Member Reviews
2.5 stars
The cover was beautiful and stunning.
But the story was only okay and meh. I liked Rose somewhat alright. But that was only it. It missed some stuff.
The premise of this book sounded right up my alley, as I love portal fantasy books so very much. However, this book just fell extremely short for me and I was quite disappointed. I fell like the story didn't really progress all that well. I didn't even want to finish it.
this was a great fairy tale, the characters were great and I really enjoyed reading this. I hope there is more from this universe.
Received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
This was not my cup of tea. I expected a little more eccentric wonderland-esque reading as described but it didn't live up to that at all.
Blood Rose
by Rachael Vaughn
Looking at your epic story of an adventure in another land Blood Rose is a great jaunt into a world of imagination. A young woman devastated by the sudden loss of her family has changed her entire life in a moment. She has moved to a small town. Found a job, that she is over qualified for and found a place to relax. All of this changes when magic comes into her life. Rose finds herself in a land of large bugs, talking mice, and people remarkably odd, and kind. Will she risk everything to save a world that is dying because it has been cut off from Roses world. The book hints at a next story that will be even more spectacular.
This is a great book for young adults teaching them that kindness has a reward beyond the moment. Children learn that love is universal, and that imagination is unlimited. The character of Rose is a role model for young readers that have faced their difficulties and learned to find new experiences, new friends and a new life without being held back by their prior experience.
I would recommend this book not only for its imagination but for its positive message to my schools, and all other libraries trying to find a connection to their students.
Thank you to netgalley for this ARC.
The concept of Blood Rose was very intriguing and the opening of the book had me hooked with a house appearing from nowhere and the reader literally tumbling into Wonderland.
However, not long after that, the story lost my keen interest. The adjectives seemed too much and the characters seemed to lose depth in my opinion.
A good middle grade story I feel but lacking for the older reader.
THis was wierd and confusing and i felt i wasnt reading the first book. I was extremly confused in this fantasy world and i think it needed more to make it better. The big dun dun duns were overly easy to guess but i did like the concept of the mysterious illness and the rare person who can travel it just didnt work out. It reads very quickly and if you were probably in high school you would enjoy the world more than i did because it was very YA and not as suspensful as i assumed/
Sadly I can only give this Book Two Stars, it started out well & I was enjoying it when the format changed & I was unable to move the Pages after the second Chapter & sadly when running checks somehow a Trojan Virus had attatched itself to the download.
I wanted to read this book for the cover. It looks interesting and the blurb sounds like a good fantasy book. But unfortunately it wasn't as I thought. The story is about a dying Wonderland, a twin world with ours. It's a bit confusing and, like Alice, I didn't know what would happen next. Zombie mice, blue trees, a girl with a red eye who has a bag full with heads. You can't say no to a story like this.
The beginning is good, it makes you to fall in love with the book. But after the middle of the story I was bored and I wanted to finish faster. Maybe because of the too many useless details or because the author says the same things on and on. It could be a good story because I really liked the idea of the book.
Thank you NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for a review.
I've tried to read this one twice, and unfortunately, I wasn't able to get invested as I hoped. There really wasn't a catch that drew me in within the first few chapters, so I ended up DNFing this one.
I ended up not finishing this title. My apologies to the publisher, as I very much appreciated the chance to read. Unfortunately this one was way outside my interest and I just couldn’t do it. The strong language ended up being the thing that pushed me to officially “DNF”.
I don’t understand why all the text is in bold. It almost feels like a passive yelling on the pages. The world building was very descriptive and I could imagine the world well. It felt like I was ready a mystery novel that made me want to know what was going to happen next.
Great take on A fairytale. I’d give it 5 out 5 stars because it is so well written and very entertaining. I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended!
I recieved an early review copy of this book from Net Galley.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a modern-day fairy tale, reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland (although I was underwhelmed by Alice and was charmed by this book). The story is enchanting, and each time I had to lay it down, I was eager to return to it. The world Vaughn creates is fantastical, yet familiar. The plot propelled forward at a satsfying pace. Consistent with the magical tone, not all mysteries are answered by the end of the book, but the story felt resolved.
Rose goes hiking and stumbles upon something new, a new world opens up for her and she has an adventure together with people she meets there.
On paper that sounds just like the type of stories I enjoy when it comes to the fantasy genre. Normal person who just happens to find something much bigger or go through worlds to something more fantastical where they find their purpose and learn something about themselves through the journey from point a to b.
Unfortunately, Vaughn's novel didn't get me there all the way, and i found myself not really caring after a while, which is something you don't want when reading! I sincerely wish I'd enjoyed this more than I did because the premise sounded good.
Language wise I have no complaints. It felt appropriate and easy going, fitting to the theme.
It was the idea of Blood Rose that drew me in, and Rose and the stranger she encounters are characters interesting enough, but sadly the story couldn't keep my attention for long and I found myself taking long stops between reading chapters.
It was a nice read, though, if certainly not a book for me.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.