Blood Rose Rebellion

Author: Rosalyn Eves

Series: Blood Rose Rebellion #1

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Release Date: March 28, 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

An enchanted tale of romance, magic, and family drama that brings the tension to new levels.

Anna Arden is sixteen years old and has been shunned by her family and society for a blood defect. Her family is part of a powerful magic group called the Luminate.  However, she is Barren and unable to perform the simplest of spells.  Everything goes wrong for Anna when she breaks her sister’s debutante spell, without even realizing she is doing it, and becomes exiled by her family and sent with her grandmother to Hungary.  Things seem worse than ever when she finds that things are not as she thought.  She is living with her cousins and starts to discover that magic and those around her are not as she was led to believe.  A rebellion is quickly spreading across the country and Anna finds herself in the middle of the conflict with many believing she might be what they need if she will embrace her ability and help those she cares about.

Rosallyn Eves has woven a tale that will make you think of others out there but is its own story in many ways. There is magic and love that must be interwoven in order for the story to work, and it does work.  For me, the story took a little bit to get going, but once it did, I enjoyed it and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.  Anna was her own kind of hero; she didn’t believe in herself until she realized everyone else was counting on her and she really could make a difference.  Being set in the past and in such a different location I would have liked to see a little more world building to set the story in motion.  The character development was done very well and was easy to connect with Anna and the others.  Overall it was a very enjoyable read and one I will recommend to readers that enjoy YA and mystical reads.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.