The thrilling first book in a YA fantasy trilogy for fans of Red Queen. In a world where social prestige derives from a trifecta of blood, money, and magic, one girl has the ability to break the spell that holds the social order in place.
Sixteen-year-old Anna Arden is barred from society by a defect of blood. Though her family is part of the Luminate, powerful users of magic, she is Barren, unable to perform the simplest spells. Anna would do anything to belong. But her fate takes another course when, after inadvertently breaking her sister’s debutante spell—an important chance for a highborn young woman to show her prowess with magic—Anna finds herself exiled to her family’s once powerful but now crumbling native Hungary.
Her life might well be over.
In Hungary, Anna discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Not the people around her, from her aloof cousin Noémi to the fierce and handsome Romani Gábor. Not the society she’s known all her life, for discontent with the Luminate is sweeping the land. And not her lack of magic. Isolated from the only world she cares about, Anna still can’t seem to stop herself from breaking spells.
As rebellion spreads across the region, Anna’s unique ability becomes the catalyst everyone is seeking. In the company of nobles, revolutionaries, and Romani, Anna must choose: deny her unique power and cling to the life she’s always wanted, or embrace her ability and change that world forever.
“A fast-paced historical fantasy full of magic, romance, and adventure!”—JESSICA DAY GEORGE, New York Times bestselling author of Silver in the Blood
* Very cool setting! It starts in London and moves to Hungary. Plus we see a few other places along the way (Austria).
* It was really interesting how magic was intertwined with the class system. The rich get magic, the poor do not.
* I loved the main character, Anna. What I loved most about her was how she needed some time to decide for herself what was ‘right’. She had people pulling her in different directions, trying to use her for different reasons. She struggled with figuring out what SHE felt she should do. I loved watching her go through that.
* Revolution!! It was really easy to hate people in control, which was kind of fun.
What I didn’t like:
* I didn’t love the writing. It just didn’t excite me that much, or I didn’t click with it. It wasn’t bad, I think it just didn’t quite sync with me.
* On a similar note, I didn’t get super invested in any of the characters (other than the MC, who I quite liked). There’s a romance, but it was kind of bland. There were a few other side characters, but I just didn’t feel for them. There are even a few deaths, but I felt NOTHING. I just couldn’t get invested. I wasn’t made to care about them.
* There were a few bits towards the end where I was like, ehh this is a bit weird.
Blood Rose Rebellion is a pretty cool book to read if you’re looking for magic intertwined with historical fiction, European cultures, and rebellion against some major dickwads!
