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laurenslovelylittlelife's review
I think I need a more adult retelling of The Phantom of the Opera. This version was good from what I remember but just not something I want to continue at this time.
nhdk's review
3.0
A.G. Howard was a new author to me; I haven’t read her Splintered series, but I’d heard good things about RoseBlood, so I was hoping for a good book, and I got it. RoseBlood was a cracking read. Howard has a beautiful voice and is reminiscent of Lauren Oliver. If you liked her Delirium series, I suspect you would like RoseBlood too. Howard's voice is dominated by her beautiful and detailed descriptions that are perhaps a little heavy for what I am used to in YA fantasy, and remind me a little more of an older school fantasy style, but I am seeing more and more YA fantasy authors writing in a heavy descriptive style.
Nonetheless, I adored her style of writing, which were particularly suited to describing the synaesthesic-like powers the characters have. Her style creates rich images in my mind, and that very quickly drew me into the story. I adored the characters powers and the concept of drawing energy from different living beings. That’s not a power I’ve seen done before, so it felt fresh and novel.
The characterisation was good. I was a little confused about the twins in the book especially early on. I don’t think there was enough clarity on their relationship and at one point I almost thought the siblings had incestuous feelings. Clearly, I’d misunderstood, but it’s something to note.
The other thing that confused me initially was that the book is written from two different Points of View. When in chapters written from the protagonists POV, it’s written in the first person. When from the love interests POV it’s written in the third person. At first, I struggled with the swapping about, but after a few chapter swaps I soon got used to it and found it very easy to jump between the two. Perhaps my only real criticism is that when writing in the third person, I did find myself occasionally confused between who things referred to: Thorn or Erik.
I liked all the characters; I think they were unique and individualised and with the exception of the twins, I remembered them all and quickly distinguished them all. I also liked the complexity, depth and rich detail to the history of the antagonist; this was quite exceptional.
For me, the end didn’t quite live up to the rest of the book. I’m trying not to add any spoilers here, but while I loved how it ended between the two main characters, the third main character kinda just rolled over and played dead and after 460 odd pages of doing the exact opposite I was surprised, to say the least. I might well read the follow ups to this book if there are any as I’d like to see whether there are some consequences to the rollover and play dead reaction of this particular character.
Nonetheless, I adored her style of writing, which were particularly suited to describing the synaesthesic-like powers the characters have. Her style creates rich images in my mind, and that very quickly drew me into the story. I adored the characters powers and the concept of drawing energy from different living beings. That’s not a power I’ve seen done before, so it felt fresh and novel.
The characterisation was good. I was a little confused about the twins in the book especially early on. I don’t think there was enough clarity on their relationship and at one point I almost thought the siblings had incestuous feelings. Clearly, I’d misunderstood, but it’s something to note.
The other thing that confused me initially was that the book is written from two different Points of View. When in chapters written from the protagonists POV, it’s written in the first person. When from the love interests POV it’s written in the third person. At first, I struggled with the swapping about, but after a few chapter swaps I soon got used to it and found it very easy to jump between the two. Perhaps my only real criticism is that when writing in the third person, I did find myself occasionally confused between who things referred to: Thorn or Erik.
I liked all the characters; I think they were unique and individualised and with the exception of the twins, I remembered them all and quickly distinguished them all. I also liked the complexity, depth and rich detail to the history of the antagonist; this was quite exceptional.
For me, the end didn’t quite live up to the rest of the book. I’m trying not to add any spoilers here, but while I loved how it ended between the two main characters, the third main character kinda just rolled over and played dead and after 460 odd pages of doing the exact opposite I was surprised, to say the least. I might well read the follow ups to this book if there are any as I’d like to see whether there are some consequences to the rollover and play dead reaction of this particular character.
hbelle01's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
abeckman02's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
futureisfowl's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I really don’t know what to say. I should’ve stopped reading the moment the main character fell into a Baptismal Font and almost drowned. The author also uses a repeated slur, that could have easily been avoided.
wanderbykate's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
teawithbree's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
THANK GOD IT'S FINALLY OVER
bookishjenny's review
2.0
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I love The Phantom of the Opera, so I was excited to read this. But it was sooo slow for a little over half the book that I considered making it a DNF a few times and moving onto a new book. I kept reading though, and it did pick up some, but it was just okay to me.
avafritsch's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-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
3.75
This was a tough review to write. The firs 75% of the book was slow and laborious to read. It would add enough interest to keep you going, but not enough to make me want pick it up every second I had available.
The last 25% was awesome! It flowed smoothly and quickly. Provided details without drawing them out.
I loved the Splintered series, but Roseblood was not my cup of tea.
The last 25% was awesome! It flowed smoothly and quickly. Provided details without drawing them out.
I loved the Splintered series, but Roseblood was not my cup of tea.
raereadings's review
adventurous
dark
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5