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A review by citrus_seasalt
Burning Roses by S.L. Huang
4.0
This was an interesting novella! I cannot remember where I found out about this one, lol. Rosa and Hou Yi made for a fascinating pair of MCs—their dynamic was engaging, as two complicated middle-aged women with painful mistakes and memories that often paralleled each other. Although I was expecting more action(most of that was in the first part), I’m still alright with most of this novella being stories the two passed back and forth. If you go into it with those expectations, you won’t be disappointed, because I thought the dialogue and internal conflicts were written well and they make up a bulk of the story.
My only gripe is that I wish the world was fleshed out more? I enjoyed the integration of different folklore/fairytales, and the prose in general, but I still thought it was lacking, even with my interest in its magical regions(and the different attitudes to magic). I get that there’s only so much you can cover within a novella, but…still.
Oh and also—this is a novel that’s sapphic but doesn’t have a romance between the two leads!! Both MC’s have wives of their own, and their memories and conflicts surrounding them are at the forefront of this story. It’s rare for me to see that, I’m glad Hou Yi and Rosa got to just have a friendship.
I’d recommend this to anyone alright with retellings that are a hodgepodge of different stories, are looking for something contemplative and queer, and don’t mind a character-driven story.
My only gripe is that I wish the world was fleshed out more? I enjoyed the integration of different folklore/fairytales, and the prose in general, but I still thought it was lacking, even with my interest in its magical regions(and the different attitudes to magic). I get that there’s only so much you can cover within a novella, but…still.
Oh and also—this is a novel that’s sapphic but doesn’t have a romance between the two leads!! Both MC’s have wives of their own, and their memories and conflicts surrounding them are at the forefront of this story. It’s rare for me to see that, I’m glad Hou Yi and Rosa got to just have a friendship.
I’d recommend this to anyone alright with retellings that are a hodgepodge of different stories, are looking for something contemplative and queer, and don’t mind a character-driven story.