zoesnicholson 's review for:

Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves

2.0

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2.5 stars

I was highly anticipating Blood Rose Rebellion ever since I heard it pitched as "[b:Red Queen|22328546|Red Queen (Red Queen, #1)|Victoria Aveyard|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449778912s/22328546.jpg|25037051] meets [b:Les Misérables|24280|Les Misérables|Victor Hugo|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411852091s/24280.jpg|3208463]." Unfortunately, the end result ended up being rather underwhelming and unsatisfactory, and I was just hoping for a bit more.

Despite being born to a powerful, magical family, 16-year-old Anna is a Barren - someone without any magic. Anna is disowned by her family and exiled to Hungary, where the Barren are in the midst of a revolution. When Anna discovers she has a power that could change the course of the Revolution, she must weigh freedom and loyalty.

The plot feels rather simplistic and unoriginal; there is nothing about it that stands out when compared to any of the various other YA fantasy novels on the market. As an avid reader, it is difficult and frustrating to read the same thing over and over again, and I just wish there was something about the plot to help make it more memorable.

Anna herself is a decent heroine. She's not exceptionally well-written or memorable, but she is entertaining nonetheless. In the end, Anna just needed more complexity and depth to her characterization to help her stand out and be more memorable.

Those who aren't avid readers will probably enjoy this novel more, but avid fantasy readers may find it to be mediocre without much of anything to add to the YA fantasy genre. For those looking for a superb fantasy novel, I'd recommend reading [b:The Winner's Curse|16069030|The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy, #1)|Marie Rutkoski|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1377023523s/16069030.jpg|21861552] or [b:Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459349344s/23437156.jpg|42077459] instead.