Thank you so much for letting me read and review this title! I really enjoyed it and hopefully will get to read more from this author in the future! I thought this was such an interesting read and was sad I waited so long to get to it. Probably too long for this review to be much help, but it was a quick read that I enjoyed and would revisit again.

Rating: 4.25/5 Penguins
Quick Reasons: an interesting flavor of magic; diverse romance; interesting, mysterious characters; gorgeous, poetic prose; devoured it; I could not put it down

HUGE thanks to Diana Pinguicha, Entangled: Teen, and Netgalley for the free egalley of this title in exchange for review. This in no way altered my read of or opinions on this book.

I don't know WHAT took me so long to pick this read up, Penguins. I only have so many excuses and honestly...none of them are REALLY fitting. Because this read?! Was GORGEOUS. I held my breath through every page flip, every chapter ending, just waiting for the ball to drop and things to go sideways.

These characters tugged at every heart string I have...and some I didn't know I still had. The story was filled with magic and betrayal, curses and curiosities, and I could not bring myself to put it down once I started...which is how I found myself, 4 hours later, closing the final page. The prose is GORGEOUS--poetic, atmospheric, and leaps off the page with description. Diana Pinguicha crafted a story from history and fantasy, and swept me up into a world I had before been missing out on.

Of course, there will always be questions that linger at the end--but these questions are less of the "need to know to be satisfied" and more of the "want to know just to know" variety. The characters were captivating, the story was enthralling, and I only wish I had picked this book up all the sooner. If you're looking for a tale woven with magic, history, and poetry--this one's for you!

This is a feminist lesbian story based on a Portuguese legend. It sounded amazing, but it was just okay. I didn't connect with any of the characters. (Although I loved the mastiff.) I couldn't decide if the princess was not the sharpest knife in the scabbard or if the writing style was off, with everything having to be spelled out. There's lots of allusions and implications that are interesting but overdone.

Overall a fun read. There were certain plot points I was expecting some sort of explanation for that never did happen, but it was very imaginative and I loved the representation in the cast of characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for giving me an advanced reader's copy of this book in return for an honest review. Unfortunately my book corrupted on my original Kindle and I had to wait for my new one to come out, so this review is quite out of date. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book a lot and I'm here to recommend it.

This book is really interesting because it's set in medieval Portugal and based on Portuguese legend. I've read a lot of fantasy, and Portugal is not normally the European country of choice, so this intrigued me. What's even more intriguing is that the plot revolves around a young princess with a curse that reads remarkably like an eating disorder - when she tries to eat literally anything, it turns into flowers. It's nonsensical but weirdly compelling, and it makes you wonder how on earth she's still surviving and what her motives are - what keeps her going?

The plot is initially a little bit confusing, but once the Enchanted Moura is awakened, the extra element of Fatyan's character keeps the story ticking over very well. There's an ongoing tension between the main character, Yzabel, and her betrothed (the King of Portugal) about charity, which seems a bit nonsensical to modern readers, but ultimately highlights Yzabel's strength of character as a queen-to-be.

The romance in this book is between Yzabel and the enchanted woman she awakens with a kiss, but the relationship between Yzabel and the King also plays out well. Yzabel also goes through a painful but contextually appropriate denial of her attraction to Fatyan, which is interesting in itself and develops her character further in the context of this period of history, particularly in the context of the strong religion of the state at the time. However, if you're a queer person, this might hit too close to home.

All in all, I was intrigued by this book and invested in its plot. It dealt with a series of unique ideas - the eating disorder, the princess-awakens-the-princess story, and the fact that it was set in Portugal - so it is definitely worth a read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I had so much hope for this book, the synopsis sounded amazing. That was not the case though; I didn't like the characters, the whole story felt rushed, or the plot holes.

I am surprised how much I enjoyed this book!

A Curse of Roses is a retelling based on a Portuguese legend. I loved how original this story is and it has awakened a need in me to find more foreign and lesser known retellings!

I highly recommend this book for fantasy lovers and fans of fairytales and folklore!

I had to DNF this book. I could not connect with the main character. I found her really annoying. I also found the plot to be rushed and slow at the same time. This disappoints me because the plot sounded so interesting and it's a fairytale retelling (those are some of my favorite books.) I hope others enjoy this book, I just think it wasn't for me.

