This is a wonderful gothic fantasy by Olson. Myra is a prodigy with the skill to change the appearance of others with her painting skills. After her parents go missing, Myra finds herself desperate for money to help herself and her sickly little sister and is convinced to use her talents in a way she never has before. What follows is a wonderful, twisty, mystery with some lovely romantic elements. I read this quickly and I loved that I never was truly sure what would happen next!

The bond of friendship and love are strong in this story. I loved every page and I couldn't put it down. I loved the magic of the setting and the flow. I can not wait to see what else Jessica Olson releases in years to come!

A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S. Olson is a sweeping fantasy with multiple layers, much like a painting on a canvas. The tale is a reimmenesence of The Picture of Dorian Gray with a mix of Stalking Jack the Ripper. There are elements that are similar to these other two stories but fit well together in this new story like they were made to go together.
Now I have to be honest I didn’t find myself enthralled with this story at first; I found it slow going and had trouble investing myself with the characters, but I stuck with it, and it paid off in the end. The main character Myra turned out to be more challenging than I gave her credit and made me proud to read her story. At first, I thought she would be just someone I couldn’t connect with—I couldn’t figure out why I felt like that. The story is unique and different, and the world built around her is detailed with exciting characters. I just had a disconnect that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but as I kept reading I found myself more interested and invested.
The story had more layers and more complications than on the outer surface of the narrative. Myra was more than just some girl with a unique ability that had to be kept a secret because it was against the law and could be deadly if the wrong person found out. She was a girl who experienced tragedy, hardship, and tremendous struggles beyond her years at such a young age. She was just trying to get by in a victorian world where a power struggle happened every day around her between the rich who just wanted more power and the poor who just tried to survive another day. All the while having to take care of her sickly sister, who only had her to be her only savior, that in itself is more than one girl should ever have to shoulder. All of this is just the top layer of Myra’s world and daily life, her struggle; as you dig into A Forgery of Roses, you uncover so much more under the surface. You find that not all is as it seems, and not everyone is who they say they are. You find that looks can be deceiving, and money doesn’t buy happiness, just silence.
I want to thank Inkyard Press and Jessica S. Olson for sending me this Uncorrected Proof in exchange for my honest review. I found that as I read this story, my review increased as the story progressed, and I am happy to say I would recommend it to anyone who loves a gothic fantasy with a twisted ending!

A FORGERY OF ROSES is a chilling and lush fantasy with forbidden magic, a murder mystery, and star-crossed romance. Olson does a great job in creating heroines who are tempted by dark impulses and desires in the face of heartache and their complex motivations. This is how I felt about our MC Myra, and her drive to take care of her sister as she is thrown deep into deadly game with a killer. The world-building and magic system having to do with painting and Prodigies was super unique and interesting. I loved the gothic and atmospheric feel of this one and the darker moments in the story as well. With every twist and turn, Olson does a great job in gripping the reader with her prose, and she is great at writing suspenseful scenes full of macabre and tension. The romantic tension between August and Myra was also really great. I really appreciated Olson's depiction of August and his mental health. The depiction of anxiety in August was really relatable for me personally, and I really connected with him on that level, so that really added to my overall enjoyment of this book. The ending of this one and the twist of the whodunit mystery was something I didn't see coming, which is quite a feat and a credit to the author for surprising me with that, because I didn't see it coming. A FORGERY OF ROSES is a fantastical murder mystery perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco and Rebecca Ross, and I really enjoyed it and look forward to future books!

This was phenomenal. The magic system was really cool.

This has anxiety representation!! I love August. It made me really happy that he found ways to work around his anxiety and achieve his goals. His relationship with Myra is adorable.

Myra’s character is very well written. She is trying to do her best in a world that refuses to give her an inch.

I was a huge fan of Stalking Jack the Ripper, so I absolutely adored this.

This was a thrilling page turner of a book! Full of suspense and mystery with a little romance thrown in. There’s a few surprises along the way certain to keep you guessing.
I thought it was really good!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.

You had me at magic and murder! All lovers of a spooky, dark academia vibe, and anyone who enjoyed Kerri Maniscalco's Stalking Jack The Ripper, absolutely need to read A Forgery of Roses. Jessica Olson takes us on a harrowing adventure with Myra, a young artist who yields magic almost as well as she wields her paintbrush, but who finds herself inadvertently thrust into the center of a mystery involving a suspicious death in a duplicitous family. What first begins as a straightforward need to complete an unsavory and difficult task in order to save her ill sister and possibly her own skin, quickly becomes twisted as secrets are revealed. The only thing Myra can be sure of, as she searches for answers and dodges shadows with murderous intent, is that nothing is as it seems.

I really enjoyed Myra's story, and I loved the depth and uniqueness of her relationships with August and her sister Lucy. Olson's writing was fluid and absorbing, and the story was wonderfully fast-paced, with plenty of engaging twists and turns. Not only was the plot clever and captivating, but Olson's exploration of the ramifications and possible self-acceptance that comes with living with an anxiety disorder was both enlightening and heartwarming. As someone who has lived all of my own life with an anxiety disorder, I thoroughly enjoyed Olson's encouraging take on the matter, and I loved watching August's character growth as he realized his own strength and agency, not in spite of his struggles, but because of them.

A Forgery of Roses is an extremely worthwhile read with both an entertaining plot and a lovely message, and I very much recommend it.

A Forgery of Roses is basically Dorian Gray meets Down Comes the Night - it's a gothic-y murder mystery with a very cool premise. In this world, artists can heal beings via art - they paint a picture of a healthy/healed person or animal, absorb the pain themselves, and voila! Healed (it is more complicated than that). So when the most powerful woman in town asks Myra to paint away her son's mysterious (but supposedly accidental) death for like a LOT of money, cash strapped Myra agrees.

This was a lot of fun! The murder mystery, while not super hard to solve, did come with a few surprises. The mythology around the healing through painting was very creative, and I really enjoyed that aspect. Our main character is likable, makes decisions that make sense and is fiercely loyal to her very sick sister. The love interest is a little meh, but there are several scenes that were almost slapstick rom com movie material, and while I wasn't expecting those cute scenes, they were very welcome. Overall, I'd recommend this to most fans of YA fantasy - especially those that also like mystery! 4 stars - I liked it.

With the description of a unique magical system, a gothic mystery, and such a gorgeous cover, I couldn’t pass up this novel.

An artist whose portraits alter people’s real-life bodies. It’s something I haven’t come across before, and I liked that Myra didn’t completely understand everything about her power. The reader discovers new aspects along with her throughout the story. It’s a dangerous thing to be a Prodigy since many have gone missing, including Myra’s mother and then her father who went in search of her. Since their disappearances, Myra has struggled to provide food and shelter for herself and her younger sister, who suffers from a debilitating disease and desperately needs medical care. Money and jobs are scarce. When Myra is offered a significant amount of money to create a painting, it’s an offer she can’t refuse – especially since since it’s made by the governor’s wife, who also threatens to expose Myra if she can’t resurrect her dead son with the portrait. For Myra’s magic to work, she has to know exactly what happened to the subject of the painting and what they felt – and it soon becomes clear murder is involved. When the governor’s other son, August, offers his assistance, he and Myra undertake a dangerous journey to discover that truly happened.

I loved the gothic atmosphere of this story and the secrets and mystery surrounding August and his family. The descriptions made it easy to immerse myself in this world, and I felt as if I walked the ominous hallways and darkened streets along with Myra and August. The strong bond between Myra and sister Lucy is another strength of this novel, and the fear of losing her creates incredibly high stakes for Myra and pushes her to go beyond her limits.

I admit I smirked at some over-the-top romantic moments between Myra and August (that’s just me), and I grew exasperated with Myra a couple times when she discovered a clue and then backed off or forgot about it. None of that detracted from my enjoyment of this compelling novel, and I finished it in a couple days. It doesn’t end with a cliffhanger, but does leave the door open for a sequel, something I’d snatch up in a second. I’d recommend A Forgery of Roses to readers who enjoy immersive, atmospheric mysteries with strong gothic vibes.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I LOVED THIS BOOK WOW. Three things drew me towards this book, 1.) it says "For fans of Kerri Maniscalco and Erin A. Craig," 2.) describing it as a gothic, fantasy, murder mystery, 3. deadly portrait magic. I'M SOLD. Luckily, I wasn't disappointed.

I really loved all the characters, even the twisted ones. I loved hating them; they were very intriguing. If I had to describe these characters in one word it would be layered. Everything in this book beautifully unfolded and expanded, revealing layers of characters, storyline, plot, motive, and romance.

Myra and the governor's son's relationship was perfection. I love that he is strong in his own way, not the way most men are written in books. He had struggles such as anxiety, fear, etc. which made their relationship so special because she brought him out of that. Everything in this book has history and purpose which again, I loved.

Lastly, I wanna talk about Jessica S. Olson's writing. It reminded me SO MUCH of Erin A. Craig in all the best ways. It was descriptive but not like you were drowning in words. I could picture and see everything so vividly, it was truly beautiful. I can't wait to read Sing Me Forgotten, her debut novel: a gender-bent Phantom of the Opera retelling.

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for giving me a digital arc!

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book (as far as I can find). I got an eGalley of this from NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: This book started off a bit slow for me and was primarily a "who-dun-it" type of story. I was actually considering DNFing this at about 50% of the way through because I was just getting really bored with it. However, at about that point things started to get really interesting and really pick up in pace.

The story is about Myra, who can paint things into reality and has to hide her talent because of local prosecution against magic. However, when she is contacted by the governor’s wife to raise his son from the dead, she just can’t say no. Myra’s sister is very sick and desperately needs medication and help. As a result, Myra finds herself drawn deeply into the dark secrets surrounding the governor's family.

I would give the first half of this book 3 stars and the last half 5 stars, so you have a 4 star rating overall.

Olson continues to do an amazing job with world-building and unique magic systems. I love the painting magic here; it seems to pull some influence from "The Picture of Dorian Gray".

