Rose’s Wrath, a YA fantasy fairy-tale retelling by new indie author Oceane McAllister, has been released! I am honored to be hosting a stop on the blog tour to promote this book.
Description
"Have you ever heard Red Riding Hood howl at the moon?" When Cerise, Verre, Blanca, and Aura are captured and forced to complete a near-impossible task, it seems certain that their loved ones' lives are as good as over. "Or seen Cinderella kill a man with just a shard of glass?" And despite meeting a dragon, internal disputes, and the fact that they're all most likely going to die, they grow close. Too close. "Snow White has vanquished more with her poisoned breath than her beauty." For secrets will come to light that have the power to change everything. There is a traitor in their midst; one who could potentially save or destroy them all. "And Sleeping Beauty? She will bring slumber with but a touch of her hand."
Review
Rose's Wrath is a fantasy retelling of various fairy tales, and while this genre is fairly crowded the author, Oceane McAllister, manages to make her own unique mark on it.
In the world of Allegora, shapeshifter-human "hybrids" are killed for their race, citizens live in poverty and work in dangerous mines, and the king performs horrible experiments on the concubines he tires of. This is not a land of happily-ever-after, yet our four main heroines manage to find happiness to hold onto.
Aura, Cerise, Blanca, and Verre are based off of Sleeping Beauty, Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and Cinderella respectively, and each is gifted a unique power having to do with their original fairy tale. Each is gifted with their own unique talents and backgrounds - Verre is an assassin, Aura a young woman in poverty looking out for her siblings, Cerise an abused hybrid in hiding, and Blanca a girl brought back from death. Each is given a distinctive and enjoyable personality.
Verre had the most development, and McAllister shows a gift for originality in this respect. While Verre is an assassin, she doesn't live the loner lifestyle, and has a loving mother and fiance. Other characters are not confined to their traditional roles either. Blanca, the sweetest and most timid of the four, is the one with severe prejudice towards hybrids. It is these contradictory traits that adds depth to the protagonists, and makes them seem just as flawed as real people.
The individual motivations of the protagonists were fleshed out and sympathetic, and none of them were dislikeable. The world of Allegora, although horrible, was intriguing, and I found sympathy for the villain Madame Rose in her motivation to overthrow the prevailing rulers.
The main issue I had with this book was that it didn't go as quite in-depth as it could have. There was a set-up for a very complex, interesting world, but the book doesn't delve into it as much as I would have liked it to. We hear different aspects of the world mentioned in passing, but many parts are brushed over, including the backstories of the protagonists. Cerise battles with the abusive woman she lived with for much of the story, but we don't get many details on what it was like to live with her. Verre's fears of her siblings being set to the mines and palace are mentioned, but there isn't much time spent on why this is so horrible. Many of the explanations are rushed and left without emotional impact, which removes some of the tension from the story.
A longer book with more time spent on character development and worldbuilding would have made the already great story even more interesting, and would have increased my investment in the stakes. That said, the story is highly enjoyable as it is. It's an exciting adventure with humor, heart, and fun magic powers. And that is the prevailing emotion I felt while reading this - a sense of fun and nostalgia for the fantasy and fairy tale books of my childhood. There was danger and darkness in the book, but it doesn't lose its sense of humor or enchantment, and it's an entertaining ride. Be sure to grab a copy!
Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52295797-rose-s-wrath
Author Website: https://oceanemcallister.com/