YABC Book Review: Rose & Thorn by Sarah Prineas

Posted November 19, 2016 by Melissa in Uncategorized / 2 Comments

Title: Rose & Thorn
Series: Ash & Bramble #2

Author: Sarah Prineas

Genre: YA Fantasy 
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published:  October 18th, 2016
Page Count:  416 pages
Format: eARC
Source: From publisher via Edelweiss

Summary:
This beauty isn’t sleeping! Sarah Prineas’s darkly imaginative retelling breaks down the classic story of Sleeping Beauty in a big, bold way. Brimming with action and romance, beautiful Rose must escape the curse that will force the kingdom to fall into a century-long slumber and fights for the freedom to find her own happily ever after.

After the spell protecting her is destroyed, Rose seeks safety in the world outside the valley she had called home. She’s been kept hidden all her life to delay the three curses she was born with, curses that will have drastic consequences if they take effect. Accompanied by the handsome and mysterious Griff and Quirk, his witty and warmhearted partner, Rose tries to escape from the ties that bind her to this forced fairy tale. But will the path they take lead them to freedom, or will it bring them straight into the prescribed story they are trying to avoid?

Set in the world of Prineas’s Ash & Bramble fifty years later, Rose & Thorn is a powerful retelling of Sleeping Beauty. If you like your fairy tales dark, your heroines daring, and your suitors dashing, this is the book for you.

*The Reader’s Review*
My rating: 4/5 stars

.This review can also be found on YA Books Central.
Rose & Thorn is a captivating retelling. It’s dark, gritty, and gives a new spin to Sleeping Beauty where Rose doesn’t need to be saved by Prince Charming nor wait for true love’s kiss. 
What I liked:
I haven’t had the pleasure of reading Ash & Bramble, the first book in the series, but it was no trouble at all to read Rose & Thorn since it works perfectly as a standalone. From beginning to end, I was enraptured by its story and enamored with the whole concept of Story (an actual force) being the bad guy. It was fascinating how each fairy tale is product of Story to gain power and control over all the lands, and yet its characters rebel to make their own stories.
I adored all the characters that take part in Rose’s story and their spirits. From the shoemaker (who later on I learned was one of the main characters from the first book) to the highly energetic Quirk! I also liked how every character seemed to be connected somehow and no one was ever not important. 
Oh, but Griff stole my heart. Even though he’s cold and unemotional thanks to his father’s upbringing, his thoughts were the perfect window to his heart. That’s why it’s so great that the author allows us readers into his POV as well as Rose’s. It wouldn’t have been the same with just one.
And while Rose doesn’t need saving from a Prince Charming, I did love her chemistry with Griff. Their relationship is sweet and innocent, and I loved how this time the lady is the one that takes the lead! Pretty darn cool if you ask me.
What didn’t do it for me:
Although I highly enjoyed Rose’s character since she’s definitely more than just a beauty, I felt that it took a bit too long for her to grow some backbone. She eventually gets there, but it would have been nice to have her more strong-willed in some parts of the story. 
Another aspect that stopped me from fully enjoying the story was the big finale. We don’t get to spend much time in the City at the end and I was strongly looking forward to it. It was a nice ending though, story-wise, yet there were a few questions left unanswered. Maybe they will be revealed in the next installment! 

Final Verdict:
Rose & Thorn is more than a fine addition to the world of fairy tale retellings. Readers will surely enjoy reading about this beauty that doesn’t let herself be defined by her supposed “happily ever after”. 

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