The plot has some fun twists towards the end and I loved how Myra starts to grow into her magic later in the book. Early on in the book she is a bit whiny about her magic and it was nice to see her take ownership of it in the second half.

This does end a bit open-ended and feels somewhat incomplete. It makes me wonder if there will be a sequel to this book but I couldn’t find any information about a sequel.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this. It starts a bit slow, but the intriguing magic and the increased action and pace of the second half of the book won me over. I would recommend it if you enjoy who-dun-it type mysteries with some intriguing magic woven throughout.

Love this gorgeous book. It's so unique and fresh, and the mystery kept me turning the pages. Olson's writing pulled me right in with her first book, and this one continued the tradition!

Myra is desperate to keep her sister alive at any cost, including exposing her biggest secret to a powerful family. She has a strong will and determination to force her magic to bend to her will and not overpower her.

So, when she is given the opportunity to do work that will provide her with the money to get her sister, Lucy, to a doctor, the risk is worth the reward. The painting that she needs to create, however, is of a dead Harris son and she needs to use her magic to try to bring him back from death. See, this magic is rare and she could be thrown in jail, or worse if Governor Harris learns the truth.

"I've spent my whole life striving for perfection, running myself into the ground searching for how to make things right, how to control every outcome, every moment."

I am eternally grateful to @jessicaolson123, @inkyardpress and @netgalley for the early copy of this book. It reminded me of Stalking Jack the Ripper, but with magic and such amazingly thought out sub-plots that enriched every moment on the pages. This is one of my most anticipated books of 2022, and I cannot wait to get a finished copy in my hands!! ❤️

This was a unique take on fantasy. I enjoyed it thoroughly. When I say I was SHOCKED at that plot twist, oh boy.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Myra can alter bodies through her paintings but she is faced with a challenge when she is tasked to bring the governor’s son back to life by using her magic. Problem is, the son’s death does not seem to be an accident and Myra is determined to figure out how he died.

This book is filled with magic and a murder mystery to be solved. The twists and turns had my mind going everywhere. I genuinely thought I predicted the plot twist but I certainly did not. The plot twist made my heart DROP and wrecked me but it was so good at the same time.

I was not a big fan of the love interest in all honesty. I was rooting for another character :/ I just feel like they didn’t have enough chemistry or tension and their little “moments” were a bit cliché and awkward. It also bothered me how the love interest failed to stand up for Myra multiple times and let her be mistreated. Which I do get was a result of his anxiety but it still made me wish he at least did something.

I loved the representation of having a male love interest who has anxiety which I rarely ever see. The man is usually always the confident or even cocky type and anxiety is usually only ever represented through the girls.

The first half of the book was honestly quite slow for me, and I was not feeling it too much because the story really only dealt with August and Myra, and I just needed more. But once Vincent was introduced and more drama started happening, however, that’s when I could not stop reading.

. When I read the blurb I was intrigued by the premise of altering reality through art. Adding in the mix of political secrets and murder only furthered my interest. While reading it took me some time to truly be interested in what was going on. The beginning felt a little unnecessarily slow. The middle when Myra finally had been commissioned was where I finally got into the story. The love interest that was introduced seemed forced and too convenient. There we also a series of choices Myra made that don’t make sense to me. The story is by no means bad or terribly written, there were just a few things that didn’t work for me. For those reasons decided to rate it 3 stars.

This wasn't bad but it wasn't exactly what I wanted it to be. The plot tipped more towards romance than what I wanted, which was historical fiction with a dash of magical realism. There was just too much focus on Myra's romantic issues than the mystery. I liked the relationship between her and Lucy, though I wish it featured just a bit more (while Lucy was awake!) The mystery was incredibly obvious to me and it made the second half of the novel just drag on.

Thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so unique and absolutely satisfying. It has a beautiful, dark, gothic mystery feeling to the entire story that had me captured from the first chapter. I was quickly engaged and I never wanted to put this story down. The silbing relationship between our main character, Myra, and her sister was a beautiful, bright spot throughout the entire novel. It added the much needed light to the story, while keeping true to the overall plot by still having a bit of darkness and a lot of depth. Seeing Myra's love for her sister really gave her some beautiful character and made me love her that more.

Mystery has never been my go to genre, but I quickly found myself becoming a fan of the mystery and tried to solve it myself many times before the end of the book (I wasn't even upset when I was wrong). Add in the touch of a budding romance, this book had everything I wanted and more. I highly reccommend this book to anyone looking to get into mystery, as well as those who already love the genre.

<i> Thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press, I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A mystery that kept me guessing and wondering how, or if, things would ever work out for Myra and her sister, Lucy. However, the mystery was only one aspect of the book, and the big reveal had me questioning the rules of this world’s magic system.

What I liked was August’s and Lucy’s struggles being depicted, and that being a major focus instead of a minor one.

It seemed that the author left the book open to the possibility of a sequel, but if it is a standalone that’s what I would prefer. Some things being left to the readers’ imagination, and not worrying about the villain getting revenge.