skyzinnia's review against another edition
3.5
This book is extremely slow. Nothing too big happens until past page 300 - in a 400-page book - and the main fight doesn't happen until roughly 15 pages before it ends. If you don't like VERY slow-burn romance and SUPER slow-burn action, this is not the book for you.
That being said, it wasn't necessarily bad, just so, so much narrative almost exclusively.
This is Austria-Hungary in the mid-1800s, and I think Eves did an excellent job of staying accurate. Sometimes a bit too accurate, lol. There was a vizsla dog, correct languages, correct places, and correct representation of everything going on there at that time. The only weird part was how much she kisses her cousin. I know it's the 1800s, and they are nobles, and it's how it was, but it was still a little off-putting.
I really enjoyed the fight scenes, however few they were. They were thought out and described well and even that kept up with what weapons they would have had and how they were being used. It made me appreciate the loss and destruction caused by a battle like that.
I also liked how Anna develops. She goes from being worse than useless to what she is today. I look forward to seeing how her and Gábor continue on with their journey and what they'll do next!
That being said, it wasn't necessarily bad, just so, so much narrative almost exclusively.
This is Austria-Hungary in the mid-1800s, and I think Eves did an excellent job of staying accurate. Sometimes a bit too accurate, lol. There was a vizsla dog, correct languages, correct places, and correct representation of everything going on there at that time. The only weird part was how much she kisses her cousin. I know it's the 1800s, and they are nobles, and it's how it was, but it was still a little off-putting.
I really enjoyed the fight scenes, however few they were. They were thought out and described well and even that kept up with what weapons they would have had and how they were being used. It made me appreciate the loss and destruction caused by a battle like that.
I also liked how Anna develops. She goes from being worse than useless to what she is today. I look forward to seeing how her and Gábor continue on with their journey and what they'll do next!
bellatap's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
I felt like it was slow and the author kept focusing on details I didn’t care about
moirwyn's review against another edition
4.0
This review originally appeared on my blog, Books Without Any Pictures:
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2017/03/27/blood-rose-rebellion-by-rosalyn-eves/
Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves is a young adult dystopian/alt-history novel set in the mid-1800s. Anna Arden is born into high British society. In this book, magic is also tied to social class. The upper class, the Luminates, receive the ability to perform magic at their Confirmation as a child. But Anna is barren of magic, and feels like an outcast. Society will never accept her. But Anna has a secret: she isn’t just barren of magic, but she can break magic. And that power makes her dangerous. There’s a spell called the Binding that restricts magic so that only the Luminates can use it. It’s managed by a group of nobles known as the Circle. And if Anna breaks the binding, then power will be taken from the Luminates and restored to the people, so that anyone can have the opportunity to do magic. It could unravel the very fabric of society.
Anna’s power to destroy magic accidentally ruins her sister’s debut, and to cover up the scandal, Anna and her grandmother go on a trip to Hungary. Hungary is not what Anna expected, and even though society there is also pretty hierarchical, there’s more of an opportunity for Anna to encounter people who aren’t like herself. She starts to fall in love with a Romani named Gabor, and that’s where things get interesting, because Anna is an upper-class girl who has good intentions but is horribly naive. And she keeps trying to help, but she’s self-centered in part because of her upbringing and keeps making mistakes that make life worse for everyone around her. Anna struggles with wanting to determine her own fate, but then keeps making decisions that determine the fate of others. And then she realizes it, accepts it, learns from it, and course corrects. It’s the story of a woman of privilege realizing her privilege and working toward a more equitable society, and even though she doesn’t always get it right, she keeps trying. And that message seemed really important–that you can learn from your mistakes, change your worldview, and become a better person.
Unfortunately, it does follow a lot of YA tropes, like the main character who is a special snowflake with a power that’s unlike anyone else’s, insta-love, etc., but it’s forgivable. There are scenes that could have used a little more depth, and the character development was a bit lacking. But at the same time, it had a timely message, and was fast-paced and dark. And (thankfully) it doesn’t do that cliffhanger ending thing that is so popular in YA lately, which means that I can read the book, say “yay, that was a fun read” and then wait for the next one without getting angry and wanting to throw things because the next book doesn’t come out in forever. So that’s a plus.
