Eves tells the story of Anna Arden, a non-magical member of the wealthy part of English society where magic is necessary to be seen as respectable. The only member of her family without magic, Anna somehow remains able to break curses or spells unintentionally, attracting the attention of The Circle, a group of magic wielders who control who has magic.
When Anna breaks the curse at her sister’s debut party and therefore shames her family, Anna is unhappily sent away with her grandmother to Hungary to wait until the chaos surrounding the incident calms. But in Hungary, Anna finds a world at the brink of rebellion: university students and Romani people fight for magic against The Circle who refuses to acknowledge them as worthy of magic. As Anna remains in Hungary, the people and the country become the home she always wanted but never found with her family in England. As rebellion flares into war, Anna must pick a side. Will she side with The Circle who claims to want people to be safe with magic or the rebellion who supports magic equality for all?
Readers may also find the main character, Anna, boring. Throughout the book, Anna is pulled between the wants her family and her society has for her, and what she wants for herself. The author attempts to transition Anna from being dependent on others to being dependent on herself, but never really succeeds. Anna’s behavior is understandable once the reader understands that the time period the story exists in does not allow for Anna to be independent. However, given the popularity of novels with strong female heroines, Anna’s character may prove irritating to some readers.
As a beginning book in a series, Blood Rose Rebellion has a lot of potential. The novel has much to please readers but will have to wait until the next book to see if the series sets itself apart from other popular YA novels.
Does it have a Young Adult Label?: Yes.
Favorite Quote: “Some rebels are made, not born.”
Recommended if you like: history, royalty, magic, rebellion, for fans of Divergent or Red Queen, romance, adventure, fantasy, politics
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