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!

Anna Arden is a Luminate living in England during the mid-19th century. However, unlike her family, she is barren and cannot wield magic. Because of the fiasco during her sister's debut, Anna is sent to Hungary to live with her grandmother's family.

Rosalyn Eves weaves Slavic mythology with historical fiction within this fantasy. Eves touches upon society of the many classes. The wealthy are able to control magic and dictate who gets to cast spells. The poor, however, live in horrible conditions and do not get a chance to wield magic even if they have the aptitude for it except the Romani. The Romani have their own branch of magic that they will use in order to help their people.

I find the world building thoroughly fleshed out within Blood Rose Rebellion but at times there is a lot of info dumping. Because I am reading an e-ARC, it is very hard for me to keep referring to the glossary for foreign terms that I do not understand. The novel also has Anna being infatuated with so many guys in such a short period of time. Instalove is prominent throughout the whole book. She literally kisses three guys within the first half of the book.

Rosalyn Eves starts off the novel strong but I found the middle of the book slightly slowed down in pace and it was hard to keep my attention. The character development is flat and I was hoping for more personality, especially from the main characters of the novel. I do applaud Eves transporting readers to Hungary since there are not that many novels set in Eastern Europe. The Slavic mythology, such as stories about the Rusalka, fascinate me since I love reading about folklore from around the world.

Blood Rose Rebellion is a historical fantasy novel that will intrigue readers who love magic and folklore. Blood Rose Rebellion will pique readers' interests especially those who enjoyed Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard and Ruined by Amy Tintera.

Review will be up on nicolesnovelreads.blogspot.com mid-March.

I had some major issues with this book. It was very readible. The writing was easy to digest and I liked the first person narration. And in the beginning I found Anna funny and sharp whited. I didn't struggle with being bored per say. My issues were with content. And as the book went out it just kept getting worse. So I'm just going to go through the different aspects of the book and tell you what was and wasn't working out for me.

World building was decent in that it was very descriptive and I could easily picture Hungary and the castle that Anna was staying in. A lot of the places and people mentioned are real monuments and the people actually lived in Hungary. That's pretty cool right?Well upon further reflection I realized that Eves had this habit of spelling a word one way on one page and a different way on the next. I'm obviously not from Hungary so I didn't know if it was just me. Upon further research I found this review --> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This reviewer is from Hungary and can better speak about representation and cultural references. Apparently the spelling WAS off and many of the cultural references were as well. I mean I understand that this is fantasy but if you are using real places then you should do your research about them.

Character development was lacking. Anna admits to feeling "wishy washy" yet self proclaims that she is usually not this way. I thought she was wishy washy the entire time. Anna is so desperate for magic and belonging that she just doesn't make decisions. Or if she does it's last minute and not well thought through. I understand the plot line of wanting to belong, but usually that guides the MC into doing something drastic. Not staying silent. Anna's cousin's had some inappropriate behaviors. Noemi wasn't aloof but rude. And she was mad about something that Anna a) apologized for and b) Had no way of knowing about. Matyas was painted as a flirt and almost a love interest from HER POINT OF VIEW! Girl! You're cousins! Even if that was acceptable back in the 1840's you JUST had your heart broken.

The plot was part of what drew me to this novel to begin with. I thought it would be a one girl revolution. But not only was Anna not making decisions, but the people driving her to help their cause would suddenly appear and then suddenly disappear. I think one of the side characters was supposed to be a force pushing her towards striking back at the Circle but it didn't read that way. It read like a side story for Anna us to watch Anna being desperate. No thank you. Plot twists came out of no where. And not like "Ohh that surprised me." More like "Why? What's the point of this? And how did you build to this?" I just wasn't very satisfied.

