Thursday, August 22, 2013

Review: Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

Title: Bloodrose (Nightshade #3)
Author: Andrea Cremer
Published: January 3rd 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

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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8 comments:

  1. I remember seeing some really bad reviews for this series so I gave up on it. Too bad that this one was disappointment for you after that little enjoyment you had. I'll skip this. Great review :)

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  2. Yeah, Cremer has received a lot of hate for the way she ended the love triangle. I couldn't resist so I read reviews that were full of spoilers.
    It's a shame that the series didn't progress strongly because I'd heard about how brilliant the first book was.
    I'm actually glad I didn't start it. Ugh! Calla sounds freaking annoying and I don't think I would like her at all.
    At least there were some interesting characters for you to enjoy. Connor sounds like totally stole your heart.
    Great honest review, Siiri.

    P.S That is not a long review at all! Mine are like a novella and I can never seem to make them shorter! >.<

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  3. I'm thinking maybe I'm not going to finish this series Siiri! I hadn't really planned to despite the fact that I enjoyed Nightshade for the most part, but the love triangle aspect is going to drive me crazy, I just know it. Though I wouldn't mind at all if you wanted to tell me what happened with her choice so I can know why everyone is so irritated ;-) I do kind of want to meet Connor too, anyone that inspires all-caps is someone I need to read about!

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  4. Very good review. The series does intrigue me but i can't seem to find the drive to start reading it.

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  5. This is a series that I completely lost interest in, a shame since I loved Nightshade. I just HATE what happened with the love triangle. It felt so forced. I'm glad you liked it well enough, Siiri. Great review!

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  6. I enjoyed the action and the secondary characters but that was about it for this story. Calla completely ruined the whole series for me, and I felt like it was a complete fail on the authors part to get everyone to love one character and then kill him off! Great review, Siiri!

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  7. Did you read the small excerpt from Snakeroot about Connor and Adne? That's the one thing I'd say I really enjoyed about Wolfsbane, despite the info-dumps. The world, yeah, but the interaction between those particular Searchers was really nice to read.

    Calla's behavior - lol. We've totally talked about this before, but yes. yes. I'm all for Calla being sexually active, but I was just not a fan of her leading both guys on. Also, YOU ARE SO AWESOME --> "#FeelMySarcasm123" (No, this isn't sarcasm--just love the hashtag ;)).

    Lol, what choice? I know that it was implied that there was one before what happened, but it didn't feel that concrete. I too found myself a bit disappointed by the action in the climax, but hey, I still do hope to follow the author and her work into the future. RIFT was kind of intriguing :).

    "I’m looking forward to reading both of the spin-off stories even if Cremer is pulling a Cassie Clare on us." <-- LOL. Oh, Siiri. So which will you read first? Snakeroot or Rift/Rise?

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  8. I totally agree with you when you said there was no choice to make. The 'love triangle' was just so frustrating. I was also Team Ren, but I felt like that whole ending with the love triangle was sorta a cop out. I've read (audio) Rift and found it interesting. I have the sequel but have yet to read it. Great review :)

    Janina @ Synchronized Reading

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