You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
A historic fantasy set in medieval Portugal and inspired by a legend of the miraculous transformation of bread into roses. But is it a miracle or a curse for your touch to turn food into flowers? This story explores themes of self-harm, disordered eating, and the legacy of religious intolerance, all tied up in a slow-growing romance between a future queen and the magical woman who may be her only hope of surviving. Pinguicha has the knack of framing her story with realistic historic attitudes, beliefs, and reactions without suggesting that it places a happy ending out of reach. Highly recommended.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was so different and entertaining and I was so intrigued by every word. Highly recommend reading.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny
Minor: Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
A retelling of a Portuguese legend with LGBTQ+ themes which had me very excited.
The story starts with Yzabel, cursed with the ability to turn food into flowers she has spend the last few years barely eating and when she sees how portuguese people are suffering from starvation she decides to get help from an enchanted Moura to get rid of her curse.
The author explains very well the magic system and i was so thankful for that.
The themes talk about in the book were really important and once again i am so grateful that they were mentioned (self- harm, homophobia,starvation, religious justifications for all of them)
The characters were kind of a miss for me and the way Yzabel reacted with some things were not my cup of tea.
I must also say that i didn't feel like i got any background of Portugal and the few that there was wasn't enough.
Moreover, i read Girl, Serpent, Thorn a few months back and i get the same exact vibe. Let's remember that i didnt quite like Girl, Serpent, Thorn.
Even though I was a little bit let down i still want to support the author and will be checking out her next works c:
A retelling of a Portuguese legend with LGBTQ+ themes which had me very excited.
The story starts with Yzabel, cursed with the ability to turn food into flowers she has spend the last few years barely eating and when she sees how portuguese people are suffering from starvation she decides to get help from an enchanted Moura to get rid of her curse.
The author explains very well the magic system and i was so thankful for that.
The themes talk about in the book were really important and once again i am so grateful that they were mentioned (self- harm, homophobia,starvation, religious justifications for all of them)
The characters were kind of a miss for me and the way Yzabel reacted with some things were not my cup of tea.
I must also say that i didn't feel like i got any background of Portugal and the few that there was wasn't enough.
Moreover, i read Girl, Serpent, Thorn a few months back and i get the same exact vibe. Let's remember that i didnt quite like Girl, Serpent, Thorn.
Even though I was a little bit let down i still want to support the author and will be checking out her next works c:
I was given a free e-ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review is fully my opinion.
As soon as I saw an f/f retelling of a Portuguese myth/legend I knew I had to read it! I was fortunate to get access to it through NetGalley and I thank the publisher for that! I love to support Portuguese authors! At first, it was very weird to see Portuguese names mixed with English and with the English language and it took me a while to get used to it but by mid-book, I was totally used to it.
I enjoy the characters and their development but I admit that at Yzabel was just... unbearable. Her religious fervour and obsession were... unbearable. I can understand her religious personality especially due to the time that the book is set at, but still. Somethings are a bit too much. I also found it odd that the entire book was going around the idea that.
Overall the book is pretty interesting, I liked seeing a retelling of a Portuguese myth especially with an f/f twist that was AMAZING and that I shipped a lot! I also enjoyed the.
I also liked the author's writing and will be on the lookout for more books! :)
As soon as I saw an f/f retelling of a Portuguese myth/legend I knew I had to read it! I was fortunate to get access to it through NetGalley and I thank the publisher for that! I love to support Portuguese authors! At first, it was very weird to see Portuguese names mixed with English and with the English language and it took me a while to get used to it but by mid-book, I was totally used to it.
I enjoy the characters and their development but I admit that at Yzabel was just... unbearable. Her religious fervour and obsession were... unbearable. I can understand her religious personality especially due to the time that the book is set at, but still. Somethings are a bit too much. I also found it odd that the entire book was going around the idea that
Spoiler
Denis would not approve of anything and in the end he's like "so what?". That was a real blow-down from what I was expectingOverall the book is pretty interesting, I liked seeing a retelling of a Portuguese myth especially with an f/f twist that was AMAZING and that I shipped a lot! I also enjoyed the
Spoiler
fact that lots of mouras and people with powers were hidden in the covenant. I really enjoyed that!I also liked the author's writing and will be on the lookout for more books! :)
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
This was a very unique, and very original book. It was based on some historical figures that I’d heard of before very briefly and with very limited details. I loved that the author included a little extra at the end telling the actual story of those figures and what she’d changed or added to make the story something more fascinating. Because this was a vivid, beautiful tale of a world with magic and lots of twists and turns. While it is set in a historical time, and the views and actions of many of the people are definitely to be expected from that time period, some of it definitely still resonates with the world today.
The characters are unique, there is the gay aspect between the women, but then there are also the men that are in powerful positions that surprise with how they react and actually deal with the situations. Then there were things that had to do with the types of self-punishment the religiously zealous people often used to subject themselves to. That was hard to read about, but really made the story that much deeper. The struggle that Ysabel went through, when all she wanted was to take care of her people and have peace among all of them. So much in this book to read and the writing as I said was so vivid that I pictured many of the scenes as if I was seeing them in front of my eyes.
Review first appeared on Lisa Loves Literature.
The characters are unique, there is the gay aspect between the women, but then there are also the men that are in powerful positions that surprise with how they react and actually deal with the situations. Then there were things that had to do with the types of self-punishment the religiously zealous people often used to subject themselves to. That was hard to read about, but really made the story that much deeper. The struggle that Ysabel went through, when all she wanted was to take care of her people and have peace among all of them. So much in this book to read and the writing as I said was so vivid that I pictured many of the scenes as if I was seeing them in front of my eyes.
Review first appeared on Lisa Loves Literature.
A beautifully written book.
Princess Yzabel is cursed. Every bite of food turns into some kind of flower in her mouth. She's on the verge of starving to death but the people of Portugal are feeling the same pain. And no matter how much she self repents and prays for her curse to go away, it only grows stronger.
She seeks an Enchanted Moura, named Fatyan, hoping that she will be away to take the curse away but she is trapped in a magical bind and a kiss will set her free. As the betrothed to the King of Portugal it would be a betrayal but she's desperate.
Fatyan sets out to teach her how to control her curse. And the kiss has Yzabel longing for more.
That's all you get because I don't want to give anything away.
Thanks so much to the author, Entangled, and NetGalley for this ARC to review.
Princess Yzabel is cursed. Every bite of food turns into some kind of flower in her mouth. She's on the verge of starving to death but the people of Portugal are feeling the same pain. And no matter how much she self repents and prays for her curse to go away, it only grows stronger.
She seeks an Enchanted Moura, named Fatyan, hoping that she will be away to take the curse away but she is trapped in a magical bind and a kiss will set her free. As the betrothed to the King of Portugal it would be a betrayal but she's desperate.
Fatyan sets out to teach her how to control her curse. And the kiss has Yzabel longing for more.
That's all you get because I don't want to give anything away.
Thanks so much to the author, Entangled, and NetGalley for this ARC to review.
Thank you so much to the people at Entangled Teen for sending me an ARC and YA bound book tours for allowing to be a part of the blog tour!
https://laurenbodiford123.wordpress.com/2020/12/28/blog-tour-a-curse-of-roses-by-diana-pinguicha-review/
https://laurenbodiford123.wordpress.com/2020/12/28/blog-tour-a-curse-of-roses-by-diana-pinguicha-review/