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toriedawn1's review against another edition
3.0
This was another difficult to review book. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. It also felt unfinished. We are left with no idea if ||Leo (our Beast) will even get a happily ever after||. I liked the way they had Leo asking ||for a kiss at the end of each meal||, this harkened back to the original version of beauty and the beast where he would ask her to marry him each night and I thought it was nice to try and incorporatethat in a slightly less wierd way, because of the whole situation it felt wierd anyway but I appreciated that the author had tried. The age difference made me uncomfortable which is a little unfair of me as the beauty and the beast stories set in the past often have big age differences and it was so common in the time period I didn't bat an eye, because this one was set in the 80s however the girl only being 17 and him being 40 and her boss made it feel slimy, even if she was just treating him as a friend. Due to this I am glad she ||ended up with Rob|| but at the same time I thought ||the beast getting a happy ending|| was kind of a given in beauty and the beast retellings, even if they had just ||ended it with a nurse flirting with him perhaps|| it would have been a vast improvement. Overall I like the idea of beauty and the beast in a more modern setting but really feel this book missed the mark.
takethyme's review
Usually when I read a young adult story, I enjoy the premise and continue, or it bores me and I drop it like a hot potato. [b:Roses|3063891|Roses (Point)|Barbara Cohen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1257900032s/3063891.jpg|3862370] started out on an interesting note. A father walked into an exotic flower shop only to find that the plant for his wife and the arrangement for his eldest daughter was gifted to him. No money was involved. He was told by the employee that the orders came directly from his boss.
It was only after he was leaving that he remembered he promised a single rose for his youngest daughter, Isabel. He immediately walked back in but no one answered. The employee vanished. He then noticed a pitiful rose bush with one redeeming flower. And, mysteriously, there was a scissors next to the pot. He called out again and when no one responded, he cut the rose.
If you've read any novel with the Beauty and the Beast theme, you know the father was beholden to the 'beast'. Leo Koenig was an elderly disfigured man aka 'the boss' who required 'Pops' to allow Isabel to come work part-time for him. No ifs, ands, or buts. The dad gave in.
Isabel was not quite seventeen. She didn't date but was friends with several boys. One of them was Rob. It was at this point that I would read some paragraphs, skim, read some more pages and skim again. Rob broke up with girlfriend. It was very hard to hold my train of thought but I kept expecting Ms. Cohen to surprise me. Isabel and Rob saw more of each other; Rob, unknowingly, was connected to Leo.
The story with *kisses only* was originally published in 1984. I had to refer to the paperback a second time because I thought it was a misprint. Though the characters were clothed from that decade, the story felt as though it was written in the 1960s. It read as though it was intended for middle-schoolers or those in junior high. IOWs, not a YA story that an adult could enjoy.
I only made it to the end because another reviewer wrote that the last pages were different than what they expected. I wasn't surprised. I am not rating this older contemporary fairy tale because it was geared toward 12-13 year olds.
It was only after he was leaving that he remembered he promised a single rose for his youngest daughter, Isabel. He immediately walked back in but no one answered. The employee vanished. He then noticed a pitiful rose bush with one redeeming flower. And, mysteriously, there was a scissors next to the pot. He called out again and when no one responded, he cut the rose.
If you've read any novel with the Beauty and the Beast theme, you know the father was beholden to the 'beast'. Leo Koenig was an elderly disfigured man aka 'the boss' who required 'Pops' to allow Isabel to come work part-time for him. No ifs, ands, or buts. The dad gave in.
Isabel was not quite seventeen. She didn't date but was friends with several boys. One of them was Rob. It was at this point that I would read some paragraphs, skim, read some more pages and skim again. Rob broke up with girlfriend. It was very hard to hold my train of thought but I kept expecting Ms. Cohen to surprise me. Isabel and Rob saw more of each other; Rob, unknowingly, was connected to Leo.
The story with *kisses only* was originally published in 1984. I had to refer to the paperback a second time because I thought it was a misprint. Though the characters were clothed from that decade, the story felt as though it was written in the 1960s. It read as though it was intended for middle-schoolers or those in junior high. IOWs, not a YA story that an adult could enjoy.
I only made it to the end because another reviewer wrote that the last pages were different than what they expected. I wasn't surprised. I am not rating this older contemporary fairy tale because it was geared toward 12-13 year olds.
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