Status Updates From Roses in Amber

Adding trigger warnings for rape bordering on themes of childhood sexual assault and incest to this, context follows with spoilers. Amber has a vision through the rapist's eyes, a faery who positioned herself as the queen's lover, raised the prince to his teens(?), became obsessed with him, and slept with both in different disguises until the queen sees through her illusion; the faery curses him to become the Beast.

There's an appealing domesticity in many Beauty and the Beast retellings as well as narrative space for art and craft: Amber's perfumes here, Bryony's gardening and the Beast's clockwork in Bryony and Roses, Mirasol's beekeeping in Chalice, frequently of course the great library as well for research or for leisure. The confined setting and small cast removes many other options for plot progression and for conflict.

Moving along. About 10% away from where my e-reader had noticed I'd stopped before. So far, a solid retelling with some secondary world elements that I expect will come more to the fore later.

I'd tried to read this one before and drifted off at about the halfway point, going to give it another try I guess