Review: Blood Rose

Blood Rose by Danielle Rose
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The synopsis of Blood Rose grabbed me right away: witches and vampires – of course I was going to jump into this one. I’ve always enjoyed such stories – and ever since I read Discovery of Witches, my love for such stories has increased tenfold. Thus, this was one I needed to read.

I was pulled in throughout this story – I cannot deny that. It was a very easy read, one that pulls you in, leaves you reading it in next to no time at all. You believe you’ve been reading for a few minutes, when in reality you’ve been reading for a couple of hours and are close to finishing the book. I cannot fault the book in that sense – it really does suck you in.

However, despite being sucked into the story, my emotions towards the book are a bit all over the place. I experienced both highs and lows with this one. I was addicted, yes, but I had expected something more from this. It was enjoyable, but it did not deliver everything it could have. I wasn’t expecting the high of Discovery of Witches – I doubt I will ever find a vampire and witch romance that will top that – yet I had expected something a little bit more.

The first couple of chapters are wonderful. Our female lead is introduced as a no nonsense kind of woman – the kind of woman to take down the bad guys and ask questions after. It’s wonderful. Moreover, we’re quickly thrown into dire situations. I love it when this happens – things get moving so quickly, pulling you in.

Now, whilst the rest of the book kept me interested in where things were going, I feel as though the delivery was a bit off.

I feel as though the butt kicking lessened for quite some time, with our female seeming much weaker than she’d originally been. It was supposed to be a portrayal of her shifting views, in her growing accustomed to her new life, yet it felt as though I was reading a very different character. Her choices and the way things played out didn’t quite fit with the image I’d created in the first part of the book. Towards the end of the book I felt as though she shifted again, but for a while, it felt a bit off.

I think my main issue is because of the romance. It just happened. There was no deep connection from my point of view – it just was. If there had been more depth to it, I feel as though I would have enjoyed it more – I would have been able to believe the changes were due to the impact of the romance. Unfortunately, I couldn’t buy into it in the way I wanted to. There was the potential for me to love the romance, yet it was lacking the depth I favour.

As the first book in the series, though, it does open up a lot of potential. I have some ideas of where the series will go from here, there are certain things I really wish to see play out, yet I do feel as though it didn’t quite pack the punch it could have. Everything happened so fast, there was so much to it, but I didn’t quite make the connection I wished I had.

I’m interested to see where the series goes from here, but it’s not at the top of my to-read list.

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