Format: ebook
Published: October 4th, 2022
Age: Adult
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Rating: 2/5 Stars
Even calling this a ‘loose’ retelling of Beauty and the Beast is stretching the idea of a retelling. For a retelling to work, there has to be come core elements connecting the original with the retelling, but in The Story of a Hundred Promises, the Beauty and the Beast parts are little more than references, and feel shoehorned in. I was really excited for this queer, trans retelling, but ultimately felt let down by the premise and the execution.
Instead of labelling this a retelling, I think fantasy fairy tale fits much better. It is very much centred around a variety of fairy tale elements, and the MC even owns a book of fairy tales – this world’s fairy tales are sprinkled throughout the novel, and although it’s an interesting technique, it made it feel like the book should have been stripped down and more focused on these tales, maybe with the story of Darragh and the enchanter as a framing device.
I liked the actual fairy tales more than the main plot, where Darragh seeks out the enchanter who gave Darragh the ability to become his true self. He is looking for the enchanter to heal his ailing father, basically so Darragh can shout at him a bit before he passes on. There is also a ‘beast’ involved. And some roses. And Darragh’s sister makes a remark about him no longer being ‘Beauty’ at the start of the novel.
I found Darragh’s motivations for seeking out the enchanter to be a bit odd; it’s understandable, and reasonable, but not for the long, dangerous journey he needs to embark on. And on the whole, it sounds like it would be better for him and his sister if the old man did die, being an unpleasant individual, rather than stretching it out for days on end with only Darragh’s sister left behind to care for him.
I found the worldbuilding to be a bit weak. It’s kind of a queer-friendly world, and I say kind of because despite there being clear markers (tattoos…I’ll come back to that) for different identities, and phrases that allow people to give their pronouns as soon as they meet someone else, which are lovely ideas, there’s still some people (like Darragh’s father) who aren’t as accepting as others. The two ideas kind of clash, and while it’s meaningful for Darragh to have a father who doesn’t accept him, and provides a good ‘inciting incident’, in a way, it doesn’t quite fit in this world where everyone else seems to more progressive. Not to say I would want a character constantly dealing with bigots or transphobia, it just felt a bit clumsily handled.
The tattoos…while I can appreciate the attempt, it’s another aspect that felt clumsy. In some instances, it felt a little forced, and I found myself questioning why, if elements like transphobia still exist (as shown in Darragh’s father), people would have these visible declarations. Characters have tattoos which denote their sexuality and/or gender, and I think this element could have been handled a little better if it didn’t feel like it was there just so we know oh, this character is a woman who likes women. If they’d been presented as a little more symbolic or similarly to Pride flags, or something interwoven with fashion (like sewing patches onto jackets), I think that would have made sense, but as it was there was just something that didn’t sit right with me about the way the tattoos are used.
There are some interesting concepts here, but on the whole the worldbuilding felt weak, and the queer-friendly nature of this world didn’t seem too thought out, especially when the backdrop just felt like a generic, Grimms’ fairy tale world.
Reading Challenge
2025 TV Shows Reading Challenge
Prompt: Once Upon a Time – A retelling of a fairy tale
Progress: 4/12
Unwrapping Words 