Book Review: The Bear of Rosethorn Ring by Kirsten Fichter

Welcome to the last day of Kirsten Fichter’s blog tour for The Bear of Rosethorn Ring! I hope you’ve had fun following along this week! Today you get to hear all my thoughts on this delightful tale!

About the Book:

The Bear of Rosethorn Ring: A Snow White and Rose Red Story (Once Upon a Twist Tales, Book #4)

How far would Snow White and Rose Red go to save the man behind the bear?

When their father runs away, Marita and Diamond Kadlec realize how different twins can be. Marita’s ready to forget Lucas entirely, but Diamond wants to give him the second chance she’s never been able to give before. That’s before they discover that Lucas is indebted to the ill-tempered D’vard and his traveling circus, the Rosethorn Ring. The Ring’s entertainment lacks a bear, and Lucas must play the part of the savage creature to regain his freedom.

Lorcan D’vard cares only for three things: tending to his beloved beard, promoting his Rosethorn Ring, and eradicating the assassin out to kill him. With time running out, D’vard agrees to cancel Lucas’s debt and let him go free – if Marita and Diamond can apprehend the assassin before the assassin ends the show.

This is Snow White and Rose Red with a twist like you’ve never seen it before.

Find it on Goodreads and Amazon.

About the Series:

Once Upon a Twist Tales are your favorite fairytales retold backwards and upside-down, with a
little bit of steampunk thrown in for fun!

Other Books in the Series:

Book One ~ The Rose and the Balloon: A Beauty and the Beast Story

Book Two ~ Spindle Dreams: A Sleeping Beauty Story

Book Three ~ Diamond: A Rapunzel Story

Goodreads | Amazon

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My thoughts:

Oh, it’s so difficult writing this review without breaking out into fangirl and all caps! But I shall try to remain a bit professional and comprehensive. XP

Ever since I read Diamond, and well, more like ever since I read The Rose and the Balloon, I’ve been looking forward to each book and then when I learned it would be a Snow White and Rose Red retelling that included a CIRCUS, I was ecstatic! I haven’t read very many stories that include a circus, and BoRR didn’t disappoint. And I don’t know if it was said yet, but I think Diamond is Snow White and Marita is Rose Red, it’s been awhile since I’ve read the actual fairy tale but that’s just how it seemed to me. 😉 (Not that that matters in the review, you’re just getting some extra “Jen thoughts.”)

There was the high-wire, and a horse show, (where Samson really shined. XD) and several others. I only wished we were given more of it. 😉 That’s really my only thing, I wanted moooore! I adored being able to watch the shows as if I were a member of the audience, and also have the backstage scenes with the performers, or “Ringers” as they like to call themselves, behaving like one big family. That’s one of the things I love about circus stories, they’re usually one big, crazy, fantastic found family! (…and now I want to write about a circus. >.>) It was so fun watching Diamond and Marita perform! Especially one certain act. *winks* (If you know, you know.)

The mystery of the assassin was fun and intriguing. I, um, called a certain twist about that, but other than that it was wonderful! D’vard is convinced someone is trying to kill him, and won’t allow something as paltry as “no evidence or clues” to keep Marita, Diamond, and Felix from finding out who. XD

I adored all the nods to the previous books. Shoes, Seth, Samson, the bear, all the things. *grins* And, this is nothing bad about the book, but I missed having the twins, Nicolas and Nicoline from book one and I was sad one of my favorite characters didn’t have any lines in the only scene they were in. But really, that’s just me pouting, this story was so wonderful!

Now, if you’re like my sister and have only read Diamond, or haven’t read any of the previous books you can still jump into the series with this one, except some of the aforementioned nods won’t be fully appreciated without having read the previous three books. Tara wasn’t sure what to make of Felix and his shoe situation… *sigh* she missed out. XD

Characters:

Marita is a bit of a feisty-pants and I love how both Diamond and Felix balance her out in their different roles. I also loved it when she teased Diamond about a certain someone who I also adore. ^_^ I love her journey with her father and how she prays for help in her relationship with him, it was very realistic for someone who has been hurt repeatedly by someone they love. Her reaction to mornings made me giggle, it’s very much like how my other sister wakes up.

