Book Review: Five Enchanted Roses

Summary: Rediscover the Enchantment!
   A ship bearing the souls of sinful sailors drifts upon a ghostly sea. An abbey looms as the final defense between mortals and ghouls of the underworld. In the stillness of a throne room, statues stand forever frozen in a moment of terror. Monsters and men stalk their prey deep in the jungle’s shadows. A rose blooms in the dead of winter, sheltered in the ruins of an ancient Scottish castle.
And only true love can free the Beast from his prison.

Thoughts: This was an amazingly talented collection of stories so very different from any other possible retelling of Beauty and the Beast! While definitely darker than it's predecessor, Five Glass Slippers,  Five Enchanted Roses is well worth the read!
 The first story, Espirit De La Rose, is about, wonder of wonders, a ghost ship! While this at first threw me off it became easy to see how Beauty and the Beast fit so well into this story and made me wonder why no on had thought of it before. This one has, personally, the best ending and (possible spoiler) a child who made my day!
 The second story, Wither, has an intriguing cast in one of the most terrifying worlds I'd ever read about! It was wonderful...just maybe not my favorite story. I was a little disappointed with the end but still enjoyed it and it's characters very much!
 The third, Stone Curse, was an interesting story that starts after the curse, with our Heroine already familiar with our Beast. She ends up leaving him in search of the vaguest notion as to why on earth the curse exists! A fun tale with a shocking climax and well planned setting.
 The fourth, Rosara and the Jungle King, was probably my favorite. With such an other worldly setting, it felt like I was listening to an old African or Indian tale rather than a brand new retelling! The characters were interesting and drew me into their story with ease! Plus it has a breathtaking ending!
 The fifth, The Wulver's Rose, was the more gentle of all the stories. Soft and sweet with it's own dark thread, it weaves a story more similar to the one we're all familiar with. What I really loved about this one was the tightly knit families mentioned, a rare theme in stories nowadays and, while present in most of these tales, was most prominent here.
  Over all this is a collection you don't want to miss!

Content: All the stories are a little dark, at least two stories include ghosts and ghouls and most talk of witches or dark magic. There is kissing, which is to be expected. The worst was that in most of the stories there was either mention, fear of, or even near rape. While handled well and never actually happening it is still there so readers be aware that a certain level of maturity might be required to read these. Really though, it wasn't much and could easily go over younger reader's heads. These are, for the most part, clean reads with much more pronounced Christian themes than the last series!