Disney's Twisted Tales: As Old As Time

I FINALLY finished this book. It came out almost three years ago! I have picked it up, put it down, and restarted it at least three times since then. But I just bought the last one, twisted Snow White, for a low price, so I'm determined to finally catch up on all of these, before the next one comes out on October 1st. Or at least make a concerted effort to get through them. I have three more to do after all.

So for those unfamiliar with twisted tales, the author plays with a concept relating to the Disney movie we all know, and then skews it darker. Both the Aladdin and Sleeping Beauty volumes were quite dark, and this one continues that tradition.

The beginning goes back and forth between past and present, relating the story of how Maurice, Belle's father, and Rosalind, the Enchantress, meet and fall in love. You meet their friends Levi, Alaric and Frederic, all important to the story. In the present, Belle is dealing with Gaston's assholishness and going through what we know from the movie: exchanging herself for her father as prisoner of the Beast.

The past story turns darker as the supernatural people like Rosalind are hunted down or flee the country. The king and queen have turned against them and are harsh, cruel, prejudiced people. The king and queen who are Beast's parents.

I don't want to spoil too much, but you can guess what Rosalind does, and then the story switches entirely to the present, where Belle accidentally destroys the rose, then works with Beast to unravel the mystery of their past. The end is a huge confrontation and the final ending is tentatively happy, not full-on happy, but with a promise of happiness. It's good and I'm glad I finally finished it!