Oh my goodness I can't believe I got sucked in by the cover. Like would you just look at that gorgeous cover?? Blood Rose Rebellions was not profoundly bad but it also was not as good as I wanted it to be because I kept expecting something exceptional to happen. The blurb raised my hopes up (maybe too high) with talks of Hungarian history, spell breaking, and a fat lot of rebellions. Of course it misled me. To be honest, the title was not even remotely mentioned within the book and I have NO IDEA what the analogy of the blood rose has to do with the whole story. That should have been a red flag for me from the start.

Indeed, the book title irritated me but as the trooper that I am, that did not lower my rating. So why only 2.5 stars? The plot and characters. I can't say that I connected with Anna and although it is a first-person narration, the feelings are rather shallow. It's not that I can't stand her, but instead, I was apathetic. Moreover, the writing is not the best especially since there are barely any action scenes. Which would not mattered if things happened. It took me much longer than expected to complete this book although I finished it in one sitting (I had a snow day today by the way). The plot has a whole lot of nothing happening; the entire length of this book could've been shortened so much. I felt that many scenes were useless and there were some supposedly "iconic" scenes that could've been better executed if crafted with more care. There were a few moments where Anna has creepy encounters but they're all written with lackluster. I did not feel invested in the story until 80% into the book and by that time, everything else that came before made it anticlimactic.

The historical element of the story is its strongest suit and I really enjoyed learning about Hungary. I confess that I am quite ignorant of European history so I was really excited to learn more about Budapest during 1848. One of my favorite movies is The Grand Budapest Hotel so a couple stills from the movie cropped up while I was reading. Sad to say, I would still prefer watching the movie over reading Blood Rose Rebellion. I do have to say though, the book had more depth and fantasy than I initially assumed; the rich blend of Hungarian folklore could've been explained more to the readers. Instead of throwing out these random names of Hungarian legends, I would like more background about them. There was a twist that I did not see coming near the climax but the ending seemed to slump afterwards. I am almost certain there is no sequel since there was such a finality to the end but I did not feel resolved to it. Overall, the book was underwhelming, and the only character I liked was Mátyás and which was only due to a deed he committed. By all means, readers interested in historical fantasy genre should add this to their starter pack, but those looking for intricate plotting and complex writing may be disappointed. I'm going to shelve this under "could have been better" because I really do enjoy the premise but the execution fell flat.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really interesting book as I was fascinated by the enchanting folklore of the Hungarian culture including the aspect of the Romani and the captivating history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as it struggled on the brink of World War 1. Accompanying the beautiful culture and majesty of this country you are treated to magic, romance, thrills and more; everything a person could want in a book. Historical Fiction and magic were thrown into a blender then produced this book to examine genuine events shrouded with a bend of illusion on the side. Being a lifelong fan of Les Misérables I couldn’t help but feel like there was some breath of similarity to the political aspects of that story.

Rosalyn Eves proves she knows how to set a dazzling scene, actually write dialogue that sounds like real people are speaking and create multifaceted characters that could exist in the actual world. The only problem I had was trying to keep the names straight but that was due more to my unfamiliarity with the Hungarian culture. Eves proved her research ability with the included realism of people, places and events in Hungary and across other areas of Europe. Thankfully the character guide and glossary she includes at the end of the book helped with a lot of the confusion.

It wasn’t a perfect book as the exposition seemed to drag on unnecessarily and the romance felt forced. There are a few plot holes and times the author has her characters contradict themselves. There’s quite a few historical ‘facts’ that are inaccurate but since this is a novel and not a textbook those can be overlooked to some extent although it might irritate Hungarians or anyone familiar with their history. Every prerequisite of a YA novel is here so it will undoubtedly be popular among YA readers and bloggers alike regardless of any imperfections.

I loved this fantasy story and all of the character's. I am really looking forward to Book II.

Thank you to Net Galley, Rosalyn Eves and Knopf Books for my digital copy for a fair and honest review

wow this book had it all . I could see the class divides and the lumere taking control of the power. I enjoyed the setting and the family. I enjoyed the twists at the end. I enjoyed Gabor, Naomi and even the setting of the story. Amazing !! I can't wait for book 2.

Well, I thought I would have enjoyed this way more than I did. I think it was just...boring. I'm not a reader who needs action every other page, but when I don't feel the story is being moved along, then I find my mind going else where. The parts I did like, will definitely keep me reading more books in the series, I just hope that it picks up more.

