First, I have to commend Rosalyn Eves for her world building. Not only is there a historic setting, but a fantasy layer built on top of it which fabricates a beautiful and frightening world. There are some moments where it’s a lot of information to intake, but during those moments you appreciate how much went into this world. As a debut novel, the skill involved in formulating this level of world building is applause worthy! Also did I mention it takes place in Hungary? The landscapes are just as impressive as the detailing of gowns and china that form a grounding spell of their own.

Characters are always that cringe-worthy moment for me. I’m so touchy when it come to whether I will enjoy a read or not, and the characters define that for me. I didn’t love Anna at first, but she grew on me in ways I didn’t think she would. Watching her grow as a character is what drew me in and makes me say she’s a strong female character in a way that isn’t cliché or trope-ish. The journey Anna goes on personally is something I appreciate. Though at moments she could use a little more development in certain areas, I was overwhelmed that by the end she wasn’t your typical YA heroine. She is flawed, and she embraces those flaws— that is what I enjoyed most about seeing her play out on the page. In addition to the Radcliffe and Bronte references that influence Anna during a time of distress to follow their heroine’s action, I can’t express the subtlety of character that makes her a memorable character.

There are plenty of men in Blood Rose Rebellion, but William Skala stole my heart. And maybe it’s because he’s a redheaded Scot, but his passion and fervor that he pursues his conviction is what make him such a wonderful and full-bodied character.

What really makes Blood Rose Rebellion a must read for me is one of the resonating themes, and it revolves around monsters.
“But who can say, when you give a creature freedom, what he or she will choose? What will your world look like when you give all individuals the same rights? Can you say with certainty each person will use that power for good?”

What makes us monsters? Physically. Emotionally. In theory. There are very real monsters in Blood Rose Rebellion, but there are also the kind that hide in plain sight. We all contain monsters inside of us, it’s a matter of who we are that defines what we chose to do with that nature. This resonated with me because I’ve seen firsthand beautiful creatures turn into monsters like a light switch being flipped. I’ve had people I trusted do the same thing. Which monster do you want in the world? The ones you can see, or the ones you know exist but have no power over. The way Anna struggles with this notion is beautiful in its flawed and messy emotional state. That’s why Anna as a main character is relatable, she doesn’t just do it for cause or country, but she weighs each outcome throughout the novel in a way that is both personal and large scale.

I think as a craft, and a debut novel, Rosalyn Eves does a fantastic job setting a world in motion and giving us characters to grow with. A job well done and deserving of recognition.

Xoxo, Camille

I always hate DNF-ing a book and while I forced myself to finish this one, it was exactly that: forced. I made it about 30% of the way through before losing all energy and interest in continuing. After much consideration, I convinced myself to give it a second try and just read it. People raved about it, there must be something decent about it, right?

If I'm going to read a book, I need to feel some sort of hook within the first few chapters. Frankly, my biggest issue with Blood Rose Rebellion is that it bored me. You can throw all the world-building at me and it won't make a difference if the writing isn't engaging me as the reader. There's a lot of history at work here and maybe if I was more well-versed in Hungary and past politics and all that (though the book is obviously fictionalized), I might have enjoyed that element more. But I wasn't looking for a historical young adult novel. I was looking for a fantasy with historical tie-ins and I think this ended up being more of the opposite.

The world bogged down the story and I wasn't particularly fond of Anna. She struck me as a special little snowflake who had a long way to go before maturing and it was taking far too long for me to like her. The rest of the cast didn't strike me as anything special either. There aren't any standouts, any memorable aspects. I finished reading this book and my brain decided it had better things to think about.

There was so much going on in Blood Rose Rebellion that I feel like none of these issues should even exist. The magical element alone offered a realm of possibilities but was never clearly explained (at least, enough for me) nor took enough of a role for me.

Plus, this book is slow. Oh my goodness I sat at 30% for ages. I almost didn't come back to it but, again, I though that just MAYBE something would redeem it. Instead, the plot moved at a sluggish pace making reading far more difficult that it should have been and, combined with a dislike of the protagonist, I just didn't want to continue. I shouldn't have. I should have DNfed it earlier on.

I'm mentally cursing myself for bothering because Blood Rose Rebellion hit all the YA fantasy cliches and is now lost to the void of books I will never remember. I think this book excelled at the historical elements but the addition of the fantastical ones and using a character with a flat voice and no intriguing elements to her personality left this book better left with history itself. I doubt I'll attempt any future books in this series but may pick up other titles by the author down the road.

With fantastic world building, complex characters and a storyline that keeps you mesmerized, this book is an epic win!

A very fresh world in the fantasy and magic genre. I really enjoyed the growth of the main character and look forward to the next installment. I have many students who will appreciate the historical aspects combined with the magical elements.

I received this ARC from Random House Children’s. Sadly I have to say I didn't finish this book. I couldn't connect to any of the characters or anything in the story. I am not one to give up easily. The Hungarian setting added a really interesting element to the story. But I couldn't understand how to pronounce ANY of the names with was a terrible let down!

Leading up to reading this book, I was really excited. I had heard good things from other reviewers. I loved the synopsis, and the cover drew me in. Unfortunately, this book was just okay for me. I had a couple of major issues that really stood out to me. I liked the idea of the book, but the execution was lacking. The writing was dull and didn't grab me. It was a chore to read this book. It took me so long to finish it because I kept putting it down. Then there was a point where distant cousins are kissing, and that really turned me off. Even if it happened in history, it still wasn't appealing for me to read. In the end, this book was not for me.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley an honest review.

While I hate giving bad reviews because it is someone else's hard work that they personally invested in, I have to be honest. I really didn't care for this book.

The character's were boring or I didn't connect with them. I found Anna very tedious and annoying. The world building was not explained properly and instead of making things clearer, it just made things more confusing. Also, most of the romance was unnecessary or just silly.

I'm sure this will work for some but I can't recommend it.

I started out not very impressed by this book and really not liking Anna. It is pretty bad when you don't like the main character. As the story progressed, Anna grew on me and I found myself enjoying the story more. I think part of the problem was that the blurb compares it to a series that I love, so it gave me (possibly unattainably) high hopes. It ended up being a good story with some great characters.

Started off a bit slow, but Eves' writing is spectacular and she writes an intricate and engaging story!

Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves is full of action, magic, suspense and of course, love. The characters that are quirky, engaging and well developed along with a historical yet magical setting. Blood Rose Rebellion is a rich, imaginative, creative and amazing debut novel!

4.5 Stars

Visit https://renee1-blog.blogspot.com/2017/04/blood-rose-rebellion-by-rosalyn-eves.html to read my full review.

I received this book for free. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are my own. Thank you to Knopf Books for Young Readers, MS. Eves and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was smart and amazing and beautiful and richly imagined. I was hooked from the first moment, and had to know what was happening next every second of the way through.

This title is a mixed bag for me... I loved the endearing qualities of some of the secondary characters, but I found it really hard to feel anything for others or to even remotely connect with them. My biggest criticism of this book is more limited to the way the story seems to drag in places. It lacked that special quality that makes me want to drown in the pages of a story I really love. That said, it provides a starting place, and I'd be willing to visit the story again to see what happens to the characters I did come to love.

I've made it about 60% of the way through the book, trying to finish by the publication date, and I might just have to call it quits. There's so much to love about this premise--and often Eves writing (at the sentence level) was completely lovely. But every time I go to read this book, I find something else to do. The tension often flatlines, leaving the story bland, and I find Anna mildly insufferable in some parts. I know she's a teenaged girl, but her decisions are so . . . dumb (for lack of a better word) that it's hard to get behind her. There were interesting things, but in the end, I was just bored, and didn't fully finish the book. (Left off a rating on Goodreads for that reason.)

