Rosa and Hou Yi: two women who have each lost their wives and children. One a reformed hero-turned-tyrant, the other a former mass murderer.

Together, they must grapple with all of the ways they have hurt themselves and their families in the name of love.

Burning Roses is actually the third story in a series of queer, feminist mashups of Eastern lore and Western fairytales. (If you're curious about the events that led Rosa to where she is today, hunting sunbirds in some remote region of magic-laden China, I would absolutely recommend reading Hunting Monsters and Fighting Demons.)

In this world exists grundwirgen: humans cursed into animal form, or witches and sorcerers with shapeshifting abilities, or simply animals born with unnaturally keen intellects. I was fascinated by these creatures, because designating them as such—grundwirgen—allowed the fairytales we've heard time and again to be held up for closer examination and alternative interpretation. What if Red Riding Hood had to reconcile her guilt and grief at killing a wolf who had the sentience of a man? What if Goldilocks wasn't so innocent a trespasser after all?

Not to mention, grundwirgen are positioned as a Western concept—setting up some fun riffing on the differences between magic of the East (more commonplace and plentiful, less easily defined) and West (less ambiguous, but more prone to prejudice).

As Rosa—a markswoman who has fled the West—and Hou Yi—the legendary archer of Chinese lore—travel the countryside seeking an island of flame-breathing sunbirds, both women's histories unspool. Both women come to terms with the immense guilt they feel at having let down the people they love.

I absolutely enjoyed the thoughtful way that S.L. Huang wove themes of family and belonging into Eastern/Western legends. Chang'e makes an appearance, as well as Beauty's Beast and an English dragon named Bistherne.

My favourite in this series still has to be Hunting Monsters, though! I didn't find Burning Roses as propulsive or poignant as its predecessors, maybe because it was longer and rehashed some of the events of the short stories I'd already read.

Tor publishes great novellas! This one is a fairy tale retelling with Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast among many others set in an Asian world. In case you aren’t familiar with the Chinese fairy tale I think this is the right one https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hou_Yi
It’s a story about realizing the mistakes you’ve made in this life as you age and trying to correct them as you can.

Yes! I got so excited to be approved of this ARC as I follow this author! Writing style is similar but different in a way since this is a complete different genre. The world building explained in throughout this story was great and it went into detail when needed but did not drag the reader. There were some many twists that lead me not wanting to put this book down!

I am confused as to how to rate this book. The retelling of the characters as grizzled middle aged women was an interesting twist. I didn't like the conflict in the book- most of it was due to misunderstanding and could have been solved by proper communication. The ending seemed a little too convenient. Give this a shot if want a quick read and like fairytale retellings.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for the e-copy for an honest review!

4 stars.

Burning Roses was a lot more quiet than I expected it to be, and that was easily what I liked most about it. We have two main characters, Rosa and Hou Yi, who are both middle aged once heroes who, not only have to come to terms with their pasts, but face them. Their uneasy, sometimes stressful, friendship, is mostly a quiet, empathetic insight into their own traumas. Seeing these two women learn to open up to one another was beautiful and soft. I thought the prose felt true to the story and did a service to this - to the point, not overly flowery, and introspective.

That said, I did struggle with the flashbacks a bit. Only in that some of the fairy tale retelling could have been a little less obvious. I felt that because it’s a novella, maybe too much time was wasted on fairy tales most of us are familiar with when I’d have rather had more time with Rosa and Hou Yi and the world building. (I’m SO interested in this world. I want to know more about shape shifters, about the magic, and people.) Some of the fairy tales didn’t really have anything different to say, but I think my complaint with that is more to too with the size of the novella than the actual tales. That said, the fairy tales that weren’t as pronounced were very nice. I extremely enjoyed the Beast and Mei, and Puss. These both felt like uniquely adapted stories that fit well within the context of the world.

Overall, I really liked this story. The characters were extremely thoughtful and engaging and well worth exploring any folklore I might think myself overly familiar with, and I would be happy to explore both the characters and the world more if given the chance. Rosa was such a beautiful change of pace as a main character and I thought her internal monologue beautifully self-torturous and hopeful at the same time.

