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638 reviews for:

Roseblood

A.G. Howard

3.15 AVERAGE


Actual rating: 4.5
Wow. It started out a bit slow, but really got better and better. I really liked the idea behind psychic vampires, vampires who feed off of emergy instead of blood, and also the twin flame stuff. Normally, I would probably complain about it, but it worked really well in this book, it fit with the mood of the book. I'm a big fan of Phantom of the Opera, and I loved what Howard did with the story. The ending was perfect for HEA lovers (like me), but I felt it didn't really fit the book. It felt unrealistic that everyone would have an HEA, considering it is a Phantom retelling. All in all, an amazing book and a must-read. Full review to come!

Este es uno de los casos donde la trama suena interesante pero el libro decepciona.

Cuando compre RoseBlood ya sabía de sus criticas mixtas, pero aun así decidí formar mi propia opinion. Aunque el inicio del libro me intrigo bastante, por como se fue desarrollando y como se iban dando las cosas mi interés fue decayendo poco poco. No digo que este libro sea malo, de hecho esta bastante bien escrito y es bastante original para ser un retelling, solamente que no fue para mí.

Mi problema principal con esta historia es que fue demasiado lenta. Claramente la autora no logró hacer de este libro ágil para la lectura y constantemente sentía que leía y leía y al final nada más había terminado 50 páginas. Pero algo curioso que ocurrió fue que por alguna razón continuaba leyendo y leyendo. Es algo raro, ya que aunque el libro me pareció sumamente lento no me aburría. Se que me estoy contradiciendo un poco, pero mi experiencia leyendo RoseBlood fue diferente.

Rune como personaje principal me gustó bastante. Me agradó como protagonista y llegue a quererla y pedir lo mejor para ella. Thorn me tiene un poco confundido ya que no se como sentirme respecto a el, igual que con los personajes secundarios. Siento que no vemos lo suficiente de los para que se sientan reales. Rune es la única que se siente completa.

El estilo de escritura de la autora, aunque fue lento, fue muy hermoso al momento de crear escenarios. Me gustó mucho como realizó las descripciones y la atmósfera que creo.

En fin, este libro no fue mi favorito pero es una lectura con la cual tuve una experiencia diferente y llegue a disfrutar bastante la historia.

I fell in love with the concept of this book the moment I heard about it. I adore The Phantom of the Opera, and I couldn't imagine a classic tale I'd rather have re-told and spun into a YA novel.

Unfortunately, the magic and paranormal elements of this story just stretched the limits of believability a bit too far for me, and I did not enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. I truly hope some of you like this book, because this author is amazing, and I'd love to discuss your thoughts in the comments.

My Review: TWO STARS
I want to start this review by discussing the things I felt that A.G. Howard did really well in this novel. The beginning was strong. I immediately liked Rune and was pulled into her story. The setting of the school in France was enchanting and there were some beautiful world building details that were very reminiscent of the classic Phantom novel.

In all of Howard's books she seems to explore the theme of sanity vs insanity. How people perceive and determine other's sanity. How we perceive our own sense of sanity. And how delicate the balance between the two can be. She didn't go as in-depth on that theme in this novel as she does in the Splintered series, but she still touches on it in a way that is important and thought-provoking.

My biggest problem with this book was that the magic and the paranormal elements just weren't believable. They felt kind of chaotic, like there wasn't a distinct magic system with set rules, which is so important in fantasy novels. It made everything feel almost too convenient and random. Though that type of style is very much A.G. Howard and worked BRILLIANTLY in an Alice and Wonderland retelling, it just didn't translate well into a Phantom retelling.

At the begging of the story I was really drawn into Rune and Thorn's connection with one another. I adored Thorn's backstory and felt that that it added a lot to the story for me personally. As the story progressed though, their relationship felt more creepy than captivating. I didn't feel the chemistry between the characters and their relationship almost bordered on incestuous at times.

I HATE giving this book a less than superior rating, because I so wanted to love it, and I very much like A.G. Howard as an author. Perhaps, I'm just too attached to the original Phantom story, but this was just a little too strange for me.

Cover Rating: FIVE STARS
This is a definitely a book to keep on the book shelf. The physical copy is quite simply stunning. From the incredible cover art, to the red ink, to the interior cover paper, it is beyond gorgeous.

Swoon Worthiness: TWO STARS
This book started out strong. I was feeling Thorn as a love interest. He was so mysterious and after reading his backstory, I was totally hooked. But as the story progressed he just felt creepier and creepier to me instead of dreamier and dreamier.

I was so excited for this Phantom of the Opera inspired tale, but was pretty disappointed and almost DNFd it a couple of times. There were parts that I loved, especially Thorn's backstory, but something seemed missing overall. Partly, because I didn't really care for Rune, and thought that Thorn was definitely the scene stealer in this novel. I was looking forward to a broody, dark romance, especially after reading Splintered, but I thought it lacked the passion and obsession that I was expecting from a Phantom of the Opera story. I still love Howard though. (2.5 stars)

Roseblood was everything i hoped it would be. This is a very interesting take on the story of Erik, The Phantom, and Christine Daae, who is not called Daae in this book. I wish there was a sequel but it did end very well, and I think anyone who is a Phan or just like really good retellings ought to read this one! <3

The story moved excruciating slow through the first 150 or so pages. There was enough intrigue to keep me reading, but I did want to put the book down a few times. Fortunately the pay off was worth it. The second half of the book was pretty interesting. The YA and fantasy elements were interesting and the premises were unique enough to distinguish this book from other YA fantasy novels.