Another issue I had with this story is Anna's love life. After being sent to Hungary she is stalked by one male character who is trying to get her to join the revolution. She didn't tell him where she was going he "found her." Then she says no and continues her to journey to her uncle's castle. He follows her AGAIN and pushes the issue. When did stalking people across countries become ok? Then Anna is basically raped. She is kissed by two different characters without her permission. And both times she pushes the guy away and says "No!" They do not apologize. One says "Next time I kiss you, I promise you'll ask." Eww. And the other becomes her love interest. WHAT?!?! He slams his lips onto yours without you're permission and now you have feelings for him?!?! This character goes on to emotionally manipulate Anna a few times. "If you trust me, you'll tell me." No. Just No.

So why did I keep reading? Because I wanted to know why Anna was barren and why she was hearing voices.
I didn't really like this one at all. If you can't tell. Here are some reasons you might like it. If you can get past the unwanted kissing and just see the revolution you might like this book. If you know nothing about Hungary and don't care about historical or cultural inaccuracies then you might enjoy this book. If you think the driving question of the novel is "Why is Anna Barren" and you don't care about the rest then maybe you will find this novel interesting. 1.5 stars.

I rarely be harsh but I'm sorry to say I got 36% into this and had to quit it. I did NOT LIKE IT one bit, wasn't structured enough for me, so for example.......


5 Show more
Review So after MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUUUUUCH consideration and as painful for me as this was to do, I did my first DNF. I have done very few of those YEARS ago BUT in the last 7 years or so of REALLY loving and finding book genres I actually enjoy, I've always read/finished those even if they did end up once in awhile a rare 2-3 stars. But this one I seriously could NOT get into this each time I picked it up and felt like I was forcing myself to read this every time! I hated it if I'm being honest here and so fetching sad I couldn't get into this because I had REALLY HIGH HOPES for this book and did want to finish it just cause but I couldn't bring myself to. So I needed to do my first (HOPEFULLY ONLY) DNF ever.

I noticed some did love this and I'm glad and applaud you all who did and those who didn't and rated it 1-2 stars......haha! I feel you all and I can see why. SO....here's my pet peeves and the reason I did NOT like this book. I got 35-36% into this. So one thing you need to know about me, I TRY SO HARD not to be too harsh at times but this book has gotten me reeling. Yes it has EXTREMELY mixed reviews and I WAS going to be nice and give this 2 stars at the beginning, but I'm sorry, I have to be BRUTALLY honest here and say how I really feel with this book and I'm leaving this as 1 star which I give out RARELY! My limit has always been at least 2 but I'm sorry, I have to go with my reading gut and say it's a 1 star for this girl.........


IT WAS NOT STRUCTURED ENOUGH FOR ME AND NOT MY FAVORITE WRITING STYLE

okay, so this story sounded pretty good and found it interesting and so I added it to my tbr list right? so I was happy I got this through netgalley and knew I had 7 (now 6) of those ARC's on my kindle but I decided to choose this and boy am I glad. because as the story started, it was good up until a group of this magic counsel called "the Circle" showed up and it felt like Mortal Instruments all over again.....only this time it's not Valentine and rogue shadowhunters it's this magic counsel government type group (more like the Clave of the Shadowhunter world) and it was WAAAAAY too weird for me in a way and wasn't at all original with the name of the group. As the story went on, it felt like she didn't know WHERE to go with the story, tried to "copy cat" other YA stories and intertwine them into her own version and tried too hard, and it randomly had these things and misfortunes happen to Anna: like her mom and sister mean and horrible to her and the only two people to really love her in her family was her Grandmama (just say grandmother....) and her dad and brother. then there's the weird cousin (or 2nd cousin?) love interest in her and as soon as he kissed her it was weird and ruined it. the characters were also not structured enough and I couldn't get into them ESPECIALLY when she tried to describe how "attractive" the guys were. I was NOT fangirling at all and if I'm not fangirling, I'm not liking it and I was DEFINITELY not liking it at all and a HUGE disappointment. I felt she was trying too hard on so many levels and it just wasn't cutting it for me and again felt like random things were happening and lacking MAJOR THINGS!!! like BIG TIME LACKING!!


for example......