This book is pitched for fans of the Red Queen, and while I like RQ, I’m not over the moon about it as I am about other series. I think I feel the same about Blood Rose Rebellion, though I lean more toward this book as it has a lot of things I love about a book: magic, Victorian England, and a slight forbidden romance trope. I also love learning about cultures that aren’t my own, so while the beginning of this book took place in England, a majority of the book was in Hungary with the main character’s mother’s side of the family. This is one of the few YA books I’ve read that features an eastern European country, and probably one of the even fewer that have Romani characters.

After ruining her sister, Catherine’s, debut, Anne Arden is sent to Hungary with her grandmother, away from the mysterious Circle, a group of nobles in charge of the Luminate, those with magic. Anne is Barren, unable to perform the simplest spells, but she has the strange ability to “break” them. In Hungary, she’s unsure, especially about meeting her cousins for the first time, and while things start out rocky, Anne eventually finds her niche. She meets a Romani named Gábor with magical abilities of his own, and gets thrown into the buds of a revolution: Hungary seeks independence from the ruling Austrian Hapsburgs, and radicals seek to break the Binding spell which restricts who can or cannot have magic.

I definitely enjoyed the alternate historical twist. I don’t know much about Hungary or how they gained independence, but I read the author’s note in the back of the book, and it’s obvious Eves did her research when it came to this aspect. I loved how she wove together the working magic and facts about Hungary’s independence. Anne was a bystander to the Hungarian cause, and while she’s initially unsure on whose side she ought to be on, her indecisiveness also comes into play when she’s approached and asked to take measures that could turn her world upside down. Some of my favorite parts were Anne’s encounters with the mystical and magical beings from the otherside (otherworld?). I also found Anne’s true nature interesting, and it definitely kept me reading as the book progressed.

However, I did find her romance with Gábor almost…forced. Or maybe that’s just me being slightly unconvinced of their feelings. Sure, I can understand the author’s purpose of throwing these two together as Gábor is Romani and this tumultuous time affects more than just Hungary. The Romanis are an oppressed people group during this time period, and Anne becomes involved with them, first in an event that also involved her cousin Matyas, then with Noemi, and also with Gábor. I can certainly understand both Anne and Gábor’s need to fit in somewhere, Anne with her own people and Gábor within society, not as a Romani but as an articulate and generally smart person–he wanted to break down the walls with which other people put up against his own kind. (I, in no way, can say the Romani representation in this book is accurate as I myself an not Romani, nor do I know anyone who is.)

While there were times the world-building was confusing, overall, I liked the characters. When we discovered who (what?) Anne actually was, I was even more enticed. I will definitely keep an eye out for the next book in this series.

I was very excited going into this book, because a) It was pitched as a book perfect for fans of Red Queen (which I ADORE) but b) mostly because the author, Rosalyn Eves is SUCH a great person to talk to (which I have) and I’ve loved following her story with her book on social media and well, I really wanted this to be my next favourite fantasy.

Unfortunately, Blood Rose Rebellion with its intriguing storyline, amazing author and pretty cover isn’t one of my favourites and here’s why:

One of my MAIN problems with this book was our heroine, Anna Arden herself.

Through the course of the book, Anna wrestles with the decision of whether or not she should break the Binding spell – the one that holds all magic in a reservoir and allows only the Aristocrats to wield it. As described, the aristocracy’s (The Luminate) spell allows only them to access magic, and not common people whether they have an inclination or talent for magic.

As spells have a tendency to break around Anna, the rebels try and convince her to break the Binding, thus making all equal.

*spoilers*

HOWEVER THE BINDING IS ALSO SAID TO TRAP CREATURES TOO HORRIBLE FOR THE REAL WORLD, ONES GUARANTEED TO MAKE YOUR STOMACH CHURN, which Anna SEES for the first time properly, then allows herself to fall under an illusion, sees it in her Third trip to the binding spell and GOES BACK TO BREAK IT ANYWAY.

Which brings me to: I HAD A HUGE PROBLEM TRUSTING ANNA ARDEN.

