I have to admit, I was not sure things would end well, but Pinguicha really pulled through and gave us that happy ending. Yzabel and Fatyah are so soft!!! I love them!!!

I'm absolutely stunned by the sheer amount of growth Pinguicha managed to fit in this novel. it never felt like certain parts of her growth was rushed, and Yzabel has plenty (plenty) of steps backwards, for all the steps she takes forward.

The magic of A CURSE OF ROSES is not quite as lovely as it might seem (flower magic should be fun...right?) as the food Yzabel touches or tries to eat all turns to flowers. At the start of the novel, she has so much going against her--she's can barely eat, her fiancé isn't letting her feed the people of Portugal, and she's got a lot of internalized religious baggage that isn't helping her either.

But over time, we see this change, and we end up falling in love with Yzabel, Fatyah, giant, lumbering wolf-dogs, and a whole cohort of nuns. The story is certainly loaded at times, as we can't shy away from the darker sides of Yzabel's magic, but I love how Pinguicha wraps it up. It absolutely brightened my day when I finished reading.

Pinguicha also does a fantastic job of creating a layered and complex heroine who is kind and good and nice--closer to saint than villain. I know villains are super fun to explore, but A CURSE OF ROSES still crafts complex and intricate motivations and fears and desires into Yzabel's character and I would highly recommend to anyone looking for this type of character.

A CURSE OF ROSES weaves a story of yearning, magic, and growth that fantasy fans won't want to miss.

Content Warnings: <spoiler>religious-based self harm, religious-based eating disorders, internalized homophobia</spoiler>

I did not finish this book. I was so excited about the premise. I love fairytales and was excited about a story that would be new to me. Also, there being lgbtq representation was a big draw. But I really struggled to like the main character. She comes off like a real goody-two shoes without any depth to her. I understand her guilt and why she is constantly beating herself up but it's exhausting to read that on basically every page of the book. She doesn't seem to have any inner fire or drive and I found it really difficult to be interested in her. I was excited about the moura but I lost interest and didn't finish the book.

I won't post a public review unless I go back and read the book in the full, which I am not currently planning to do.

TW: religion based self harm, internalized homophobia, religion based eating disorders. Please avoid reading if these may be triggers for you.

I completely fell in love with this book and its Sapphic vibes. It absolutely delivers on its promises of emotional as well as magical rollercoasters.
The story follows Yzabel, Princess of Portugal soon to be married to the King. She has a curse that turns food into roses. To reverse this curse in order to help feed her country, Yzabel kisses an enchanted witch and frees her.. We then see them work together to help Yzabel understand that her magic isn't a curse but instead a blessing, and in the process they end up falling for each other. And believe me, the Sapphic tone of this book definitely game me all I wanted and more
The story has a lot of depth as it is Sapphic. It sheds light on topics like how religion views the LGBTQ+ folk, internalized homophobia and many other important topics. The book gave me the emotional closure I needed and kept me connected to the characters throughout. The writing is so beautiful, it actually makes you yearn to be in the book. I also love how the magic was described in such detail This book gave me hope that magic does exist and that's all I really wanted from it.
The only thing I would change is it's pacing, as it was a bit slow in the beginning. But other than that it is a must read for all fantasy and LGBTQ+ genre lovers! Happy Reading!

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

A Curse of Roses was such a refreshing reading experience for numerous reasons: The setting and story it's based upon are unique and anything but overdone, the approach to sapphic historical fiction.. with a happy ending? It made my little heart so happy, usually, historical fiction simply tears it apart. The religious trauma of our main character Yzabel is something that I, oddly enough, don't see addressed too often in wlw books, so it really hit home and made the reading experience rather painful and sad throughout.

The world itself was very lush and magical, and clearly a lot of research had been done beforehand to convey it as such - sadly, not a lot of that research/that information was shared with the reader. You were really just thrown into the world, left to figure out things on your own. And for the most part, that worked out pretty well, but some aspects of the story simply needed more explanation, at least in my opinion. An alternative to this would have been a little infodump text at the end of the book, which the reader could refer to if they got confused - which I did more often than I would have liked.

