IRON ROSE

A woman must escape the clutches of a reclusive creature to rejoin the rebellion against a tyrannical ruler in O’Bryan’s fantasy novel, a radical retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

Lydia Brightwood is a captain in the resistance against the Crimson Lord, the new ruler of the fantastical realm of Samar, who keeps her small, downtrodden country under his cruel thumb. All the citizens live in fear of him and his personal army, the Crimsons, who suppress any challenges to their brutal rule. Lydia has lost everything––her home, her parents, her comrades––and she fears that one day she might lose her brother, Thomas, too. Lydia struggles to convince the oppressed seven clans who make up Samar to join the fight, but without a prince to rally behind, they refuse to put aside their distrust. Lydia sets off to find the last living person who could legitimately inherit the crown, but the desperate quest is cut short by Lydia’s capture by the Crimson Lord and his demand for her hand in marriage. She escapes into the northern mountains, only to end up at a ruined castle populated by an old woman and a monstrous creature beyond her wildest nightmares. (“Its snouted mouth was crammed with fangs, two of which rested outside so they could be seen even when its mouth was closed.”) The beast, Adam, has shut himself away in seclusion as penance for his failure to protect Samar, barely fighting off the more animalistic aspects of his curse in his despair. The two find themselves in a stalemate: Adam won’t let Lydia leave, fearing she’ll give away the secret of his existence; Lydia won’t give up on returning to the fight. O’Bryan turns the classic fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast on its head in this blood-soaked and bracing fight for freedom as the characters stand up against an oppressive regime. The romance is slow to start but is hard-won, with each of the characters slowly letting their guard down. Unraveling the mystery of Adam’s circumstances is a pleasant exercise that contrasts well with the many action sequences.

A fresh take on a familiar fairy tale.