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A review by plush
Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
I struggled with this book. The first 100-150 pages especially. I cannot comment on this being an Arthurian retelling because I do not know the original story well enough. I found the book a tad confusing. The book seems to make the assumption that you know these characters, or at least a version of the story, so I think my confusion would be remedied if I knew the original better.
I thought the premise was interesting. The end of the book was dramatic. I think it struggled with pacing, which I understand is difficult, but the end had a lot happening with too little pages. I also wish that Morgan and Draven’s relationship was better fleshed out. I’m assuming that is going to be a major focus of book 2.
My absolute biggest issue with the book, and had this not been an ARC I would have DNF’d, is the fact that trigger warnings are included, but DO NOT include sexual assault/rape.
Spoilers-ish from this point on:
There are explicit scenes that HEAVILY insinuate that Morgan is raped. Nearer to the end of the book, she comments that “it didn’t go that far” but her assailant literally drugged her, tied her to a bed, cut her clothes off, and carved his name into her chest. This is how the chapter ends, and technically no rape occurs on-page, but the implication of the final paragraph seems to heavily insinuate what is about to happen.
“I watched as Florian positioned the dagger over my left arm. As he began cutting away the fabric of my tunic, I closed my eyes, praying to the Three that whatever drug he had slipped into my drink would take me far away again.”
Minimally that is sexual assault. It was very jarring to read, because I did check triggers prior to starting the book, and was extremely surprised that this did not make it into the warning list. I actually stopped reading the book, read a couple others, before deciding to come back to it.
I understand this is supposed to be a darker Romantasy, and I have read The Plated Prisoner series which follows a similar darker vein. I didn’t have a problem with that series. My main issue was that a list was provided, and this very glaring moment was left out. This is not at all a small, throwaway scene. It leaves large ripples in the story, and understandably the main character suffers from it. So, it really isn’t something that was *missed* and not put on the list, rather it seems to have been intentionally left out; either for shock factor or because it is later revealed he “didn’t go all the way” so perhaps the author didn’t think it counted.
I struggled with this book. The first 100-150 pages especially. I cannot comment on this being an Arthurian retelling because I do not know the original story well enough. I found the book a tad confusing. The book seems to make the assumption that you know these characters, or at least a version of the story, so I think my confusion would be remedied if I knew the original better.
I thought the premise was interesting. The end of the book was dramatic. I think it struggled with pacing, which I understand is difficult, but the end had a lot happening with too little pages. I also wish that Morgan and Draven’s relationship was better fleshed out. I’m assuming that is going to be a major focus of book 2.
My absolute biggest issue with the book, and had this not been an ARC I would have DNF’d, is the fact that trigger warnings are included, but DO NOT include sexual assault/rape.
Spoilers-ish from this point on:
There are explicit scenes that HEAVILY insinuate that Morgan is raped. Nearer to the end of the book, she comments that “it didn’t go that far” but her assailant literally drugged her, tied her to a bed, cut her clothes off, and carved his name into her chest. This is how the chapter ends, and technically no rape occurs on-page, but the implication of the final paragraph seems to heavily insinuate what is about to happen.
“I watched as Florian positioned the dagger over my left arm. As he began cutting away the fabric of my tunic, I closed my eyes, praying to the Three that whatever drug he had slipped into my drink would take me far away again.”
Minimally that is sexual assault. It was very jarring to read, because I did check triggers prior to starting the book, and was extremely surprised that this did not make it into the warning list. I actually stopped reading the book, read a couple others, before deciding to come back to it.
I understand this is supposed to be a darker Romantasy, and I have read The Plated Prisoner series which follows a similar darker vein. I didn’t have a problem with that series. My main issue was that a list was provided, and this very glaring moment was left out. This is not at all a small, throwaway scene. It leaves large ripples in the story, and understandably the main character suffers from it. So, it really isn’t something that was *missed* and not put on the list, rather it seems to have been intentionally left out; either for shock factor or because it is later revealed he “didn’t go all the way” so perhaps the author didn’t think it counted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship