War of the Wilted by Amber Mitchell is the second book in the Garden of Thorns trilogy and it picks up shortly after the end of book one. I was pretty excited when I saw this and I admit, I probably should have re-read the last few chapters to get back into the story as I kind of forgot how the last one ended. With that said, I loved diving back into this world and learning more about everything.

Rose and Rayce are slightly at odds during this entire book. This is mostly due to the fact that Rayce is keeping the Gardener prisoner, so he can get the information he needs but Rose not only doesn’t trust anything the Gardener says, but she also hates the fact that Rayce is asking her to be ok with the fact that the person who kept her prisoner and killed her friends, is allowed to live.

I could actually see both sides of this story. Rayce is willing to do anything to save his people and thinks the sacrifice is worth the what the Gardener can give him. Rose on the other hand disagrees and I sympathize with her as I don’t know that I would be able to stick it out knowing that my tormentor for years was living in the same location as I was. It was a tough situation for both of them and it ultimately comes to a head and because of some things that happen, the trust Rayce has in Rose is damaged.

As the story continues, I have to admit that some of my favorite parts were those where it was just Rose and Rayce figuring things out. I’m a sucker for romance in my books and Mitchell did a great job of not only continuing what was building in the first book, but also reflecting some realistic struggles that these two need to figure out.

I really like these main characters and I also thought the secondary characters were a great addition to the story. Not only do we get to see more from the Gardener but also Rayce’s uncle, the emperor. I loved seeing how all of their stories intertwined and they all added something to the story.

I don’t want to say too much about the details because I don’t want to ruin what happens. What I will say is that if you like a book with a lot of action, political intrigue, and an interesting plot, consider checking this series out. Mitchell did a great job building out the world, developing the characters, and creating a story that held my attention until the very last page. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next in this series and will be keeping an eye out!

4.75/5 stars!

I read Garden of Thorns and assummed it was a standalone as I didn't see anything about a sequel, or technically i didn't look to see if one existed. I stumbled upon this by chance and got so excited that I received an ARC! I fell in love with the world all over again! So much more was expanded upon, from the characters, to the world and to the danger at hand. I just really loved everything about this book, though I wish that the ending could have had just maybe 1 more chapter, but I'm sure that that would be adressed in a possible third installment. Overall, I'm very happy with this and definitely recommend people to check out Garden of Thorns if you haven't already. If you enjoyed that, then definitely come back to War of the Wilted and read this!

I received this ARC for free by the publisher & author in exchange for my completely unbiased, honest opinions. All thoughts are my own and are not influenced in any outside way.

Action packed!
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review War of the Wilted by Amber Mitchell. Arianna, “Rose”, wants to help the rebellion but she wants vengeance above everything else. Arianna is working with Rayce, the leader of the rebellion, but she’s angry with Rayce also because he’s keeping the Gardener alive for information, even though he’s responsible for the mistreatment and killing of young women. Arianna is maddeningly stubborn and doesn’t think she makes a good leader, even though she’s independent and headstrong. Rayce becomes frustrated with her because of her actions and the fact that she’s not listening to his wishes or orders. War of the Wilted takes on a different feel than Garden of Thorns since it’s not trapped women forced into submission. Instead, it’s a rebellion within the entire empire and it requires many leaders working together to make any difference. Action packed with strong-willed characters, 4 stars!

in the follow up to garden of thorns, rayce and rose need to find their way through their conflicting interests. everything is still rolled up in the gardener. even captive, he holds too much thrall over rayce for rose's peace of mind, and too much thrall over rose for rayce's.

but these two still love each other, they would do anything for each other. even when they are at odds. so their journey isn't easy. what they have to do to win isn't a walk in the park. It's war, the war of the wilted. and it's not just the rebellion that's at stake. it's the fate of two kingdons. it's life and death. and this story remains just as captivating as it was in the first book.

i can't wait for this story to continue. even as rose and rayce overcome great odds, it seems like there's another twist to the game.

**war of the wilted will publish on october 1, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publihsing (entangled teen) in exchange for my honest review.

Rose will not rest until the Gardener is dead. But there are bigger battles to fight, and Rayce—leader of the rebellion and the only man Rose has ever loved—believes their best chance at winning the war is to join forces with her sworn enemy.

Saving innocent people is more important than her quest for revenge. But their new ally can’t be trusted—and he knows her darkest secret. One betrayal could leave the war and Rayce’s life hanging in the balance, and Rose will need to make the ultimate sacrifice to save them all.- Goodreads

I absolutely loved the first book. Something about Rose made me like her despite her lack of personality. In book two, things were different.

The author adds more to Rose. Although the fighting is still a huge part of her, revenge is what keeps her going. She isn't short of drive but she is short of confidence, smarts and a voice. What I mean by voice is , Rose whines a lot. And purposely goes behind Rayce's back, just to act surprise that he is hurt and upset at her when he finds out. She feels that she can have her cake and eat too and when it doesn't work in her favor she's a lost puppy. Unfortunately, Rose got annoying face.

But here is what I enjoyed about this book. There isn't fluff when you start. You jump right back into the thick of things as if we didn't wait months for book two. The beginning was strong and it held a lot of promise. This is not to say that the book was not enjoyable because it was. I loved that the author choose to focus on a battle within more than the outside battle. It made Rose and Rayce stronger. Their back and forth made a lot of sense throughout the book; It had to be one of the most realistic relationships in this type of setting I have seen a while.  Rose expected something from Rayce that she didn't earn and I respected the fact that he was very honest not only with his feelings for her but his duty as leader of the rebellion.

However, I wanted more fightings and sneaking. I wanted Rose to be way more bad ass than she was along with those that pledge their loyalty to her. I wanted a bit more romance other than Rose talking in her head because Rayce was made at her most of the time. Also it would have been fantastic if there was more secrets. I wanted a thrill from the book and didn't quite get.

Overall,

Not better than book one but not a bad second book.

3 Pickles

Great read. Loved the hero but the heroine could have been less whiny. The ending was satisfying. Great read. Loved the hero but the heroine could have been less whiny. The ending was satisfying.

This is book #2 in the Garden of Thorns series and cannot be read as a stand alone. You must read the first novel in order to get a basic understanding of what's going on.

Rose's role in this is very prominent and she has a difficult time deciding to follow her heart or her mind. She aims to continuously please everyone, but doesn't realize that that task is impossible and no one will ever achieve that. The struggling romance between her and Rayce only serves to complicate things and sets up for lots of turmoil I hope is solved in the next book.

Sometimes I get really discouraged with high fantasy novels because of the vocabulary and world setting is just a little to fantastical for me to comprehend. I feel like this is what happened here and although parts of it was really good, I didn't enjoy it because I couldn't understand it.

Amber Mitchell jumps back into the political upheaval of her YA fantasy romance series with the next amazing installment, War of the Wilted. The Zareeni rebellion is holding the Gardener captive and pumping him for an advantage over the Emperor. In a twist, Rose and Rayce are at odds and it seems as though the rebellion is heading towards its final fight with dwindling numbers and sabotaged missions.

The story picks up where Garden of Thorns ended. I would suggest a re-read of the first book just to refresh your memory on the major players and the little facts that impact the story. Rose's true identity, which she keeps a secret from everyone except Rayce, presents an internal challenge for her on top of the issues that stem from keeping the Gardener prisoner. The gamut of emotions that Rose experiences in this story kept me on the edge of my seat because her frame of mind kind of clued me in to when the plot was about to pick up or whether she was about to get herself in trouble. I constantly felt like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop as Rose struggled with the path Rayce was leading the rebellion down and what her role in the future would be if the rebellion succeeded.

War of the Wilted is heavy with action as it completes another chapter in Rose and Rayce's story. I was eager to see how this story ended and Amber Mitchell did not disappoint! There are a couple of pretty epic surprises at the end that even managed to make me gasp in wonder. This is a must-read adventure for all YA fantasy fans!
*ARC provided in consideration for review*

Absolutely loved this! The first was a little ehhh to me,but this one really pulls you in. I loved the subtle romance marred by the war raging around them. Just a really well written story.

War of the Wilted was a fast-paced sequel to Garden of Thorns. The second book picks up right where the first ended, and thankfully there is no second book syndrome here! This was full of continuous action, forward-moving plot points, and character development. There's so much going on that it's difficult to set the book down, and I ended up cruising through it easily. There were a few parts that annoyed me - in particular, some of both Rose's and Rayce's actions started to get on my nerves - but overall I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really wish there were more romantic scenes between Rose and Rayce, but hopefully I will get my wish in the third book! I'm looking forward to the next book and the conclusion of the series!

While ‘Garden of Thorns’ did not end on a cliffhanger, per se, ‘War of the Wilted’ picks up where book 1 left off and builds upon its events, while offering more action and picturesque scenery descriptions. Though Rose has endured many hardships in her past, being at odds with the love of her life while he holds her tormentor captive is a new, harsh challenge for her.

Political turmoil comes to a head and some of the secondary characters are further developed while Rayce and Rose struggle to do what is right for the Rebellion and not necessarily what’s best for their relationship.

