A Review of The Rose Throne

The Rose Throne by Mette Ivie Harrison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This story almost has the feel of alternate history, only...it isn't. There are a lot of similarities here to the idea of Henry the VIII and his daughter, Elizabeth. Ailsbet is red-haired, her father was a charmer in his youth but a dangerous, paranoid, man as he ages, with his girth ever growing. The king gets rid of a wife who doesn't please him, and Ailsbet must tread carefully, committing her heart to no man. And of course, there's the title, The Rose Throne...

I actually sort of liked Ailsbet because she wasn't the typical heroine, and both she and her brother had a lot of growth throughout the novel. The princess I had more of a problem with was Marissa. I understood she was from a poorer, lesser kingdom, but I had serious problems with the way she just accepted the insults Kellin hurled at her. And her father, the king, let Kellin! And in the midst of her statements of , "oh yes you're right, I'm so sorry," and "I'm so naive and terrible," they're suddenly saying they shouldn't be in love. I felt like I missed the chapter where they actually fell in love and started appreciating each other. I get the idea of a love-hate relationship, and I even like them when they're done right, but this almost just felt like an abusive relationship.

I also liked the world set up, with the gender-specific magic, though I didn't entirely understand why only the islands seemed to have magic. I was also very curious about Ailsbet's flute-playing as I felt there was more to that than was explored--it would be great to see a book go further into this and all the magic.

In fact, another book is pretty much necessary at this point. After seeing so much growth with Ailsbet, I really hope to see it with Issa as well, and not just in the love area. And maybe the author will draw out the developments a little more in the next novel--this one was good, but at times, it felt like the author just wanted to rush through certain areas and get to "the good parts."

This digital copy of The Rose Throne was given to me by NetGalley & Egmont USA in exchange for an honest review.

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