The magic system, likewise, certainly did feel like it was fully fleshed out and super intricate, but I just somehow couldn't manage to wrap my head around all aspects of it.

My favorite aspects of this story definitely were the main character's growth, her deep love for the people around her and the complex relationships between them. All of these characters were so deeply flawed and human, which is something I love seeing in books. The yearning between Yzabel and Fatyan is superb, I rooted for them so hard and I was so happy about the ending they were awarded at the end of their hardships.

Altogether, I thought this was a very solid read, albeit a little confusing at times. I'm not too sure I agree with it being labeled as YA though - the themes and some of the scenes felt very adult to me, personally, and apart from the age of the MC, I can't quite see why this would be marketed to such young readers.

2.5 stars: I think that this book had quite a few elements with potential, but the execution was slightly disappointing. I think that the pacing was a large part of the problem, in that some parts were skimmed over too superficially when they really could have brought something special to the story, while other parts dragged on that made it feel quite lacklustre. I appreciated the way it approached period-typical homophobia, and the influence of religion, emphasising that the LGBT community have been present throughout history, and were able to carve safe spaces for themselves by using gender stereotypes to their advantage. While the main character arc of Yzabel was strong in theory, it failed in making me fall in love with the character and become truly invested in her journey. I also felt that Fatyan and the other characters weren't well-developed either, and that the plot never developed tension to build into a climax. A lot of the messages the book centred upon were very valid, and the representation was great, but unfortunately, I could not enjoy it as much as I had hoped.

Thanks to YA Bound Book Tours for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

2.5/5 stars

I'm...not quite sure what my allover thoughts are about this read. Some parts of it were pretty good, and some I wasn't such a fan of. I've seen some of my friends write glowing reviews, and others inform others that it isn't worth a read. I'm somewhere in the middle, to be sure.

A Curse of Roses follows Yzabel, the princess betrothed to the king of Portugal, who hides a curse--all food she tries to eat turns to flowers. Yza has to learn to be a good queen while grappling with hiding her curse from the rest of the world.

The one thing I had no issue with that a bunch of my friends have complained about is the pacing. The pacing was fine! Sure, it had a slow start, but I don't mind that in a book. Normally I enjoy it because it sets the stage for a great rest of the book. It didn't really set anything up here, but I didn't mind it.

I doubt anyone can deny that the characters were one-dimensional. By the first fourth of the book, I was tired of hearing Yza called perfect and saintly. By the end of the book where it had been said no less than five million times, I was past sick of it. Because she started out so perfect, there was no room for any character development. Fatyan, our love interest, was also one-dimensional. I don't even know how to describe her! She was touchy and always angry, that's for sure. Angry over every little thing.

The romance was insta-love-y and practically nonexistent as well. I get that Diana Pinguicha wanted to have a sweet LGBT+ romance, but I just wasn't getting it. I like to concept of learning to love yourself despite what you may see as flaws and learning to make them your strengths, but the romance and I just weren't working out.

The author's writing was inconsistent. Sometimes it would be beautiful and sophisticated, and other times it would just drop off completely. I wish we got more of the lovely stuff, because I really enjoyed it! That said, it's the author's debut novel, and sometimes it takes a while to learn your style. She also goes on rants that should have been trimmed down a LOT. I think one time Yza went on a deep religious mental rant trying to determine whether or not she could be gay. It was...a lot, to say in the least.

So, what really confused me was the world building. Diana Pinguicha is Portuguese, so she wrote a book set in Portugal. Cool. Problem: I don't really know anything about Portugal. Normally, you just write it like no one knows anything about it and go from there to create an in-depth world. Pinguicha just went right to assuming that we knew what was going on, but I didn't. I don't know about you, but I don't really know that much about Portugal in the 1200s!

