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littlebopeep 's review for:
The Rose and the Thorn
by Michael J. Sullivan
2.5 stars.
The Rose and the Thorn was a tricky book for me to rate. It is the darkest book in the series so far, it had our favourite thieving duo's cleverest job yet, and in true Riyria fashion, it was a fun read that earned a few real chuckles. On the other hand I have no idea who this book is meant for - for those who read Revelations or Chronicles first -, the treatment of the female characters left a lot to desire, and the antagonists could've been incredible if for not their borderline comically horrible actions.
I read Revelations before Chronicles. In the Crown Tower references to Revelations seemed more like fun easter eggs, but in this book I felt bored. There are multiple major characters in this book who also appear in Revelations, characters whose storylines clearly end in that series. For example. This makes it boring for old readers, as there are no big surprises, but Sullivan isn't exactly a subtle writer. There are characters in this books whose scheming doesn't stop in Revelations either, and it is very obvious already here. So those of us who have read Revelations know what's going to happen in this book, and those readers who started with Chronicles have a very good guess what's going on in Revelations.
The antagonists are the most interesting in Riyria books so far. Their actions and motivations make sense and are much more intersting than your standard fantasy baddies hellbent on world domination because they are Evil with capital E. However, at times their horrible actions and words take away from their otherwise interesting actions and reasons. We get it. They're not good people. Not every single thing they have to do or say has to be so obviously evil.
And then, to my final and biggest gripe with The Rose and the Thorn - the same thing I talk about in nearly all my reviews. The women. Ouch. The women in this books are all either prostitutes or idiotic, giggly aristocratic wives, plus one bratty teenage girl. This wouldn't be the worst thing ever - pretty standard medieval fantasy stuff, actually. However, they only exists as tools to motivate the protagonists and in relation to the male heroes of the story, not as interesting characters of their own.
I also still don't care about the Royce/Gwen romance. It has absolutely no chemistry - we don't really ever even see the characters together! In the last book they meet for the first time and that whole thing lasts for less than a page, and that's it. In this book they are supposedly in love, but again we only have like one page where they actually talk or are even in the same room. How am I supposed to root for a relationship that I can't even see?
I did truly like Royce and Hadrian's plot, which is probably my favourite so far in the entire series. And despite my complaints I did have a fun time reading the book. Sullivan's book so far have all been page-turners for me, even when they haven't been the most original or best of fantasy, but I have genuinely enjoyed them. However in The Rose and the Thorn the good, fun plot could not hide the faults.
The Rose and the Thorn was a tricky book for me to rate. It is the darkest book in the series so far, it had our favourite thieving duo's cleverest job yet, and in true Riyria fashion, it was a fun read that earned a few real chuckles. On the other hand I have no idea who this book is meant for - for those who read Revelations or Chronicles first -, the treatment of the female characters left a lot to desire, and the antagonists could've been incredible if for not their borderline comically horrible actions.
I read Revelations before Chronicles. In the Crown Tower references to Revelations seemed more like fun easter eggs, but in this book I felt bored. There are multiple major characters in this book who also appear in Revelations, characters whose storylines clearly end in that series. For example
Spoiler
Hilfred. He's an absolute cinnamon roll who I loved before his untimely death in Revelations, but there was no mystery to him. His heroic actions in this book were already described in Revelations, and we also know that his infatuation with Arista will not get him his happy ending. I couldn't really care about his story as I already knew how his story would eventually endThe antagonists are the most interesting in Riyria books so far. Their actions and motivations make sense and are much more intersting than your standard fantasy baddies hellbent on world domination because they are Evil with capital E. However, at times their horrible actions and words take away from their otherwise interesting actions and reasons. We get it. They're not good people. Not every single thing they have to do or say has to be so obviously evil.
And then, to my final and biggest gripe with The Rose and the Thorn - the same thing I talk about in nearly all my reviews. The women. Ouch. The women in this books are all either prostitutes or idiotic, giggly aristocratic wives, plus one bratty teenage girl. This wouldn't be the worst thing ever - pretty standard medieval fantasy stuff, actually. However, they only exists as tools to motivate the protagonists and in relation to the male heroes of the story, not as interesting characters of their own.
Spoiler
Gwen's only reason to even be in this book is to get assaulted so that Royce and Hadrian have some reason to go on their murder spree and thus start the plot. Rose is a teenage prostitute, who is cleatly traumatized, and she falls in love with the first nice guy she's apparently met. This wouldn't be that weird, except that she decides to reward her helper with sex, and even says that it's the first time she's ever really wanted it. Really? She truly wants to have sex with a teenager, in a dirty dungeon, when she's hiding and scared for her life? And this moment is not truly about her, but rather about Hilfred's love for Arista and how noble he is to save himself for his true lady love. And then a few chapters later Rose dies, because she's sweet and kind and the world is a dark place with no place for any of that, I suppose.I also still don't care about the Royce/Gwen romance. It has absolutely no chemistry - we don't really ever even see the characters together! In the last book they meet for the first time and that whole thing lasts for less than a page, and that's it. In this book they are supposedly in love, but again we only have like one page where they actually talk or are even in the same room. How am I supposed to root for a relationship that I can't even see?
I did truly like Royce and Hadrian's plot, which is probably my favourite so far in the entire series. And despite my complaints I did have a fun time reading the book. Sullivan's book so far have all been page-turners for me, even when they haven't been the most original or best of fantasy, but I have genuinely enjoyed them. However in The Rose and the Thorn the good, fun plot could not hide the faults.