I just finished a rather interesting take on Disney's Beauty and the Beast called 'As Old as Time: A Twisted Tale' by Liz Braswell. It is actually very engrossing read that runs on the basis that Belle's mother was the enchantress. The first half of the book is retelling the movie with some new details and some chapters that set up the curse, the scene with Belle and the Rose is where it finally full-out diverges. I decided to include he summary from the cover for you guys.
"Belle is a lot of things: smart, resourceful, restless. She longs to escape her poor provincial town for good. She wants to explore the world, despite her father's reluctance to leave their little cottage in case Belle's mother returns--a mother she barely remembers. Belle also happens to be the captive of a terrifying, angry beast. And that is her primary concern.
But when Belle touches the Beast's enchanted rose, intriguing images flood her mind--images of a the mother she believed she would never see again. Stranger still, she sees that her mother is none other than the beautiful Enchantress who cursed the Beast, his castle, and all its inhabitants. Shocked and confused, Belle and the Beast must work together to unravel a dark mystery about their families that is twenty-one years in the making." - Book Dustcover
I hope you guys are interested and might give this a read one day ^-^
I'm not going to read far into your post assuming there are spoilers, because I just picked up the copy on my most recent trip to Disney World. I'm glad to hear that you really enjoyed it though, so I can't wait to really dive in. I hope to find the time to do that this or next week, as the trailer for the new movie has totally gotten me into the mood. The author has made similar treatments of Disney characters, such as Ursula and Maleficent.
It's been a while since I've done some quality reading. I really want to revisit Paolini's Inheritance Cycle, which is the whole reason why I began writing in the first place. There are some classics that I missed and really want to catch up on too, including ​The Road and Dune. I think I may dedicate a significant time of my break after this semester to getting caught up on all the great books that I've missed.