AWARDS, NOMINATIONS & REVIEWS***2019 finalist for The Wishing Shelf Book Award***
***Recipient of the Gold Award for the YA Fantasy category of the 2019 Literary Classics International Book Awards*** ***Fantasy finalist for the 2019 Independent Author Network's (IAN) Book of the Year*** ***Listed as both "highly recommended" and one of "Bookshine's Best Reads of 2018" by Bookshine and Readbows: Book Reviews From Book Lovers*** ***5-star book review and interview on author Barbara Russell's site*** ***4.5/5 stars on Life of a Writer: Turn Another Page*** ***Book Spotlight published on Horror Author A.F. Stewart's site.*** ***Excerpt published in the magazine Bewildering Stories*** Received 4.7 out of 5 stars on Goodreads |
Print: $11.99 ~ Kindle: $2.99
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About The Rose Queen
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The Beast doesn't always wait for Beauty. Sometimes, Beauty is the Beast.
Princess Mirabella is betrothed to a repulsive old man a year after her mother's death. She refuses the marriage, only to find out her betrothed is a sorcerer as well. He takes his revenge by transforming her into a savage and frightening beast, giving her an ultimatum: she has three years to solve the mystery of her curse—or die. Exiled to her mother's estate to hide the scandal, Mirabella learns that the sorcerer was not alone in keeping secrets. Her grandfather was murdered before Mirabella was born, and her mother's death is looking less and less as if it came from natural causes. The only point in common to all their ruined lives: her father, the king. Faced with a conflict between saving her family and saving her own life, the choices Mirabella makes will change the future of the kingdom—and magic—forever. |
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WHAT READERS HAD TO SAY
Marquise from Goodreads said: "As Beauty and the Beast retellings go, this one is an unicorn. For a start, it's not a romance, and then it takes care of not merely swapping the gender of a protagonist but actually cares to develop her character; and thirdly, it takes care to actually write an interesting plot with a world to set it in and a backstory to support it firmly. I'm impressed by what McBain has achieved, as this is her first book from what I could see, managing to avoid the usual problems of reworking this fairy tale and making it original again whilst respecting its core."
Steph Warren from the website Bookshine and Readbows: Book Reviews from Book Lovers said: "Alison McBain has created a new fairytale based on the old story. Here is the curse, the Beast, the rose, the youngest child of a wandering merchant and so forth. But McBain has taken these parts as mere reference points to build a new story of her own, with respectful nods to the old. Instead of a tale of love against appearances, this is a more complex plot with a focus on duty and responsibility, and how we handle the hand we are dealt. Mirabelle is more than a princess: she makes a brave and complex heroine, with flaws and misjudgements, which all make her more human and more empathetic. . . . In fact, the only criticism I have here is that it doesn’t appear that the rest of the trilogy has been released yet, and I need them NOW!"
Nella Darren from Goodreads said: "This take on B&B is breathtakingly good. The heroine's agency is outstanding as she's exercising actual political power, not just claiming ownership of her own fate. The story manages to be very close to the original with its details without forcing it, the parts merge effortlessly into something new."
Literary Classics Book Awards & Reviews said: "Author Alison McBain puts a clever spin on the familiar Beauty and the Beast tale with this utterly enchanting retelling of the classic story. Wonderfully penned and altogether a joy to read, The Rose Queen is recommended for home and school libraries and has earned the Literary Classics Seal of Approval.
Steph Warren from the website Bookshine and Readbows: Book Reviews from Book Lovers said: "Alison McBain has created a new fairytale based on the old story. Here is the curse, the Beast, the rose, the youngest child of a wandering merchant and so forth. But McBain has taken these parts as mere reference points to build a new story of her own, with respectful nods to the old. Instead of a tale of love against appearances, this is a more complex plot with a focus on duty and responsibility, and how we handle the hand we are dealt. Mirabelle is more than a princess: she makes a brave and complex heroine, with flaws and misjudgements, which all make her more human and more empathetic. . . . In fact, the only criticism I have here is that it doesn’t appear that the rest of the trilogy has been released yet, and I need them NOW!"
Nella Darren from Goodreads said: "This take on B&B is breathtakingly good. The heroine's agency is outstanding as she's exercising actual political power, not just claiming ownership of her own fate. The story manages to be very close to the original with its details without forcing it, the parts merge effortlessly into something new."
Literary Classics Book Awards & Reviews said: "Author Alison McBain puts a clever spin on the familiar Beauty and the Beast tale with this utterly enchanting retelling of the classic story. Wonderfully penned and altogether a joy to read, The Rose Queen is recommended for home and school libraries and has earned the Literary Classics Seal of Approval.
If you like the animation on Alison's book cover, check out animator Rita Goodall's Facebook page HERE.
MINI-INTERVIEW WITH ALISON MCBAIN ABOUT
The Rose Queen
ALISON MCBAIN
What inspired you to write this book?
Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite fairy tale. I've read the original and all retellings I could get my hands on, including watching every single movie and TV show out there. But the roles were always the same—the guy's a beast, the girl's the redeemer and savior of the beast. But what if there were a story where the beast was both a woman and a savior? And that's when I started writing.
Who would you be if you were a character in your own book (and why)?
I think I have traits of multiple characters in my book, not just one. I am a worrier/motherly sort, like Brina, often on the edges of social encounters, like Mirabella, have some darkness in my past, like Doran, can be highly efficient, like Rian, and get tongue-tied, like Antain. I think I put a little bit of me into each character, and so I feel connected to each person in my book when I'm writing.
What's next on the horizon?
I always have multiple projects going on, but immediately after this, I'm going to put on my editor hat for the Fairfield Scribes. I'm lead editor for our new anthology coming out, When to Now: A Time Travel Anthology. There are many, many amazing stories in it. I'm very excited for our release date of October 1st!
Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite fairy tale. I've read the original and all retellings I could get my hands on, including watching every single movie and TV show out there. But the roles were always the same—the guy's a beast, the girl's the redeemer and savior of the beast. But what if there were a story where the beast was both a woman and a savior? And that's when I started writing.
Who would you be if you were a character in your own book (and why)?
I think I have traits of multiple characters in my book, not just one. I am a worrier/motherly sort, like Brina, often on the edges of social encounters, like Mirabella, have some darkness in my past, like Doran, can be highly efficient, like Rian, and get tongue-tied, like Antain. I think I put a little bit of me into each character, and so I feel connected to each person in my book when I'm writing.
What's next on the horizon?
I always have multiple projects going on, but immediately after this, I'm going to put on my editor hat for the Fairfield Scribes. I'm lead editor for our new anthology coming out, When to Now: A Time Travel Anthology. There are many, many amazing stories in it. I'm very excited for our release date of October 1st!