A Curse of Roses was one of those books on my TBR for forever because it felt too special to start when I was in a funk. I loved the premise and it felt like one I'd like to be really present for. I was right. This book was...just fantastic. I loved it so much. I finished it yesterday and I can't stop thinking about it. I really want to dive back into their world and keep reading, but there's no more.

Character development was beautifully done with full, fleshed out, real characters. The story moved at an enjoyable pace. I adored the relationships in this as well. The descriptions were entrancing. Overall I'm going to be highly recommending this to everyone who will listen for a while and may reread at some point.

Narrator: Rebecca Mozo -- absolutely phenomenal. highly recommend. will read more books she narrates.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled: Teen for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. Since I was super late to this party, I listened to the published Audiobook and will be reviewing that version.

Beautiful and unexpected queer Portuguese love story with a religious twist. Highly, highly recommend.

"'I was raised on the Bible, too, Yzabel. It's just something else written by men as well. Like history. Like my own story.'"

Princess Yzabel, poised to be the next Queen of Portugal, is hiding a curse from her fiancé and her people. With a famine plaguing the land, her touch turns food into flowers. She's been starving for years, unable to finish a meal before food turns to petals and thorns in her mouth. Desperate for a solution, she seeks out an Enchanted Moura to help her control her curse and possibly reverse it, but Fatyan has been trapped in stone for decades. A kiss will free her, but the more time Yzabel spends with her, the more certain she is that one kiss could never be enough. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Entangled Publishing, LLC. Trigger warnings: character death, strong religious themes, religious self-harm, magically-induced starvation, much discussion of food/eating, homophobia (internalized and external), fire, self-loathing, guilt, sexism, womanizing, infidelity.

I don't know what ever possessed me to request a historical fantasy novel with strong religious themes, but every one of those things makes this emphatically not the book for me. As interesting as I found Yzabel's curse in turning food to flowers and vice versa, and as much as I'm here for the wlw representation, it was constantly overshadowed by the very Christian mythos running through it. To some extent, it's clear Pinguicha is trying to work through some of the damaging effects of that worldview, but it doesn't successfully manage to overturn some of them--at least from the perspective of someone who wasn't raised in it and has a natural suspicion of organized religion. There are a couple of lines about how menstrual blood is impure and menstrual pain is God's will that made me just about feral, and some icky justification about how it's okay for men to sleep around but not women.

As much as the novel tries to make Yzabel a character, she's less a person than the concept of abnegation personified, and there’s some glorification of suffering/self-harm that doesn’t sit well with me. She's generous to the point of starving herself, both literally and figuratively, and self-sacrifice is a concept I struggle with in female characters. There are attempts by other characters to get her to take care of herself, but since they're praising her selflessness as the thing that makes her Such A Good Person in the same breath, it comes over rather disingenuous. I enjoyed her complicated romance with Fatyan probably more than any other aspect of the book, although it's rather dramatic in the way of teen love.

Given how much I struggled with everything else, I found the plot to be slow-moving, but that might be a reflection of my lack of enjoyment more than the story itself. I never found the villain that compelling or frightening; the real villain of the novel is the religious institution intent on crushing out anything that doesn't fit its narrow worldview. Regardless, I hovered around three stars until the ending. The plot resolution hinges on women forgiving their abusers, which is frankly pretty gross. All that being said, there are some important things A Curse of Roses is wrestling with. While I'm not the audience for it, I hope it finds its way into the hands of the readers who need a story like this.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

I picked this book honestly for the cover and it did not disappoint. I love how it's written and it makes you feel right there with the characters.

Wow this story!
Fantasy, magic, secrets and love all together !! characters meeting each other and falling in an impossible love !!
Where the line between betrayal and freedom are blurred and the only important thing I survival!
In a world where a simple kiss can change everything!! And don't let me start on the Portuguese historical references and the fact that Yzabel is Princess of Aragon!!!
And the main relationship here ... love a good written f/f love story!!
Great book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This book was an interesting Own voices retailing from Portuguese legends and I enjoyed it . I may have Googled the Portuguese legends to have a better understand since this was a retelling. I really did enjoy this but I would say if you are reader who has triggers please check reader the content warnings, this does deal with ruff topics, but it is also a story of love, acceptance and accepting one’s own truth.

