Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway - Of Bells and Thorns (The Rose Master #2) by Valentina Cano

Book info:

Title:  Of Bells and Thorns  
Author:  Valentina Cano
Series:  The Rose Master #2 
Genre:  YA Gothic
Release Date:  November 28th, 2017
Publisher:  REUTS Publications, LLC
 
Readers fell in love with Anne Tinning, a maid in 19th century London, and Lord Grey, the master of a haunted manor.  The Rose Master sequel continues their journey in another hauntingly beautiful tale.

Synopsis:

Rosewood Manor has been ashes for weeks.

Left with no post and no home, Anne Tinning never expected to find herself in a luxurious carriage, dressed in the finest of clothes, pretending to be the wife of Lord August Grey. The search for Miss Bellingham, however, will require them to blend into the very height of London society, a class Anne has only ever served, and which August despises. But August insists that the ruse is the only way. For although they’ve vanquished the wraith that called for August’s life, they will never be safe unless they find a way to stop the woman he scorned.

There are traces of Lily Bellingham the length and breadth of London, but when Anne and August investigate the gruesome disappearances in a factory she has just purchased, they realize that Lily is more powerful than either of them. And she has devised a new way to take her revenge.

With another curse placed upon August’s head, Anne must find a way to defeat Lily, and this time, she will have no help from the young man she has grown to love. This time, the curse is more insidious, twisting him into someone unrecognizable.

This time, August Grey is the one she must fear.

Lush, lyrical, and layered in horror-filled suspense, Of Bells and Thorns evokes the feel of classic Gothic literature, blending the magic of a beautiful fairy tale against the rich backdrop of history.

Add to Goodreads

Purchase here: http://www.reuts.com/product/bells-thorns-valentina-cano/ 

My review:
My rating: 4 stars

Well, it has been over 2 years since I read the first one, The Rose Master, but I was able to get back into this story pretty quickly, as the way it was begun brought up most of the details in such a way that it wasn't like an info dump, but rather woven into the story perfectly. You will need to read the first book, but I did not need to reread right before in order to jump back into the story.  As with the first book, I was drawn into the story, and had a lot of trouble putting it down whenever I would have to go back to real life for work, or sleep, whatever. 

I wished for maybe a bit more romance between Anne and August, although I'm sure that the way it was done was totally proper for the time period, and of course for a YA book. There is a monster/creature in this story that was extremely scary sounding, I could picture it in my head as I read, and it was something you would see in an extremely scary movie. In fact, the description reminded me a lot of the description of one of the creatures in the novel It by Stephen King, the book, not the movies. It was definitely written as horrifying as anything you'd find in a King novel. 

While the first book in the series had an ending that was good enough for if it had ended up just being one book, this one leaves off at a pretty big cliffhanger, and now I am left hoping that I won't have to wait two more years to find out how our heroes will get themselves out of the situation they wind up in at the final scene.

Definitely a series worth reading if you haven't yet, and a sequel worth picking up if you have read the first one. And once again, a beautiful cover.

About Book 1: The Rose Master:

The day Anne Tinning turns seventeen, birds fall from the sky. But that's hardly the most upsetting news. She's being dismissed from the home she's served at since she was a child, and shipped off to become the newly hired parlor maid for a place she's never heard of. And when she sees the run-down, isolated house, she instantly knows why:

There's something wrong with Rosewood Manor.

Staffed with only three other servants, all gripped by icy silence and inexplicable bruises, and inhabited by a young master who is as cold as the place itself, the house is shrouded in neglect and thick with fear. Her questions are met with hushed whispers, and she soon finds herself alone in the empty halls, left to tidy and clean rooms no one visits.

As the feeling of being watched grows, she begins to realize there is something else in the house with them--some creature that stalks the frozen halls and claws at her door. A creature that seems intent on harming her.

When a fire leaves Anne trapped in the manor with its Master, she finally demands to know why. But as she forces the truth about what haunts the grounds from Lord Grey, she learns secrets she isn't prepared for. The creature is very real, and she's the only one who can help him stop it. 

Now, Anne must either risk her life for the young man she's grown to admire, or abandon her post while she still can.

Add to Goodreads

The Rose Master on Amazon!

-->

“In this Gothic fantasy, Cano evokes both Beauty and the Beast and Jane Eyre while creating something new and strange. Cano does a beautiful job of setting mood and atmosphere, and her characters dance around one another with relentless industry and brooding allure, fighting their inevitable attraction. This is a strong, satisfying effort.” ~Publishers Weekly on THE ROSE MASTER

About the Author:

-->

Valentina Cano is a student of classical singing who spends whatever free time she has either reading or writing. She also watches over a veritable army of pets. Her work has appeared in numerous publications and her poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best Of the Web.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

 

Giveaway:

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Organized by:

 

Review: The Rose Master by Valentina Cano

First, thanks to Netgalley and REUTS Publications for allowing me to read an egalley of this title.  The cover of course is so stunning, and the summary, Jane Eyre meets Beauty and the Beast, definitely drew me in.  I definitely got the Jane Eyre feeling, and I can see Beauty and the Beast.  But overall it was a different story than most of what I've read. 

The main character is Anne, she is a servant in a house in London, and has been since she was very young.  Her mother died when she was young, and her father is a servant in another household and she rarely sees him.  When she turns 17 a couple things happen. First, birds fall from the sky and die.  Then she is called in to the Lady of her household and told that she's being sent to work for Lord Grey at Rosewood Manor.  She's not happy about this, she'll have to leave the life she's known.  The people she thinks of as the closest she has to family.  But she must go, she has no choice, and her father has already given his permission.  So she travels to the manor which is in the country, a big difference from living in London.  The trip there is strange enough.  The lord of the house has sent a carriage to take her.  And the drive is very strange.  He will barely talk to her and when she tries to make conversation, he acts like she is doing something very offensive and tries to get away from her.  Once at the house she finds there are only a couple other servants, and no cook.  She's not taken to see the Lord right away, in fact she's told she may never see him, but she is expected to do her job.  Cleaning and dusting basically.  The other servants aren't that friendly either.  The house is kept extremely cold as well. 

Then, one night, she notices scratching and growling on her door in the middle of the night.  When she opens the door, there is nothing there.  Strange things happen around the house. She is almost drowned in a fountain, and once she does finally come in contact with Lord Grey, she finds that there is something going on, and maybe she is the only one that can help.  The supernatural part of the story isn't quite what you think at first. And it took almost halfway through to get an idea of what is going on.  But it kept me reading so that I could finally find out what was actually going on.  And when it all starts happening, there isn't a ton of time before it all comes to a head.  No long time spent trying to get it all learned and figured out. They have to do it when the time comes to fight the evil. 

It is definitely a good ending, a character shows up at the end that I had wondered about, and now was interested to see.  Not to mention that the romance isn't anything that could be considered insta-love, so that is nice.  A good read, kept my attention the whole way through.