Thank you, Net Galley and Tor.com for a free Ebook ARC of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Burning Roses reads very much like a fairytale. It is not your common retelling that jumps into a long epic series, but instead, it is a retelling much like the original tales from years ago. It is a tale to teach the reader of something.
This work begins in medias res, or in the middle of a tale, meet Rosa or Flower, as her middle aged Chinese friend Hou Yi (The Chinese tale of Hou Yi, the skilled archer who sought immortality) calls her, she would be your Latina Red Riding Hood. We meet the two of them in the middle of the story on a battlefield. From this battlefield comes the short tale of a quest to kill the beasts or Sunbirds as they are called. As we hunt, we learn about Grundwirgen or the eastern term for magic users who are evil and can take the shape of animals. As the quest trails on the two middle-aged women reflect on their past journeys, same-sex lovers quarrels, broken family ties and ways to right their wrongs before it is too late. Along the journey we meet the big bad wolf on the way to Grandma’s, we glare at Puss in Boots because what cat wears books, we make friends with the thieving Goldilocks, and we even fall in love with Beauty, not the Beast. This is a novella with many fairytale aspects and characters that we have come to know and recognize. Huang does an interesting of connecting the story to the tales we grew up with by giving the story meaning, making a lesson or something to remember, and allowing the reader to reflect upon their past as well as that of the main characters.
In all, this novella is a clever way to retell several tales from both the western and eastern world from a different perspective along a journey of self-discovery and meddlesome magic users with a little LQBTQ flare to it.
I understand why the novel started in the middle of the tale but it did make the story a bit hard to get into, as well as the lack of ultimate fantastical action made it not as exciting as it could have been.


Check out the live video review at https://www.facebook.com/worcesterpubliclibrary or view it later under Fairytale retellings video playlists airing Tuesday 7/28/2020 at 3:00 EST.

3 stars

I received an e-arc through NetGalley in return for an honest review. Big thanks to them and Macmillan-Tor/Forge

A queer Asian adult fantasy sort of based on red riding hood. Though there are many fairytales represented with characters. Both main characters are older women and well.
I know the book is short so I was anticipating some part of the characters or the world to be lacking however I felt all the flashback seriously hurt both. The flashback made me uncaring/unconnected with both characters. It took us away from the main conflict that I was actually interested in so though it does get resolved it didn’t feel thoughtful. This book for sure has brilliant elements and appeal. I am glad I read it and I do recommend for those looking for a short fairytale but it is a book I won’t read again.

3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for providing me with the an e-review copy of this book.

I really loved the premise of this book. Fairytale characters in their older years living their lives, killing some monsters. Pretty fun, there are not enough books with older women as the MCs. The story also looks deeply at mother love of children and loyalty to family, which I thought was great because parents are another thing you don't see enough of in fantasy (they're usually dead to make way for the teenage protagonist and all). It's also cool that we have a lesbian MC.

All that said, I didn't love this one. I liked it and enjoyed it, but didn't love it. I think it was the writing - which wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favourite either. The beginning felt rushed and a bit, I don't know, messy maybe. And the story itself is full of flashbacks, which works for the story as it is, but I am not a huge fan of the flashback style. Personal preference.

So, over all this was a good story with a writing style that didn't fully work for me. It is a good quick read though, and I totally recommend taking a chance on it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for giving my an ARC to review!

This story is following an intersection of Chinese and European mythology, with Red Riding Hood and Hou Yi being our main characters.

Novellas are always hit or miss with me and I feel like this is leaning towards the side of a hit. It just felt like we needed another chapter or two just to see more of this world develop as well as the characters.

Seeing the retelling of multiple stories was really fun and there was actually one I didn't see coming until it was explained later. The world created in this is definitely a high point, and it is incredibly unique. It just doesn't feel like it was given its full chance to shine, because even for a novella this is pretty short.

I will also say that I did end this at least liking both the ending and the characters we are introduced to. Although, part of my complaint is the ending as it doesn't feel like the story was leading up to that ending so it doesn't really suit the overall story very well. But I think I can mostly let this slide as it is a fairy tale retelling.

Still a solid story, and I'd be interested in seeing what else the author can come up with.

A fantastical spin on fairy tales (is that redundant?), but featuring TWO OLD QUEER WOMEN WITH COMPLICATED PASTS. Rosa and Hou Yi wander into one another’s path to fight sunbirds and reflect on their life choices. An adventurous tale of companionship and family, transformation and communication, it’s so damn refreshing to have a story following TWO OLD QUEER WOMEN. More of this, please.

I love when an author understands fairy tales — when they can see the tragedy in the parable. Huang demonstrates that in so few pages with this novella. This is a tale of fractured families and personal brokenness, as well as, ultimately, forgiveness from others and from the self.

That it incorporates Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Goldilocks, and the legend of Hou Yi (new to me) makes it all the better. Huang shows what happens to characters after the final pages of their respective tales, territory where happy endings must be fought for.

Burning Roses is a fairy tale retelling and a story of magic, love and gods. Rosa (Red Riding Hood) is helping Hou Yi the Archer stop sunbirds from destroying the countryside. Along the way both women reveal their pasts, both the good and bad, and discuss the mistakes they have made and the regrets they have.

