Bryony and Roses

This is a novel-length retelling of the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale, thankfully without all the bells and whistles added by the Disney version. Instead, the author mentions this was inspired by McKinley's "Rose Daughter" version, but in this case, the heroine (Bryony) is an avid gardener and uses her wits and her gardening shears to find her way out of the situation in the end. Despite the fundamental setting of the story requiring the beast to capture the girl, in this case he's quite sympathetic; it's clear from the start that he's also being forced into actions beyond his control and he's polite and apologetic and occasionally sarcastic, and while Bryony doesn't exactly volunteer to be captured, she is given about as much control over the situation as reasonably possible given the story's basic framework.

The characters are sympathetic and their banter is often funny and sarcastic and it's quite understandable how they might develop a friendship of sorts over time. Bryony is a bit frustrating in that she is rather exceptionally dense at times about how to possibly help the beast, but this is somewhat made up for when her sister Holly outright calls her on being such a complete idiot and expresses most of what the reader has been thinking. And, I liked the relationship with sister Holly, and the ending. One of the best retellings I've read so far, recommended!