The magic system was a cool concept, but it wasn't executed all the way. Pinguicha took a story from her hometown of a saint that she liked, and modified it into a book. Cool, I like that. She wanted to turn bread into water. Again, I like that. The concepts are good. The execution? A little flat. There was some good struggle in learning her powers, but once she did there were no downsides. What? Why wouldn't everyone with power just use it to take over the world or something, then if there is no costs to using it?

Conceptually this was an amazing book. Execution wise? Not so great. But if you look at it like that, the execution is what is easiest to fix. If you don't have an imagination and you want to write fantasy you're kind of screwed. If you have all the concepts but you just can't quite pull them through, that's okay. With some revision and practice you can make it work.

I'm glad I got an ARC of A Curse of Roses, because I wouldn't particularly recommend it to you to buy. If you can get it for free at your library, go ahead and take a crack at it! I''d still be interested in reading more books by this author because it is just an execution issue. Debut authors have that issue sometimes. Once they learn what their readers want, they're set!

This one was such a joy to read! It’s different then a lot of YA I normally read!

Princess Yzabel is cursed with magic that turns everything she eats to flowers. A kingdom dying of famine, and she is forced to waste food. On the verge of starving to death, she must find a way to get rid of the curse!

Yzabel faces a war within herself of who she really is and the curse she can’t control. From how she was raise to coming to terms with the fact she is a lesbian is extremely well done. Her emotions really gripped me throughout the story. And I love Fatyan, she is who she is and doesn’t apologize for it.

Bit of a lukewarm read for me. Part of this were beautifully imagined and written, other parts were very rough. Things like the magic system suffered from a lack of detail . I suspect that I just didn’t quite gel with the author’s style.

This was such a good book.
Honestly, I don't love the cover and title, but the synopsis really caught my attention.
I'm very happy to have given this book a chance.
My favorite part of this book was the references to Portuguese historical events. I smiled whenever, for example, it was mentioned that Dinis did something and that something really happened in real life.

I loved all the references to Portuguese culture and how the author managed to transport the Portuguese "environment” / “vibe” to this book.
The characters were well crafted. I feel that they are very human and unique. However, I felt that some relationships were a little rushed.
The plot was well thought out and built. I loved how the author used the miracle of roses and gave it another fresh life. I confess that I would have liked to have seen two or three more subplots.
Diana's writing is accessible, fluid and captivating.
Overall, I really liked this book and I recommend it. It is a fantasy standalone worth reading.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½⭐️ (4.5 stars)

A Curse of Roses is a queer retelling of the Portuguese legend, the Miracle of Roses, which is the story of Rainha Santa Isabel. In this 13th century reimagining by Diana Pinguicha, Isabel is Yzabel – princess of Aragon and Majorca and betrothed to the king of Portugal and the Algraves. With Yzabel’s nuptials to King Denis in the near future, she shouldn’t feel anything but anticipated joy. But things are not as hopeful as they may first appear.

Portugal is starving – slowly, but surely. And Yzabel has been cursed so that every piece of food she touches instantly turns into roses. Luckily, there seems to be a way to cure her of this plight. If she’s able to find the Enchanted Moura Fatyan – entrapped forever in a magical stone – and is able to free her from her prison, legend has it that the Enchanted Moura will grant Yzabel her wish – to be free of this alleged curse.

But after meeting Fatyan – and sharing one fateful kiss – Yzabel finds herself set on a different path, one she could have never anticipated. And one much more dangerous, but with the potential for almost unthinkable rewards, if she can manage to navigate through it.

This book! My heart! It absolutely burst while reading Yzabel’s story.

A Curse of Roses is anything but a light read. Yet, despite the hurt it kept me coming back for more – and more. I was immediately hooked, right from the first page, and unable to put it down until I was finished.

This book has everything! Heartbreaking (queer!) romance, magical theology, political intrigue, unexpected plot twists, strong female characters, and – most importantly – powerful women coming together for the greater good.