Grandmama: (starts telling Anna a story) "it was long ago and far away, over forty-nine kingdoms, beyond the Operentsia Sea, beyond the glass mountains, and beyond that to a kingdom beneath a pearl sky."
Anna: (in first person mode) "She described a beautiful reed maiden, the king who loved her, and the wicked girl who trapped the king in marriage...."

Um......okay? WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?? SERIOUSLY? I mean, if you're going to do a story like that, actually MAKE UP A STORY if you have to instead of be all "it was long ago and far away.....blah blah blah" and then actually describe a story that sounded in a weird good way interesting......make a lesson or meaning out of it and actually have a story ON HAND to tell. DEFINITELY not structured enough. A story like that or any type NEEDS structure and an ACTUAL story. I hate to be harsh but I just couldn't get into it and it also had too many weird phrases for me like......

"he smelled of sweat and sun and made me feel hot and cold together."

"he laid a kiss LIKE A PRAYER on my mouth."


Not my favorite, way too weird, and also when using big flowery vocabulary, make it simple in some places also such as this sentence........

""I ground my teeth in VEXATION, I should not have told him anything." (make it simple like "I ground my teeth in FRUSTRATION. Don't make easy simple words "complicated." I'm personally not a fan of that)


again make it simple and don't put in big words or words i'll most likely never see again so much in a book. It just wasn't cutting it for me and came out disappointed and I had such high hopes for this one.

So after thinking this over, maybe I should have passed on this book because it even says for fans of Red Queen and I didn't really like that book like I had wanted too. It just sounded so cool and that cover was stunning! I mean look at the cover! It's so beautiful! I just want to hug that cover and stare at it forever. If only what was inside was as good....

The book isn't bad by any means, it throws you right into the story, nothing is slow about this book and that is nice but to me, that also means the world building is lacking a little. A few of the characters feel flat to me.

I do love what the book represents, it's a great metaphor for the world today today I think. There's a group of people who hold all the power and money and the others have no say at all. So they start a rebellion and yeah. I like that our MC joins in and even helps when she can.

So I love the themes in the book and the road the characters do down but I just also found it boring... and I hate that I didn't like it as much as I did. I also love that the love interest is totally a PoC, which I love seeing more of in books! We need that.

So yeah... I guess I'm just sad that I didn't love it that way I did. That doesn't mean it's a bad book by any means, just not my taste. This book just put me into a month long reading slump.


Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1906447321

It will go live on my blog on 3/4/2017 - http://sweetcherry69.blogspot.com/

Unfortunately, this was a mess of about 4 different ideas that never seemed to fit together coherently. I was disappointed to find the Eastern European setting undermined by the fact that the protagonist is British (and, thus, the whole narrative is through a Victorian/Western lens).

There were flashes of things i really enjoyed, but ultimately the protagonist spent the entire book doing nothing. She watched things happen, her magic meant she didn't actually do anything, things just happened around her, even the final defining moment of the book isn't hers because another character had to--literally--force her hand.

The book felt like a westerner's attempt to write a vaguely Eastern European story, which, is exactly what it was. It just didn't work. If this book had had a protagonist who was truly invested in the Hungarian revolution for her own reasons maybe it would have been believeable, but it simply wasn't. Everything fell flat.

I have to say - this one totally surprised me and it surprised me in the best possible way. Admittedly, I walked into this thinking I was going to get another typical supernatural fantasy story with a society raised heroine who is overlooked because she's doesn't have powers, then things are revealed and blah, blah, blah . . . In some ways, I did get that story, however, it was also so much more than that. I have to give a hand to the author who really delved into the politics of this world. I LOVED THAT!!! It felt well researched and authentic and provided an interesting contrast (and balance) to the supernatural elements of the book. Bravo indeed for being to do that in a way that is interesting and compelling for teen readers. It will be interesting to see what direction Eves takes the subsequent books in the series - and I can definitely say that I am anxiously awaiting their release!

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this novel.

