Review: Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

Title: Bloodrose (Nightshade #3)
Author: Andrea Cremer
Published: January 3rd 2012
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Calla has always welcomed war.

But now that the final battle is upon her, there's more at stake than fighting. There's saving Ren, even if it incurs Shay's wrath. There's keeping Ansel safe, even if he's been branded a traitor. There's proving herself as the pack's alpha, facing unnamable horrors, and ridding the world of the Keepers' magic once and for all. And then there's deciding what to do when the war ends. If Calla makes it out alive, that is. In this remarkable final installment of the Nightshade trilogy, international bestselling author Andrea Cremer crafts a dynamic novel with twists and turns that will keep you breathless until its final pages.

I was a little reluctant to read Bloodrose since I really enjoyed Nightshade, but Wolfsbane crushed a little of that amazement I had with the first book. Luckily Bloodrose held its own and somewhat redeemed itself regarding the thrilling action part which I came to love in the first installment. 

"Oh gods! My eyes!" Connor covered his face. "My innocence!"

"Shut up, Connor," I said, both relieved and disappointed by the interruption.

Thank god it had action unlike the second book. Whereas Wolfsbane was all talk and no action, this one was vice versa. Maybe it felt a little too rushed and there was practically no character growth for me, but at least I felt like the plot moved on. The final battle was really 'meh' though. Oh, remember I mentioned in my review for Wolfsbane that I loved Connor? Oh, well! CONNOR, BABY!!!! :))) I just adore this firecracker and his fun personality and even though he got on the others’ nerves a lot with his jokes while things were dead serious, I just had a blast and LOL-ed a lot. Ethan gets some of my love as well:)

It’s no secret that I’m team Ren since I don’t like Shay as a character that much and I’m not a fan of him as a love interest. I realized after finishing Bloodrose that my issue regarding the love triangle, which is such a huge part of this series, wasn’t so much with Shay rather than with Calla’s behavior and leading both of the guys on. It was unbearable. One moment she was drooling about Shay and wanting to do all sorts of kinky stuff with him and the next she was basically having hot-flashes by Ren’s presence. Ugh.. And all her 'If I choose my mate now, our shaky alliance would crumble' stuff just made me crumple my nose and feel the need to sucker punch her. Leading both of them on was very humble of her #FeelMySarcasm123 -.-

Cremer has gotten enough hate to last a lifetime on what she did with the love triangle and Calla’s “choice” that I’m just going to say that I’m disappointed to say the least because there wasn't a choice to make. Also, I was happy with the way the story for the pack ended, but I wasn’t happy with who survived. I was frustrated and seriously angry about what happened, but at the same time, now, 3 months after finishing Bloodrose, I realize, that I was invested enough to care so Cremer gets points for that.

This review has become so very long that if you really have read it all, thanks! I just needed to get my rambling out there, but to conclude this review I’d say that I’ll try and not to be biased about what Cremer did to that ending regarding one character’s death that left me in ruins, but overall it was action-packed, funny, emotional, but also frustrating and rushed. I don’t regret jumping on this train and reading these books though and I’m looking forward to reading both of the spin-off stories even if Cremer is pulling a Cassie Clare on us.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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