I recieved an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

By tha rating you can guess that I didn’t really like this story and I’m honestly dissapointed. This book was my first from th author so I didn’t have expectations based on her previous books.
Even so tell me if you see that interesting cover and read the synopsis you are not absolutley excited for it, a story about a girl with a set path in a fairy tale inspired world who rebells against it with everything she has and even throw in some ancient Egyiptian elements. Because I was, excited I mean.

However it became abundantly clear form the first chapter that I won’t like it. I even considered DNF-ing it a couple of times but the whole premise of the book sounded so good and promising that I kept going hoping for the best. Unfortunately it didn’t happened but I fought my way through it.
The world building is interesting and unusual with a lot of surprising elements in it. Basically you get a world where normal people and magical creatures live side by side with a little tension between them especially since the magic is rapidly fading. Which means the supernatural is scrambing to heal itself. There are alos some individuals whom birn with a set fairy tale template to live their life by. Its quite a unique set up but I found a lot of parts in it that are not explained to the level the story would require.
The plot is really hectic and complicated. After the first chapter things started to take twist and turns in a crazy mannerand take a direction that I not just didn’t expect but didn’t like either. There is everything in this story that you can possible imagine from teen thiefs to zombies.

Altough my biggest problem was probably with the writing. There are no tension or emotions coming through which causes a disjointed effect paired with the crazy plot. Also there is every bad cliche about YA fantasy built into this story that its hurts.
Not tomention the way the writing explains stuff or introduces new charactres (a lot of times unnecessarily may I add) like an after thought in a really offhand manner.
For me this whole story was just missing something that could have made it more digestable.

I don’t really want to go into the characters because they were alos too cliche for me and the way they ignored everything around them even the glaring clues just pissed me the hell off.

I admit that if I read this book a couple of years earlier when I was still into YA then I probably would have given this one a consoderably better rating. But lateley my tolerance toward this genre is thinning and it has to be something phenomeal for me to like it. Which means if you are a hardcore YA fantasy fan and don’t mind a little bit of cliche thet its your story.

This is a wonderful start to a new series, Fairy Tales of the Magicorum which takes a fairy tale and twists it around. This book is Sleeping Beauty with her good friend Cinderella. Throw in a mix of fairies, werewolves and an evil wizard and you have a tale teens and adults will enjoy. I see lots of potential books from all the well known fairy tales. Christina Bauer always writes of strong lead women mostly for adult readers. Her Angelbound series is quite good and she always presents her magic and paranormal in a believable style.

Wolves And Roses is a well written magical fairytale world. Bryar Rose and friends take on the bad guys with humor and the energy of the young. This story is for anyone who has ever envisioned themselves in a fairytale. The author has created a world that contains bits and pieces of other worlds and makes it her own. I truly enjoyed my visit and look forward to visiting again.

DNF at 13%

No rating because of the DNF, but here's why it's a no for me:

1. Tiiiiiiiiired of the billionaire. Millionaire. Whatever. Rich kid.
2. Suuuuuuuper tired of the 18 year-old billionaire VP who's—wait for it—still in high school.
3. Insta-love. Nope nope nope nope nope
4. Land Rover.
5. Fascination with papyri...but no real explanation why.
6. Oh, she's not just a 17 year-old Egyptologist, she's a hacker. The best hacker.

Why I was intrigued:
1. I'm a sucker for fairy tale retellings. And a good Sleeping Beauty is hard to find.
2. Werewolves. Rawr.
3. Ancient Egypt.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Wolves and Roses is the telling of a sleeping beauty who in, in fact, no sleep beauty. If you're looking for a twist on fairy tales with some dashing dudes and a romance-driven book yet has all the ferocity girl power has to offer, look no farther.

In the world of Magicorum, special individuals follow a fairytale template. For Briar Rose, she is a Sleeping Beauty Template. This means her life is settled. There should be thorns, and 3 fairies, a prince charming (named Philpot-why?) and happily ever afters galore. However, Briar Rose is anything but docile.