Well guys, not my favorite. I didn't get into Red Queen but I wanted to give this book a shot on its own because I feel each book deserves its own chance. However, this fell short of my expectations as well. I loved that it took place in Hungary, I liked the summary, but just couldn't get into the book itself.

I quite liked this. It was nice to read a historical novel (even if it was a fantasy historical novel) that takes place somewhere other than Paris. Not that I have anything against Paris, but there's so many other places in Europe, and I'm really glad the author set the book in Hungary. It was interesting reading about a few Hungarian folktales and having the language included.

Anna was a pretty capable main character. She wasn't completely oblivious or helpless, and when she said "I would not be one of those girls who remake herself and her beliefs for the attention of a man, even for Gábor. He would have to love me for myself - or not at all" I cheered. It's so nice to have strong female characters who don't rely on men to save them, and who also don't change themselves for the attention of them. It seems like that happens way too much in YA novels, so I'm always glad when I read a book with female characters I can get behind.

It was a little hard to remember some of the details because they went by so fast, while other parts weren't explained as well. The pacing could have been a little better, but it wasn't overly bad. And I know a lot of people were really turned off by the whole kissing cousins thing, but that was a pretty common occurrence in that part of history,

I am wondering where this series is going to go. Unlike most first books in a series, there wasn't much of a cliffhanger, though I do have predictions on the small epilogue.

This is an interesting historical fantasy with a nice blend of adventure, magic, adventure, romance and history. It's well written and keeps the reader anxious to find the ending.

I originally requested this book because it takes place in Hungary, and I really love that country. I'm so glad I did! This book was excellent; and I enjoyed reading the alternate universe of the 1847-48 revolution. The Binding and the use of magic in this world is intriguing. I eagerly look forward to the next book in the series!

Historical setting + magic= Y e s

I’ve never been one for magic in modern settings (never read or seen HP), but I adore it in historical settings because it just seems more magical that way to me. So I was pleasantly surprised with Blood Rose Rebellion and enjoyed the story much more than I thought I would. The first few chapters made me think Blood Rose Rebellion was going to be as generic as Red Queen because it sounded like every other book out there, but then quickly became more interesting when Anna left for Hungary.

I liked Anna, her cousins, and especially Gabor (what a babe). I’m not sure that I like Anna and Gabor as a couple yet. But I am happy a romance wasn’t overshadowing the plot (and no love triangle) or the main focus of Anna’s thoughts. She had a hard decision to make, on breaking the binding or not, and was sensible about it—at least I believe she was.

Though, on a side note, I kind of ship Anna and Hunger. I think they had more chemistry (in a weird way) than Anna and Gabor did in the entire book. If there are other books, I hope he returns.

“Blood Rose Rebellion” by Rosalyn Eves is a great young adult fantasy. The magic system is complex and yet easily understandable. The story is a fantasy historical retelling which is not terribly common which gave it an edge. The main character is a bit frustrating and naïve. Although, I found commonality with her emotional reactions and appreciated her ability to act instead of sit around and allow things to happen to her. This was interesting story and definitely worth reading for those who enjoy history and fantasy.

Although I love the concept of the story, the book's development and structure were not particularly breathtaking. The characters were cliche, a little too much so even in an average YA book.

Sixteen-year-old Anna Arden is shunned in her society. Why? Because although born into a family that is part of the Luminate, powerful magic users, she does not have any ability to use magic. But when she breaks her sister's spell, unintentionally, she is exiled to her family's once powerful home, Hungary.

Isolated from everything she has known, Anna, realizes that Hungary, although not in its former glory, is not what it seems and her "ability" to disable spells are valuable to those she least expect. Faced with a hard choice, Anna must decide if the world she has always known is better than a changed world.

*Short Review*

Jumping right into this, I didn't like this book. Anna was a selfish, snobby human being that expected people to do what she wanted although she regarded them like crap. She was a spoiled brat that lacked respect.