This was a really interesting retelling. It features Rosa as Red Riding Hood but also have elements of Goldilocks and Beauty and the Beast. I also really liked that Rosa and Hou Yi were both middle aged because it's so rare to see heroes in fantasy/fairy tales that are older and weighed down by life and their choices. This was more of a slow story and very introspective and character driven. It was less about the hunt the women were on and more about how they came to be together on this hunt and what path their futures might take. I also really liked that it incorporated various cultures and fairy tales/folklore. It was a short book and a quick read, but really made you think about right and wrong and choices.

I loved the blend of fairy tales and Chinese mythology in this story. It's a 'fairy tale' retelling done in a way I have never seen before and it genuinely works. I'm really looking forward to reading more by this author - another successful introduction for me from the Tor novellas series.

Burning Roses is a queer Asian adult fantasy following two old women. Rosa, resembling little red riding hood with a rifle in her possession. The other Hou Yi, resembling Robin Hood. They enjoy sitting on their front porch smoking pipes and digging insults into each other, and protecting the land from giant killer fire birds.

There is so much happening in this short novella! Fairytale retellings x100, including Goldilocks and Beauty and the Beast.

The story is confusing at first, throwing names and snippets of past events at you quickly but each chapter is like a puzzle piece. As the characters travel together on a mission, they are sharing stories of their past. You begin to better understand the characters actions. Even up until the very end you’re given information that makes certain conversations in the beginning make sense.

I enjoyed this one. However, I did not find that the author took the world to the necessary conclusions for it to really work for me. It’s SUCH a mental journey for these women and the way the story ends so abruptly makes me feel incomplete. Then again, that’s kind of the heart of the story.

Burning Roses combines a mixture of different fairytales/folklore: Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Goldilocks... and Hou Yi, an archer from Chinese mythology. It blends all these disparate-sounding elements together with aplomb, remixing Hou Yi's story in the meantime to make Hou Yi a trans woman, and winding in what reads as a racism metaphor in the grundwirgen (magical beings with animal qualities or animal forms, all of whom Rosa rather virulently hates in a way inherited from her mother and compounded by a ghastly experience as a child -- you can guess what that experience was when you consider the Red Riding Hood story).

I didn't think that all these stories could be combined like this so comfortably; for me, they're all on quite different formal registers. I don't know much about Hou Yi and how that story is usually told, of course, but the version I heard was rather formal and in the context of an anthology of mythological stories. On that basis, it initially seemed oddly placed next to a nursery story like Goldilocks. Just settle in and trust the author: in my opinion, it works out. I especially enjoyed the way that the story used both versions of the Hou Yi story that I knew of, showing they're essentially the same story from different angles, depending on who is telling the story.

The grundwirgen (which I read as a metaphor for racism) theme feels a little heavy-handed at first, but when I think about the story now that doesn't really register. The image that sticks in my head is that of both Rosa and Hou Yi working to be worthy of their families, failing and being human, and finding their way through it. It's not a story of young and giddy fairytale love, but of love that endures through pain, love that forges a true family which you can't walk away from.

I haven't read the short stories in this world, but I don't think it's necessary to appreciate and enjoy this novella.

The review will be posted on my blog two weeks before the release date in accordance with Tor's usual policy.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher Macmillian-Tor/Forge for allowing me to receive this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

BURNING ROSES
by S.L. Huang

"A gorgeous fairy tale of love and family, of demons and lost gods, for fans of Zen Cho and JY Yang.

When Rosa (aka Red Riding Hood) and Hou Yi the Archer join forces to stop the deadly sunbirds from ravaging the countryside, their quest will take the two women, now blessed and burdened with the hindsight of age, into a reckoning of sacrifices made and mistakes mourned, of choices and family and the quest for immortality."

Rep: Latina lesbian mc, Chinese wlw trans mc, Chinese side characters

CWs: death, past abuse

The mix of Eastern and Western fairytales was so interesting and made for a very unique take on retellings than most that I have read. There are so many different takes on the representation that I found amazing. You have a Latina Red Riding Hood main character with the Chinese Archer, sapphic relationships, older protagonists, a lot of conversations about humanity and what it means to be the minority, in the case of this book it is used in conversation with Intelligent Animals and magic but is also a conversation that could clearly be about many of civil rights and equality.

Overall I highly enjoyed this book and loved that it was a novella, it didn't waste time on the needless filler content and just told the story in a concise but beautiful way!


