Overall rating: 3.75/4 🌟

I may not have read the Vampire Diaries books, but I watched the show. This book has been compared to Vampire Diaries and it didn't remind me of Vampire Diaries at all.

It was original and the story was addictive.
Fae hunter vs fae.
Our FMC Catori is a Native American descendant of a fantasy tribe Gottwa. Cat goes back to her town to attend her mothers funeral. She suspects her mother's death wasn't a heart attack.
Cat therefore begins to dig into her death. She finds the grave her mother had dug up before her death; it's empty and filled with rose petals.
Things progress from there.
The first part of the book was the real hooker. It gave a creepy, thrilling atmosphere. I honestly liked how this book didn't shy away from things like alcoholism and suicide.
Once you get to the middle the wow factor starts to wear off and you're left questioning something. Catori is stuck in the middle, unsure what side to choose. The hunters side? Or the Fae side?
I enjoyed this book immensely. There were aspects that I didn't like. One of those things is the insta love/love triangle. Or group?
Cat is giving in way too easy on all sides.
Cruz was a rumored murderer that Cat had just met, but they already had a "connection". Insta love at it's finest.
I cared more for Ace and Cat than Cat and Cruz.
I wish we had more of Ace and Lily in this book.
The magic was confusing and didn't seem set in stone.
Catori threw herself into situations, no thought in mind. I loved her fire and the way she questioned her surroundings; I feel like.i don't see that enough in books. But there are things that she goes through where she just acts passive and sad, whereas she should be raging mad.
I wish she grew a spine in the book to put it bluntly.
The writing was great. The story was interesting. I honestly look forward to see what happens next.

I will be continuing on with this series. I found this book entertaining and it kept my attention, I really liked the family history elements. The characters were each captivating in their own ways and I liked the way they each interacted with the MC.

DNF
I was interested in the idea of the book but unfortunately the execution was lacking, the relantionships felt underveloped and everything was very rushed.
I enjoyed the narration but the dialogues sounded strange.

You can find my other review here: https://www.goodreads.com/pandorana

Catori's mother dies from a stroke after digging up ancient Native American graves in the backyard. When Catori takes a look inside the coffin there is nothing in it but roses. While preparing for the burial attractive guys show up in town bringing to life a world of magic, feuds and secrets.

I did not enjoy this. The romance was beyond rushed, I was so put off by everything. I didn't like any of the characters. The main character is just so stupid and for someone 100 years old Cruz acts like a child. The relationship dynamics were weird and rushed and the other love interest was very forgettable.

It was difficult to get through, I kept wanting to drop it but wasn't to give it a chance since it's an ARC. I don't recommend this, it felt like a wordy fanfiction. I think the concept could have been cool, but it just didn't work out that way, I don't recommend it. I will not be continuing this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I tried to give this one an honest go even after the mixed reviews. But honestly I couldn't give it a fair shot. The audiobook quality was so poor it was distracting. Echo-y and quiet, its a shame.

Rose Petal Graves is the first in a trilogy (with some books that contnue with a different MC after the trilogy). RPG starts out with an amazing premise and I really felt for our MC, Catori. As the book went on the flaws started to appear and I do'n't think I'm going to continue with the series. The World Wildenstein created is amazing and the plot started out strong, but as the book continued on to the second half I could not figure out where the plot was going. The characters were also pretty boring and not fun to read about. I could not describe any of their personalities, hobbies or characteristics at all after reading this first book.

It doesn't help that there are potentially four love interests for the MC introduced in this book. I love romance in books, but 4 LI? Way too many and it feels forced to have them somehow be connected to the MC. The LIs aren't interesting at all and I found myself not caring about any potential love in this series. Wildenstein has amazing ideas so i will definitely be on the lookout for future series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audiobook version in exchange for an honest review.

OMG, this book is amazing! This is the start of a series as intricate as the Twilight Saga. The characters just come alive. It is written to grab you from the start and doesn't even let you go at the end ... because you just have to continue the story! I love the characters, and love that everyone has their good and bad traits. I love the Indian names and words, and the Faerie language. I listened to the audiobook version - She did a great job with the different voices and inflections. She also helped to bring this incredible world and the people to life! I recommend the book in any form - you'll be hooked!

The story starts with Catori coming home to attend the funeral of her mother. From the beginning she does not believe that it was a natural death. And she was right. At about the same time, unexpectedly, a package of a mystery book arrives and Catori begins to slowly discover the secrets of her ancestors. She starts putting together all the pieces of the puzzle and at the same time begins to enter the dark world of fae and fae hunters. Faced with many decisions, caught up in a web of lies, Catori must decide where she belongs.

This is how I planned to write my opinion: cvhu65$%^&*UJHBVCdertghbnmki87^%$#Wazxc!!!

