chloescool's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Loved this book!
tonks332's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
_booktique2_'s review against another edition
Thank you NetGalley for sending this arc for an honest review!
A fantasy mystery mayhem? Oh yes yes yes. Honest to god this book was so good and had me hooked from the beginning. It was an adventure of trying to discover who the killer may be and who the potential next victim would be. As the MC tries to unlock the mystery- she soon too also becomes the victim of the killer.
A fantasy mystery mayhem? Oh yes yes yes. Honest to god this book was so good and had me hooked from the beginning. It was an adventure of trying to discover who the killer may be and who the potential next victim would be. As the MC tries to unlock the mystery- she soon too also becomes the victim of the killer.
esabetta's review
3.0
I was so excited to read this book. The concept of the religion and the magic system got my art-loving self invested before I even started the book. Which was ultimately my downfall. I haven't read much YA recently, so my expectations for the type of story telling I was getting into were also very high. This was a fun story, and when I reached the 55% mark I blew through it so fast. But until the 55% mark, things dragged. I felt like the pacing of the story was impacted by the insta-love romance. The story takes place over 4 days in the first half (where the romance takes it's hold) and then the days go by faster in the second half. Because of this insta love, and the repitition of action and mystery in the first half, I didn't even realize it had been only four days until I read reviews. I loved seeing a chronic illness and neurodivergence represented within a society that did not have the vocabulary to describe the disabilities. I thought that was handled interestingly. I really struggled between giving this book a 2 star and a 3 star. I think if the book hadn't picked up pace I would have left it at two. But I did enjoy the last half of the book and while I passivley predicted the end, I still enjoyed the final defeat of the villain.
nicmay's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Despite what they’ve made you believe, you do not need to apologize for the things that make you different. And you shouldn’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not.”
“I’m done minimizing my greatness so you can feel superior.”
Started and finished this in one day. A magic that lets you change things through painting? Yes please. What an interesting concept. And not something that has been done over and over and over.
“I’m done minimizing my greatness so you can feel superior.”
Started and finished this in one day. A magic that lets you change things through painting? Yes please. What an interesting concept. And not something that has been done over and over and over.
katzuyas's review against another edition
3.0
I’m pretty sleepy and reading the last 70 pages of this didn’t wake me up at all, even though most of the dramatic reveals and action took place at the very end - and that’s fine. that’s good.
what isn’t so good is the fact that I still don’t know the time period this takes place, like??? there’s candles and carriages, but there’s also common people who have access to education and medical knowledge? female doctors at the same time as candles in sconces in the hallway? chandeliers and electricity but then no mention of guns at all? it’s just a mix of everything thrown together at the author’s pleasure and I may be picking too hard on this but these tiny things throw me out of the story with their inconsistence
what isn’t so good is the fact that I still don’t know the time period this takes place, like??? there’s candles and carriages, but there’s also common people who have access to education and medical knowledge? female doctors at the same time as candles in sconces in the hallway? chandeliers and electricity but then no mention of guns at all? it’s just a mix of everything thrown together at the author’s pleasure and I may be picking too hard on this but these tiny things throw me out of the story with their inconsistence
daniboi16's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lekhoury's review
3.0
I was a big fan of Sing Me Forgotten, the haunting Phantom of the Opera retelling that came out last year. It was an incredibly strong debut, with stunning world-building, and had me desperate to dive into Olson’s sophomore novel. Thank you to Inkyard Press, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Jessica S. Olson, and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In a Forgery of Roses, Olson has built another world riddled with magic, chaos, and large creepy buildings for readers to explore. There are secrets to uncover around every corner!
The concept of their deity, The Artist, painting the world into existence and thus making the art of portraiture a sacred practice was so unique and interesting. I would have loved a deeper dive into the history of the conflict between the religious and artistic segments of society. In fact,
I wish there was more detail in the depictions of the painting process, because I so thoroughly enjoyed what did make it into the book.
