The Rose Throne

by Mette Ivie Harrison

Richly-imagined fantasy romance from the author of Princess and the Hound, a tale of two princesses--one with magic, one with none--who dare seek love in a world where real choice can never be theirs. For fans of Megan Whalen Turner, Catherine Fisher, and Cassandra Clare. 

Ailsbet loves nothing more than music; tall and red-haired, she's impatient with the artifice and ceremony of her father's court. Marissa adores the world of her island home and feels she has much to offer when she finally inherits the throne from her wise, good-tempered father. The trouble is that neither princess has the power--or the magic--to rule alone, and if the kingdoms can be united, which princess will end up ruling the joint land? For both, the only goal would seem to be a strategic marriage to a man who can bring his own brand of power to the throne. But will either girl be able to marry for love? And can either of these two princesses, rivals though they have never met, afford to let the other live?

• ISBN10: 1606843656
• ISBN13: 9781606843659
• Publish Date: 14 May 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Egmontusa
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 390
• Language: English

Reviews

[ladygrey]

I liked the way this story started. We're introduced to this world very quickly and there's an elegance to the way she explains this simply and straightforward without bring pedantic.

But the Kellin arrived in Weirland and it got off. The dialog didn't line up with the characters emotional reactions. They were always angry at each without saying anything offensive and without explaining the nuance of their tone or the intricacies of cultural politics that warranted their fights. We also didn't get any hints of their eventual attraction to explain why they set each other off. So there was nothing to align what they were saying with how they were reacting.

But then the story worked better in Rurik and I liked the characters and the world well enough. It wasn't poorly done but it was I retesting enough that I saw potential for more that it didn't fulfill. It was a vicious, precarious court but there wasn't a lot of subtext in the dialog. It was the only piece missing from a well developed court. Sometimes the dialog had depth and was intriguing and sometimes it felt forced which made it a little trite. I liked that it was surprising so it went in directions I didn't expect. Except that meant the description in half a lie which was disappointing.

Mostly, though, as much as I enjoyed this book I didn't like that its really only half a book. It isn't a cliffhanger but there are so many elements to the story that were introduced but never rested you know it has to have a sequel. But it's not really a series. It's like one really large story that got ripped in half. That's another part of the potential - it could have been a very good self-contained story if it had gone in another direction. But who am I stay say how the story should have gone?

[celinenyx]

It's not so often that the ending of a book has annoyed me this much. Usually if I don't like a book, but don't hate it enough to make me want to put it down instantly, I'll continue till the end. The ending is most often the best part of the book, and it will give satisfaction once it's all over. Nothing like that for The Rose Throne. That's seriously one of the most unsatisfactory endings I have ever seen.

Ailsbeth and Marissa are both princesses, but their worlds couldn't be different. Each belonging to one country, both countries separated by the sea and only connected by one bridge. Ailsbeth lives in a dangerous court with an insane king leading it, and she's born with the wrong kind of magic, the male kind. Marissa has a loving father and her country is peaceful, but since her mother passed away she has responsibilities fit for a queen. Their lives are bound together by a prophecy - one day their lands will be one.

I don't know what this book was going for. Bitter-sweet romance? Political intruige? Fantasy dystopian? I see traces of all of these, but none of them is completely fleshed out. The characters, the events... All of them are told in the same lack-lustre manner that kept me from connecting with any of them.

The world Ms Harrison creates is interesting, but lacks depth. I suspect she's holding out on details so she can throw them at us in later instalments of the series, but for me this doesn't work. There is a serious lack of explanations going on. From the start of the story you are thrown into a world with weyr, unweyrs, taweyr, neweyr and Weirwood. I don't know about you, but from this I kind of pictured weyr to be a kind of tree. It took me quite a while to figure out that weyr is a kind of magic, because nowhere it is explained. Taweyr is the male, destruction kind of magic, and neweyr is the nature-y female kind of magic. Well colour me surprised, the females have nursing magic and males war magic? Baw-ring. There is also a third kind, ekhono who have the wrong kind of magic.

Throughout the book almost all the characters talk about is the fate of the kingdoms, of what will happen and how everyone is in danger. Well, at the end of the book NOTHING is different than there is at the start. Why would you make us worry so much about something you aren't even going to use? The characters are inconsistent and confused, one moment they are childish or selfish, the other moment they go on and on about their duty towards their country, sometimes even in the same paragraph.

I think The Rose Throne is going for a kind of gruesome princess-story, because there are dozens of executions and poisonings. Almost every few chapters someone's dying, and she even kills off some main characters effortlessly. I get that you don't want your story to be like a fairy-tale, but this went a bit out of bounds. You can't make us feel for a character, than kill him off towards the end without any drama surrounding it. There is no emotional shock, only a confused "...huh?". It might work for GRR Martin, but I don't think it worked in The Rose Throne.

This is not a book I will remember fondly, not an author I'll read again. I only recommend The Rose Throne if you have the rest of the series nearby, because on its own it's not a satisfying read.