I actually really enjoyed this book. There were a lot of ups and downs. There could be a lot more polish added to this book but the concept is there as well as the character build. It is there but not quiet. Overall an enjoyable read though!

I'm on the fence with how I feel about BLOOD ROSE REBELLION. On one hand, I enjoyed the overall storyline, but I was also incredibly bored at many points in the book which took away my overall enjoyment.

What I liked: I liked Anna—for the most part. I loved the world that the story takes place in. It felt well thought out and real. I liked learning about the Luminate society and watching Anna navigate her way through it.

What I disliked: The pace was incredibly sloooooow. Like put me to sleep, have to skip paragraphs slow. Although I liked Anna overall, she did a lot of dumb things that led to most of her problems. It got to the point that it was hard to feel sorry for her when what she did blew up in her face. None of the other characters really grabbed my attention. The romance was utterly bland. I would have rather it just been left out altogether.

SO, yeah. There were probably more disliked that likes, but I still read it all the way through, so that is something. I probably won't read book two, but I'm not mad at myself for reading BLOOD ROSE REBELLION.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book swept me away into a world of magic and history. I tried to not read too many reviews before I started this as I wanted to go into this book open minded. THE BOOK WAS AMAZING. Anna is a pariah amongest her people, she cannot do any spells, she actually repells them. Due to this she is sent to Hungary and the sparkings of a revolution. If you love historical fantasy this book is for you. It has every aspect you could think of and I am ready for the next books. This isn't a book that can be placed into a certain category or compared, it is one you need to read for yourself and you will love it!

So, as I read this book, I came to a realization: I'm just not that interested.

I wasn't that interested in our main character, though I did find myself wondering why she wanted to kiss every man she met.

I wasn't that interested in Hungary, though I had a minute of interest when they started talking about Elizabeth Bathory. Unfortunately, that was just an aside and the author didn't delve into that at all.

I wasn't that interested in our boys, who mainly seemed to excel in being handsome and brooding with no personalities to speak of.

I WAS interested in a rather spectral otherworldly character who was extremely twisted and engaging. I found myself wishing that character came earlier in the book and was more important to the story.

This was a one sitting read. I got through it and, despite my complaints above, it wasn't bad. It simply wasn't special. I won't continue in the series.

I had so much hype for this book. But ended up disappointed. It starts off really well but by the half way mark I was forcing my self to read it. I just felt bored. The idea and magic of this world is interesting but I just didn't truly care for the characters or even what was happening to them.

I had a hard time getting into the story and the historical aspect of it. It was well written but it just wasn't what I was looking for.

Anna Arden has always felt a bit left out from her family since she was born without the ability to use magic and the rest of her family are Luminate and very prominent in society. Anna however thought she had found her happiness with a young man but he would only see her in secret while ending up courting her sister.

Finding that her romance was not what she thought causes Anna to inadvertently break her sister’s debutante spell which in turn gets Anna sent away to her family’s once powerful but now crumbling native Hungary. In Hungary, Anna discovers that there is quite a lot of discontent with the society of Luminate that Anna had known all of her life.

Blood Rose Rebellion is one of those books that was rather a toss up from one moment to the next as to whether I was enjoying reading it or not. Those that follow my reviews probably have noticed that I have a very low tolerance for a slow pace and with this one it was rather slow throughout so I would find myself getting a tad bored waiting for more to happen.

However, with that being said I also enjoyed this one even though it was a slower pace due to it being a mix of historical and fantasy. I thought the author did a good job giving this one the historical setting while making a fantasy story woven into that setting. I would probably have loved the book had it had a faster pace getting the magical use or in Anna’s case her not being able to case spells but break them.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Blood Rose Rebellion is one of the more highly anticipated debuts for Spring 2017. In many respects, it holds characteristics that are common in YA fantasy, however, the setting and folklore make it stand out from the crowd. The story begins in London but several chapters in the setting changes to that of Hungary, which is a country that I’ve not seen pop up in any of the fantasy I’ve read. The folklore is similar to that found in stories like The Bear and the Nightingale, which was set in Russia- yet again something that hasn’t yet been overdone in fantasy literature.

Anna Arden is a member of a prominent Luminate family but lacks the magic that so defines every member of that social class. She can however destroy spells, which is no easy task and should be impossible for anyone that can’t seem to access the reservoir of magic employed by the Luminate. After a bit of a scandal, Anna is packed off to mainland Europe to accompany her aging grandmother back to her homeland of Hungary. In Hungary, she’s surprised to find a place of her own, though not necessarily a place her family would approve of. As in many YA books, there’s political dissent, a young heroine, and enough tragedy to make the story seem legitimate rather than another gilded fairy tale, and a difficult decision that will be pivotal for the entire social system.