This book had a killer opening line: 'I never intended to ruin my sister's debut.'
I liked the worldbuilding of the world of Luminate and Anna's journey into accepting herself for who she is. The 19th century setting of Blood Rose Rebellion was very well executed, although at some parts, I found myself drifting as it was a little dull. I am looking forward to the sequel and can't wait to see how Anna's journey continues!

First of all, I can't believe I only started this book two days ago. It feels as though I've been reading it for months. I had (stupidly) high expectations based on the synopsis and comparison stories. And really, it had potential to be great. It just fell short.

The beginning grabbed me immediately. I'm a huge fan of these magical worlds with a hero/heroine who doesn't fit for whatever reasoning. So, the idea of Anna being Barren may not be unique, it's at the very least intriguing. Because isn't the why they were born/made this way half the fun of the story? This should have been the case here! Instead, it became a boring, repetitive tale of a girl who could break spells.

Look, there are historical facts in here. And that's great. I'm glad the author took time to research and add those elements. However, the story started to read more like a textbook and less like a fantasy novel. The lack of any writing style is clear. Not to mention it feels less like fantasy and more like a depiction of Hungary's political problems—and the treatment of its 'second class citizens.' Again, all things I have absolutely no problem being incorporated in...if only that's what had happened.

The magical elements were more confusing than intriguing. I feel for as often as it had been mentioned, I had no idea where it actually came from. The only thing I knew for sure was that the Binding held all the country's magic and should be broken to allow everyone access. And again, this is where the story was the most repetitive. Anna flip-flopped between breaking the spell or not. And the same arguments were always brought to light. There was never any new reason mentioned. So, when she finally was to go through with it, it was very anticlimactic. I mean, she'd been in there before. Oh, and those creatures that were to be unleashed if she broke it? I'm sure they were supposed to be scary and readers are supposed to worry how they'd affect the world, but no. There's just not enough information for us to get that feeling of possible destruction.

And the relationships... a mess. From Gabor to Noemi to Matyas to the grandmother...I felt nothing real. None were fleshed out. Suddenly, Anna is friends with this person after barely an interaction. And she's kissing this boy after only knowing him a page. It's absolutely mind boggling. So much of the character development must have been left out to make room for the historical accuracies. Pretty sure that happened with the plot, too.

Bottom line: this book is a lot of tell and no show. We are told how things are without seeing them come to fruition. And perhaps that works in the world of romance, but a story of this magnitude deserves better. I don't think I'll be continuing this series, unfortunately.

Enjoyable premise for a great cast with magic and nobility. The story was nice, but slow paced at times. It was difficult keeping my attention and wanting to finish the book. The characters and world building were enjoyable, yet this fell short for a favorite for me. Nice story though.

Declared magically barren by her own, Anna expects to live the rest of her life in the shadows. But when political unrest leads to rebellions and planned attacks, Anna learns that her skills with magic are something no one has seen for a long time.

I was really enjoying this until about the last third of the book when I felt like it changed direction a little and got really political. At first the glances into Hungary and England relations were interesting, but there were some points that seemed to overpower the story line. There are a lot of side characters in this one to try to keep track of, along with some side plot lines. I can see how this will have some fans, but I didn't feel it was as strong of a story as some of the other recent crowd favorites, such as Red Queen. Still a good story, just wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.

What I liked:

* Very cool setting! It starts in London and moves to Hungary. Plus we see a few other places along the way (Austria).

* It was really interesting how magic was intertwined with the class system. The rich get magic, the poor do not.

* I loved the main character, Anna. What I loved most about her was how she needed some time to decide for herself what was ‘right’. She had people pulling her in different directions, trying to use her for different reasons. She struggled with figuring out what SHE felt she should do. I loved watching her go through that.

* Revolution!! It was really easy to hate people in control, which was kind of fun.

What I didn’t like:

* I didn’t love the writing. It just didn’t excite me that much, or I didn’t click with it. It wasn’t bad, I think it just didn’t quite sync with me.

* On a similar note, I didn’t get super invested in any of the characters (other than the MC, who I quite liked). There’s a romance, but it was kind of bland. There were a few other side characters, but I just didn’t feel for them. There are even a few deaths, but I felt NOTHING. I just couldn’t get invested. I wasn’t made to care about them.

* There were a few bits towards the end where I was like, ehh this is a bit weird.

Blood Rose Rebellion is a pretty cool book to read if you’re looking for magic intertwined with historical fiction, European cultures, and rebellion against some major dickwads!