She was a child, with all her sixteen years of age, her heart and mind FLUTTERED towards any man that showed her attention (including her COUSIN and a man who was clearly also courting her SISTER) and her BIGGEST desire in life was to be a part of society. Age is not usually an issue (almost all YA heroines are sixteen) for me but Anna was immature and frankly, INCAPABLE OF MAKING A WORLD ALTERING, MONSTER UNLEASHING DECISION BY HERSELF. She also refused to listen to others around her, ask for help, try and UNDERSTAND her power and merely flounced around talking about belonging in a world she intended to change.

I also kept flitting back to the Spiderman Quote, “With great power comes great responsibility” and while Anna had a great power, I DIDN’T FIND HER RESPONSIBLE AT ALL, and the power that she had – NOBODY UNDERSTOOD IT and so how could you possibly use something so volatile to alter a centuries old spell?

There were also a lot of thins I really like about this book:

1) THE SETTING (You could tell how well researched it was - I loved what felt like the authenticity of Hungary, the names and the places, even the villagers and the Romani (Gypsy) people felt so REAL

2) The secondary characters like Noemi, Gabor, William and Matyas.

3) THE MAGIC and the orders. I was CRAVING more and I hope it will be there in the next installment

In conclusion, though I WANTED to fall in love with this book, I didn't. There were a LOT of good elements, and a few bad ones, and I will definitely be reading the next installment!

In Blood Rose Rebellion, author Rosalyn Eves weaves a complex fantasy tale grounded in actual Hungarian history. The imagery is rich and the characters dynamic.

The majority of the book is set in Hungary and cultural and historical details of the time are integrated nicely. There is a very nice plot (it says rebellion right there in the title) but the inner discovery and turmoil within Anna is the real arc of the book. Her development is very well done as she progresses from a young girl ostracized for being Barren (without magic) and banished from society after ruining her sister Catherine's debutante spell to a young woman in control of her own destiny and decisions. I liked how empowered she becomes. In multiple scenes she is dismissed as "just a girl". In one she gives back as good as she gets and in another scene she realizes she doesn't need to even bother with a response and just acts.

While she had family, friends and allies with her throughout, this is her story through and through and she is the heroine.

Overall, Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves is a well-written first novel and I can't wait for the next book. I very much recommend.

(I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review.)

Blood Rose Rebellion was an interesting story with a fascinating historical fantasy world but I didn't quite love it. The characters didn't work for me and the pacing was a bit slow. I am interested to see where the series goes. I think it laid the groundwork for some interesting developments and there is more to explore but as it stands now, I didn't love it as I was expecting.

I received this book for free from Netgalley. This did not influence my review.

I finally had a chance to do a little reading, so I picked a YA fantasy: Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves. This entertaining, suspenseful novel is set in the mid-1800s in an alternative fantasy world of England and Hungary, where the ruling elites maintain their status and power not only through bloodlines and money, but through magic. Years ago, a spell was cast by a small cadre of the nobility to concentrate access to magic in the hands of a few. The “Binding” prevented outsiders who might have magical talent from ever learning how to use it. While the rationale behind the Binding made some sense (it also trapped dangerous magical monsters within the spell so that they couldn’t harm humans), in practice it led to grave abuse of power.

Lady Anna Arden is a young woman from a well-placed magical family destined for high English society. However, at her confirmation she was unable to perform a spell and was declared Barren. Since then, she has been kept from the public eye. However, at her sister’s debut in society, Anna inadvertently breaks her sister’s spell, causing considerable damage and raising alarms throughout “The Circle,” the ruling body. Her talent is unique and potentially dangerous. It’s a type of anti-magic that threatens their entire way of life if she can’t be controlled.

Anna’s parents and grandmother whisk her off to Hungary, her grandmother’s home country, in the hopes that the scandal will die down and The Circle will lose interest in her. Instead, Anna becomes embroiled in a plot to break the Binding spell and free access to magic to the masses. This does not go over well with those in control.

This is a well-done fantasy with intricate world building and a quasi-historical setting that Eves brings to life with a bold sympathetic heroine, a strong love interest, and new friends who are fully rounded characters. Newly released, this is billed as Blood Rose Rebellion #1, so I look forward to the next installment!

Fun book and worth the read. Cant wait for the second!