Blood Rose Rebellion was a good light read. It’s kind of like a mashup between something by Stephanie Burgis and a book like The Jewel—all the danger and magic of a traditional dystopia, but with a historical vibe to it as well. If you don’t go in expecting high literature, you’ll enjoy it.
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2017/03/27/blood-rose-rebellion-by-rosalyn-eves/
Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves is a young adult dystopian/alt-history novel set in the mid-1800s. Anna Arden is born into high British society. In this book, magic is also tied to social class. The upper class, the Luminates, receive the ability to perform magic at their Confirmation as a child. But Anna is barren of magic, and feels like an outcast. Society will never accept her. But Anna has a secret: she isn’t just barren of magic, but she can break magic. And that power makes her dangerous. There’s a spell called the Binding that restricts magic so that only the Luminates can use it. It’s managed by a group of nobles known as the Circle. And if Anna breaks the binding, then power will be taken from the Luminates and restored to the people, so that anyone can have the opportunity to do magic. It could unravel the very fabric of society.
Anna’s power to destroy magic accidentally ruins her sister’s debut, and to cover up the scandal, Anna and her grandmother go on a trip to Hungary. Hungary is not what Anna expected, and even though society there is also pretty hierarchical, there’s more of an opportunity for Anna to encounter people who aren’t like herself. She starts to fall in love with a Romani named Gabor, and that’s where things get interesting, because Anna is an upper-class girl who has good intentions but is horribly naive. And she keeps trying to help, but she’s self-centered in part because of her upbringing and keeps making mistakes that make life worse for everyone around her. Anna struggles with wanting to determine her own fate, but then keeps making decisions that determine the fate of others. And then she realizes it, accepts it, learns from it, and course corrects. It’s the story of a woman of privilege realizing her privilege and working toward a more equitable society, and even though she doesn’t always get it right, she keeps trying. And that message seemed really important–that you can learn from your mistakes, change your worldview, and become a better person.
Unfortunately, it does follow a lot of YA tropes, like the main character who is a special snowflake with a power that’s unlike anyone else’s, insta-love, etc., but it’s forgivable. There are scenes that could have used a little more depth, and the character development was a bit lacking. But at the same time, it had a timely message, and was fast-paced and dark. And (thankfully) it doesn’t do that cliffhanger ending thing that is so popular in YA lately, which means that I can read the book, say “yay, that was a fun read” and then wait for the next one without getting angry and wanting to throw things because the next book doesn’t come out in forever. So that’s a plus.
Blood Rose Rebellion was a good light read. It’s kind of like a mashup between something by Stephanie Burgis and a book like The Jewel—all the danger and magic of a traditional dystopia, but with a historical vibe to it as well. If you don’t go in expecting high literature, you’ll enjoy it.
alyram4's review against another edition
I almost never do this, but...
1.5/5 stars
Since about chapter 3 onward, I could not stand this book. The first 2 chapters were actually kinda promising, but unfortunately instead of taking off it just lagged behind. An excrutiatingly slow book, with bland characters, unfocused -and unneeded- romance, and some very weird dialogue. The only thing that remotely interested me in this was the actual revolution itself. Hell, even some of the magic was interesting, but just not enough to save it. I found this to just be unenjoyable, which is really such a shame since the premise held so much opportunity. This book could have been so much better, but it really fell flat for me. Sadly, I won't be continuing with this trilogy. This is definitely a lot it or hate it type of book. There really is no in-between.
