume that she has somehow been brainwashed.
The theme of loyalty is very strong and we see Mera's loyalty to her sister contrast with their mostly absent father's loyalty to his family. Mera is extremely brave and mature for her age. The girls' mother is dead, and they live with their Grandmother. This is the only version I've read that includes a Grandmother, btw.
For a while I feared that they were really going to turn the story on it's head and have Darina actually BE brainwashed or something. Thankfully, they didn't go that far, and, in he end, Beauty & Beast get together as they are supposed to. Phew!
I have to say, all this talk that surrounds Beauty & the Beast these days - even in other Goodreads reviews of this book - about Stockholm Syndrome and abusive relationships, etc. People, that's NOT what this story is about. This book shows how the situation can LOOK bad to outsiders. Maybe that's why there is rarely much of a family in other versions. But it's not that. If Beauty & the Beast was actually about all those dysfunctional relationships, would it have lasted all these years? It is, after all, the "tale as old as time." The reason the story as endured is because it gives us hope for a non-dysfunctional relationship. It's about the power of TRUE LOVE. And I, for one, believe that true love is, in fact, possible. But even if it wasn't in today's screwed up world, I would still want this story around just so I could fantasize about having true love.
Once Darina and the Beast are together, there are some fun loose ends to wrap up regarding Mera and her grandmother. Even though I found this book at the library, I am ordering a copy of "The Last Rose" to add to my Beauty & the Beast collection. Also, I can't wait to read the other books in this series.
The names of the characters are very unconventional. I don't mind Beauty having a "real" name. She's only Belle in the Disney version. She's had a variety of names in other versions, but...Darina? It's one I have never heard before. The main character is Mera, Darina's 11-year-old sister. To me, Mera sounds more like a mermaid name, but I guess it's no big deal.
This is not the first time Beauty has had a sister. In classic versions of the story, she often has 2 sisters that are a lot like Cinderella's stepsisters, shallow and vain. Sometimes she also has brothers. In this case, she has a little sister with a big secret. Mera has the ability to transform into a "hound," as they call them. Basically, the Beast is a werewolf-type character stuck in the form of a wolf. In addition to Mera, there are others in the village who can transform and the Beast has control over "the pack." Therefore, Mera keeps her ability a secret as much as possible so as not to attract the attention of the Beast. When Darina winds up at the Beast's castle, Mera believes she was taken by mistake. That it's really her the Beast wants. So she sets out to "rescue" her sister.
I've read other retellings where the Beast is a werewolf, so this didn't exactly shock me. What did shock me was how they turn the tables on Beauty & the Beast by showing you how it might look to the Beauty's family and friends. They don't believe that Darina is at the Beast's castle willingly. When she announces that she loves him and they want to marry, people assume that she has somehow been brainwashed.
The theme of loyalty is very strong and we see Mera's loyalty to her sister contrast with their mostly absent father's loyalty to his family. Mera is extremely brave and mature for her age. The girls' mother is dead, and they live with their Grandmother. This is the only version I've read that includes a Grandmother, btw.
For a while I feared that they were really going to turn the story on it's head and have Darina actually BE brainwashed or something. Thankfully, they didn't go that far, and, in he end, Beauty & Beast get together as they are supposed to. Phew!
I have to say, all this talk that surrounds Beauty & the Beast these days - even in other Goodreads reviews of this book - about Stockholm Syndrome and abusive relationships, etc. People, that's NOT what this story is about. This book shows how the situation can LOOK bad to outsiders. Maybe that's why there is rarely much of a family in other versions. But it's not that. If Beauty & the Beast was actually about all those dysfunctional relationships, would it have lasted all these years? It is, after all, the "tale as old as time." The reason the story as endured is because it gives us hope for a non-dysfunctional relationship. It's about the power of TRUE LOVE. And I, for one, believe that true love is, in fact, possible. But even if it wasn't in today's screwed up world, I would still want this story around just so I could fantasize about having true love.
Once Darina and the Beast are together, there are some fun loose ends to wrap up regarding Mera and her grandmother. Even though I found this book at the library, I am ordering a copy of "The Last Rose" to add to my Beauty & the Beast collection. Also, I can't wait to read the other books in this series.
April 27, 2023
Oh my goodness! This book was fascinating, complicated, and sooo good! I’m a huge lover of fairytales, but I don’t think I’ve ever read a fairytale quite like this one. The characters are all turned on their heads, and the people we thought we knew turned out to be quite different.