Am I the only one that is getting a bit fed up with the constant repetition of themes across YA fantasy? I give Rosalyn Eves due credit for making her story somewhat unique among a herd of sameness, but changing the setting and giving the story an Eastern European influence can’t hide the fact that’s it’s really just more of the same. I did appreciate the fact that Anna didn’t suffer from the plague of insta-love and her romance was much more slow burning than I usually see. Anna and her acquaintances choices also had very real, serious repercussions that didn’t affect only themselves, but the entire society. People were killed, thrown into prison, and suffered other consequences for the choices made by themselves and others.

Blood Rose Rebellion certainly had its pros and cons, but was an enjoyable book and a strong debut. I suppose I’m feeling jaded with the YA genre and as a result may be over-critical about certain aspects, but all genres seem to go through fazes. Right now it’s the political dissent/unique culture faze, which is cool but everything begins to feel overused so quickly. I loved that this book had me googling pictures, terms, and historical events. I think it’s great that by reading fantasy I can also learn a little about a new topic! Overall, I would say that yes, Blood Rose Rebellion is definitely worth a read.

This was a very slow read, and I had a very hard time figuring out why. I think it might be because the action of the story where Anna gets exiled to Hungary happens before we know very much about the characters or the environment/setting, and the author was very slow in world building, so I nearly got through 3/4 of the book before I was emotionally invested in anything. Also it was hard to get a read on the emotional states of any of the secondary characters and really gauge what they were possibly thinking/feeling/motivated by, which made it harder to stay interested.

My favorite part of the book was the way the author wove history and folklore into her magical world, and a bunch of mystical creatures (that I hadn't read of before) that lent some much needed excitement to the story.

I received an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start this post by saying that FANTASY IS NOT A GENRE I TYPICALLY READ. I will admit I was initially drawn to this book because of how freaking beautiful the cover is. The more I saw people getting excited about it, I figured I would request it on Netgalley. To my surprise, I was approved! And boy am I glad I was now!

I’ve seen many mixed reviews for this book over the last couple of days. Readers are either LOVING this book or HATING it. I’ve even seen where a few readers have DNF’ed this book. I am proud to say I am not among these readers and I actually thoroughly enjoyed this book.

1 point of distaste for the book was the inaccuracy surrounding the historical facts of the book. I’m no historian nor do I claim to know too much about history dating to the 1800’s, but I did enjoy the historical references regardless of how accurate they were. So if you consider yourself a history buff, this may bother you. But if you’re like me and can’t place the inconsistencies, I hope you will give this book a try!

BRR was so outside of my “comfort reading zone”. I’m not a huge fan of magic. Although lately I have found myself venturing into the genre of fantasy. That being said, I didn’t feel like this book was TOO MUCH for a non-fantasy reader.

The beginning of the story was super slow and, to be honest, the only thing that kept me reading what the whole issue with Anna being Barren. The Circle and the magic itself wasn’t enough to retain my interest. Luckily Anna was interesting enough to keep me hanging on. I also had my suspicions about her issue. The story started to pick up once Anna went to Hungary wit her grandmama and from this point forward I was completely hooked on the book.

Another thing I really liked about this story was that there was no shortage of characters. Some I found aggravating and others I fell for super quickly. I absolutely HATED Anna’s mother and sister Catherine. Maria, Anna’s mother, was seriously horrible and should go on the record books for the worst mother in history! Catherine was host as bad with all of her nonsense. I also found Matyas extremely annoying with his cockiness, but I was completely wrong about him. He won me over in the end!

I LOVED Anna (of course), Gabor, Anna’s dad, Grandmama, and Noemi from the very first time they were introduced in the book. The horrible people in Anna’s life were definitely outweighed by the awesome people, which was a nice balance.

Anna was a fiesty little thing and I loved it! She also picked the worst times to conform to the views of society, which was a little frustrating. But she got over that quickly.

I had to put William Skala in his own category. I neither hated nor loved him. He was very persistent, but very funny at the same time. I really enjoyed reading about his and all the other revolutionary’s ideas. The whole idea behind the magic and The Binding was different and I really liked it.

The ending completely tore my heart out because of all the death and destruction. I was not mentally prepared for that. AT ALL. I also wasn’t sure there would be a sequel to the book until I read the Epilogue, so there’s more to come for this story!

BRR also threw in some thought provoking words. This quote really made me think when I read it: “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?”