**SPOILERS**
I enjoyed the build up of the first half of the book but at about 51%, the plot seemed to dive off the rails. The plotting and writing were in fact quite good, but the author created a main character to drive the plot and faithfully followed her through it. I can respect this decision and thus directly attribute any problems I had with this story to my intense dislike of Myra rather than any failing of the author.
1. Myra is incredibly and frustratingly indecisive.
Half way through the story, the male lead seems to suddenly fall through and we the readers are left with a character we just met as the new love interest? It was extremely disorienting. But then she suddenly wants him back? After the first half, the tension with August seesaws uncontrollably, to the point that I just wanted to skip his scenes to avoid Myra’s repetitive inner dialogue.
The sequence of Myra trying to heal with her powers was needlessly frustrating. For someone so desperate to save her sister, she really waited until it was too late to try to use her powers.
2. Myra acts against her own self-interest.
After stumbling around with Myra for ages through her frustratingly poor ameature sleuthing, the truth behind Will’s death and the confrontation it brought forth were extremely dissatisfying, as was Myra’s reaction to it. The epilogue was just pointlessly depressing in my opinion.
Which leads to my final complaint, Myra has no sense of self-preservation. She just keeps running around town in a blind panic and telling literally everyone she meets all of her darkest secrets. To that end, Myra also needs to run far away from August for her own mental health, her future in-laws are unstable, toxic, and pose a very real danger to her welfare.
All in all, flawed characters are essential to giving any story a true sense of realism, and Olson did an incredible job creating a diverse cast of complex characters. I look forward to meeting Olson's future characters! However, just as I avoid spending any length of time with people that annoy the crap out of me, I am happy to find that my time with Myra has finally come to an end.
In a Forgery of Roses, Olson has built another world riddled with magic, chaos, and large creepy buildings for readers to explore. There are secrets to uncover around every corner!
The concept of their deity, The Artist, painting the world into existence and thus making the art of portraiture a sacred practice was so unique and interesting. I would have loved a deeper dive into the history of the conflict between the religious and artistic segments of society. In fact,
I wish there was more detail in the depictions of the painting process, because I so thoroughly enjoyed what did make it into the book.
**SPOILERS**
I enjoyed the build up of the first half of the book but at about 51%, the plot seemed to dive off the rails. The plotting and writing were in fact quite good, but the author created a main character to drive the plot and faithfully followed her through it. I can respect this decision and thus directly attribute any problems I had with this story to my intense dislike of Myra rather than any failing of the author.
1. Myra is incredibly and frustratingly indecisive.
Half way through the story, the male lead seems to suddenly fall through and we the readers are left with a character we just met as the new love interest? It was extremely disorienting. But then she suddenly wants him back? After the first half, the tension with August seesaws uncontrollably, to the point that I just wanted to skip his scenes to avoid Myra’s repetitive inner dialogue.
The sequence of Myra trying to heal with her powers was needlessly frustrating. For someone so desperate to save her sister, she really waited until it was too late to try to use her powers.
2. Myra acts against her own self-interest.
After stumbling around with Myra for ages through her frustratingly poor ameature sleuthing, the truth behind Will’s death and the confrontation it brought forth were extremely dissatisfying, as was Myra’s reaction to it. The epilogue was just pointlessly depressing in my opinion.
Which leads to my final complaint, Myra has no sense of self-preservation. She just keeps running around town in a blind panic and telling literally everyone she meets all of her darkest secrets. To that end, Myra also needs to run far away from August for her own mental health, her future in-laws are unstable, toxic, and pose a very real danger to her welfare.
All in all, flawed characters are essential to giving any story a true sense of realism, and Olson did an incredible job creating a diverse cast of complex characters. I look forward to meeting Olson's future characters! However, just as I avoid spending any length of time with people that annoy the crap out of me, I am happy to find that my time with Myra has finally come to an end.