1.5/5 stars
Since about chapter 3 onward, I could not stand this book. The first 2 chapters were actually kinda promising, but unfortunately instead of taking off it just lagged behind. An excrutiatingly slow book, with bland characters, unfocused -and unneeded- romance, and some very weird dialogue. The only thing that remotely interested me in this was the actual revolution itself. Hell, even some of the magic was interesting, but just not enough to save it. I found this to just be unenjoyable, which is really such a shame since the premise held so much opportunity. This book could have been so much better, but it really fell flat for me. Sadly, I won't be continuing with this trilogy. This is definitely a lot it or hate it type of book. There really is no in-between.
annsbibliotherapy's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful blending of YA romance and fantasy, Anna and her family/friends had me hooked from the first couple pages. There were times the story was so engrossing I forgot it was fantasy but then magic would show up and remind me this was more than just a story about a girl coming into herself. I was glad I did a combo of listening/reading on this one because of the Hungarian names/words but really it just led to the story. I cant wait to read the next one.
aidnoah's review against another edition
2.0
The only saving grace for this disaster of a book to not get 1 star from me is that I at least liked the way Eves set up scenes and described scenery on a whole. Everything else... well, I’m not to sanguine about it getting any better in the sequels, and probably won’t bother.
chaos_tempest's review against another edition
2.0
I received an e-arc from the author/publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Magic is reserved solely for the Luminates, or the aristocrats, through a binding spell controlled by the Circle. Anna is an unlucky Luminate, her gift for magic has never shown, leaving her "barren", until the night of her sister Catherine's society debut. Fueled by jealousy, Anna unknowingly breaks her sister's magic and is forced to leave the city for her grandmother's estate in Hungary. Once there, Anna comes across many people, revolutionaries, that believe the Binding should be broken, freeing magic, and they believe that Anna's new power is the key to doing it.
What can I say about this book? The first thing I noticed, it has a very slow start. I was going to DNF it, which I rarely if ever do, before I hit 15%. And it wasn't until much later, probably over halfway through, that it picked up enough that I became truly absorbed in the story.
Anna is an indecisive character, and because of her upbringing she acts in an annoying fashion towards those she views as having a lesser station than her, mostly by this I mean she acts wrong towards the Romani she comes into contact with. It was almost like she expected them to willingly teach her how to use their form of magic, even if it was against their rules, and then she becomes frustrated when she is expected to follow her new teacher's rules. It's not that she was outrageous or anything, just extremely ungrateful.
I enjoyed the setting quite a bit, it's not often that I get to read a book set in Hungary. Oddly enough, I've never really learned much about Hungary, so it was nice to learn a bit about local folklore and whatnot, now it's just a matter of finding out how accurate the depiction is. On that note, I would like to have seen more of the Romani, their beliefs and practices, that would have been really cool.
Although I did end up enjoying the story, there was not anything outstanding about it, there isn't anything that is going to stick with me for days, or even hours really. The characters didn't really stand out to me, I regularly forgot their names or relationship to Anna. That being said, it did end at an interesting spot, so I will end up checking out the next book with higher hopes.
Magic is reserved solely for the Luminates, or the aristocrats, through a binding spell controlled by the Circle. Anna is an unlucky Luminate, her gift for magic has never shown, leaving her "barren", until the night of her sister Catherine's society debut. Fueled by jealousy, Anna unknowingly breaks her sister's magic and is forced to leave the city for her grandmother's estate in Hungary. Once there, Anna comes across many people, revolutionaries, that believe the Binding should be broken, freeing magic, and they believe that Anna's new power is the key to doing it.
What can I say about this book? The first thing I noticed, it has a very slow start. I was going to DNF it, which I rarely if ever do, before I hit 15%. And it wasn't until much later, probably over halfway through, that it picked up enough that I became truly absorbed in the story.
Anna is an indecisive character, and because of her upbringing she acts in an annoying fashion towards those she views as having a lesser station than her, mostly by this I mean she acts wrong towards the Romani she comes into contact with. It was almost like she expected them to willingly teach her how to use their form of magic, even if it was against their rules, and then she becomes frustrated when she is expected to follow her new teacher's rules. It's not that she was outrageous or anything, just extremely ungrateful.
