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stephbookshine's review
4.0
*I received a free copy of this book with thanks to the author and to Isobel Blackthorn of Blackthorn Book Tours. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Don’t let the beautiful, delicate cover fool you – this is out-and-out horror!
It’s hardly worth bothering with trigger warnings, as you can pretty much assume “all of them” covers it. For a short sample, we have – rape and molestation, violence against animals, violence against women (sexual, physical, coercion, financial, emotional… you name it), torture… you get the idea!
The story begins with Rose waking up without her memories and immediately undergoing a painful and terrifying transformation. Luckily for her, the lovely Paris appears to soothe and console her, and restrain her and hurt her… because he loves her, you see. So isn’t it also super lucky that he has access to some very powerful, dark magic, to help him punish those who oppose him? Yeah, Rose is in trouble.
In fact, although there are some very grisly physical and magical acts that occur during the course of this story, it is the psychological horror that really chills your soul and haunts you long afterwards. I just can’t stop thinking about the story; about the depths that human beings can go to to inflict pain for their own pleasure, and the lengths they will go to justify their actions to themselves. The real monsters aren’t always the ones with green skin or tentacles.
Rose is a chilling fantasy horror story for this spooky season and will stay with you long after the bonfires are done.
Abruptly, the rose dies in my hand: the pink fleshy petals turn black and crinkly, while the stalk becomes brown and brittle. I drop the rose and stand, alarmed. On the workbench and on the ground, roses wilt and die before my very eyes. What the hell?
As the flowers die, my eyes light on something lying at the foot of the workbench that’s not a rose. I lean forward to take a closer look, only to jump back in horror.
– Rami Ungar, Rose
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2019/10/12/blog-tour-rose-rami-ungar/
Don’t let the beautiful, delicate cover fool you – this is out-and-out horror!
It’s hardly worth bothering with trigger warnings, as you can pretty much assume “all of them” covers it. For a short sample, we have – rape and molestation, violence against animals, violence against women (sexual, physical, coercion, financial, emotional… you name it), torture… you get the idea!
The story begins with Rose waking up without her memories and immediately undergoing a painful and terrifying transformation. Luckily for her, the lovely Paris appears to soothe and console her, and restrain her and hurt her… because he loves her, you see. So isn’t it also super lucky that he has access to some very powerful, dark magic, to help him punish those who oppose him? Yeah, Rose is in trouble.
In fact, although there are some very grisly physical and magical acts that occur during the course of this story, it is the psychological horror that really chills your soul and haunts you long afterwards. I just can’t stop thinking about the story; about the depths that human beings can go to to inflict pain for their own pleasure, and the lengths they will go to justify their actions to themselves. The real monsters aren’t always the ones with green skin or tentacles.
Rose is a chilling fantasy horror story for this spooky season and will stay with you long after the bonfires are done.
Abruptly, the rose dies in my hand: the pink fleshy petals turn black and crinkly, while the stalk becomes brown and brittle. I drop the rose and stand, alarmed. On the workbench and on the ground, roses wilt and die before my very eyes. What the hell?
As the flowers die, my eyes light on something lying at the foot of the workbench that’s not a rose. I lean forward to take a closer look, only to jump back in horror.
– Rami Ungar, Rose
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2019/10/12/blog-tour-rose-rami-ungar/
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