From the beginning, I couldn't get into the book. Nothing about it really interested me and Anna's personality didn't help either. I did however, liked the scenery in the book and the details of the environment. But the story although focuses on the rich (in money and magic) and the poor (in magic (supposedly) and money, it took some time for me to feel the intensity between the two classes. I understand that it has to build and there needs to be a huge point of tension but it didn't feel real and if this was a on going thing, it didn't begin until Anna was in Hungary.

I wanted to see the tension, see the divide before Anna's exile. Yes, it happens fairly soon in the book but Anna stays in a bubble even when things are falling in her face. I just didn't feel a connection with this book and not only did I try to read it once but I put it down and read it a second time.

Overall, this book wasn't for me but that is not to say that someone else may not enjoy it.

1 Pickle

Original take on magic upper classes versus non-magic lower classes, incorporated into mid 1800's Hungarian revolution era. I liked how the protagonist slowly comes to know of the Romani culture. Ana herself an outcast within her class because she can't wield magic, she can better relate to the hardships presented to the Romani. My favorite character was Hunger and the Lady. I hope they make a bigger appearance in future books.

Left review on Goodreads and will also leave on Amazon

I was afraid this would be another potato chip off the factory YA processing plant, but was gratefully surprised to find out otherwise. Major points: there is no insta-romance, no whining princess, and it's got good world building!

The world building was really good. The book is set during Hungary's revolutionary period during the Hapsburg dynasty (for all you history lovers. But if you're not a history fan, that's cool, cuz I'm not a major buff, but learned a lot and enjoyed it). While the story doesn't stick to strict history (I'm pretty sure the Hungarians didn't have magic, but I didn't pay attention in all my history classes), it does give it a unique setting with enough foreign terms and ideas that I feel like I'm in a great alien culture. Stick in magic, and you have a great formula for success.

The characters were well developed, as was the magic system. I liked how Anna had to deliberate between the greater evils before the book ended. It wasn't a simple answer, and it showed how neither choice was truly black or white. It was very mature, and something that's really lacking in most YA books where the characters do things on impulse, without thought to the consequences. (Incidentally, there are hardly ever any majorly bad consequences in those cases. Somehow, things always turn to the best outcome.)

All in all, this was a great read for the plot and world building, and I recommend it. I rate it at 4.2.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Y'all... I didn't like this book at all. It was honestly your typical book about magic to be honest. There was nothing spectacular about this book at all.

I somewhat enjoyed how the author wrote. It was decent enough to make you want to keep reading, but not anything awe inspiring. Even the storyline was mediocre. Honestly the only amazing thing about this book was the cover. Because you see that cover?? It's gorgeous.

I personally disliked the main character very much. She's in this world where if you aren't a "Luminate", you are looked down upon and considered lower class. So, of course the main character would be born into a magical family and not be considered special by any means. OH< but guess what. She is. She's the most dangerous "Luminate" of all. (Yeah. Talk about originality.) Anna (the main character) can block spells. Because thats supposed to be dangerous how? I don't even know to be honest. And after a while I just stopped caring for this main character. She was hateful and thought down on a lot of people. Then there was this problem with her sister. And yeah sure her sister is rude, just like she is, and they hate each other (the only parts that I enjoyed were the hate scenes.) It didn't even seem at times like they were sisters. Or that they were even a close family to be honest.

ALSO, the Harry Potter references were just ummm... off putting? Like really, you're going to have a character named Ginny... and then give her red hair? Really. And then throw her into a magical world. That wasn't very original. And then there was the main group of Magical Authority which was called the "Circle." But it really reminded me of the Ministry of Magic at times. A few of them were corrupt and just funky, and then they had sooo much power over all the "Luminates" that it got super annoying. ALSO, the Circle is exactly what Valentines group is called in the Mortal Instruments series. So that was just a no. Honestly, this whole book was a no.

The only thing that was different and somewhat interesting was the Hungarian folklore and mythology and stuff. But it still wasn't enough to redeem the story.

You can give it a shot if you want. I can't stop you. But if I could, I would. I recommend going and rereading Harry Potter... because um its Harry Potter, why wouldn't you want to??

Anyways, Solo is out.