Reviews with content warning for Self harm - A Curse of Roses

This book is more New Adult than Young Adult -- the situations that Yzabel has to navigate have so many grey areas, but it still retains that coming-of-age vibe of a YA. Overall, this book was fantastic. One of the best YA fantasies that I've ever read. A great stand-alone in a world of series. A lovesong to discovering your true self written by a queer author who used this book to come out-- it's in the preface and everything. A lovely retelling of a story of a Portuguese princess who became sainted. I recommend it to everyone in a reading slump.

Content Warnings

onthesamepage's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a beautiful, intense, character-driven story, and I highly recommend the audiobook because the narrator is fantastic. We follow Princess Yzabel, who is unable to eat because any food she touches turns into flowers. She has tried everything to rid herself of this curse: fasting, whipping herself, and wearing a spiked garter to ensure she is constantly suffering to atone for whatever her sins are. As a last resort and on the advice of her lady's maid, she finds an enchanted Moura in the hopes that she will be able to cure her. But when Fatyan informs her that what she perceives as a curse is a gift, Yzabel must learn to control her power and accept herself fully for who she is.

This is loosely based on the story of Isabel de Aragão and the miracle of the roses, with the addition of some magic and a lot of sapphic pining. The thing I loved most about this story is definitely the characters, with all their strengths and flaws. There's still a villain or two, and they're not redeemable in any way, but the rest of the characters all managed to surprise me at some point. All of them show a great deal of growth as the story progresses, driven by the relationships they develop with each other. Yzabel and Fatyan are probably the best example, as Fatyan convinces Yzabel to view her magic as a gift instead of a curse, and tries to teach her that her faith and God do not demand self-harm as atonement. Yzabel's struggle to let go of years of preconceived notions feels exactly as hard as it is. It's very easy to sympathize with her. The romance that develops between Yzabel and Fatyan is very sweet and tender, and I loved how slowly it built between them.

The other relationship I want to highlight is the one between Yzabel and Denis, king of Portugal, and the man she is betrothed to. Denis honestly surprised me in the best way. I wasn't sure what to expect of him, and it would've been really easy to cast him as the villain standing between our main character and her true love. Instead, the author paints a picture of someone who is, at his core, a decent human being. He doesn't agree with the choices Yzabel makes for herself (specifically the constant fasting, since he doesn't know about the curse and he can see that she is constantly getting weaker), but he also seems to respect her. I really enjoyed the bond that developed between them, and loved the resolution we got at the end.

The pacing of the story itself is on the slow side, but I barely noticed because of the quality of the writing. Really amazing debut, can't wait to see what the author comes up with next.

Content Warnings

hramona's review against another edition

Go to review page

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This feels like a brutal rating to give but honestly, the almost but not quite Christianity-apologist (as in, INTENSE CHRISTIAN) nature, the absolute wealth of homophobia and self-hatred that came along with it was just too sad. I get that the author wanted to make this statement, to go into the depths of how harmful these anti-gay religions can be, but when we already live in that reality every day, to have a fictional book that goes just as hard and heavy is tiring. This couldn't be classed as 'bury your gays' trope, but it feels a bit like, 'throw acid on your gays', so they're sticky and painful and scarred.

Content Warnings

aguattery's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The story was a little bit boring and the romance didn't keep me engaged. It's not a bad book there's just nothing particularly special about it. I would like to read the next book by Diana Pinguicha to see how she develops her writing style.

Content Warnings

xoxlululuxox's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A Curse of Roses is based on the Portuguese "miracle of roses", which is well explained and depecited with historical accuracy before the story begins.

Princess Ysabel is cursed so that all the food she touches becomes flowers. In order to remove this curse she finds Fatyan, who has the power and ability to help her. In the time they spend together Ysabel learns more about her curse, how it can help her people who are stuck in a famine, and also about love.

While this story takes a while to get into, it is full of enchantment and realist elements despite all the magic.

Ysabel starts her journey weak and sickly, almost unable to assert her opinion. After she and Fatyan learn more about her curse and deepen their relationship, she becomes not only physically stronger but emotionally too. Ysabel was a very believable character. Unbelievably kind to others, but so harsh toward herself. Especially when it came to following her religion.

I truly enjoyed the F/F representation this book provided, it was so realistic.

Spoiler

Ysabel has a moment where she wants to be Fatyan, only to later find out all she wants is to be with her

I loved this book, with the way it described a 13th Century Portugal and tried to avoid using modern terms to describe things, instead opting for more traditional methods. There is elements of self harm, eating disorders and religious trauma, but if you aren't too bothered or triggered by that, I highly recommend giving this book a try.

Content Warnings

beldaran1224's review

Go to review page

dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is a very enjoyable bit of historical fantasy. The plot carries you along, the characters are engaging, and the base material (a Portuguese Saint) fresh.

If you like your historical fantasy faithful to the past, you probably won't enjoy this, as the author unapologetically injects modern religious perspective and social/personal values into the story (and does so rather well, I might add). I enjoyed this.

The main flaw of the book is the villain's reveal and the conclusion, neither of which had the drama or tension I anticipated.

Content Warnings

More...