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A review by crosswarrior7
A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S. Olson
3.0
❧ Myra Whitlock is a Prodigy: a person gifted by their god, the Artist, with the ability to alter reality through their paintings. Although it sounds as if Prodigys would be viewed as blessed, they’re hunted down, meaning Myra must closely guard her powers, all while working as a painter to care for her and her disabled sister. When the governor’s wife discovers her secret and offers her a great sum of money to resurrect her dead son, though, Myra will no longer be able to hide in peace. She’ll do what she can to earn the money so she can seek treatment for her sister’s growing struggles, but in taking the job, she’ll discover something absolutely terrifying, whether that be love, murdering schemes, or both! Both is good :D
❧ I enjoyed this more than I expected but not as much as I wanted to. The magic system was unique and built upon in interesting ways that fed into the mystery, and the world was intriguing, but I sort of wanted more, especially from the latter. Soft magic systems are a thing, but I just felt like there was room for more, and I’m admittedly a sucker for godly involvement when there are magical gods in a story. So yeah, this gripe could be (and likely is) a personal thing.
❧ Myra didn’t overly stand out to me as a character. How do I know? It’s been almost a year since I read this book and can’t remember too much about her. She was solid, though, and carried the story along well. There were definite points where she felt like she acted in ways that were just to carry the plot, but her care for her disabled sister, passion for her art, and strong resolve toward her task + August were all very solid characteristics.
Speaking of, August, although not the best depiction of anxiety and struggling with it, was still a very good step in the right direction for representation, especially in the sense of having a non-tall-dark-and-handsome love interest. He was very unique in that aspect, and even if I thought he could have been done better, he stood out just for being so different from most male protagonists/love interests in YA Fantasy books. I may not have been smitten by the ship because of how insta-love it was, but I enjoyed it purely for August and his personal struggles with his anxiety and his family.
❧ The mystery of the book was honestly my favorite part. It was sprinkled in very well, tied back into the magic in a way that made it so the fantasy aspect was necessary to the plot but didn’t make it so the reveal was impossible to see, and, well, I figured it out, so I felt good about it VwV
❧ So overall a very solid books. Enough weird bits in the pacing and not-enoughness to the MC and world that it didn’t quite hit home for me, but also enough good bits that I did genuinely enjoy the book, so I’d say 3.5 stars out of 5. Also a disclaimer that I am writing this review almost a year late because I’m just now getting back into the groove of review writing U^.^
❧ I enjoyed this more than I expected but not as much as I wanted to. The magic system was unique and built upon in interesting ways that fed into the mystery, and the world was intriguing, but I sort of wanted more, especially from the latter. Soft magic systems are a thing, but I just felt like there was room for more, and I’m admittedly a sucker for godly involvement when there are magical gods in a story. So yeah, this gripe could be (and likely is) a personal thing.
❧ Myra didn’t overly stand out to me as a character. How do I know? It’s been almost a year since I read this book and can’t remember too much about her. She was solid, though, and carried the story along well. There were definite points where she felt like she acted in ways that were just to carry the plot, but her care for her disabled sister, passion for her art, and strong resolve toward her task + August were all very solid characteristics.
Speaking of, August, although not the best depiction of anxiety and struggling with it, was still a very good step in the right direction for representation, especially in the sense of having a non-tall-dark-and-handsome love interest. He was very unique in that aspect, and even if I thought he could have been done better, he stood out just for being so different from most male protagonists/love interests in YA Fantasy books. I may not have been smitten by the ship because of how insta-love it was, but I enjoyed it purely for August and his personal struggles with his anxiety and his family.
❧ The mystery of the book was honestly my favorite part. It was sprinkled in very well, tied back into the magic in a way that made it so the fantasy aspect was necessary to the plot but didn’t make it so the reveal was impossible to see, and, well, I figured it out, so I felt good about it VwV
❧ So overall a very solid books. Enough weird bits in the pacing and not-enoughness to the MC and world that it didn’t quite hit home for me, but also enough good bits that I did genuinely enjoy the book, so I’d say 3.5 stars out of 5. Also a disclaimer that I am writing this review almost a year late because I’m just now getting back into the groove of review writing U^.^