Mera has never been the pretty one. She has stood in the shadow of her sister, Darina for years. But when Darina is kidnapped by the Beast, only Mera knows the truth. It should be her stuck in the dark castle. So Mera decides to rescue her sister only to find secrets she could have never imagined waiting for her.
Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairytales! And I love to read retellings of it, but this one was so interesting and different. Mera is a wonderful heroine full of fight and spunk. She is determined to not be controlled by anyone or anything. She’s had to be tougher than her sister, and she’s much more practical as well.
I’m honestly not sure how I felt about most of the other characters in this book. Everyone is full of greys even Darina, the Beauty in the story isn’t the traditional pure heart we hear about. I think it was fascinating to read a retelling where I had no idea what was going to happen next and honestly no idea what I wanted to happen next. Darina and the Beast aren’t the heroes they normally are.
I love the theme of sisterhood though. Mera is fiercely loyal and willing to do everything for her sister. I wish that the idea of love would have been defined a little differently. Love is not a feeling, but it is instead an action. But I do agree that feelings change. However, love should not.
This is a clean read with some creepier moments. For example, Mera gets locked up by the Beast. And there are moments where parents can talk about manipulation since the Beast is not portrayed as the hero in this story. There’s some Stockholm Syndrome vibes going on.
This was an incredibly rich story! There is so much in it, and I think middle grade readers will love it.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.
Highlights:
Sisterhood!
Strong female heroines!
Wonderful world building!
Couldn’t put it down!
Twists and turns all the way!
Conventional family values!
Mera has never been the pretty one. She has stood in the shadow of her sister, Darina for years. But when Darina is kidnapped by the Beast, only Mera knows the truth. It should be her stuck in the dark castle. So Mera decides to rescue her sister only to find secrets she could have never imagined waiting for her.
Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairytales! And I love to read retellings of it, but this one was so interesting and different. Mera is a wonderful heroine full of fight and spunk. She is determined to not be controlled by anyone or anything. She’s had to be tougher than her sister, and she’s much more practical as well.
I’m honestly not sure how I felt about most of the other characters in this book. Everyone is full of greys even Darina, the Beauty in the story isn’t the traditional pure heart we hear about. I think it was fascinating to read a retelling where I had no idea what was going to happen next and honestly no idea what I wanted to happen next. Darina and the Beast aren’t the heroes they normally are.
I love the theme of sisterhood though. Mera is fiercely loyal and willing to do everything for her sister. I wish that the idea of love would have been defined a little differently. Love is not a feeling, but it is instead an action. But I do agree that feelings change. However, love should not.
This is a clean read with some creepier moments. For example, Mera gets locked up by the Beast. And there are moments where parents can talk about manipulation since the Beast is not portrayed as the hero in this story. There’s some Stockholm Syndrome vibes going on.
This was an incredibly rich story! There is so much in it, and I think middle grade readers will love it.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.
Highlights:
Sisterhood!
Strong female heroines!
Wonderful world building!
Couldn’t put it down!
Twists and turns all the way!
Conventional family values!
March 24, 2024
The fourth title in the Sisters Ever After series, this one is based on the classic Beauty and the Beast, but with all sorts of interesting changes. The protagonist, eleven-year-old Mara, has always felt less than her beautiful older sister, Darina, and sometimes experienced jealousy as a result. But Mara has a secret that makes her different but could also get her in trouble with the villagers. She is able to shapeshift into a dog just like the other hounds who once were villagers and have been changed by the Beast who lives in the nearby castle. Her changes are voluntary while theirs are not. Despite her feelings of inadequacy, Mara loves her sister and is determined to bring her home after the Beast kidnaps her. But that won't be easy since Darina isn't willing to leave. An interesting retelling of the original story, but it was hard to feel much empathy or sympathy for the Beast since he only briefly appears in human form. Mara's character is much more fully developed than that of her sister, grandmother or father, and some of the secrets revealed at the end seemed rather rushed. Nevertheless, fans of the series will enjoy this one with its unique focus on sisters,
May 2, 2023
I received this as an ARC through NetGalley
This was a new take on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale told by beauty's little sister, Mera. When Darina is held captive by the beast her little sister is bound and determined to rescue her because she is certain that the beast meant to take her, instead.
I thought that the author did a great job of being true to the story while also giving the whole tale a fresh look. All the rumors of the beast turning his captives into wolves to grow his pack of hounds and the uncertainties that drove Mera to try to save her sister pulled you in.
With that being said, I did not particularly like Mera. I thought she was rather petulant and self centered and, even though she professed to want to save her sister, it seemed like it was often in her own best interests. I feel like it was her spitefulness, overall, that made me not like the book as much as I should have.
This was a new take on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale told by beauty's little sister, Mera. When Darina is held captive by the beast her little sister is bound and determined to rescue her because she is certain that the beast meant to take her, instead.
I thought that the author did a great job of being true to the story while also giving the whole tale a fresh look. All the rumors of the beast turning his captives into wolves to grow his pack of hounds and the uncertainties that drove Mera to try to save her sister pulled you in.
With that being said, I did not particularly like Mera. I thought she was rather petulant and self centered and, even though she professed to want to save her sister, it seemed like it was often in her own best interests. I feel like it was her spitefulness, overall, that made me not like the book as much as I should have.
November 25, 2023
Ever since I read Glass Slippers, I have been obsessed with this author. The third book on the Pied Piper was an interesting spin on a classic tale. This one takes on Beauty and the Beast and I just didn't like it as much. It stays loose to the original tale, subtracting a sister (Perrault's version) and adding it's own hairy twist (no spoilers).
The beast has been terrorizing this village for centuries, stealing villagers away to make him part of their hunt. This bit weaves in more of the legend of the Wild Hunt (which would be German) and makes the beast the leader. I suppose if one were reading this without a lot of knowledge of fairy tales and mythology it might have been more interesting but I felt the jumble of different bits cobbled together to make this "Beauty and the Beast" tale anything but old as time and honestly most of the characters were obnoxious.
I'll be intrigued which tale she picks next.
My thanks to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for this ARC.
The beast has been terrorizing this village for centuries, stealing villagers away to make him part of their hunt. This bit weaves in more of the legend of the Wild Hunt (which would be German) and makes the beast the leader. I suppose if one were reading this without a lot of knowledge of fairy tales and mythology it might have been more interesting but I felt the jumble of different bits cobbled together to make this "Beauty and the Beast" tale anything but old as time and honestly most of the characters were obnoxious.
I'll be intrigued which tale she picks next.
My thanks to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for this ARC.
October 11, 2023
It was okay. The main character's pov got annoying at times. But the story was a very interesting retelling. I liked how the author turned the story on its head. It felt like the main character was an unreliable narrator, which makes sense because a child in this setting wouldn't know or understand the ins and outs of what was happening. For me though, that really took away from the story. I didn't feel like there was much of a plot arc or character growth. The story would have continued on just fine without the main character. It felt like the story was mostly just the world building of an alternative version of Beauty and the Beast. That said, I think my younger daughter would enjoy this book in spite of its flaws. The narrator would be entertaining to a younger child and the plot issues wouldn't bother them either.
October 17, 2023
I received an electronic ARC from Random House Children's through NetGalley.
The fourth in this series of younger siblings and famous older sisters. Readers meet Mera as she struggles to figure out how to save her sister, Darina, from the Beast's castle. They learn that she can shape shift to become a wolf and that she is incredibly loyal to her sister. Cypess stays true to the overall storyline of Beauty and the Beast but adds some interesting twists to make readers think. In the end, Darina marries her Beast and they ride off together. Mera and her grandmother also enjoy a race through the woods.
I appreciate the way the author changes the story to make the characters less perfect. Each is multi-dimensional and all are flawed. As the series progresses, the storylines and characters become more realistic and relatable.
The fourth in this series of younger siblings and famous older sisters. Readers meet Mera as she struggles to figure out how to save her sister, Darina, from the Beast's castle. They learn that she can shape shift to become a wolf and that she is incredibly loyal to her sister. Cypess stays true to the overall storyline of Beauty and the Beast but adds some interesting twists to make readers think. In the end, Darina marries her Beast and they ride off together. Mera and her grandmother also enjoy a race through the woods.
I appreciate the way the author changes the story to make the characters less perfect. Each is multi-dimensional and all are flawed. As the series progresses, the storylines and characters become more realistic and relatable.
May 16, 2023
The Last Rose
Sisters Ever After #4
Leah Cypess
This is the fourth book in the Sisters Ever After Series. I love fairytales and books that tweak them and rewrite them. I will never see Beauty and the Beast in the same light again. Author Leah Cypess has taken the characters and changed them. I still knew this was based on Beauty and the Beast and yet it wasn’t the fairytale we have become accustomed to. In this version we meet Mera. Her sister Darina has been kidnapped by the beast. At night he and his hounds search the land for those he can take and turn them into hounds.
The Beast has taken Darina and her 11-year-old sister Mera is coming to the rescue. Unfortunately, the characters needed more development.