4,5*

Začiatok knihy je omnoho viac ťažkopádny, než by ktokoľvek čakať. Úvodné kapitoly sú plné hlavne vnútorných myšlienok hlavnej hrdinky a nielen raz máte pocit, že vás príšerne zahlcuje informáciami, ktoré vlastne nepotrebujete.

V tomto prípade budete mať pravdu len sčasti, no nič to nemení na fakte, že vďaka tomu budete ku knihe pristupovať inak. Nuž, možno aj sklamane. A možno to bude spôsobené aj tým, že túto knihu budete podvedome prirovnávať ku knihám zo série Splitered. Iste, ide o retelling, ktorý napísala tá istá spisovateľka, ale tam podobnosť končí.

Tento príbeh je úplne iný a hlavne úplne inak napísaný. Rune pôsobí tak trochu deprimovane a hlavne vydesene, vďaka čomu rozprávanie získava zvláštnu temnotu. Keďže by malo ísť o viac či menej gotický román, určite to nie je na škodu. Celý dej je sprevádzaný nielen záhadnými a desivými udalosťami, ale aj rovnako podivnými postavami a prostredím.

Celková atmosféra knihy by sa občas dala popísať ako temná. K tomu rozhodne prispieva aj Thorn so svojou záhadnou minulosťou a zvláštnym putom, ktoré ho viaže nielen k Rune. Hlavnú trojicu potom už len dopĺňa Erik, ktorého motívy ostávajú až do posledných momentov prikryté závojom tajomstva.

Kniha napriek všetkému nie je žiadnym akčným dobrodružstvom a viac než na akciu sa opisovanie sústreďuje hlavne na vnútro hlavných postáv. Na ich prežívanie a motívy, ale aj na ich obavy. Od prvej strany až po poslednú sledujeme ich pomalý prerod, keď čelia svojim strachom a snažia sa pokračovať vpred bez ohľadu na prekážky.

Ak by mala táto kniha nejaký podtitul, určite by hovoril o hľadaní samého seba. Aby to však nebol len čisto psychologický román, rozhodla sa autorka premeniť hlavných hrdinov na magické bytosti.

Celkový koncept toho, ako prežívajú a čím sú perfektne zapadajú do temnej atmosféry a ak niečo, len umocňujú pochmúrnu atmosféru. Napriek všetkým zastávkam v duši postáv je zjavné, že dej sa neustál niekam posúva, hoci vývoj je niekedy až bolestne pomalý. Samotný koniec a vyriešenie ústredného problému je svojím spôsobom prekvapivé. Nie je však možné uprieť, že dokonale zapadá do celkovej atmosféry.

RoseBlood je v skutočnosti úplne iným príbehom, než aký väčšina čitateľov najskôr očakáva. Nejde o prehnane akčný triler, v skutočnosti sa podobá skôr na gotické romány, ktoré si aj v súčasnosti hľadajú svoje miesto na literárnom poli.

Svojou pochmúrnou atmosférou a niektorými temnejšími prvkami môže veľa čitateľov odradiť. Napriek tomu však nemožno uprieť, že kniha je naozaj veľmi dobre napísaná a od istého bodu je jasné, že autorka sa zamerala hlavne na prežívanie postáv a ich vývoj.

Dej ubieha viac ako len plynulo, príbeh má v sebe nápad i zaujímavé spracovanie, veľa emócií a temnoty, ktorú umocňujú aj magické bytosti, ktoré v knihe nájdeme. Autorka opäť dokázala, že má všetko veľmi dobre premyslené, hoci niekedy to tak nevyzerá. Takisto sa jej podarilo to, čo v predchádzajúcich knihách – niekoľkými vetami ma pohltiť, hoci som niekedy nemala potuchy, o čom to vlastne čítam.

recenzia: http://lili-darknight.blogspot.sk/2017/01/aj-hudba-je-vrazedna-roseblood.html

A rollercoaster ride

I picked this book up for a book club read. I loved the musical and was drawn to this book. I felt joy, sadness, and amazement while reading this book. I felt like I was Rune and knew what she was feeling.

First off I really liked the Splintered series, and I loved The Architect of Song... I think for me there were parts of this that were definitely worth 5 stars like the parts about Thorn's background, but it took me a little longer to get into this book, and it seemed like it took a long while for Rune to meet up with Thorn. I also really thought the side characters were interesting and would have liked to know more about Audrey, Sunny, and Jax. Rune was interesting especially being in her head, but Thorn was hands down the best character. The creep factor and gothic feel in the book I loved as well. I just wanted more dialogue between Rune and Thorn also, but there were some really good moments between them that I adored.
adventurous mysterious slow-paced
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes