Review: Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves

Blood Rose Rebellion

Author: Rosalyn Eves

Release Date: March 28, 2017

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Blood Rose Rebellion Book #1

ISBN:   1101935995

ISBN13: 9781101935996

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Review Copy Source: NetGalley

The thrilling first book in a YA fantasy trilogy for fans of Red Queen. In a world where social prestige derives from a trifecta of blood, money, and magic, one girl has the ability to break the spell that holds the social order in place.

Sixteen-year-old Anna Arden is barred from society by a defect of blood. Though her family is part of the Luminate, powerful users of magic, she is Barren, unable to perform the simplest spells. Anna would do anything to belong. But her fate takes another course when, after inadvertently breaking her sister’s debutante spell—an important chance for a highborn young woman to show her prowess with magic—Anna finds herself exiled to her family’s once powerful but now crumbling native Hungary.

Her life might well be over.

In Hungary, Anna discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Not the people around her, from her aloof cousin Noémi to the fierce and handsome Romani Gábor. Not the society she’s known all her life, for discontent with the Luminate is sweeping the land. And not her lack of magic. Isolated from the only world she cares about, Anna still can’t seem to stop herself from breaking spells.

As rebellion spreads across the region, Anna’s unique ability becomes the catalyst everyone is seeking. In the company of nobles, revolutionaries, and Romanies, Anna must choose: deny her unique power and cling to the life she’s always wanted, or embrace her ability and change that world forever.

I'm on the fence with how I feel about BLOOD ROSE REBELLION. On one hand, I enjoyed the overall storyline, but I was also incredibly bored at many points in the book which took away my overall enjoyment.

What I liked: I liked Anna—for the most part. I loved the world that the story takes place in. It felt well thought out and real. I liked learning about the Luminate society and watching Anna navigate her way through it.

What I disliked: The pace was incredibly sloooooow. Like put me to sleep, have to skip paragraphs slow. Although I liked Anna overall, she did a lot of dumb things that led to most of her problems. It got to the point that it was hard to feel sorry for her when what she did blew up in her face.  None of the other characters really grabbed my attention. The romance was utterly bland. I would have rather it just been left out altogether.

SO, yeah. There were probably more disliked that likes, but I still read it all the way through, so that is something. I probably won't read book two, but I'm not mad at myself for reading BLOOD ROSE REBELLION.


I gave it 3/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.