A modern fantasy playing with a lot of fantasy and fairy tale tropes and mixing them together in a contemporary setting. The ideas and pieces are interesting, but I was fairly bored by the romance (it’s a me-not-you situation, since I’m a sort over alpha wolf males at this point) and the main character is a little too slow on the uptake a lot of times, constantly walking into obvious traps – but luckily she has hunky alpha wolf man to save her! But the quirky cast of characters were funny and entertaining as the story zigs and zags all over the place.

Wolves and Roses is a strong start to the Fairy Tales of the Magicorum series by Christina Bauer. I really liked the first book I read by this author so I knew I was in for a treat when I saw this one. I'm very impressed that the author is also the narrator for this audiobook. Bryar-Rose is such an interesting character and I loved how much growth she showed by the end. The magic system was unique and well defined. The world building was weaved into the story without any huge info dumps. The only thing I disliked was the slow pacing of the book. It did feel like it was dragging at a few different spots.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

It's a very good book. I was not expecting any of the turns and twists. It was very well written, and I enjoyed the storyline. Characters are entertaining and likable. I love the relationships between the characters, and I can't wait to see what happens with the characters in the next book.

Shifter, Fae, magicians and mystery all make this a great read.

Wolves and Roses is not only paranormal romance but also a fresh take on the fairytale story trope. With strong female characters and a ride or die type of friendship, the story is an appropriate read for all ages.

Christina Bauer weaves age old fairy tales with a fresh and modern twist. The book definitely makes me want to read the next book to continue this intriguing story.

I had high hopes for WOLVES AND ROSES, but it didn't live up to my expectations.

I actually really enjoyed the concept of WOLVES AND ROSES. For most of the book, things were great. The writing was smooth and the characters developed nicely. Unfortunately at some point things got a little ridiculous.

One of my biggest issues started when characters started going off on tirades or started going out of their way to make a snarky comment that really didn't fit the moment. During situations of conflict instead of doing the thing that would fix things right away—even as they mentioned they needed to do x or y—they just continued to talk about doing it instead of doing it. Very frustrating and definitely ruined the flow of the story. It made me want to put the book down and call it a day. Alas I forced myself to keep reading in hopes that it would only last a short time only to be disappointed that it persisted until the end.

I really really wanted to love WOLVES AND ROSES. Unfortunately I don't see myself continuing with this series.

What I loved about the audiobook is that it was read by the author. It was clear that she had a strong sense of the characters' voices and personalities, and I loved her enthusiasm in the narration. I also liked the idea that the characters have to follow existing life templates that follow the events of popular fairytales like Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella.
The concept of this book had a lot of promise. I think if I were younger, I might have enjoyed it more. Unfortunately, I DNF'ed around 40% of the way through. The writing style felt too juvenile for the subject matter, and I found a lot of the concepts to be confusing. Why do the magical beings have to follow fairytale templates? What happens if they just don't do that? Why are they following European fairytale templates when their book of magic is in Egyptian hieroglyphics? Like I said, the concept had promise, but felt muddled to me.
I also had a hard time connecting with the characters. I hated Knox's inner monologue where he argued with his inner wolf, and it felt creepy to have him lusting after Bryar Rose (wanting to be mates, have cubs, etc) when she admits that she's never even been kissed. I am a little curious about how things will resolve, but knowing that there are nine more books in the series makes me doubtful that anything will get properly wrapped up at the end of book 1.

A Fairy tale story about Wizards,witches,Faireies shapeshifters.
Everyone has a Fairy Tale story template.
Brania 's is the Sleeping Beauty with a curse.
Someone whats Briania for her pwer that she doen't know she has.
With the help of her BFF and a few new ones can she find out who she really is.
Good narration. Voluntarily reviewd.

Thank you so much for letting listen to this audiobook. I understand that this book isn't the newest of this series but it ist the first one in the series and I am very thankful that I could start at the beginning.

Book 1 in the Fairy Tales of the Magicorum series - but lucky for me it doesn't end on a cliffhanger! That being said, the plot line of this book has been very interestingly set up. There are 3 kinds of species in Magicoroum (Fairies, Witches and Shapeshifters) who live in the human world with a fairytale life template. Which for a fairytale lover like me is a bonus. However, I find for someone not that well-versed in fairytales might find it a bit difficult to grasp the direct references.

Talking about the tropes, the book has an instant attraction, female hero protagonists and BFFs forever. An engaging one-time read with okayish characters but enchanting world buildup.

Genre: #fantasy #ya
Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️

Thank you @netgalley @mymonsterhouse and @christina_cb_bauer for the Digital ARC.

Oh, where should I start? I don't know, I just don't know. I will say I can't rate in halves on Goodreads or Amazon, so I am rounding this up to a 3. I would give it a solid 2.5. I got about 14% through this story and wanted to stop. I just wasn't getting into it; nothing was making sense. I love a good fairy tale retelling a cool unique twist on worlds we are very familiar with. I still have no idea why the Magicorum must follow a fairy tale template. Who decides this? Did I just miss that whole explanation? Do only the females have to be a fairy tale because the males don't really fit in that template theory. Who governs this magical world? I can say they are doing a crap job because of the chaos that happens.
I didn't quit the story, I kept going and at about 1/3 of the way through I finally got into the grove of everything, we finally get to some good stuff. The plot thickens...however, it wasn't my favorite. I think that Bryar Rose is interesting there is a lot going on with this character, and you'd think with all that there would be some lore behind her. Maybe that's for another book after all, there are 8.
There are characters that I think will be interesting to learn about, mostly the side character friends of our two MC's. Elle and Alec. I think their stories could be fun. Bry and Knox though. They just don't click for me. The inner wolf conversation of Knox was just a nope for me. Didn't like it. The ending just seemed rushed, the big battle was kind of ok, but it was just really rushed. How Bry confronted her Aunties....also very anticlimactic. Overall, there were good aspects. I think the world of the Magicorum is interesting and unique. The journey of this story though just fell short.
Let's talk about the audio. I don't typically go really into narration; however, I'm making an exception. The author reads her own story, which is great. You have that perspective of how she hears her characters in her own head. Some of it is good, great voices. The rest just felt like you were being read to. When listening to a story most narrators help you get into the story and you feel the emotion of the characters, they each have their own voice and vibe, most of these were the same. Not a lot of emotion, not a lot of difference between our MC's. There were also issues with editing. There were repeated phrases, skips, sound variations it took you out of the story.
Overall, I think it's ok. It's an interesting take on fairy tales, there could be some good potential later in this series.

Christina Bauer is quickly becoming a favourite YA author for me.
I love being thrown in and immersed in the world and this is exactly what Bauer achieves.
Wolves and Roses is a fated lovers, magical adventure with all kinds of shifters and things I didn’t see coming.
Thanks for another really great adventure Christina Bauer and NetGalley.
It’s been fun!

If you like:
Shifters, Magic, Fae folk and mummy
Fairy Tail / Egyptian themes
YA Urban Fantasy
Fated Mates
Dual POV

This was fun! Was it perfect? No but it was still a lot of fun! With mummies, Shifters, Fae folk. Magic, and Fairy tails what is not to like. This book gives me Once Upon a Time and Ever After High vibes only set in New York. I'm also a sucker for Fated Mates so I was here for the romance. The villain in this fell a little flat for me, there was some great potential but when you finally got there is when you lost me a bit. The action was great. Great start to a series I look forward to reading more.