Okay, so Wolves and Roses is probably my least favorite series by Christina Bauer. BUT here's why. This tale is sold as a fairlytale driven book-and it is, but the reading level and story plot are definitely written for a younger audience- say late middle school early high school. We have insta-love and characters that turn immediately dopey in the face of their one true love. Also strong from a teenage boy who should not be in denial. You're going to get a lot of mixed feelings with age here. We've got these wily teens who definitely act like adults but have the maturity of...well, high schoolers.

The girl power aspect of the book was nice, albeit corny and a little over the top at times. The world building is too simple to be considered a book for those who are looking for a fantasy re-telling. The world isn't explained well and quite frankly surprised. Bauer is a master at complex characters and interesting worlds, this one was just so frustratingly lackluster. Will I read the second book? I mean, yea, probably. It wasn't a bad story just really not geared towards adults. Going on with the mind that this is written at the level of early high school, I think I'll go into the second book better prepared.

2.5 Stars
Interesting world, but horrible heroine. She was truly TSTL. For me the characters all felt very juvenile. I was interested enough to finish the book, but I'm not,sure I would read another in this series.

First of all thanks to INscribe Digital and Christina Bauer for a chance to read an arc of this book via Netgalley.

I stumbled across this book because of the cover. I simply love wolves!

Title and description are equally promising. And I was not disappointed. In fact what I thought after reading this was something like: "Hey, that was the type of book you have longed to read for quite a while now." Love, no triangles and a nice story.

I did not want to put down the book but had to give in at 75% in the middle of the night only to continue and finish it the next morning before breakfast. It was a real pageturner for me and felt very refreshing. I have to admit, though, that I was struggling in the beginning because I was totally confused by the different groupes. When I hit 30% I still had problems with knowing on which side the different groupes stood. But I made it past that and the book turned out to get way better.

The story is about Bryar Rose who is meant to follow her fairytale life template as Sleeping Beauty. In order to fullfill it her three fairy aunts want her to marry a certain man. But Bryar just wants to be normal and and hopes that her course which makes her fall asleep will disappear on her 18th birthday. What she is really into are papyri from ancient egypt. She even dreams frequently of being in egypt with a young man she does not know until he turns up for real and turns her life upside down. Might there be another path for Bryar than Sleeping Beauty and normal human?

When Bryar Rose was an infant, she somehow inspired a fairy to curse her with the Sleeping Beauty template. It's not that uncommon: there's a Cinderella in her support group, plus a witch and a shifter. Her main problem is that apart from the narcolepsy and the smarmy boyfriend (forced on her by her twittering fairy godmothers), she makes a lousy Sleeping Beauty. She'd rather hack a mainframe or plan a heist than serenade woodland creatures. Just before her eighteenth birthday, the hunk she keeps dreaming about and her hobby of translating Egyptian papyri collide spectacularly. The insta-love is unavoidable, but the infodumps and repetitious internal monologues need to end.

Bryar Rose is supposed to be a Magicorum, a descendent of one of the three magical races and that means her life should follow that of Sleeping Beauty. Unfortunately, she could care less for birds and other animals, she definitely can’t sing and she does not want to marry Prince Philpot, the man her fairy god mothers have selected for her. If Bry can keep from marrying Philpot until after her eighteenth birthday, then the spell will be broken and she can begin to live a normal life.

Wolves and Roses is the first book in the Fairy Tales of the Magicorum series. Bryar is surrounded by secrets, many of which lead her down faulty paths. As she uncovers her hidden truths, she discovers not only what she is capable of, but who she can truly trust. Bauer has created a captivating storyline that kept me hooked the entire time. Wolves and Roses is a perfect read for everyone who enjoys fairy tale re-tellings or just a simple urban fantasy.

***4.5/5 Stars***

Wolves and Roses captivated my attention with unique ideas, characters that I quickly loved and a story-line that was tons of fun! I was hoping to pick up a book that was entertaining and enjoyable, and by that first page I knew I had found the exact book I was looking for. So if you adore paranormal romance that has a strong and snarky heroine, a fabulous best friend, a swoon worthy guy and a mystery that pulls you in, then definitely check out this book.

