Wolves and Roses
Author: Christina Bauer
Published on: 31 October 2017
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance
Pages: 250
Format: Kindle Edition
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★★★Seventeen-year-old Bryar Rose has a problem. She’s descended from one of the three magical races—shifters, fairies, or witches. That makes her one of the Magicorum, and Magicorum always follow a fairy tale life template. In Bryar’s case, that template should be Sleeping Beauty.
“Should” being the key word.
Trouble is, Bryar is nowhere near the sleeping beauty life template. Not even close. She doesn’t like birds or woodland creatures. She can’t sing. And she certainly can’t stand Prince Philpot, the so-called “His Highness of Hedge Funds” that her aunties want her to marry. Even worse, Bryar’s having recurring dreams of a bad boy hottie and is obsessed with finding papyri from ancient Egypt. What’s up with that?
All Bryar wants is to attend a regular high school with normal humans and forget all about shifters, fairies, witches, and the curse that Colonel Mallory the Magnificent placed on her. And she might be able to do just that–if only she can just keep her head down until her eighteenth birthday when the spell that’s ruined her life goes buh-bye.
But that plan gets turned upside down when Bryar Rose meets Knox, the bad boy who’s literally from her dreams. Knox is a powerful werewolf, and his presence in her life changes everything, and not just because he makes her knees turn into Jell-O. If Bryar can’t figure out who—or what—she really is, it might cost both her and Knox their lives… as well as jeopardize the very nature of magic itself.
I would like to give a huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a chance to read this novel in exchange for an honest review. ❤
Reading ‘Wolves and Roses’ has been a rollercoaster ride for me. The novel hooks me right from the beginning but I start to gradually lose interest in the world and action that is going on in the novel. I love the mystery and suspense aspects in the novel as it keeps me glued to the pages of the novel, wanting to find out more about Bryar’s true identity. In my opinion, the novel goes downhill after Bryar’s true identity gets revealed. The series of incidents which happen thereafter feels pretty unexceptional and I didn’t get surprised or mind-blown by the twist in the novel. I kind of anticipated it even before it occurred.
Nonetheless, I love the main characters in Wolves and Roses. Bryar and Elle are strong female leads. Bryar is an honest, protective of Elle and straightforward person while Elle is the more witty, sneaky and loyal towards her friends. From being a hardcore papyri lover to an expert con artist, you will never get tired of these two girls. There will always be happenings wherever they go.
Personally, I like to read books which has a strong, kickass protagonist. Bryar is the perfect protagonist which fits such imaginary. She is able to hold herself in fights and isn’t afraid to stand up against enemies who are far more powerful than her.
Let’s not forget about the male characters in this novel. The bromance between Alec and Knox are really noteworthy and well written. Knox is the more hard-headed, stubborn and rash guy while Alec is more of a tactical, cool-headed and calculative guy. Both of them are direct opposites of one another and yet, they work so well together. Such an irony eh? ;D
A downside to this novel would be that throughout the course of the novel, there is the introduction of new characters into the storyline. I shall not name any because it might spoil those who have yet to read the novel. Though I initially hoped the new characters would bring more flare and make the plot more interesting, at the end of the day, I feel that those characters are introduced just because their presence is needed.
On the whole, Wolves and Roses have been an enjoyable read, I will definitely get my hands on the sequel once it is available in the markets. I’m dying to read more about Elle x Alec and Bryar x Knox.