4.5

A Curse of Roses is, first and foremost, a really fascinating depiction of the indoctrination of the Catholic church on LGBTQ+ people. Yzabel's confliction over what she was being told by the priests and what she was feeling and being told by the people who cared about her was very difficult to read, but also important. Because although this story is set in the 1200s or something, that indoctrination and confliction still happens today. Yzabel coming to terms with being a lesbian, and holding that up against everything she's been taught her entire life, is at the centre of this story.

Due to this, the plot isn't exactly the strongest part of the book, but the characters absolutely are. If you love character driven stories, this is one for you. Denis is a really great character, he's not perfect, but his strongest point is that he never pushes Yzabel to do anything she doesn't want to do, and that was something really refreshing and that I wasn't expecting from an 11th century historical fiction. Our main character, Yzabel, is doggedly kind, and this is to everyone, especially those who are worse off than her. Particularly, she is kind to Denis's mistress, and what was the loveliest part was that she never, ever, resents the mistress, but instead looks at things from her point of view and always, always, always makes sure that it is consensual. The romance between Fatyan and Yzabel is really lovely, and gentle and patient, and just one of the best parts of the whole book.

The pacing was pretty slow in the middle, and the villain wasn't the most compelling or convincing, but from reading the Author's Note, you can really see how much thought and care was put into this retelling of Saint Isabel.

I felt as though this book was very well written and will work for a lot of people even if it didn’t for me.
There were many aspects that were done well I loved how fleshed out the characters were and the romance, you really spend the book rooting for them. The concept was also something I really enjoyed which was why I wanted to pick it up in the first place.
Overall a lot of the book was done well and will certainly engage many.

3.5 stars — Hmmm…there were a lot of interesting things in this book, and after reading the author’s note at the end, I actually have a more interesting perspective on the book. But, all the same, I found it hard to get into the story at times, the pacing felt…not quite right to me. And it deals with a lot of uncomfortable subjects that apparently I just wasn’t in the mood for. Definitely read the content warnings at the beginning of the book (or under the author’s Goodreads review).

All right, let’s start with our heroine, Yzabel. She…can be hard to like. Not because she’s unlikeable per se…in fact, she has a lot of admirable qualities. But the shame is just so much!! Like, about everything. The shame, the literal self flagellation, the stubborn hold on to her piousness…I totally stood up and cheered when Brites or Fatyan called her on it. It just ended up overwhelming her character, and made it hard for her good parts to shine through. But I did love how kind she was, how she tried to choose kindness at every turn. I loved how she saw all aspects of her new kingdom and wanted to *act* to help them. I loved it when she gathered her courage and stood up for what she believed in. I just feel like the good and bad aspects of her personality weren’t balanced enough for me.

She was surrounded by some interesting characters right from the start, and I was intrigued with where the story was going. I felt the chemistry with Fatyan almost immediately, and I loved that. But the story kind of took a turn I wasn’t expecting, and I think I was strangely disappointed in the choices…or maybe I needed different resolutions? I started to question things along with Yzabel, and while I’m sure that was the intention, I personally would have enjoyed it more if things had progressed differently at certain parts. Sorry that was so vague and handwavey, but I don’t want spoilers.

I had a hard time enjoying the romance with Fatyan because of all the shame and emphasis on wrongness in Yza’s head. I get it to a degree, and for 1200s Portugal, it makes sense. But I guess I wanted less realism in that sense, and a bit more wonder and happiness mixed in.

Denis was pretty surprising. I feel like I didn’t quite understand his reactions sometimes, and even looking back, I can’t figure out if it was just Yza being an unreliable narrator or not. But I appreciated how his story played out.

So yeah…it was interesting, it offered something kind of refreshing, and given it was this author’s debut, I bet she’ll just continue to improve.

Great representation and I'm always a sucker for sapphic YA, especially in fantasy, ESPECIALLY especially in historical fantasy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting read, I learned a lot of things about their history, and I loved that they mentioned my country, Hungary too.
I loved that this was based on a Portugese legend, I liked the writing, but sometimes it felt boring and too long. I DNF-ed it around 50%, I just did not really care about the characters and the plot. Also sometimes it was confusing.