Review: Bloodrose

February 18, 2012

Bloodrose (Nightshade #3) by Andrea Cremer

Summary: 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 unnameable 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.

My Thoughts: This is a hard book to talk about without spoiling things, so most of this review will be hidden in the spoiler box. Long story short (and spoiler-free): I’m satisfied. I like how things ended. Closure is complete. While things happened that I didn’t like, it didn’t make me dislike the book. My main complaint is that it almost felt rushed. They had a lot to accomplish, and a short time to act. Which is fine. But it felt like things came too easily. Like, despite the high stakes, they didn’t have to work very hard to do what they wanted to do. Things seemed to work out too easily, too simply. I suppose one could argue that the Keepers didn’t take the threat seriously. Perhaps they didn’t expect the Searchers to succeed in their efforts. Perhaps they underestimated their opponent. It’s plausible. The Keepers had been in control for so very, very long that perhaps anything else was unimaginable. I don’t know. But, that aside, the book is well-written and HIGHLY emotional. Have tissue nearby when you read!

Mega Spoilers - highlight white areas if you wanna read the big ones

Let’s just get right down to it. I’m going to freestyle “talk” here. Just say what I’m thinking, regardless of order or sense.

Ren. I loved him. Not so much in the first book. Book 1 I was totally Team Shay. But Shay was an ass in Book 2, so I decided I was Ren all the way. He was great in this book. And his death had me in serious tears. Serious. And Calla’s reaction made me cry, too. But, I felt she got over him too quickly when all was said an done. The pack howls over him and she’s done. At least it came across that way. I get that she’s a wolf, but she’s also human. The human side should have mourned more – especially given her initial reaction to his death.

Shay was at least back to being more like he was in the first book, so his getting the girl didn’t bother me in the least. I’m all for happy endings – even if they’re not the one I’d have chosen. LOL And, yes, we have a big happy – bittersweet, really – ending.

So, my biggest beef: Everything came together too easily, which left the book feeling rushed. I get that there is little time for the Searchers to accomplish what they’re trying to accomplish. I get that they need the element of surprise. So, I get why they had to move so fast. That didn’t bother me. What bothered me was that I felt that things were way too easy for them. They meet up against little resistance in retrieving the remaining three parts of the Elemental Cross. Yes, they have to work hard for it, but there was very little opposition. I would have expected the Keepers to fight harder to protect themselves. Hubris maybe? Perhaps, but I’m not satisfied with that. I could see the first one or two being somewhat easy. But the last two? I get that they felt they had them well-guarded, but I would think that once there was word of the other pieces being taken they would have beefed up security at the other spots. I suppose they might have thought their Fire spot was impenetrable. And that was quite reasonable – and that’s the one that bugs me the most. There’s lots of drama, lots of suspense, but the group comes out of it almost completely unscathed.

And that’s it. Aside from Ren and a couple of smaller losses, very little is lost in the course of this mission. With the amount of danger they faced, I expected more adversity, more loss, and less success. Don’t get me wrong. I expected them to win. But I expected it to be more bittersweet than it was. Again, Ren’s death made it quite bittersweet for me, but I didn’t think Calla – or anyone else, really – felt it as they should have. She said so herself – he was a natural leader, a true Alpha. People – and other wolves – loved him. His death should’ve been a bigger deal than it was.

Despite my complaints, the very end was fantastic. I found Bloodrose to be a wonderful ride, and the (almost) perfect end to an amazing series.

Favorite Quotes: Lots of good ones. Here are my two favorites.

“Real love, even in moments, is worth more than any of us can say.” ~ page 237 (ARC)

Love wasn’t forged by circumstance or changed by sorrow. It simply was. ~ page 376 (ARC)

Source: Received through Around The World Tours for review.

Read It: Get your own copy HERE. (This is a Book Depository link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission at no cost to you. Your support is appreciated!)

Challenges: Counts for the Speculative Fiction Challenge 2012.

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FTC Disclosure: All items reviewed were either obtained by me for my own enjoyment or sent (from the author, publisher, publicist, via tour sites, etc.) in exchange for an honest review. I receive no monetary compensation for my posts. All opinions expressed are my own.

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