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livinliterary's review
4.0
I actually really liked this book! It's an interesting new view on the Phantom. The research was thorough, the concept of flamme jumelle was beautiful, the twist of vampires who feed off energy was surprising. This book was not entirely what I expected but I enjoyed it all the same. Highly recommend this book.
homulucy's review
I genuinely wanted to like this book. The plot was interesting but it was a drag to read. If a book is really good, you wanna pick it back up and keep reading, but sadly RoseBlood just wasn’t that for me. Maybe I stopped too soon but I’ve been reading this for like a month now and really don’t feel like finishing it at this point. Maybe I just don’t like slower paced books. I don’t know.
kathrynkao's review
2.0
This book is ambitious and makes a good effort, but frustratingly comes up short. The idea of a Phantom of an Opera story set at an opera boarding school is pretty cool, and I appreciate the connections to the original Phantom story (as a theatre fan). The fact that it’s a boarding school that seems kind of isolated–it appears to be out in the French countryside, and students only leave campus for weekend Paris trips–is fantastic in creating a lot more tension and upping the spooky atmosphere. All the characters are basically trapped, which is perfect for a story where it seems the building itself is dangerous.
The cast is surprisingly diverse for a book set in a French opera boarding school: I was happy to see one main character is Asian-American (and dating a white girl!), and another is Latina. However, the author falls into some tired tropes with both characters. The former’s name sounds really made-up to me (and to my Taiwanese-American husband), and I was disappointed to see his eyes described as “almond-shaped.” The latter has a tragic backstory and is the only student in the book from a low-income family. I appreciate the effort, but I wish there had been some more effort in those characters.
Overall, I thought the book was okay. It often veered into melodrama–which, given the story, could have been really fitting, but instead was so over-the-top it pulled me out. Rune as a character was so irritating: it’s hard to pull for someone whose power causes her to sing complicated arias PERFECTLY with zero practice. Even the downsides of her power was kind of eye roll inducing: oh no, she sings perfect arias and then collapses! Oh no, she’s so overcome she kisses (apparently only attractive) boys wildly and can’t control herself! Even the reason behind that (and the source of her powers, I guess?) is kind of overwrought. The parts of the story told from Thorn’s point of view were the most ridiculous. The story would have been served better if we had experienced the mystery along with Rune, instead of knowing so much about Thorne and the Phantom.
Full review: http://mrskaoreads.com/book/roseblood/
The cast is surprisingly diverse for a book set in a French opera boarding school: I was happy to see one main character is Asian-American (and dating a white girl!), and another is Latina. However, the author falls into some tired tropes with both characters. The former’s name sounds really made-up to me (and to my Taiwanese-American husband), and I was disappointed to see his eyes described as “almond-shaped.” The latter has a tragic backstory and is the only student in the book from a low-income family. I appreciate the effort, but I wish there had been some more effort in those characters.
Overall, I thought the book was okay. It often veered into melodrama–which, given the story, could have been really fitting, but instead was so over-the-top it pulled me out. Rune as a character was so irritating: it’s hard to pull for someone whose power causes her to sing complicated arias PERFECTLY with zero practice. Even the downsides of her power was kind of eye roll inducing: oh no, she sings perfect arias and then collapses! Oh no, she’s so overcome she kisses (apparently only attractive) boys wildly and can’t control herself! Even the reason behind that (and the source of her powers, I guess?) is kind of overwrought. The parts of the story told from Thorn’s point of view were the most ridiculous. The story would have been served better if we had experienced the mystery along with Rune, instead of knowing so much about Thorne and the Phantom.
Full review: http://mrskaoreads.com/book/roseblood/
khenn's review
4.0
This is the kind of novel that requires you to have patience for details in the beginning. It is intricate and detailed in its description and layout but that is only to aid you for further on in the novel.
Nearer to the middle the story truly unfolds and it will capture you and have you see an entirely new concept and depth to the Phantom of the Opera.
And as for the ending? Brilliant. Twists you couldn't image that keep you reading to the very end.
Nearer to the middle the story truly unfolds and it will capture you and have you see an entirely new concept and depth to the Phantom of the Opera.
And as for the ending? Brilliant. Twists you couldn't image that keep you reading to the very end.
chery_swedish's review against another edition
4.0
Al leer algunas reseñas malas me desanimé un poco y mis expectativas respecto al libro bajaron. Sin embargo, me ha parecido un libro entretenido y me ha gustado mucho que no fuera un retelling tal cual. Aquí la historia del fantasma es real y lo que se nos cuenta sucede tiempo después. Han habido algunas cosas en la historia que me han sorprendido por lo que estoy contenta. Y me esperaba un final agridulce por lo que ha sido un plus que no lo fuese.
No diré que me haya gustado(pq no me gusta la 3ra persona), pero sí que me pareció curioso que los capítulos de Rune estuviesen narrados en primera persona y los de Thorn en tercera.
No diré que me haya gustado(pq no me gusta la 3ra persona), pero sí que me pareció curioso que los capítulos de Rune estuviesen narrados en primera persona y los de Thorn en tercera.
villianess's review
4.0
This was a twist on the classic Phantom tale. Eric is trying to recreate the past and with the help of his son, a school or the arts, and one girl that thinks she is going crazy this story weaves their lives in such a way that meeting is not only inevitable but planned for many, many years.
silvyinwonderland's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
Recensione: http://wefoundwonderlandinbooks.blogspot.it/2018/02/recensione-roseblood-di-ag-howard.html
Recensione: http://wefoundwonderlandinbooks.blogspot.it/2018/02/recensione-roseblood-di-ag-howard.html
erinld2005's review
2.0
RoseBlood is no where near as good as I was expecting. The summary made it one of my most anticipated reads, but sadly it is too basic for me. The idea of it and the vibe are on point, but there is too much in the plot that I've seen way too many times. For example the no cell phone reception, the teenage girl with power or whatever she can't control, the clique of mean girls, and etc. By about halfway through I was just bored by the whole thing.