I was instantly attached to Yzabel from the first moment I was introduced to her. She’s caring, empathetic and strong-willed. Literally everything I look for in my main characters. It was so hard to watch her go through so much hardship! I just wanted her and Fatyan to forget all their worries, run away together and elope!

And Fatyan! Speaking of Fatyan, let me just say, that I loved her. Absolutely adored her! She was fabulous – and the perfect love interest for Yzabel. I loved how she taught her the importance of self-love and knowing your worth. Such valuable lessons to learn.

Yzabel was definitely on the extreme side of self-deprecating, which was a little hard to handle at some moments. I just wanted to reach my hands into the story, grip her by the arms and shake her, saying, “you deserve better!”

All of my scrambled ramblings and excited shouting to say that I very much enjoyed this tale. You can feel how much thought, intention and love was put into making it. I, in particular, really loved the inclusion of the recipe for Açorda Alentejana at the end. That’s definitely something I’m looking forward to making soon!

It had been a while since I really immersed myself in a quality historical fantasy novel, and I’m so glad I chose A Curse of Roses to fill that void. It’s the PERFECT queer romance for a fantasy lover like myself. And if that description fits you as well, then I think this book might just be the one for you too.

Thank you to the publisher, Entangled: Teen/Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book. All thoughts are my own.

This was quite different to what I've been reading lately, and I enjoyed it. Curses and own voices writing and a bit of intrigue all wrapped together. A title to keep in mind when adding to a classroom library.

A curse of roses enticed me right from the title. The blurb had me sold on the idea and the story didn’t disappoint. This was so up my street I was hooked on every single word.

A princess and a famine. She has all the food in world but she can’t do anything but turn it into flowers. This is a story of forbidden wants, It’s about control and it’s beautifully done.

I enjoyed this story it was passionate and made me want the princess to succeed.

<i>I was given a free e-ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review is fully my opinion.</i>

As soon as I saw an f/f retelling of a Portuguese myth/legend I <b>knew</b> I had to read it! I was fortunate to get access to it through NetGalley and I thank the publisher for that! I love to support Portuguese authors! At first, it was very weird to see Portuguese names mixed with English and with the English language and it took me a while to get used to it but by mid-book, I was totally used to it.

I enjoy the characters and their development but I admit that at Yzabel was just... unbearable. Her religious fervour and obsession were... unbearable. I can understand her religious personality especially due to the time that the book is set at, but still. Somethings are a bit too much. I also found it odd that the entire book was going around the idea that <SPOILER>Denis would not approve of anything and in the end he's like "so what?". That was a real blow-down from what I was expecting</SPOILER>.

Overall the book is pretty interesting, I liked seeing a retelling of a Portuguese myth especially with an f/f twist that was AMAZING and that I shipped a lot! I also enjoyed the <SPOILER>fact that lots of mouras and people with powers were hidden in the covenant. I really enjoyed that!</SPOILER>.

I also liked the author's writing and will be on the lookout for more books! :)

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I has been hyped about this book for more than a year. I loved the concept of a F/F novel portraying the life of saintly medieval queen and I think it delivers in that sense. The romance is cute and you cannot help rooting for Yzabel and Fatyan's happiness. Also, it is very nice to read a book set on Portugal. It is a country which such a rich history and you never see it portrayed in mainstream media. I am also a fan of the enchanted mouras, and I liked a lot how the paganism and Christianism blended and miracles counted as magic.

On the other hand, there has been a couple of details that have pulled me out of the story. Sometimes the novel seems to forget its medieval setting and the characters speak in a manner that sounds too "Twenty first century" to me, which is a pity because at first the characterization of the main character struck me as one of the most interesting things in the book and besides those few dialogues the prose is beautiful and fluid. My other problem with the book is that the whole conflict with the villain feels a bit forced and rushed.

Overall, it has been a charming and enjoyable read and I will keep an eye on Diana Pinguicha's next works.

