“The Dragon’s Rose” by Tati Alvarez is the first book in the Grym Hollow series. “The Dragon’s Rose” follows leading lady Rose Briar in her quest to save the younger sister who betrayed her, while also trying to get away from a painful past.
Rose finds herself seeking the help of The Guardian, an elusive, magical figure who lives on the fringes of her small community and assists those in need - for a price. Rose’s deal for an escape from her current reality leads her to Mescos, a magical realm filled with dragons, krakens, shifters, and more - and straight to the castle of the Dragon King, Malix, whom she’s agreed to marry as part of her deal.
Now, the novel wasn’t horrible. Apart from the grammatical errors that littered the ARC, the story was interesting enough to keep me reading. I enjoyed the premise of a bargain for a new life, with all the twists that came with it. I would have loved to see some more development of Rose and Malix’s relationship - it felt superficial at best and the romance fell flat of what I’d expect from a romantasy. The dual POV also left much to be desired; I felt the voices weren’t distinct enough from each other to tell much of a difference between one and the other.
That being said, I would love to see where the author takes this series - as there were definitely hints at what a sequel might hold in this first book. I enjoyed Alvarez’s writing and think with more editing, the next book could be a hit.
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Posts
No comments