Now is not the time to worry about Knox. It’s the time to tell my best friend that I killed someone and burned her house down.
Yipes .
Straightening my shoulders, I knock on the door. - Bryar


I've never read a story where characters are supposed to live out their lives according to their fairy tale theme. What a fun idea! They're referred to as Magicorum and they belong to one of the three magical races: shifters, witches, or fairies. Bryar Rose is supposed to be following her Sleeping Beauty life template, but she's definitely failing at that. Yeah she has three fairies watching over her, a charming Prince who wants to marry her, and she has to use an inhaler to keep from falling asleep. But the girl could care less about following her path because she's obsessed with finding papyri from ancient Egypt. And she dreams about this hot guy, Knox, that is definitely not the Prince she is supposed to marry lol.

“Don’t order me around.”
Damn. I want to do more than order her around. I want to build my life around this girl . Know her thoughts. Touch her skin. Bring her into my world and never let go.
How can one woman upend your entire existence so quickly? - Knox


Ohhh I loved Bryar Rose! From her brutally honest thoughts to letting others know her opinion, she had me cracking up with her snarky ways! She definitely doesn't take anyone's garbage and I loved how she stood up for herself and those she loved. She's fiercely loyal, especially with her best friend Elle who is also failing at following her life template. Elle's is Cinderella btw. So between Bryar hunting for papyri and Elle being an expert jewel thief and con artist, they quickly find themselves in some situations that has them befriending two guys that I love, Knox and Alex. I loved how the four of them formed a friendship and worked together. The way they interacted made me into a smiling and laughing fool.

I gently stroke Wolf-Knox’s neck. “What can I do to help?”
“Run from here.” Wolf-Knox’s voice is so low I can hardly hear him. “Never come back.”
My blood turns cold. “But you’ll die.”


Oh my gosh, I heart Knox so hard. He's a powerful werewolf and I couldn't help but love his growly ways. We quickly learn that he is protective, fierce and oh so sexy. Thankfully some of the chapters are in Knox's voice, and I loved seeing the world through his eyes. I loved hearing what he thought of Elle, the extra clues we learned from him and the internal fights he had with his inner wolf had me cracking up. Knox is definitely book boyfriend material! So I desperately wanted Bryar to fall for him as fast and as hard as I did. But here's the thing, Bryar is stubborn and fights her attraction to Knox.

This isn’t the ending to any fairy tale template, but I’m not sure I want to follow someone else’s path anymore.
This time, the choice is mine. - Bryar


So I'm going to be purposely vague about how the plot unfolds, because it's more fun not knowing what's going to happen! Just know that the ending was perfect! It wrapped up some pressing issues, but there's still a lot that needs to be resolved or figured out. So yes, I can't wait to read the next book! I can't wait to be surrounded by these characters I loved again. Even if I did guess how a few things turned out, I didn't care at all. This book was too much fun and the writing was so easy to devour. So until that next book releases, I'm definitely looking forward to reading other books this author has written!

*Review to be posted on blog 11/01 - scheduled with Xpresso Tours*

Although I had hoped Wolves and Roses would be a fun YA fantasy, the book didn't actually deliver. Simplistic romance with fairies, werewolves, and witches--supposedly following fairy tale templates.

I always enjoy YA books by Sarah J. Maas, Megan Whalen Turner, Maggie Stiefvater, and Kelly Armstrong, but all of the preceding have great character development, excellent writing, and exciting plots. Wolves and Roses failed on all three. Others liked it much better than I did.

NetGalley/Monster House Books, LLC

YA/Fantasy. Oct. 31, 2017. Print length: 292 pages.

This was definitely a different take on fairy tales than anything else I’ve ever read. The story takes classic well-known fairy tales and combines them with our modern world to create an interesting paranormal fusion.

I feel that there are aspects that could be improved and polished, but I do think that the author is onto a really cool idea and obviously it had me captivated enough to read the whole book. I think it was mostly something in the writing style that kept me at bay and that I believe will lend this book more towards teens.

If you’re looking for a quick and fun read that brings the fantasy of fairy tales colliding into our world then definitely give WOLVES & ROSES a look.