War of the Wilted is the second installment in author Amber Mitchell's Garden of Thorns trilogy. The book picks up shortly after the ending of the Garden of Thorns. Protagonist Rose, who we all know by a different name now, has pledged her life to the Zareeni rebellion led by Rayce Sun against Emperor Galen Sun. Rose's real identity is a huge secret. Only a few people, including Rayce, the Gardener, and the Emperor know who she is. And, if her identity is discovered by the traitor who took over the Varshan throne, her life will be forfeit.

If she is captured by the Emperor, he will use her to unite both realms under his brutal dictatorship and the rebellion will be crushed by superior numbers. Rose has fulfilled part of her obligation to the former Flowers and Wilted's. Those who survived the previous installment, are now living among the Zareeni. But, Rose isn't at all happy that she wasn't allowed to kill the man who kidnapped her, forced into learning how to dance, and made her his main attraction.

Rose wants the Gardener dead, but Rayce believes that he can be useful to the rebellion. Rose doesn't want to be a leader, but the Flowers & Wilteds follow her lead. She doesn't want to have to reveal her identity to the people she now calls friends, including Calla, Lily, Arlo, and Marin, but sooner rather than later it will come out. Rose struggles to adjust to her freedom and the rules that Rayce believes are best for the rebellion. The fact that she wants the Gardener to pay for his sins, and knows that he is playing Rayce against her, chaffs more than if she was still forced to dance.

Does she ignore the rules every chance she gets? You betcha. Is she right to do so? In my opinion, absolutely. Rose and Rayce's relationship became such a major part of the story that I have to admit that I wanted to skip over several parts of the story. When the story wasn't about Rose and Rayce's issues, the author provides readers with a ton of action, thrilling battles, and some interesting twists. There are several new dynamics introduced in this book, so it will be interesting to see where the author goes next.

Summation: As I've stated, I loved the action in this story. But, I didn't enjoy this book as much as Garden of Thorns mainly because of all the angst and arguments between Rose and Rayce which seemed to take up 1/2 the story. When all is said and done. Rose was 100% right with her actions, and Rayce should have seen the light far sooner than he did. That being said, I have no choice but to finish this series and see how the author ties up this series. I will keep my fingers crossed that the author will leave the angst and arguments behind and focus on the next step in Rose's adventure.

I unknowingly requested the ARC not knowing it was the 2nd book, so before I read this I had to read the 1st.

I breezed thru this in half a day and
I immensely enjoyed this book that I almost forgot to sleep

The pacing of the story was perfect and I felt every emotion that Rose was feeling, the anger, sadness, and the rawness. I had to pause a couple of times to disconnect my feelings from the story

5/5⭐

I love so many things about the series. The world is immersive and has just the right amount of detail without getting too bogged down in geography and politics. It is not the type of world building where you feel you need to write down genealogies and take notes to keep track of everything. It’s just enough to keep me involved without having too many unanswered questions.

The characters are well done and likable. I especially enjoy The Flowers, Arlo and Marin. I worry about them in every battle! Rayce is an appealing love interest. He doesn’t annoy me and I do find him to be quite sexy and attractive. There is some inherent angst and moodiness in him but it wasn’t too much. I like Rose a fair bit and I admire her bravery and even her stubbornness, but gosh, she’s truly a teen girl in every way. She spends a lot of time worrying about her relationship with Rayce when there are bigger issues afoot. She pretty well obsesses over every little thing he does or says. I was a teen girl once too so I completely recognize this behaviour however I was just surviving high school I was not saving the world! Rose’s priorities where seriously out of whack and it made her a bit frustrating. I guess I wanted her to be a bit more of a hero and less dependent on a man to make her happy. I understand that she is fragile from all the abuse she endured at the hands of men but you would think she would be more concerned with standing on her own than depending on another man, even a good one.

“If you don't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”
― RuPaul

Speaking of Rose and Rayce their relationship drove me crazy! I’m not a romance reader in general so I’m not sure if this is a common romance plot device but seriously, you know you love each other just drop all the bickering and constant drama. Their relationship became such a major part of the story and I have to admit that I wanted it over and done with. I’m here for the action and the bigger plot, not so much the romance. When the angsty relationship drama takes the focus away from the exciting intrigue then I am not a happy reader. There was a ton of action and violent, thrilling battles but whenever there was downtime it was all about Rose and Rayce and their issues.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I’m emotionally invested in some of the characters and in the fate of the two kingdoms. I’m hoping in the next book that relationship drama can take a backseat to drama drama and we get more political intrigue, and more battles. Rose and Rayce have kind of been set up in this book for some serious torment in book three but I’m wanting it to be resolved fairly quickly so we can all move on to what matters, saving the world!

