Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent

9 reviews

shinyfox's review

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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louisepea's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 “It's just... something being difficult is not a good reason not to do it.”

Six Scorched Roses was a brilliant Beauty and the Beast-inspired novella from the Crowns of Nyaxia series about a neurodivergent human woman making a deal with a grumpy hot vampire so she can find a cure for a disease cursing her village.

Every month, Lilith promises Vale a special rose in exchange for his blood- a human taking a vampire's blood? Oh, the irony!!- and what starts as a reluctant partnership soon turns into a friendly alliance, with Vale eagerly helping Lilith research her work, and adorably, sending her letters in her absence like the sweet old soul he is.

As the letters accumulate, it appears that something is building between the two friends, and Lilith is too distracted by her work and her feelings for Vale to realise the letters have led a group of scared religious extremists to his door. Will she be able to get to him in time? And when her actions displease a vengeful God, will there be anything she can offer to save those she loves from his wrath? Or has death caught up with Lilith a fourth and final time?

*
Ix's tits, I think this might just be one of the best novellas I've ever read.

After loving The Serpent and the Wings of Night, I  wasted no time in sinking my fangs into this book, and loved it so much, I greedily drank it down in a couple of sittings. I only wish it had been longer. 195 pages wasn't enough time with Lilith and Vale.

It was fun to read a vampire story where the human was the one taking the vampire's blood, and the vampire the one being perturbed by the human silently sneaking into his home unannounced and uninvited at inconvenient times. (Nothing like a bit of voyeurism to make or break the mood...)

Lilith was such an interesting character as a fearless neurodivergent thirty year old whose difficulty with social cues got her into awkward situations at times, but who never tried to be anything but herself. It was admirable how her love for her terminally ill sister drove her to fearlessly approach a vampire to help her find a cure, and to not take 'no' for an answer, and how she worked tirelessly to help everyone, before giving everything she had to save them.

I loved how Lilith quickly had Vale, the, supposedly, big scary vampire, wrapped around her little finger, enthralled by her patented blend of curiosity and thirst for knowledge. He reminded me so much of a winged Lorcan Salvaterre- a big, moody, immortal killing machine softened by a clever human woman who isn't afraid of him. And just like Lorcan, I adored him!

I thoroughly enjoyed the enemies to friends to lovers relationship which developed between them, cemented by Vale initiating a letter exchange, and Lilith coming to save him. If I didn't already love him before he enthusiastically started penning her academic love letters with doodles and poems delivered by magic or raven, the letter-writing definitely did it. I mean, could that be any cuter?!

I was also swooning when he saved her from a group of opportunist robbers, and nursed her back to health- even while chastising her for almost-stripping to save her skin, not quite grasping her limited options as an unarmed mortal woman cornered by men until she made it clear.

I was equally moved by the scenes where Lilith raced to save Vale from the mob, killed to defend him, and then took care of him, as well as when Vale came for her when she went to face the vengeful God alone. The two of them were just adorable together, and the way this odd-couple cared for each other stole my whole heart. They were the last two people you'd expect to end up together, but somehow, they just worked.

For some reason, I wasn't at all surprised by how it ended- I guess it was kinda predictable- but it had me on the edge of my seat anyway, hoping Lilith made it through. And thank goodness she did... well, kind of.

I'm excited to read more books of the two of them in the future, and can't wait to see where the series takes them now that Lilith has all the time in the world. I loved this first adventure of them, and I need to know more! 4 shiny stars out of 5.

Trigger warnings for: Sex, voyeurism, violence, blood, terminal illness, death, attempted assault.

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lucindahoi's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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emilywemily6's review

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adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I really enjoyed this novella, more than the duology! I found the length perfect and the story was sweet. It was slower-paced than other novellas I have read, which I didn’t mind but since I read it in multiple sittings I feel like I might have missed a little bit of the characterization of Lillith and Vale. So I would have loved a little more characterization at the beginning of the book, but I also might have missed it. I enjoyed seeing this relationship progress and how it felt right for Lillith to choose Vale.

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ka_ke's review

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adventurous dark hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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wildflower_magic's review

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Another fantastic read by Clarissa Broadbent! This book is a novella following characters in the Crowns of Nyaxia series. It can be read after book 1, but I read it after book 2 and think that was a good time as I knew the characters well and this novella provided interesting backstory. I love the characters. The main character, Lilith, presents with many neurodivergent traits in a respectful and accurate way. This novella follows her journey as she tries to protect her loved ones from a god's curse that was placed upon her town. She decides she needs some help from the broody vampire who lives outside of town, thus leading her to create a deal with Vale. Vale is 100% book boyfriend vibes. 

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immdanii's review

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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aklovekorn's review

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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amanda_reads13's review

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emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a short novella that should be read before The Ashes and The Star Cursed King. Lilith is desperate to find a cure for a plague that has been ravishing her people. That desperation leads her to Vale. Convinced that his blood is the key to a cure, she offers him a trade.

I enjoyed this novella. Lilith is headstrong, curious, and determined to find a cure for her sister. Vale is withdrawn and seems very lonely. Her fearlessness peaks his interest and he becomes invested in her research.
I loved how fiercely protective they were of each other. 

The depiction of vampires is more romanticized in this book vs the rest of the series. 

Tropes: vampires, forbidden romance 

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