In a world of magic, there are three races: shapeshifter, wizards/witches and fae. Bryar Rose is supposed to be none of those. She is human, but she lives in a fairytale life model. She is a "Sleeping Beauty"life model, but she just doesn't fit. She doesn't like woodland creatures, she doesn't like her prince Philpott and all she wants to do is study mysterious hieroglyphs. After dreaming about glyphs, her already crazy world changes. She suddenly has people trying to kill, catch or coerce her all the time. Through all of this she meets the rough and tough Knox, a powerful werewolf with a chip on his shoulder. If they don't learn to work together, it could mean their deaths and the deaths of everyone in the magical community.
I really enjoyed Wolves and Roses. It was fun and exciting. It was nothing too serious, but it would make for a perfect fun weekend read. Entrenched in fairytales and magic, it doesn't take itself too seriously, but leaves the reader satisfied and entertained. I liked Bryar Rose and her quirky ways. She did not fit the mold and was very kick butt and powerful. Her friendship with her Cinderella life model friend was entertaining and deep. Those girls had each others backs. Knox was also very entertaining to read about and a very good romantic lead. I really enjoyed Wolves and Roses and give it the rating of FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS!!!

DNF @16% I started this rule to not waste time on books anymore. So far, I am hating this book. Maybe it gets better as it reads on, but the writing just isn't for me.

So this book is set in an alternate modern day that somehow has known magical people in it (werewolves, fairies, & witches). Our main character happens to be a human, but has magical ties because she was adopted by fairies. Her life is also scheduled to follow that of Sleeping Beauty, except it's not going according to plan. She sucks at being Sleeping Beauty, and doesn't want anything to do with it.

Okay, lets cover some of the things that really put me off:

First of all, the writing was really juvenile and makes for a poor read.

"The temperature dips a few degrees, too. That means Alec's starting to cast a spell. No way."

NO WAY WHAT?! HE'S A WIZARD.

Philpot is laser-focused on marriage. For a guy his age, it's weird. But then again, everything about Philpot is weird.

Oh really? Like what? I'm sorry but he's 25 years old. I don't see how that's weird. He's a well to do man. The weird thing is his name.


Bryar is an awful protagonist.

"It feels good to lie to them. Not sure what that says about me as a person."

What does it say? It says you're a liar. Not only that? You're ungrateful. You were adopted and given a life of luxury and all you want is a "normal life"? Like girl you drive a range rover and have unlimited credit cards. & all you want to do is lie to your auntie fairies to sneak into some building that you were able to break through all their security measures...to take pictures of papyri so you can decipher it because it's some book of magic? AREN'T YOU TRYING TO LIVE A NORMAL LIFE? STOP DILLY DALLYING WITH MAGIC BOOKS.

So aside from the major main character flaws, I just couldn't stand the juvenile style of writing. Everything was just so convenient with snarky comments here and there. The concept sounded interesting, but the personalities and writing needs an update.

Oh man! I loved this story! Enough twists and turns. Now I REALLY need the next one!

Goodreads Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Bryar Rose has a problem. She’s descended from one of the three magical races—shifters, fairies, or witches. That makes her one of the Magicorum, and Magicorum always follow a fairy tale life template. In Bryar’s case, that template should be Sleeping Beauty.

“Should” being the key word.

Trouble is, Bryar is nowhere near the sleeping beauty life template. Not even close. She doesn’t like birds or woodland creatures. She can’t sing. And she certainly can’t stand Prince Philpot, the so-called “His Highness of Hedge Funds” that her aunties want her to marry. Even worse, Bryar’s having recurring dreams of a bad boy hottie and is obsessed with finding papyri from ancient Egypt. What’s up with that?

All Bryar wants is to attend a regular high school with normal humans and forget all about shifters, fairies, witches, and the curse that Colonel Mallory the Magnificent placed on her. And she might be able to do just that--if only she can just keep her head down until her eighteenth birthday when the spell that’s ruined her life goes buh-bye.

But that plan gets turned upside down when Bryar Rose meets Knox, the bad boy who’s literally from her dreams. Knox is a powerful werewolf, and his presence in her life changes everything, and not just because he makes her knees turn into Jell-O. If Bryar can’t figure out who—or what—she really is, it might cost both her and Knox their lives… as well as jeopardize the very nature of magic itself.

My Review:
As a top reviewer on Netgalley, I was pre approved for this book as well as Thrax by the same author from the site in exchange for a review.