Diamond is such a sweet girl. She hardly ever thinks ill of people, and is willing to give them a second chance, even if other’s have given up on them. She’s just a pure cinnamon roll. She and I also have the same opinion on coffee. *grins* Nice and sweet, with plenty of cream. ;p I really loved how determined she was to give her father a second chance, due to circumstance that are spoilers for the previous books they’ve never had a relationship and Diamond wants to try. The few father/daughter moments between Diamond and Lucas are SO sweet and just made me melt. ^_^

I loved getting more of Felix and, of course, Samson in this book! Felix and his shoes! XD It’s a bit of a running joke from book #2 which made me so happy to have continued. And, as always, mischievous Samson is a scream. Especially in the spotlight. *smile smile* His relationship with Marita is THE most precious and sweet thing! And how he treats Diamond is adorable! He’s like the big brother Diamond never had. I love how protective he is of the sisters, and is there for Marita through her struggles with her father.

And I love the little family of Ringers. Armund is like the big brother of the group, and Dove is a high-flying hoot!

And then there’s D’vard, (whom I kept imagining as a dwarf despite him not being one. *snorts* I had assumed he was based off of the original fairy tale, and then the image just stuck. XD) he’s a bit crazy, calls his beard his “beloved”, and has a penchant for bears. He is also quite a hilarious person, I’m either laughing over his antics or wanting to slap him.

Content:

None! This book is squeaky clean, with only a few scenes of mild peril that might be just a bit scary to little ones. And while there is some romance going on with an engaged couple, it’s very clean and not focused on, with only one kiss.

And this series is non-magical fantasy! I think it might actually be Kingdom Adventure? So if you’ve ever wanted to read non-magical retellings of fairy tales, then this series is for you!

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I recieved an eARC copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not required by the author to give a positive review.

About the author:

Kirsten Fichter is a twenty-something Christian writer who loves being the wife to her favorite person ever, mommy to two precious blessings, a piano enthusiast, a dragon buff, a serious bookworm, and an INFP synesthete. Fairytales have always fascinated her, and she has made it her goal to rewrite as many as possible and become known as the “Grimm Dickens” (i.e. mixing Grimm fairytales with a Dickens style). She is present in many online circles under the name “Kiri Liz” if you care about things like that. As you read this, she’ll be somewhere under a maple tree – trying very hard to finish the seventeen and half other stories she unwisely started all at once.

You can connect with her at Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Blog | Goodreads

Blog Tour Schedule:

April 5^th

• Welcome & Giveaway @ A Synesthete Writer
• Author Interview @ Living Outside the Lines
• Favorite Fairytales About Siblings (Guest Post) @ Lands Uncharted
• Book Review @ Christine Smith
• Book Review @ Tower in the Plains

April 6^th

• Snow White and Rose Red Tag @ A Synesthete Writer
• Author Interview & Book Review @ Madi’s Musings
• Looking Ahead at the Twist Tales (Guest Post) @ Virtual Paper
• Book Review @ E. Kaiser Writes

April 7^th

• Snow White and Rose Red Mad Libs @ A Synesthete Writer
• Inspiration for The Bear of Rosethorn Ring (Guest Post) @ Ink Castles
• Favorite Characters from the Twist Tales (Guest Post) @ Living Outside the Lines
• Book Review @ Shieldmaidens of Shiloh
• Book Review @ Live. Love. Read.

April 8^th

• The First Chapter @ A Synesthete Writer
• Awesome and Obscure Fairytales (Guest Post) @ Madi’s Musings
• SWRR Elements in The Bear of Rosethorn Ring (Guest Post) @ Abigail Falanga
• Book Review @ Blooming with Books
• Book Review @ C.O. Bonham

April 9^th

• Winner & Wrap-Up @ A Synesthete Writer
• Author Interview & Book Review @ Virtual Paper
• Retelling an Unknown Fairytale (Guest Post) @ Live. Love. Read
• Book Review @ Living Outside the Lines (You are here!)
• Book Review @ Ink Castles

Whew! What a week, huh? So many fun posts! (That I’m still catching up on but we don’t discuss that XD) Did you have a favourite post? Don’t forget to snatch up the first two books while they’re free! And I also have a small announcement, due to some personal goings on in my life at the moment, plus doing Camp this month, I’ve decided I need to take a hiatus. I won’t be gone completely, I still have two more posts for sure this month and I do want to share about my progress on my writing, but other than that I’m not doing, or signing up for, anything else for a while. I don’t exactly have a time frame for how long this hiatus will last. But I promise I’m not leaving the blogosphere! I love this place and y’all too much to completely leave, but I over extended myself the past few months and just need a break from any more deadlines. Love you guys! ❤

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