I honestly don't know how to describe how much this book meant to me. It took me a bit to get into the story, but once I got into it I fell in love. This book examines religion and societal expectations so well. I don't think I've read a fiction book that so seamlessly weaved together religion and sexuality. I loved getting to watch Yzabel's journey in this story, especially as she starts from a place of self-hatred and not believing she deserves happiness or pleasure. I also really liked learning about the people the book was based on, and I felt like the historical aspect of the fantasy really gave the story life and character.

I'm always a proponent of books talking about periods, so I loved that element of the story. Although, I knew she was misguided when she thought cramps were God's gift haha. I didn't expect this book to have twists, but the way the plot unraveled was so cool, and I liked the surprises especially when it came to character's revealing their intentions.

Overall, I thought this was a fascinating debut full of love, platonic relationships (which I adore in books), acceptance, and women claiming their rightful place.

I must say I was a bit reluctant at first because of the historical facts and the main love story. However, the author really does have a point and addresses this question later in the book when we get to the aknowledgments.
In the end, I ended up agreeing with her and the message it passes is really something everyone should retain from this story. It was a clever way to approach it and ended up with a nice touch.

One thing I absolutely loved was, obviously, the fact that this book is based on portuguese lore and takes it to a whole new level while adding a touch of fantasy in between. That was so pleasant to read as a proud portuguese enthusiat! And it got me googling more about the miracle of the roses, which I heard but knew very little about.

This was my first f/f reading (I know, what a shame!) and I enjoyed it so much. The two characters were really adorable and I loved watching Yzabel progress through everything she faced. It was so easy to like her and empathize with her.

I think the characters were pretty cool and the plot twist about some of them really was unexpected, at least for me!

If I could add anything, it would be a bit more descriptions of the setting, but this is merely a personal taste.

Nice work!

I received an eARC from Netgalley, that doesn’t affect my opinion of the book, all my thoughts are my own and honest.

With just one touch, bread turns into roses. With just one bite, cheese turns into lilies.

There’s a famine plaguing the land, and Princess Yzabel is wasting food simply by trying to eat. Before she can even swallow, her magic—her curse—has turned her meal into a bouquet. She’s on the verge of starving, which only reminds her that the people of Portugal have been enduring the same pain.

Yzabel hopes to find a way to reverse her curse so she may turn flowers into bread. An opportunity comes up in the form of Fatyan, a beautiful Enchanted Moura, but she is trapped and will need a kiss to set her free. That kiss has Yzabel yearning for more. A Curse of Roses is based on Portuguese legend, it is also a #OwnVoices historical fantasy. This contains forms of religion-based self-harm, eating disorders and homophobia, be wary if you are triggered.

This book was about a girl discovering and accepting her sexuality in a time that was not allowed. It also didn’t she was to marry the King of Portugal.

Yzabel was an interesting character to follow. She was sweet, selfless and only ever wanted to help people. At the start of this book, she is wasting away as she can eat very little, and does not want to waste food on trying. She also feels like she needs to hurt herself to appraise the lord of her sins. Throughout the book, you get to see how she thinks and how easy it is to slip back into old patterns.

Fatyan really helped Yzabel heal and realise what life is about and how not everything people say is the lords doing. She was strong-willed and even though she is a powerful Moura, she has feelings like the rest of us.

Denis the King of Portugal had his faults as everyone does, but he had good qualities too. He cares deeply for Yzabel and accepts her for who she was, and he kept surprising Yzabel.

The plot was solid, the only issue I had was how fast the main problem was resolved. It was slow to build but fast to be resolved so it felt the pacing was off because of it. The magic in here was never the same and was explored in a way I’m not used to. The fact the magic needed to be fed is not a concept I am familiar with. Overall a solid read and would recommend it to people who are looking for a sapphic historical romance.

3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Diana Pinguicha and the publishers for approving me a copy.