This first person book with rotating viewpoints is set in New York, and begins with one of the main characters, Bryar Rose, waiting to go into her Magicorum Teen Group Therapy. It's a special kind of therapy for four kinds of people, witches, shifters, fairies, and non magical humans related to the above four. Supposedly magic is disappearing from the world, and the Denarii League is not about to let that happen. No one in the group is very fond of the facilitator, Madame Grimoire. This is all explained in the first couple pages. The rest of the group includes Elle, Bryar's best friend, scam artist, Scarlett, a werewolf, and a new girl named Avianna.

The other viewpoint is of Knox, a Werewolf Warden, one of two alive at any time. He's constantly wrestling with his inner wolf, who has a separate personality and voice that he can hear. I really liked that in this book, it isn't something you read about very often. He's rough around the edges and a little scary at times but his inner wolf is convinced that Bryar is their mate, even though she's just a boring human and not a shifter. He know that this can't be the case. Not only can they not mate beyond their kind, Wardens can't mate at all.

The other two main characters are Elle and Alec, although we don't see their points of view they're included in the story a lot of the time. Since I picked up the story I couldn't put it down, and I really enjoyed reading it. A lot of the time when there's multiple supernatural beings it seems a little muddy but this book wasn't at all. The characters developed a lot throughout the book and came through their situation different people and I really liked that. It seems like they all learned a lot. The story took turns I never expected, even including mummies in the mix, which isn't written about a lot lately. Overall I really liked this book and definitely want to check out the next in the series. I really liked the cover too. Check it out if you get a chance!

Here's a link to the authors twitter page, and another link to buy the book on amazon.

https://twitter.com/CB_Bauer

https://www.amazon.ca/Wolves-Roses-Fairy-Tales-Magicorum-ebook/dp/B01N7D5C5P/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506659629&sr=8-1&keywords=Wolves+and+roses

Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)

Seems like Bryar Rose should have been living a fairy tale life, but the “template” for her life was nothing like what she wants for herself. Face it, Bryar Rose was NOT princess material, she has no interest in the “prince” her three aunts had chosen for her to marry. What she wants is to live like the normal humans, go to a normal high school and leave all this magical stuff behind. Her true passion lay in studying the mysteries of certain ancient papyrus papers, and it was taking that interest just one step too far that would mark a change in Bryar’s life forever as she uncovered more than just ancient writings and met the boy of her dreams standing in a shadow…now, if she could just lose the “Sleeping Beauty” template she has been living, stay awake long enough to reach her eighteenth birthday and avoid being kissed by Prince Philpot, maybe she could live a real girl’s life, her way. Of course, there is a matter of a mystery that must be revealed, deceits that must be uncovered and the fate of the magical world to take care of, too.

Magical beings living side by side with humans, dark secrets, and a coming of age story, all this plus a fabulous sense of plot flow, brilliant dialogue, characters that each have their own sense of charm and I was hooked! Bryar steals the show with her wit, penchant for trouble and her inner free spirit that is just dying to be set free!

WOLVES AND ROSES by Christina Bauer is fast, fun and magical reading! Settle in for a few chuckles, some adventure and pure entertainment as Ms. Bauer takes us into the world of the Magicorum and a whole different version of what happily ever after can be!

I received an ARC edition from Monster House Books, LLC. This is my honest review.

Series: Fairy Tales of the Magicorum - Book 1
Publisher: Monster House Books, LLC (October 31, 2017)
Publication Date: October 31, 2017
Genre: YA Fantasy
Print Length: 300 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

This was a light and rather fluffy start to a new series. I loved the humour and the world the author created. It was a bit predictable in plot but it was so enjoyable that it didn't matter. I really am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

This book was just okay. While it did have plenty of action to keep me interested, and a unique plot, it suffered from weak writing and a bad case of double insta-love. Every page was littered with profanity as well, and the romance leaned more towards lust than love. Definitely not an appropriate book for younger readers. What I did like was the concept of the Magicorum. I wish the world had been better explored and explained, as I was confused how everything worked, even at the end. The fairytale template concept was especially brilliant, but far too underdeveloped. I wish the book had focused more on the Magicorum and fairytale templates.

Even though the premise of reading about shifters and other magical beings sounded interesting, I could not really get into it. Loved the characters of Bryar Rose and her BFF Elle, the others just fell flat. Read other YA paranormal books and this one was boring.