Ever since The Severed Thread, I’ve been looking forward to The Cursed Rose. This has been one of my favorite series in a while because of how it has transformed this retelling and added new unique elements. Keep reading this book review of The Cursed Rose for my full thoughts.
Summary
Fi is a prisoner. Briar, a monster. Shane’s a warrior. And Red is a traitor. What was once a formidable group of four fighting to reawaken the kingdom is now ruptured, torn apart by the wicked Spindle Witch.
Confined to a tower with the monstrous Briar Rose, Fi is caught in the Spindle Witch’s ever-tightening web. With the Spindle Witch on the verge of finding the Siphoning Spells and crushing Andar—with Fi’s help, no less—Fi’s only hope lies in decoding the ancient riddle of the Rose Witches before she loses Briar forever.
Shane is desperate to save Andar—and her partner. She’s on the hunt for a weapon left by the mysterious Lord of the Butterflies, which holds the key to the Spindle Witch’s demise. Her love for Red has only fortified. But Red’s betrayal puts her in danger from a new enemy—the Spindle Witch’s executioner, the Wraith, a witch as powerful as he is cruel.
The future of Andar lies in the secrets of its past. Fi and Shane must take on the greatest lost ruin of them all—the Tomb of Queen Aurora.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
The Cursed Rose is a fabulous end to one of my favorite series. It solidifies the themes of what we would do to save the ones we love. With signature puzzles and a bit of tomb robbing, The Cursed Rose strikes a balance between humor, heart warming feelings, and heartbreak. The stakes are high here. And Fi, Shane, Briar, and Red have to reckon with the consequences of the past book. The Cursed Rose asks many questions. If we can manage to save the places we have made home? If we have become the monsters we ran from? And what we will do to avoid losing the ones we love?
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If you’ve been following along with the series, it’ll be an easy argument to make. You need to read this ending. I love how it ties together elements I loved from the first – like the Sleeping Beauty elements – and from the previous book – the puzzles and tomb raiding shenanigans. Like many great novels, it examines the difference between protection and isolation. To protect the ones we love, do we isolate ourselves? Do we keep things from the ones we love?
What do we let our love for others do? Twist us into making bargains as collateral damage? It’s a great finale to an action packed and heart warming series. Find The Cursed Rose on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.