I REALLY enjoyed this book! Like, REALLY. I rarely ever highlight, even in my e-books, but there were quite a few lines that I highlighted while reading this because they were just TOO GOOD. I loved the character development, and the story, and everything! The world-building was also fantastic! Highly recommended, especially for those that want a good fairy tail in their life!

A Curse of Roses is a brilliant, spell-binding sapphic story that feels like a treasured fairytale for the modern age.

I was initially drawn to A Curse of Roses by that stunning cover, enticing synopsis and the unique concept at the heart of the book. Luckily, all of these elements played out perfectly and the beauty of the cover precisely matches the beautiful content hidden inside.

A definite highlight of the book is our wonderful protagonist, Yzabel. This is completely her story of self-discovery and learning to accept herself and utilise her position for the benefit of the greater good. She’s charitable and has a huge heart for the people, being a truly caring royal and wanting to enact real change. Unfortunately, her gender and hidden abilities are perceived as holding her back and instead she is forced to become a passive, silent object. The story centres around her reclamation of her voice and discovery of her own identity. Indeed, I loved how Pinguicha reminds us that LGBTQ+ people existed in every period, despite what historical erasure may want us to believe. It’s vital that everyone can see themselves reflected in a variety of stories and that we remember their historic presence pretty much everywhere. I really enjoyed the central romance, feeling like it grew naturally and the pacing of it was well-executed. I felt their chemistry sizzle off the page, as it slowly built up into mutual attraction. Yzabel’s self-conflict with her extreme religious beliefs was presented in a nuanced and realistic way for me.

I really enjoyed Pinguicha’s discussion around religion, particularly its misuse in order to silence and subdue certain groups. It’s presented as one of the key patriarchal structures in the story and certain figures within it distort and twist their version of religion in order to control and manipulate Yzabel. They want to weaken her in order to exert more control, ostentatiously for the benefit of her eternal soul. This contrasts brilliantly with other communities we come across, who draw on each other’s strength and inspire one another to achieve. Powerful women are a potent force and one that has historically been oppressed in order to try and eliminate it. Here, Pinguicha celebrates the strength of women in all its various forms. Strength can come from your inner character and indeed your femininity. Far too often, this is considered a weakness, but here it is celebrated. Religion is also respected, with Yzabel embodying what she sees as Christian values of charity and kindness. This kind of complex presentation that acknowledges and works through internalised homophobia is so incredibly important.

Pinguicha’s writing is simply entrancing. The story is so gorgeously written, with the prose practically weaving this intricate world around you and drawing you into Yzabel’s story. Her attention to detail is sublime, with the magic, world-building and mythology all being exquisitely crafted and fleshed out. I love how it’s based on the Portuguese version of the legend of The Miracle of Roses and I was inspired to go out and research more about this legend after reading. You can tell how meticulously researched the book is, with all these little details helping to fully immerse you in this rich world. I especially loved how elements of Portuguese history and culture were so interwoven into the story, making it stand out from the crowd. This original slant exemplifies the brilliance of #ownvoices narratives. Also, the writing was so lyrical and delicate, it really felt like a great legend was being passed down through generations.

A Curse of Roses is a fascinating exploration of power and interrogating how the beliefs and ideology we’ve always trusted may hide darker truths.

A beautifully written book.

Princess Yzabel is cursed. Every bite of food turns into some kind of flower in her mouth. She's on the verge of starving to death but the people of Portugal are feeling the same pain. And no matter how much she self repents and prays for her curse to go away, it only grows stronger.

She seeks an Enchanted Moura, named Fatyan, hoping that she will be away to take the curse away but she is trapped in a magical bind and a kiss will set her free. As the betrothed to the King of Portugal it would be a betrayal but she's desperate.

Fatyan sets out to teach her how to control her curse. And the kiss has Yzabel longing for more.

That's all you get because I don't want to give anything away.

Thanks so much to the author, Entangled, and NetGalley for this ARC to review.