I enjoyed the setting quite a bit, it's not often that I get to read a book set in Hungary. Oddly enough, I've never really learned much about Hungary, so it was nice to learn a bit about local folklore and whatnot, now it's just a matter of finding out how accurate the depiction is. On that note, I would like to have seen more of the Romani, their beliefs and practices, that would have been really cool.
Although I did end up enjoying the story, there was not anything outstanding about it, there isn't anything that is going to stick with me for days, or even hours really. The characters didn't really stand out to me, I regularly forgot their names or relationship to Anna. That being said, it did end at an interesting spot, so I will end up checking out the next book with higher hopes.
forsakenfates's review against another edition
3.0
This was a difficult book for me. It had many positive aspects but many negative ones as well. I'm going to start with the negative, then move to the positive to end on a good note.
First off, the writing seemed all over the place to me. I really struggled to place myself in the story and the character's world and this was largely due to the writing style not matching the story. It is hard to explain but I do not think the writing was consistent with the depth of the story and the world if that makes sense. That being said, the writing quality did improve as the book went on and that was nice to see. On top of the lackluster writing, the plot was lacking the action typical of this genre that gets me into the book and hooked on the story. The plot was interesting sure, but I was not that invested in what was going to happen. And the way this book ended I have no idea how there are going to be two more books in this series. With a chapter or two more, this book could have tied everything up and been a fine standalone fantasy novel. The epilogue left a little bit open as to when the consequences of the end of the book are but not enough that I'm dying to read the next installment. One final thing I want to mention is something that conspired between two characters that really bothered me. We have multiple instances of distant cousins kissing, while this take place in the 1800s and that may be something that was more normal back then, it still left me uncomfortable every time it happened. These characters are most likely not endgame for Rosalyn Eves, but I still do not think it was necessary to the story.
As for the positive aspects of this book, the magic system is by far the best part of this book. We have this fascinating magic system that I really wish we had more backstory and information about. There definitely was not enough world building done to fully explain the magic system and how the binding worked and how things were before the Circle. But this idea of a magic reservoir that people dip into when they go to cast a spell is unique and I even enjoyed the little bit of information we got about the different castes within the magic system. There are a lot of different powers that I wish we had gotten to delve further into. Maybe that will happen in subsequent books but not sure based on how this one ended. I'm not sure I will continue with this series, I may pick up subsequent books but I have no need to do so as I do with other first books in series.
*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book!*
First off, the writing seemed all over the place to me. I really struggled to place myself in the story and the character's world and this was largely due to the writing style not matching the story. It is hard to explain but I do not think the writing was consistent with the depth of the story and the world if that makes sense. That being said, the writing quality did improve as the book went on and that was nice to see. On top of the lackluster writing, the plot was lacking the action typical of this genre that gets me into the book and hooked on the story. The plot was interesting sure, but I was not that invested in what was going to happen. And the way this book ended I have no idea how there are going to be two more books in this series. With a chapter or two more, this book could have tied everything up and been a fine standalone fantasy novel. The epilogue left a little bit open as to when the consequences of the end of the book are but not enough that I'm dying to read the next installment. One final thing I want to mention is something that conspired between two characters that really bothered me. We have multiple instances of distant cousins kissing, while this take place in the 1800s and that may be something that was more normal back then, it still left me uncomfortable every time it happened. These characters are most likely not endgame for Rosalyn Eves, but I still do not think it was necessary to the story.
As for the positive aspects of this book, the magic system is by far the best part of this book. We have this fascinating magic system that I really wish we had more backstory and information about. There definitely was not enough world building done to fully explain the magic system and how the binding worked and how things were before the Circle. But this idea of a magic reservoir that people dip into when they go to cast a spell is unique and I even enjoyed the little bit of information we got about the different castes within the magic system. There are a lot of different powers that I wish we had gotten to delve further into. Maybe that will happen in subsequent books but not sure based on how this one ended. I'm not sure I will continue with this series, I may pick up subsequent books but I have no need to do so as I do with other first books in series.
*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book!*