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violetu's review
5.0
Amazing. Really, that's the best 'review' I can provide. Not like anything I've read in a long, long time. And really well-written.
skaterboynuance_'s review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
nighthawk's review
5.0
wonderfully strange and haunting. gets in your head. a little angela carter-y, but slightly less frightening.
venti's review
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
arsen is a bitch boy i stand by this
unlike most of the other reviews, i liked the open ending. odd, considering my usual tastes of absolute certainty. it was hopeful, sometimes that’s all you need.
i hope leila is out there somewhere with her grandmother :)
i hope leila is out there somewhere with her grandmother :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual violence
bibliophagic's review
3.0
This first novel felt a little unfinished? Underdone? Also it was straighter than I expected? But it certainly made me want to read more by [a:Amber Dawn|2809249|Amber Dawn|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1312990353p2/2809249.jpg].
caseythecanadianlesbrarian's review
4.0
Vancouver writer Amber Dawn’s Sub Rosa, published in 2010 by the radical and remarkable publishing house Arsenal Pulp Press, is a fantasy novel that is both familiar and fantastic. It deals with (what should be) a recognized reality in its depiction of gutsy, gritty, strong women doing sex work in Vancouver’s East end. But Dawn—a writer gutsy, gritty, and strong like her characters—has imagined a world that is a glittery yet tough fable twist on the story of a teenage runaway turned sex worker....
see the rest of my review at http://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/hello-world/
see the rest of my review at http://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/hello-world/
meganmilks's review
5.0
this book is magic. stunningly inventive, a pleasure to read. you think it's a clearcut fable about sex work but it quickly becomes its own idiosyncratic world, an unstable phantasmagoria irreducible to allegory.
rougoku's review
5.0
5/5 stars - what i loved about sub rosa was how it painted a vivid picture from start to finish. we are presented in the beginning with an amateur, blank slate protagonist who is our eyes into the world of sub rosa, an enchanting strip of street populated by glories, or magical sex workers. the idea sounds ridiculous in theory but in execution, it is smart and poignant. the character’s personalities and love for each other bleeds through the pages. while sub rosa could have benefitted from better story planning, i really enjoyed it and was totally immersed, devouring the book in a single day.