Blood Rose Rebellion was unlike anything I have ever read before and I’m so glad I decided to request this book. I would recommend it to everyone, even those who don’t consider themselves to be fantasy readers because it was just that good!

"Here he was not Romani, I was not a lady.
He was Gabor, I was Anna."

I was in the mood to start a new fantasy series and when I saw the cover of Blood Rose Rebellion, I knew this was next on my list.

I couldn't wait to dive into a new world full of new characters and mythology but I'm sorry to say it but I felt disappointed. Most of my issues have to do with the main character, Anna Arden. Anna was not easy to like or to root for. It didn't help that she fell easily for any boy who paid her a little attention. Once she kissed one, she was falling for him. She also made some questionable choices. Some made her look selfish. Her sole purpose seemed to arise from the desire to be accepted in her society. In order to achieve it, she needed to wield magic. She didn't think too closely about the consequences of her actions. Although, I think she finally realized it by the end of the book.

I did like Gábor. He was a Romani (gypsy) living in Hungary. There was a lot of prosecution and prejudice against the Romani and this book does a good job of describing it. Gábor tried very hard to keep Anna from making a rush decision. He knew they needed a change but he didn't want Anna to get hurt in the process. I felt like he cared for her, I wish their romance didn't feel like insta-love to me.

The book had great potential. We have the Luminate who had great power. They had magic and they were in control of the rest. The Luminate were all from important families. Anna was part of one of those families. However, she was Barren, meaning she had no powers except being able to break spells. The Circle kept the "peace" in any way possible including force.

I would say the best two things about Blood Rose Rebellion are the folklore and the historical facts thread into the novel. It was great learning about the Slavic mythology and their folklore. So many interesting entities and I wish the author had delved a little bit more into them. In regards to the historical facts, I thought the author did a wonderful job mixing them with fiction. It shows that she did her research.

Cliffhanger: No

2/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In this book, an unusual setting adds life to what is in some ways a rather ordinary YA fantasy novel.

This historical fantasy hews to the conventions of the genre in that it features a young woman who doesn’t fit in with her society but turns out to have an extraordinary magical gift that gives her unique power. Anna is believed to have no magic at all, which sets her apart from the magic-bearing aristocracy to which her family belongs. However, it turns out that she actually is antithetical to magic, which means she can break spells cast by others, including the Binding spell that keeps ordinary people from wielding magic. Some people want Anna to break the spell and upend the social order, while others fear that she will do so—and Anna is caught in the middle.

What makes this novel more interesting is that most of the book is set in Hungary in 1847. The setting gives the author to opportunity to explore a country and culture (including Hungarian folklore) that is probably unfamiliar to most readers. The year, 1847, is also important, since it ties Anna’s actions in the novel to the political upheaval that in actuality wracked Hungary and much of Europe in the late 1840s.

While I liked the setting of the story, the novel was somewhat short on action until close to the end. Anna’s enemies are curiously passive in their attempts to keep her from using her power, which seems odd given the consequences to them if she does. Eventually their opposition becomes more aggressive, but the lack of a strong antagonist slows the pace of the first part of the book. Anna also dithers back and forth a bit too long in coming to a decision about whether she will or won’t actually attempt to break the Binding.

For all her dithering, though, the central question facing Anna is did interest me: even if the social order is unjust, is upending it a good thing if it results in potentially dangerous chaos? In Anna’s case, the danger doesn’t just come from human actions, but from magical creatures that might take advantage of the breaking of the Binding spell. She’s obviously going to choose rebellion, given the title of the novel, but how her choice plays out in the books to follow makes me want to keep reading the series. (The epilogue also has me curious about what happens next.)
I’d recommend this book for readers of historical fantasy who are looking for a story with an unusual setting and don’t mind a plot that unfolds slowly.

An eARC of this novel was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am always on the lookout for an engaging new fantasy series. Blood Rose Rebellion manages to blend historical fiction with fantasy elements by way of a magical system. There are aspects of romance, mystery, and especially action as well.
The system of magic is quite complex. I just loved learning all the intricate details that make it so interesting. The elite are Luminates while the lower class are Barren. There are different abilities one can have and the binding ritual that allows them to get their magic is fascinating. The setting of the world all this magic is set in is quite beautiful with the vivid descriptions. I appreciate the fact that the book is mainly set in Hungary. It’s not a country often used in YA novels, but I found that I learned several things about the history.
The cover is gorgeous. I do have some issues such as the use of racial slurs. This just isn’t forgivable, where the use of sexism was acceptable being that it only made the historical fiction aspect of the novel more realistic. History has a tendency of being unfair to women. There isn’t exactly any reason to sugarcoat that. It only gives us more motivation to seek changes and equality now.
Fans of The Dark Days Club may want to check this one out!

Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves kept me enchanted from beginning to end. Starting with the cover ... it begs to have you as the reader crack it open to see what lies beneath. I loved the concept of magic, historical fantasy and romance all wrapped up together.

Blood Rose Rebellion pretty much kicks off on page one. I liked that the first couple of chapters really went off with a bang, dragging the reader into this world of high society, magic, the segregation it created, etc.

However, after Anna (our main character) unintentionally ruins her sisters debut ball with what she does best--breaks spells--the book kind of stalled for several chapters.

I loved the dynamic relationships Ms. Eves built in this novel, it just took forever, and ever, and ever ... you get the point.

I'm not going to rehash what the book blurb gives you, but we know Anna is the main character who is supposedly Barren, and Gabor is her love interest which she meets in Hungary and is Romani. The other thing in the book that had me scratching my head a bit, was the way the Circle (elitist bad guys who want to horde all the magic in the world to themselves and rich folk) never really reacted to Anna in a way that I thought would make it clear to everyone else that she was a threat to them and everything they believed in.

You have this girl who obviously has been identified as a threat, a huge threat, to a society that has been kept in check for ages, and yet she slipped away from England with her grandmother with ease, then in Hungary after entering the Binding (which was a really cool dimension, but a big no-no), still the Circle shows up with a ring as the solution to keeping her in check? I don't know ... I just kind of felt like for the Circle to be so controlling and all powerful, they basically allowed Anna to break the Binding without any real conflict. And I also couldn't really wrap my head around why Gabor went on and on about Anna not breaking the Binding when it clearly would've been beneficial to him and his family, and yet never really outlining why he was so afraid for her to do this ....

All that aside, Blood Rose Rebellion was stunningly magical. I loved the history, folklore, magic, setting, sweeping landscape full of beautiful culture .... I'm excited to read the rest in this series!

I was honestly hesitant to read this. Sometimes when you're reading YA fantasy, once you read a couple, you feel as if you've read them all. So, going into Blood Rose Rebellion, I was intrigued, but also hoping it wouldn't be more of the same.

Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Anna Arden is barred from society by a defect of blood. Though her family is part of the Luminate, powerful users of magic, she is Barren, unable to perform the simplest spells. Anna would do anything to belong. But her fate takes another course when, after inadvertently breaking her sister’s debutante spell—an important chance for a highborn young woman to show her prowess with magic—Anna finds herself exiled to her family’s once powerful but now crumbling native Hungary.
Her life might well be over.
In Hungary, Anna discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Not the people around her, from her aloof cousin Noémi to the fierce and handsome Romani Gábor. Not the society she’s known all her life, for discontent with the Luminate is sweeping the land. And not her lack of magic. Isolated from the only world she cares about, Anna still can’t seem to stop herself from breaking spells.
As rebellion spreads across the region, Anna’s unique ability becomes the catalyst everyone is seeking. In the company of nobles, revolutionaries, and Romanies, Anna must choose: deny her unique power and cling to the life she’s always wanted, or embrace her ability and change that world forever.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The story was engaging and enjoyable. I spent more than one night reading until 1am in order to find out what happens next.

The magic is well organized and makes sense, the stakes are high, and the conflict feels realistic. I wasn't expecting historical fiction going in (I usually go 100% blind into my novels), but I loved it. I could have done without the magic info-dumps, but they were mainly at the beginning and the story continued with a faster pace.

There's use of the word "gypsy" when talking about the Romani, but it's out of ignorance and the characters correct it.

I loved Anna. She was feisty and stubborn and determined. There was some serious hurt in her and frustrations that were valid and dealt with. When resentment was an option, Anna consistently tried to do better.

The secondary cast of characters were great. I loved Gábor. He was mysterious and reserved, but he was hurt, too. Mátyás and Noémi were my favorites. They were unique, but strong and determined in their own ways. Anna's grandmother was strong in her convictions and strong in spirit, and I loved her relationship with Anna.

This book deals a lot with opposing sides and the positives and negatives in both. Neither side is going to be 100% right and sometimes our choices aren't going to feel peaceful, and that's okay. I loved how Eves played with that concept within all the characters.

Also. That epilogue...neivbeiuvbjdbiweubv irbv I need book two.