Sisters Ever After #4
Leah Cypess
This is the fourth book in the Sisters Ever After Series. I love fairytales and books that tweak them and rewrite them. I will never see Beauty and the Beast in the same light again. Author Leah Cypess has taken the characters and changed them. I still knew this was based on Beauty and the Beast and yet it wasn’t the fairytale we have become accustomed to. In this version we meet Mera. Her sister Darina has been kidnapped by the beast. At night he and his hounds search the land for those he can take and turn them into hounds.
The Beast has taken Darina and her 11-year-old sister Mera is coming to the rescue. Unfortunately, the characters needed more development.
October 16, 2023
When you hear that a book is going to be a fariytale retelling, you know the story. However, this book completely shocked me with the way it approached telling the tale. This book is less about the fairytale and more about the relationships of a family. Specifically, the sisterhood of Mera and Darina. This is the fourth book in the "Sisters Ever After" series, but it is the first I have read. It does a really great job of highlighting how sisters do not always get along, but they do always love each other. I appreciated seeing the fairytale from the younger sister's point of view since she is outside of the romance. As younger sister to my own sister it was enjoyable to read this novel.
Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC.
Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC.
March 16, 2024
The Last Rose pulls more from the Disney Beauty and the Beast than the older, French versions. The story itself is mostly fine, but I do think that there is a major issue that is not handled well.
November 25, 2025
I like Mera well enough
But Darina and the Beast downright annoyed me to the point where it absolutely ruins the ending when they get a fairytale ending.
Seriously, Darina is spoilt! She couldn’t even ask the beast to let her sister change back into human! Then she has the gall to actually try to steal from her family under pretense of wanting to see them!
The beast is entitled. He downright orders Mera to help him then threatens her, as if he didn’t keep her imprisoned himself. He does basic human decency and expects to be rewarded for it!
The ending was also so annoying. I get that it is a beauty and the beast fairytale and Darina is the star, but the beast couldn’t even credit his salvation to Mera?!
I find it more easy to forgive Ressa for ignoring Mera in favor of Darina since they are actually best friends.
But Darina and the Beast downright annoyed me to the point where it absolutely ruins the ending when they get a fairytale ending.
Seriously, Darina is spoilt! She couldn’t even ask the beast to let her sister change back into human! Then she has the gall to actually try to steal from her family under pretense of wanting to see them!
The beast is entitled. He downright orders Mera to help him then threatens her, as if he didn’t keep her imprisoned himself. He does basic human decency and expects to be rewarded for it!
The ending was also so annoying. I get that it is a beauty and the beast fairytale and Darina is the star, but the beast couldn’t even credit his salvation to Mera?!
I find it more easy to forgive Ressa for ignoring Mera in favor of Darina since they are actually best friends.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2023
This fourth book in the Sister's Ever After series did not disappoint! Each book can be read as a stand alone book, but I've enjoyed them all so much! This addition to the series focuses on the story of the Beauty and the Beast as told from the beauty's untold about sister's perspective. The unexpected twists and turns I've come to expect and enjoy from Leah Cypess were present. I will definitely be adding this book to my school's library!
August 21, 2023
The Last Rose was an interesting take on the Beauty and the Beast story. I found it to be such a creative element that the story was told from a different perspective. That of the sister and not the one who falls for Beast. I very much enjoyed the origin story of how the curse and Beast came to be. It made alot more sense in terms of his loneliness and his behaviors.
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December 29, 2024A middle grade book, quick read.
This one is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
The main thing I liked about this book is pointing out how awful the Beast is and how stupid the Belle character is. I also thought it was realistic how they realized they can't do anything to change her mind anyway. Dad was a no-show too. Sederic was cute.
This one is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
The main thing I liked about this book is pointing out how awful the Beast is and how stupid the Belle character is. I also thought it was realistic how they realized they can't do anything to change her mind anyway. Dad was a no-show too. Sederic was cute.
May 11, 2025
This book was actually super interesting.
I did notice with this book that there really hasn’t been any strong parental figures in this series. Mera’s grandmother was in this book, so that was something I did enjoy. Having a strong adult figure is something I think should be in most books. Mera and Darina’s father was also in this book, but he was problematic. He was the father we are seeing more and more in media, where he essentially abandoned the family and shows up rarely. He also really only pays attention to Darina. Mera has animosity towards her father, which I completely understand. She does try to repair their relationship though.
I have seen many things pertaining to Stockholm syndrome and the story of Beauty and the Beast. This book acknowledged it! I thought it was wonderful that Mera thought her sister couldn’t possibly be in love with the Beast after four months. I find this much more realistic.
