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3.75 stars! This review will contain no spoilers!
Summary:
Blossom and the Beast is the first book in the Alder Tales series by R. S. McCoy that takes a twist on the classic Beauty and the Beast fairytale. Blossom Frane is the daughter of the Bear clan leader of the Terra branch. She is only a few weeks away from her transformation and is expecting to receive a bear totem like her brothers allowing her to transform between human form and bear form. It is tradition to trade for wives between different clans and since bear blood is highly coveted in the Alderwood where she lives, Blossom will trade for a high price. As Blossom spends her last days with her three bear brothers, she explores the Alderwood as much as she can. During one trip, she runs into a mysterious and dangerous looking stranger. She runs back to her encampment for safety only to find the stranger making a trade for her with her father. The man happens to be Kaide Landel, political star of the Pyro branch, known to be the most dangerous of branches. Blossom has no choice, but to leave her family and join him in Pyrona to become is wife, if she can survive. And this is where the rest of the story takes off!
Thoughts:
I gave this book 3.75 stars! This is the first of R. S. McCoy's works that I've read and I have to say I really enjoyed it. My favorite part of it all: the relationships! She had me crying tears within the first 50 pages alone because she wrote such amazing familial relationships in this book. I loved Blossom's relationships with her three brothers (especially Hale) and her father. I could already see a great girl-girl friendship blooming. And of course, I'm all for the Blossom-Kaide ship, they are TOO CUTE! The main focus is really on Blossom; how she integrates herself into the Pyro lifestyle as well as how she adjusts to Kaide. I thought Kaide was a bit confusing at first, but as I kept getting to know him throughout the book, his actions and emotions began to make more sense. Blossom however, I like her, but I can't decide how much, it's teetering.
As a retelling, it's very close to Beauty and the Beast with a political and almost Native American kind of twist. There is some political intrigue intertwined, but not a monarchy, more of an oligarchy. There is an underlying plot that is driven by Kaide and his political plans, but it's all very mysterious. This specific part of the book is still kinda murky to me in all honesty, making me a bit lost on where this series could be going. That is not a bad thing though! I do like that there's still more to learn. The "magic" system was really interesting, too! It's slightly complex, but not info-dumpy!
Plot + thoughts on Kaide and Blossom:
I would consider this a romance book first, before anything else since the Blossom-Kaide ship is what develops the most in this book and is at the forefront. The presence of Beauty and the Beast is 100% there, and unlike some retellings, this beast does actually have a "bad" side. I felt some Edward Cullen vibes with his killing pattern, which if you've read Twilight and you read this book, you may notice as well.
In comparison to the synopsis, Kaide is very much not what I expected. I don't want to give away his entire personality because it's quite a nice surprise when you're reading, but I definitely prefer Kaide's POV to Blossom's. Blossom is an odd one I have to say. She is fiesty and stubborn, she is all fire, BUT she is "flippy-floppy" for lack of a better adjective. I love her, but some of the things she does and says just don't appeal to me. She spends a lot of the book telling herself that she isn't a baby, that she isn't delicate, but she does make some decisions and says certain things that made me think otherwise. Granted, her biggest mistake in the whole book follows along with the Beauty and Beast storyline, but I spent a lot of that scene thinking to myself "omg Blossom you cannot be this stupid." Her emotions from that point on were kind of choppy and changed from one thing to the complete opposite making me find her childish.
On another note, Kaide has a different story surrounding himself that is complete offset from Blossom. In this book we do not get to know too much about it other than that it's there in the works, but hopefully in the next book, his plans come to fruition!
That ending! That ending made my JAW. DROP. I was definitely thinking, wait.. no no.. no that can't be the end?! Not only was there a major cliffhanger, but I literally have no clue what to think next with the sequel.
Other characters:
Blossom's brothers are too cute with how much they care for Blossom. And there's this reveal later on in the book about something they did that I just found to be the cherry on top with their personalities. Hale is my favorite of course because he seems the most loving towards Blossom.
Raene (which I keep pronouncing as "Reene" instead of "Rain") is a doll! I like how she is always bright and smiley, but can be serious when needed. I'm happy that she was actually introduced in this book since the sequel is all about her.
Overall:
Good thing McCoy sent me an ARC of the second book, "Raene and the Three Bears," or I might have a huge book hangover. Can't wait to start it soon!
This book was sent to me by R. S. McCoy in exchange for an honest review! Thanks for reading! :)