Blood Rose

by Rachael Vaughn

[Inkslinger]

(Review posted in its entirety at www.BetwixtTheSheets.com.)

I'm being slightly generous with the stars.. I'd like to give it 2 and a half.. but it's better than 2.

"This novel left me conflicted, and it makes sense.. since 'Rachael Vaughn' is actually the pen name for a couple. According to their website bio, Laura Rachael Black and Trenton Vaughn Hockersmith share the writing duties.. and while such a partnership can yield amazing results, it requires the partners to be on equal footing creatively. These two do not seem to be. Though it's difficult to be certain who is responsible for what.. exactly.

Black is cited as the 'wordsmith'.. though the bulk of the writing weaves back and forth between effective use of a decent vocabulary and a really annoying habit of repeating the same word over and over, often within a paragraph, sometimes.. even the same sentence. I don't know if--"