Post by Charlynn on Jun 23, 2012 11:36:10 GMT -5
The Blood of Roses by Masha Canham[/b]
Picking up where its predecessor, The Pride of Lions, left off, The Blood of Roses finds Catherine on her way back to her family estate in Derby, while her husband, Alex, joins Charles Stuart in the second Scottish Rebellion. The war doesn't last long - less than a year in fact, but, during that time, the newlyweds encounter their fair share of angst: attempted rape, a secret past, murder, imprisonment, and loss... and that's not even counting the havoc wrecked by the war. Because of the historical setting, Canham couldn't change the course Alex and Catherine were set on. Prestonpans, Falkirk, and Culloden: these are all real places where real battles were fought, and, shockingly, The Blood of Roses featured real, harsh consequences from these conflicts. Death was not a specter who haunted only periphery, inconsequential characters in this novel. Given the book's genre, it wouldn't have been surprising for Canham to use some form of deus ex machina to keep Alex, Catherine, and those they loved and care for safe. Thankfully, this was not the case. Oh, the hero and the heroine are still larger than life Mary Sue and Gary Stu characters, and they both survive the Rebellion, but they felt the war's devastating consequences. This is what sets The Blood of Roses apart from some of its more frivolous counterparts, and its other flaws (for example: the presence of too many perspectives and the cartoonish villainy of Alex and Catherine's enemies) were tempered by Canham's attention to historic detail and the slight whisper of the unexplainable - premonitions, Druids, and charmed claymores. In fact, because of Canham's strengths, it would be interesting to see her pen JUST a historical novel, the romance taken away from the end of her genre of choice.
3 out of 5 Stars
Picking up where its predecessor, The Pride of Lions, left off, The Blood of Roses finds Catherine on her way back to her family estate in Derby, while her husband, Alex, joins Charles Stuart in the second Scottish Rebellion. The war doesn't last long - less than a year in fact, but, during that time, the newlyweds encounter their fair share of angst: attempted rape, a secret past, murder, imprisonment, and loss... and that's not even counting the havoc wrecked by the war. Because of the historical setting, Canham couldn't change the course Alex and Catherine were set on. Prestonpans, Falkirk, and Culloden: these are all real places where real battles were fought, and, shockingly, The Blood of Roses featured real, harsh consequences from these conflicts. Death was not a specter who haunted only periphery, inconsequential characters in this novel. Given the book's genre, it wouldn't have been surprising for Canham to use some form of deus ex machina to keep Alex, Catherine, and those they loved and care for safe. Thankfully, this was not the case. Oh, the hero and the heroine are still larger than life Mary Sue and Gary Stu characters, and they both survive the Rebellion, but they felt the war's devastating consequences. This is what sets The Blood of Roses apart from some of its more frivolous counterparts, and its other flaws (for example: the presence of too many perspectives and the cartoonish villainy of Alex and Catherine's enemies) were tempered by Canham's attention to historic detail and the slight whisper of the unexplainable - premonitions, Druids, and charmed claymores. In fact, because of Canham's strengths, it would be interesting to see her pen JUST a historical novel, the romance taken away from the end of her genre of choice.
3 out of 5 Stars