Great first in a series. Took me a little bit to sink into this story, but once I did, I was hooked. I liked the world building and the heroine is fierce. The plot was complex and kept me interested. Excited to see where this story goes. Highly recommend for fantasy lovers. And there's a sprinkle of romance thrown in. *Swoons.*

Blood Rose Rebellion is a beautifully spun fantasy that weaves in history and magic seamlessly.

2.5 “Cool Magical System” Stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Knopf Books for Young Readers!

This seems to be the week I got my hands on my most anticipated books of the first half of 2017. I just finished Caraval and have The Hate U Give and Frost Blood waiting on my Kindle. Like those books, Blood Rose Rebellion has been featured in more than one of my books-to-read-in-2017 lists. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it half as much as I thought I would.

To be completely honest, I didn’t expect to this ARC at all, but well… I did, and it only made the opportunity to read this even more thrilling. The premise and the setting were intriguing and I was ready to love this.

Blood Rose Rebellion just didn’t do it for me.

Let me start this by highlighting what made this story unique, and what makes me believe other people will have a completely different (and more positive) experience with this.

This is a story set in 19th century Europe (the beginning in England, but most of it in Hungary) and it has a cool mix of historical and fantasy. The main character, Anna, lives in a society with a super cool magical system that will sound a little familiar to fans of Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, but manages to be more unique.

The Luminate society controls all magic and only allows those from their bloodline to cast spells. They spread the lie that only the Luminate have the ability to cast spells, but that’s something they created with the help of a binding ritual that puts them in control of magic. Those who know about the lie and think everyone should be allowed to access it are obviously unhappy with the situation and looking to start a revolution.

The author does a good job mixing these magical elements with the history of that time, and we get a lot of references to important historical figures and events taking place around that time. For me, that made the world she created even more unique.

Another positive is that we get to see more than just England. Though the story starts there, Anna is soon sent away to Hungary with her grandmother, allowing us a glimpse at another culture. I say we need more fantasy set/inspired in different countries and cultures, so I’m giving this author extra points for trying. I say trying because I’m not sure she represented Hungary the best way she could. In fact, judging from this review from a Hungarian reader, it could’ve gone a lot better.

As far as writing goes, I thought this author showed a lot of potential. The writing was good, the language, although a little stiff, was easy to read and the descriptions were vivid enough to paint a beautiful picture of the setting.

I also appreciated how she took the time to explain the main elements involving the world she created, and especially the magical system, in the beginning. Some might find it a little info-dumpy, but I prefer that over scratching my head through tons of pages until I can finally figure out how things are supposed to work in that world. The author created a complicated system, so it was only fair for her to explain it when she did.

So, those were all positive elements I saw in the story. Things that I’m sure will make other readers have a better experience with this, especially if we’re talking about readers who enjoy world building above all.

That’s not my case, though. Even in fantasy, I always tend to gravitate towards characters and their journeys. Characters are what make and break stories for me, and the main character in this book didn’t hook me at all.

Anna made it really hard for me to connect with her from the beginning. She often came across as judgmental and spoiled, and it took her too long to grow. Her actions while she was still back home in England didn’t put her in a good light. What she did the night of her sister’s debut didn’t come across as accidental as it needed to in order to make her look anything other than jealous. She knew the risks and she ignored her sister and her mother’s pleas. She didn’t feel real remorse for the trouble she created, but instead chose to shift the blame. The fact that her mother and her sister were mean to her didn’t excuse her behavior, in my opinion.

Anna’s reaction to meeting people in Hungary for the first time wasn’t the nicest, either. She was nasty to her cousin when she arrived at the house, calling her “dusty, disheveled creature” (I mean, really? Really?), then she make assumptions about the Romani people she met before she even spoke to them. Not even her Romani love interest seemed good enough when she met him.

Speaking of which, the romance didn’t hold my attention, either. Throughout the book there were four (more?) love interests and none of them made me feel much. Sure if I had to pick I’d go with Gábor, but he wasn’t all that developed, either.

With no connection to the main character and the love interested, the story quickly lost its appeal. It also didn’t help that the plot moved so slow. I mean, really, really slow.

So, despite the interesting world and magical system created, the unique setting and the good mix of historical and fantasy, Blood Rose Rebellion couldn’t hold my interest. Had it given me a likable main character or a strong romance to root for, the reading experience could’ve gone a completely different way.

**Amazon review to be posted on release date: March 28th, 2017**

I rather enjoyed this book! It was pretty clean in content, which is really refreshing. I thought this particular spin on fantasy quite interesting, especially given that it was intertwined with elements of Hungarian history, an element I had never been exposed to before. I loved watching the main character be able to learn and grow to accept herself for who she is over the course of the novel. I am looking forward to reading the sequel when it's finally released!