Rating: 
Summary: Great historical fantasy
Review: "The Fire Rose" is an excellent historical fantasy, full of period detail and rich characterizations. This was Mercedes Lackey's first book about Elemental magic, and in my opinion, her best of the three (so far).Rose is a scholar in a bad bind; her father's just died, her money is gone, the creditors are howling at the door, and she has few options and almost no hope. Enter Jason Cameron. He's a man with a bad problem of his own; because of extreme hubris, he attempted a spell to turn him into a werewolf. It didn't totally work, but the partial working has left him tired, ill, injured and feeling almost without hope himself. Cameron needs a scholar who can translate old manuscripts, because only those manuscripts have the potential to help them, and because of his disability, he can no longer read them himself. Rose is a scholar who can read almost anything (she talks of reading Ovid, Sappho's poems, the Decameron, etc.) in just about any language, which is why he wants her help. The two of them link up, and find a most unusual love. Other than that, I don't want to give away the plot; they obviously face trials and tribulations on the road to a fuller realization of their love, but if I talk about them, I'll definitely spoil this unusual and unique story. So all I'll say is, "Read this book for yourself!" Five stars. Recommended. Barb Caffrey Oh, and if you've tried "Gates of Sleep" and didn't like it (I didn't, although I enjoyed "Serpent's Shadow" well enough), you might like this. I did.
Rating: 
Summary: Engaging and entertaining
Review: I like this book quite a lot. It captivated my attention and interest for the entire book. While I wouldn't recommend buying it new, perhaps you can find a used copy or read one from the library. Still, it reads well.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Have Been Better!
Review: I LOVED this book! I'm a fan of much of Ms. Lackey's work, but in this she has outdone herself. I have read this book at least ten times by now, and it never ceases to thrill me. The Elemental Masters series is a favorite of mine, as every story is a retelling of a classic fairy tale, but rewritten so that the female protagonists actually *do* something, and Fire Rose is the best of the bunch. Rose is a strong, proactive woman, and yet she's realistically drawn at the same time -- there are things that can shake her. She's human, flawed but likeable, as is Jason Cameron.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Read!
Review: I'm a big fan of Lackey's, and when I read this book I was absolutely blown away. The world inside our own that she creates just makes you want to believe it's true, and when I finished reading it I was begging for more, I wanted to find out what happened afterwards. It's one of her books in a collection of fairy tale novels, and I've read a few of her others, and they are all just terrific. I would reccomend this book for anyone who either likes her other writings or is a fan of fantasy writing. The characters are round and well-developed, there are aspects of magic, adventure, romance, and of course a familar story of Beauty and the Beast stuck in there too.
Rating: 
Summary: Oy. Worst book EVER.
Review: I'm not big on giving books one star, but beleive me, this one deserves it. The main character is completely irritating, and I rather was hoping for her downfall by the end. But not only that, this book just worked too hard to make that one evil guy really really bad. For instance, she spends several pages talking about how the villain likes to practice "sex magic", and break the spirits of women by insulting them and raping them, degrading them to mere whores. I was so horribly upset by this book that I haven't been able to touch another one of her books since. (Except for one time when I read Black Swan- which was a complete let down too). Actually I read this book 4 years back, but it horrifies me to this day. If you like books about fantasy in our world, might I suggest "Mairelon the Magician" by Patricia C. Wrede, or "A College of Magics" by Stevermer?
Rating:
Summary: Great for a long afternoon...
Review: Like many of the reviewers, I'm a big Beauty and the Beast fan (haven't read much of Lackey's other books, though). After reading several other versions of B&B, I was ready to allow for almost any twists a *retelling* could have. Like Rose, if you can accept aspects of the situation and go with the flow (whether it be whims of the author or convenient plot device), it can be a fun ride :)
I liked the Elementals and might check out if the personalities of the water, air, and earth beings are sketched out in other books in this series. Cuz I'm a goober, the dialogue between Jason and Rose actually made me giddy at times :) ***spoiler: I didn't mind the ending - how many people would want their love to suddenly switch bodies overnight?***
***Mini rant with mini spoilers: I just barely forgave the drawn out tea packet thing and agree with another reviewer - what happened to the dreams?? "Beauty's" dreams are usually a huge component of B&B, so thought this version would fit it in more prominently than it did. And I think Rose gave Jason the wrong color packet in my edition... One thing that really bothered me was that Rose made her trip to the redwood bookshop with novel ideas on how to reverse the spell, but by the end, despite a minor note of her translating somthing, it's as if she's and Jason have completely dropped their research. It greatly diminishes all the prior emphasis on her scholarship and ability. Afterall, a solution exists - couldn't they eventually find it again on their own?***
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Summary: Another Beauty & Beast tale? Before you cry "NO"!.......
Review: OK...another B&B story...what can one expect? At first I wanted to scream "NO...not another one" but I quickly changed my tune.....
This book is more than I expected. A well developed, and well written story with remarkable characters & a different twist to the original form of the B&B tale...This book gives us an unexpected Beauty & the Beast story that will remain well with you....even after the last page is read and the book put away. I actually have this book in my Phantom of the Opera library collection...it sorta reminded me of Erik.....and this book has actually found its way into my "Phantom library" under the genre of "other" books that remind me of Erik.
If you enjoyed this book, you may want to try these books:
Phantom by Susan Kay
Beauty by Robin McKinley
Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
Beast by Donna Jo Napoli
East by Edith Pattou
Through the Tempests Dark and Wild by Sharon Darrow
The Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West by Mary Stanton
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Summary: Remember Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast'?
Review: Once again, I have not read all the reviews here because I simply cannot stand to. Mercedes Lackey--Misty--doesn't sweat the details. She doesn't need to. She has VISION. Go look at her personal Web site and learn something. ... I am, in my own estimation, Misty's Rose in the flesh in 2004.
Rating: 
Summary: Average
Review: This book is almost good, but misses in a few vital areas. Number one, and most annoying, were the long, endless descriptions of absolutely everything. I finally started skimming the descriptive paragraphs to speed things up. The plot would stall for page after page after page while something insignificant was described. I had a hard time with the magic, since it didn't seem to serve any useful purpose except making those blessed with it wealthy. I didn't really like or respect the lead male character. And I only mildly liked the lead female character. The book was so highly rated on Amazon, I was eager to begin the series. But I doubt I'll read any more by the author.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST I have EVER read!!! (and i've read alot!;)
Review: This is the first of Lackey's book I've ever read. I LOVE IT! The whole time I've read it, I couldn't put it down! Rose comes from Chicago, she's a woman scholar when men ruled the world. Almost with no hope, she gets an uncanny letter one day. A man named Jason Cameron wants a man, or woman, to teach his children back in California. Seeing no better option, she accepts. But when she gets there, she can't believe what she has gotton herself into! She finds herself in the mansion of a railroad baron, who is never seen, and has been disfigured. (with no children to boot!) After an accident she sees that Jason is half-wolf, from a magick working that went awry. She finds her self in a world full of magick: Firemasters, Master of Dragons, the elementals (like the fire salamanders) and she herself has the magick of air within her. Rose meets many challenges, will she defete them all? I'll let you read the book to find out! =)
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