Characters 8
Atmosphere 8
Writing 8
Plot 7
Intrigue 8
Logic 6
Enjoyment 8

RATING SYSTEM CREATED BY BOOK ROAST
1-2 REALLY BAD 3-4 MEDIOCRE 5-6 GOOD 7-8 REALLY GOOD 9-10 OUTSTANDING

Overall 7.57
4 Star Rating

For a quest adventure type story, this was a very quiet kind of read, but it works perfectly. Blending western fairy tales and the story of Hou Yi the Archer, Huang creates this story of two older women who made mistakes trying to do some good.

Rosa was raised with many prejudices against grundwirgen, animals with human intelligence and humans who are in form of animal, and for a long time her sole purpose in life was to hunt and kill as many as possible. After losing her wife and daughter, though, she has made every effort to change her ways.

Hou Yi is also trying to atone for the things she did that led to her losing her wife and her son doing everything in his power to hunt her down.

One of my favorite things with this story was how many different western fairy tales were melded together. Rosa is Red Riding Hood and Rose Red, Mei is Belle, and Goldie is Goldilocks and Snow White. I also really enjoyed the way the story is told. While Rosa and Hou Yi are on quest find Feng Meng, Rosa is recounting the events that led to her coming to Hou Yi’s country.

This is such beautiful writing and the style creates an almost mystical dream while reading. But it is also the story of “old women who hurt their children” and that is evident throughout, showing how much both regret the actions and how much they love their children. It’s beautiful how everything tied together and the way things concluded. Strongly recommend for a quiet but emotionally packed fantasy novella full of fairy tales and folklore.

Burning Roses is a beautiful little retelling of a number of fairytales all mixed together. It follows two older women, Rosa and Hou Yi, as they hunt down Hou Yi’s old apprentice, who is ravaging the countryside in an attempt to force confrontation. Throughout the journey, they each confess to the other the regrets they have in their lives.

You know how, with novellas, it can be a bit hit-and-miss whether one works as its own self-contained story, but this one does it so well. The plot itself is simple, but the way it is used as a vehicle for the characters to reflect on their lives, the mistakes they have made and the ways they have tried to atone, is excellent.

And overall I loved the main characters. I think possibly one weakness of this (on account of it’s a novella) is that the side characters are much less fleshed out. But as I said, it’s a novella, and it’s also a novella that primarily does focus on these two characters (and the antagonist), so as much as I wanted more of the side characters, it’s not exactly a major gripe of mine.

In the end, then, this is a novella that I would urge everyone to preorder. Not least because it’s sapphic (but that too).

This arc was provided by Tor, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

If I had to review this with only one word it would be superb.

It's not every writer who can write a 160-page fantasy novella with a world so gripping and impactful characters. It requires genuine skill.

I was completely mesmerized as I read along and got to know Rosa and Hou Yi. We slowly learn about their past as they divulge it to each other amid their adventure. They are both plagued by the choices they had to make and consequently, their mistakes. At its core, it's a story about family and sorrow for the life you wish you had and the person you wish you had become.

Despite the shortness in length, you get to explore our main characters' fears and the demons they're running from. There is so much richness with the retelling of fairy tales in this world, being that Rosa represents Red Riding Hood and Hou Yi represents the mythical Chinese Archer, along with Goldilocks and Beauty and the Beast (how? read and find out!)

And, lastly, I love how unapologetically queer it is. Both our MCs are queer and Hou Yi is a Trans woman. They are also older women, which really surprised me. It's not often that I read a fantasy book (or in general) featuring main older characters and their perspective in the action scenes. It shows that no matter how old you are, you can still make mistakes and learn from there, and determination goes a long way in achieving your goals.

I honestly don't know what else to say. I am purposely vague about the synopsis since it is a very short novella, but I urge you to check it out. It's such a great addition to the fantasy genre and I definitely want more!

I dithered for a while over whether to give this book three stars or four stars. Ultimately, I settled on four, deciding that no book that successfully gets me teary-eyed should earn anything below four stars!

This is a very character-focused narrative, so we do go without having certain aspects of the plot (mostly to do with the grundwirgen) explained to us, but the characters are without a doubt the strongest part of the book. You'll instantly recognise Rosa as Red Riding Hood, Hou Yi as the mythical greatest archer of all time, and several background characters as Goldilocks, Puss in Boots, and Beauty of the Beauty and the Beast tale. Huang successfully crafts a fairytale within a fairytale, interlinking each of these stories without making her world seem crowded. I was especially glad to see that the protagonists were two older women! It seems like in fairytales, these 'heroine' roles are primarily occupied by younger women, while women of middle-age and above are consigned to the 'mother' or 'crone' archetype.

All in all, Burning Roses was a heartfelt, novel take on the traditional stories, and I'm glad for the opportunity to have read it.