“[A] heady mix of fairy tale, magic, and romance…dazzling…has the power to exhilarate.” –Publishers Weekly
“This luxuriant retelling of the story of the Beauty and the Beast…is full of asides and surprises, and is suffused with obsession for the rose and thorn as flora, metaphor, and symbol…The story is full of silvery images.” –Kirkus Reviews
“Every sentence and every occurrence seems infused by magic.”—Fantasy & Science Fiction
“McKinley is at home in a world where magic is mainstay, and, with her passion for roses, she’s grafted a fully dimensional espalier that is tangled, thorny web of love, loyalty, and storytelling sorcery.” –School Library Journal
“Readers will be enchanted, in the best sense of the word.” –Booklist
“A beautiful retelling of Beauty and the Beast…The language is compelling.” –Rambles.net
“One of the delightful things I found in this book is just how well McKinley kept things maddeningly familiar—but then skillfully avoided the well-worn plot paths to forge new ground.” –SF Site
