CATCHALL
I really wanted to love this book. It hurts me that I couldn't love this book. I tried very hard, I really did. I honestly really tried to love this book. And after what I've heard, I was sure I would. But in the end, it wasn't for me. I liked it well enough, but I don't love it. And I can't. I just can't. This book made me cry for probably about an hour, and not necessarily happy tears. I can't give this book the rating I want to.
THE HEROINE
CALLA TOR
I liked Calla in Nightshade, but I grew to love her in Wolfsbane. And now in Bloodrose, I actually started to dislike her. She's become bossy and rather arrogant. One of the lines from the book was, "I was just too stubborn to fail at anything." This is not an exact quote, as I do not have the book in front of me, but it is rather close enough. It probably wasn't meant to sound so conceited and self-absorbed, but it rubbed me in the wrong way and continued to irk me even when I knew I should've been over it. Overall, I didn't find Calla very likable in this book and was quite disappointed. She also seemed so much weaker in this book, which I did not like at all.
THE LOVE INTERESTS
RENIER LAROCHE
I really, really, really loved Ren in this book. His story was beautiful and if I loved him before, I really love him now. I loved the way he immediately accepted Adne as his sister and wanted so badly to protect her. It was so sweet! It was obvious he really cared for her, and it was so good to see that side of his personality. And, as always, Ren is gorgeous. I loved getting to know him better in this book. It was possibly my favorite part, and I grew ever-closer to his character.
SEAMUS DORAN
God, I hate Shay. I only disliked him before, and I'm sorry to use such a harsh word, but I do. I hate him. He's so pushy and apparently has a dated brain because he believes in male dominance. He's always acting like he's the one in charge, and has such an awful attitude. I suppose I must concede that it is rather sweet that he would give everything for Calla, even up to his life. Ordinarily, I probably would have eaten this up and disliked Shay rather less. But as a girl whose boyfriend is dying, I'm having a hard time seeing anything romantic about dying for love these days. (God, I need to stop bringing personal stuff into this. I'm only using it to illustrate a point, though, I suppose.)
THE OTHER SECONDARY CHARACTERS
CONNOR
Ha. I love Connor. He's so funny, though rather less in Bloodrose than in Wolfsbane. Still, in Bloodrose we get to see the sweeter side of him, which is pleasant. I really adore him. He's definitely one of my favorite characters in this book. Since Calla has been removed from that list, he's actually probably second only to Ren.
ADNE
I liked her a lot in this book. Far better than Calla. She seems sweet and real. As aforementioned, her interaction with Ren is very sweet and realistic. She cares for him in an entirely good way. She also gets a little bit of excitement ;)
SABINE
I liked Sabine in this book. We've slowly gotten to know her better over the series, and she nows seems like the type of girl you'd like to have watching your back. She's loyal and kind, but not weak. She made a choice that I hugely respect and admire her for.
ANSEL
I actually found him kind of pathetic for a large part of the book, but I suppose he cleaned up nicely. And he did try a little, I suppose. Well, anyway, I though he was a bit shallower in this than in previous books.
I have no further comment on these or the other secondary characters at this time. I may add a few things later.
THE PLOT
I'm conflicted here. For most of the book, the plot was very, very good. It kept me interested and on my toes. It was urgent and fun. I liked the characters, so it was good to read and learn more about them. I was eager to know what came next and excited for every minuscule moment. Everything that happened felt important. I could not stop reading. I thought I had never read anything so wonderful and breathtaking and perfect in my entire life. I was ready to rate the book five stars then and there.
And then it promptly fell apart.
I couldn’t stand the last 100 pages or so. I got annoyed, irritated, bored. I got angry.
I wanted to love it. But I couldn't.
WARNING: THE SPOILER TAB BENEATH THIS STATEMENT CONTAINS A MAJOR MAJOR SPOILER OR TWO. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ THE SPOILERS, YOU MAY SKIP AHEAD TO AFTER THE SPOILER TAB :)
To view the spoiler, check out my Goodreads review.
THE ROMANCE
REN AND CALLA
I found Ren and Calla's romance to be sweet and believable. It gets hot and heavy at a few places, but there's so much chemistry between then that it does't feel forced. It was fun to read about. Ren gets a little possessive over Calla a few times, but it's not totally obnoxious and I found it to be fine. Their romance has always had sizzle and heat and, more so, love. I've always thought they felt like they worked, and I liked that I saw more of their romance in this book. Their love has always seemed genuine, and that point is enforced in Bloodrose.
SHAY AND CALLA
Hm. Shay remains his bossy, demanding self. As I've said, it is sweet that he seems to care so much for Calla at times, but more often than not he seems only to want to control her. It honestly feels like an abusive relationship to me. I say this because I've been in an abusive relationship before, and this is what it was like. (Come to think of it, no wonder I dislike Shay so much. At least partly.) But I suppose if Calla doesn't mind being abused and letting him completely control the relationship even though it's the twenty-first century, then I guess it's fine that she likes to make out with him. (Um, not.)
SECONDARY ROMANCES
I don't want to give away the pairings. You can probably guess them, but just to be safe, I won't say. But they were, for the most part, very sweet and gave the story a nice romantic feeling.
THE WRITING
I can't lie: I do love Cremer's writing. It's flowy and beautiful and descriptive. Calla is kind of annoying at times, but no writer is perfect. Overall, the writing was decent. I really love her lush descriptions and her prose is gorgeous. I especially liked the epilogue, which was not told in first person point of view. Without Calla's voice, which has grown irritating to me, Cremer's writing shone beautifully. She has improved since Wolfsbane, and even more so since Nightshade.
THE ENDING
Well, I did enjoy the epilogue. But the ending before that? Not so much. Actually, the ending received almost none of its allotted stars. I really, really disliked it. I suppose some found it satisfying, but I found it incomplete. I wish I could've liked it, because that would have made me feel much better. But it just wasn't my type of ending.
WRAPUP
I suppose I will be reading Rift and Rise, mostly because of the short story at the end of my edition (see below). I forget the name,but it was intriguing enough to allow me to want to read more, even after the disappointment I found in this book.
BONUS CONTENT(!)
I reviewed the Barnes & Noble exclusive edition, which contained extra content. The short story was marvelous and very, very interesting. I enjoyed it immensely. The Searchers' armory is also a cute little addition with fantastic drawings. The family trees were interesting as well.
FINE.