Thank you to Entangled Publishing for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

War of the Wilted by Amber Mitchell was an interesting story and I found it immensely enjoyable to read. Would totally completely recommend to everyone around me

"War of the Wilted" is a great continuation of the Garden of Thorns series. The rebellion is well underway and this book continues where the first left off (I recommend reading them close in time as this one moves too fast to recap much). Rose is living with Marin amongst the rebellion and now the other Flowers are there. Rayce is preparing to make the final moves to retake the country.

Although captured, Rayce is keeping the Gardener alive. Rose has pledged herself to the Zareeni rebellion and is struggling to follow orders with which she doesn't agree- particularly those around the Gardener. Rayce is struggling to trust Rose when she disobeys and do what he believes is best for the rebellion. The Gardener is giving the rebellion information they are desperate for- which could potentially turn the tide in their favor. However, Rose knows that this is too good to be true and the Gardener would not be helping them- unfortunately, Rayce seems unwilling to listen.

This fast-paced sequel continues the major plotlines of the first book and makes the most progress in terms of Rayce's plans. Although told from Rose's point-of-view, I felt like this was more of Rayce's book. The romance takes a backseat in this sequel to the other things that are going on (and conflicts due to Rose's disobeying), but the moments that are found for them are oh-so-steamy and oh-so-sweet. I would have loved more, but I understand why this was limited (hopefully in the third book?). Rose did have some personal hang-ups about who she would be in the post-rebellion world, and we really see her grow into her own during the course of the book.

Judging by the ending of the book, I think the next book will be again focused on Rose. Although it doesn't end with a huge cliffhanger, not everything is wrapped up in this book, and it's pretty clear what will be expected in the next book. Overall, I really enjoyed getting back into this fascinating world, and this action-packed book really delves into the fighting and rebellion. I highly recommend this great YA fantasy series!

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

"Fortune clings to the hand that wields flowers". War of the Wilted (Garden of Thorns, #2) quote.

I pledge my loyalty to the cause.
A Rose by any other name is still a Rose. Beautiful, elegant and stubborn. Our leading lady is the Varshan Princess. The true heir to the Varshan throne, betrothed to the now fallen prince of Delmar, Rayce and new member of the rebellion.
Arianna Vasile the Princess of the Zaina Desert has many names, but we can call her Rose for short. Her future was intercepted and changed by the Gardener, a cruel man who enslaved girls. Forced to dance and stay in line or their wilted were punished. Rose became the gardener shining star and his greatest downfall. Rayce is the only one in the rebellion who knows Roses secret. The blood that runs through her veins is both royal and deadly. Rose knows if the wrong person finds her, that her heritage could get her killed or used as a pawn. She doesn't want to acknowledge her true identity, but with Rayce leading the rebellion, she is uncertain of what her future holds. Trust can be a weakness but also a strength.

Rose and Rayce want to make their relationship work but times are hard. The gardener is being held captive in the rebellion camp. Rose wants revenge for her sisters and herself. Rayce wants to use the gardener for information. Rayce may be the leader of the rebellion but Rose is struggling to follow his rules. She can't see it but she's actually a good leader in her own way. She has her own mind and can't help but follow what she believes is right. Rose is beginning to have hopes and dreams. She wants to be with Rayce but their goals aren't always matching. The future is uncertain but their love is strong.

This is the second book in the Garden of Thorns and I'm totally hooked on this story. Rose is conflicted with her heart and head. She has a tough time trying to please everyone in this book. The plotting and action are addictive. I love all the characters in this series and I'm loving the exciting storyline. War of the Wilted is a satisfying read, however, there is still more to come. I want more, more, more!

5 stars out of 5. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so glad that there is a sequel to Garden of Thorns. I loved that book so much, it was easily one of my favorite books last year.

This follow up is filled to the brim with betrayal, sacrifices, and tough decisions. With Rayce holding the Gardner captive in the rebellion headquarters for intel, Rose tries to tell Rayce it's not a wise decision but their differences in opinion will drive a wedge between them and Rose will have to rise and become the queen she was always meant to be, the last thing she ever wanted.

It's time for Rose to be strong, avenge her father, save her people. Empires will fall, the strong will survive, and the world will change forever.

I loved this book, I couldn't stop reading when I started. Even though it has been a while since I read Garden of Thorns I was able to seamlessly read this book without missing a beat or needing to recap the events of book one.

Overall, this series is a must read for fantasy fans.

This was a stunning sequel to Garden of Thorns. So often conflict between a romantic couple seems forced but this really worked – although Rayce annoyed me at times! This was fast paced and engaging, racing to a very satisfying conclusion. Highly recommend these books.

Thanks for the early review copy!

I recommend this book to fans of young adult fantasy. It was well-written and had good world building.