I also really love the difference of what the Beast is. He is still part man, part animal, but he also controls the Hounds. The Hounds are people who can turn from human to wolf, but the Beast has forced them to remain in their hound form. He also takes humans from the village to turn into a hound.
I also loved the twist with Mera. I won’t spoil it, much as I want to. But I loved it and the complexities it added to the story.
I also loved the twist on Gaston. Instead of being insufferable and arrogant and just overall horrible, the Gaston of this story was the town bard-in-training who genuinely loved Darina and was completely respectful to her.
I didn’t really like Darina. She was completely obsessed with the Beast and wouldn’t listen to anyone. I wished there was a little bit more of Darina and Mera having positive interactions.
This is the only book I have read in this series that I have wanted this, but I kind of wanted Darina’s perspective. I want to know more about how the Beast and her fell in love.
Overall, The Last Rose was a fun retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with a unique twist!
I did notice with this book that there really hasn’t been any strong parental figures in this series. Mera’s grandmother was in this book, so that was something I did enjoy. Having a strong adult figure is something I think should be in most books. Mera and Darina’s father was also in this book, but he was problematic. He was the father we are seeing more and more in media, where he essentially abandoned the family and shows up rarely. He also really only pays attention to Darina. Mera has animosity towards her father, which I completely understand. She does try to repair their relationship though.
I have seen many things pertaining to Stockholm syndrome and the story of Beauty and the Beast. This book acknowledged it! I thought it was wonderful that Mera thought her sister couldn’t possibly be in love with the Beast after four months. I find this much more realistic.
I also really love the difference of what the Beast is. He is still part man, part animal, but he also controls the Hounds. The Hounds are people who can turn from human to wolf, but the Beast has forced them to remain in their hound form. He also takes humans from the village to turn into a hound.
I also loved the twist with Mera. I won’t spoil it, much as I want to. But I loved it and the complexities it added to the story.
I also loved the twist on Gaston. Instead of being insufferable and arrogant and just overall horrible, the Gaston of this story was the town bard-in-training who genuinely loved Darina and was completely respectful to her.
I didn’t really like Darina. She was completely obsessed with the Beast and wouldn’t listen to anyone. I wished there was a little bit more of Darina and Mera having positive interactions.
This is the only book I have read in this series that I have wanted this, but I kind of wanted Darina’s perspective. I want to know more about how the Beast and her fell in love.
Overall, The Last Rose was a fun retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with a unique twist!
April 17, 2023
Fairytale retellings can be hit or miss for me but I absolutely loved this one! This beauty and the beast retelling was whimsical and lively and beautiful. I loved this authors take on the classic and I absolutely adored the characters. The descriptions and details were painted so vividly.
November 7, 2023
I loved this retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast story. It is a very fresh twist one that I have never seen before. I love the fact that there is a bit more history into the beast and why he does what he does throughout the story. Adding in the fact that there are people in the town who are born with the gene to shapeshift into wolves is also quite fun. Overall, I think this is the perfect book to give a kid who enjoys fairytale retellings with a twist. I am quite excited to recommend it. I am also wanting to go back and read some of the past stories to see what fresh twists were put on classic tales.
Thank you so much to Random House Children’s and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.
Thank you so much to Random House Children’s and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.
April 15, 2024
I've enjoyed this series a lot and this was no exception. Such an interesting take on Beauty and the Beast. So much fun to read and to see things from another point of view than those who are traditionally in the castle. Can't wait to read the next edition.
November 8, 2024
I have loved all the previous books in the Sisters Ever After series by Leah Cypess, and this next book was no exception! This was another wonderful MG fairytale retelling, which I would definitely recommend trying. I look forward to reading the next book!
I received an e-ARC from the publisher.
I received an e-ARC from the publisher.
January 9, 2025
I stumbled across Cypess' "Sisters Ever After" series while at work, and when I spotted her take on "Beauty and the Beast," I just had to give it a read. Another quick book, "The Last Rose" is a fast-paced story of Mera as she tries to rescue her sister from the Beast's castle, all while hiding her own beastly side from her family and village.
I really liked Cypess' twist on the classic fairy tale and appreciated the background story she created for Mera and her family. It made the story more original and kept me interested in Mera's journey.
This is the fourth book in her collection, so I'm excited to go back to the beginning and catch up on the other fairy tale sisters' stories!
I really liked Cypess' twist on the classic fairy tale and appreciated the background story she created for Mera and her family. It made the story more original and kept me interested in Mera's journey.
This is the fourth book in her collection, so I'm excited to go back to the beginning and catch up on the other fairy tale sisters' stories!
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