It's been a long time since I heard such an absurd story. Good idea, but terrible execution. The reader is fed with information. Every time the main character had to learn something, search for certain information, she magically found a person who explained everything without any problems. Even if it was an "enemy" and in the next paragraph he said that he could not reveal informations to his enemy. Absurd!

Another thing that caught my eye was the toxicity of young male characters. The worst type of Bad Boy, and every single one of them! How? or maybe WHY?

To put it mildly, I didn't like this story. I am sad for that because the idea is great. This could be a brilliant book. Unfortunately, it failed. It is a strange feeling when you like the concept but the execution makes you tear the hair out of your head.

Catori comes home from university to attend the funeral of her mother, and she's about to discover for her world to be changed forever.

From beginning to end of this book, Catori is learning new secrets and truths about the town she grew up in. She is discovering that neighbours, and even her own family, are not as well known to her as she would have thought. And all this gets set in motion when a handsome fae enters her life, and Catori learns her ancestors are not as in the past as she believed.

I enjoyed this take on the human/fae world. I liked hearing about the little home town, and all the good and bad that comes with it. And of course all the entanglements that comes from growing up with the same people you have known all your life.

I found this to be an easy entertaining read, and I've already looked up other books in the series! I have questions about how Catori will deal with her new burdens and if peace can be found between the two worlds.

I'm so happy Net Galley granted me the audiobook so I could get started on this adventure.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to listen to this story. The synopsis and plot were intriguing, but the execution left a little to be desired. This story requires the suspension of disbelief a little. 

The story revolves around Native American folklore and the fae world, the hunters and the hunted. There's mystery and intrigue, but there are also moments of "What is happening?!" There's a love triangle that, to me, is unnecessary. Actually, there are several love interests, which I'm hoping gets whittled down a bit. The main character, Cat, is grieving the loss of her mother, so you understand why she's gruff in the beginning. However, as the book progresses, she doesn't really get any better because you find yourself questioning her choices. You get to learn about Cat's heritage along with her, which I enjoyed. 

Figuring out with Cat if she's on the right side or not was nice. I will say I was a bit confused about how the magic worked in this world, but perhaps I'll learn more about it in the next book. There isn't this vast info dump, which typically happens in the first book of a series, but I think a little more info would have helped me a little. Perhaps it will be explained more throughout the series. 

Overall, I enjoyed the story, and I'm interested to see where this goes.

Rose Petal Graves The Lost Clan Book 1 by Olivia Wildenstein

324 Pages
Publisher Olivia Wildenstein, Independent Book Publishers Association
Release Date: July 13, 2017

Audiobook Version
Narrated by Stephanie Fritz
Length: 9 hours and 3 minutes

Fiction, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Teens, Young Adult, Romance, Faeries

Catori is a medical student in Boston but when she gets a disturbing call that her other has died suddenly, she goes home. As a mortician’s daughter, she has grown up around death but now she questions everything about her mother’s death. When Cruz, the medical examiner arrives, her heart flips. When Cruz asks about the casket filled with fresh rose petals, she has no answers, only more questions. She begins a journey but isn’t sure she is going to like what she finds.

The book is fast paced, characters are somewhat developed, and is written in the first person point of view. This is the beginning of a series and I imagine the characters and storyline will intensify as the series progresses. The narrator is amazing. She really brings each character to life. I look forward to listening/reading the rest of the series. If you like stories about faeries, you will enjoy this book/audiobook.

This book was perfect for fantasy lovers.

A mix of Indigenous folk lore and fae lore. All the fantasy unknowns needed as well. The conniving nature of the Fae in this book is no Velarian tale so don’t go into it expecting a Fae warrior to sweep you anywhere but into a shallow grave.

I was happily surprised by this book. All books lately have seemed the same especially books that include the Fae. I don’t need another Cassian or Rhys they were perfect where they were and already written. This one was finally different! With the intermixed lores of the Fae and the folk lore of Native American ancestry this book grabbed me and pulled me in. I listened to it all in one day! I loved the main character. She was honest and strong willed without being overly obnoxious and overbearing.

The world building was great and I even enjoyed some of the secondary characters but the lore was a character in and of itself and I enjoyed that the most. I love the way the author spent time on the world so much that you can’t help but wish for Rowan to be a real place. I love even more how the narrator brought it all to life and had me walking through it all right along with our MC.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loved the Sookie Stackhouse series or southern fantasy stories like that one.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this audio listen!

This was my first read from Olivia Wildenstein and I was pleasantly surprised! I'm newer to paranormal/fantasy romances and had read some not favourable reviews on GoodReads, but I'm glad I decided to review for myself. Rose Petal Graves kept my attention throughout and I found myself excited to pick it up again.

The story starts with 19-year-old Catori returning home from school for her mother's funeral. As she helps to support her grieving father, and grieve herself, she discovers there may be more to her mother's passing than meets the eye. As she uncovers family secrets long since buried, Cat finds herself opening her mind to a new world of possibility where faeries and hunters exist.

Here's what I liked:
- Olivia Wildenstein's writing is great. Being that this is the first in the series, it definitely took some world and myth building. I really liked learning about the ancient legends.
- The narrator was fantastic and her voice didn't distract from the story
- Ace/Cat - this relationship gave me early Elena/Damon (Vampire Diaries) or Feyre/Rhysand (ACOTAR) vibes. I was definitely here for the enemy banter.
- Kajika - this man is a mystery and I am here for it. There's a vibe between him and Cat... I can see why she may have a crush ;)
-Cruz - still trying to figure this character out, I feel like he has a dark side we're not seeing.

Overall, I really liked this one and can't wait to listen to book 2 in the series.

*Note: this was read/consumed on audiobook. Thank you to NetGalley and Olivia Wildenstein for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful urban fantasy book. I have read a lot of stories about the Fay but never have I read about Fay hunters. This book includes elements of loss, grief, mythical creatures with powers and a fascinating love story. I couldn’t stop listening to it.

I received the audiobook on NetGalley for an honest review.

I wanted to love it. The performance itself was alright. The story was a little convoluted.

I feel like there was just too much going on and too much detail to pay attention. I didn't like the MC. I found it odd that when a particular someone she was extremely close to (not her mom) died, she didn't have as big of a reaction as I expected. I get that people grieve in different ways, but it just didn't feel genuine to me. I really struggled with this one.

A quite unique start to a series that combines Native American heritage with faerie magic. Rose Petal Graves tells the story of how Catori finds out about her magical culture and is torn between choosing to be with the fae, fae hunters, or staying human and ignore them all. She’s a descendent of the Gottwa tribe and lives on a plot of land that’s used as a cemetery (with a morgue in her basement!). Everything starts unraveling when she loses her mother and leaves college to come back to the small town called Rowan.

The setting provides creepy vibes, especially with all the rose petals found in the coffins. This lends well to aid in the ancestor’s backstories. Not gonna lie, I was expecting Cat to be a little older when she said she was a med student, but then find out that she’s only 19. Maybe it’d be more relatable if it was worded a bit differently. She can know that she wants to study modern medicine but attending as a new college student. Her age and grief partly explain why she’s passive with everyone else; which I really hope that we get to see more of Cat’s growth in future books. There seems to be more than a love triangle – there’s three male leads and one of them is already engaged to another.

The story reads more like a novella than a novel to me. However, I didn’t mind and preferred the casualness since we’re set in modern day. The open-ended conflicts and characters were what made this book interesting. I also liked that the narrative felt as if it was setting us up for what’s to come. I'm invested in the side characters and want to know more about them. Most of all, my heart broke for Blake; I think I’m still in that tree house crying my heart out. I know I’m late to this series, but I’m so glad it came across my radar and can’t wait to find out what happens next.

I received an audiobook copy from NetGalley to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own, and since I listened to the book, I may have misspelled some names.

DNF this book.

It started off alright– an off comment here are there, but I was willing to give it a shot.

Then all of a sudden hearing more and more about Indigenous grounds and curses. Big red flag right there.

Why is it that non-Indigenous authors only ever include Indigenous stories for "dark curses" and other tired tropes?

I truly hope the author hires a sensitivity reader or two with her next book in the series.

Title: Rose Petal Graves
Author: Olivia Wildenstein
Format: Audio
Narrator: Stephanie Fritz
Genre: YA/NA, Faerie Romance (with a hint of a love triangle), suspense
Standalone: Not really
Part of a Series: The Lost Clan book 1
POV: Catori (aka Cat)
Steam Level: Some kissing
4/5

Rose Petal Graves is the first book in The Lost Clan and the first book I've read by Olivia Wildenstein. I picked up this book because it sounded different and interesting and it was. When Cat comes home after her mother suddenly dies her whole world shifts. Cat's journey of discovering who she is and who her ancestors were opens so many new door. Rose Petal Graves is dark and melancholy but also full of resilience. I loved the mystery/suspense of it, the discovering and questioning of said discoveries, and the touches of romance. While not really a cliffhanger ending Rose Petal Graves is definitely not the end. In fact it feels like the story is just beginning.

I received this audiobook for free from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This was a good first book in a series. I really enjoyed the characters and the romances. But also learning about the history of the fae and the hunters. The audiobook was good too, I could decipher the characters talking because the narrator changed her voice ever so slightly. I’m not sure I would have been fully gripped by this book if it wasn’t for the audio version

This was a joy to listen to. Stayed awake all night to listen to it - I just couldn't put it down. Perfectly concocted spell of a book. I have never loved Fae more.