This book was just outstanding. I just had so much fun reading this story. I’m really excited to see what’s next from this author.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

This book has become a fast favourite of mine. The world building is incredibe and the story is fast pased with characters you love and ones you love to hate.

I often think of this series because I really loved the first two books and was hoping for there to be a third book so I was happy when I was given an eARC to read.

It's been a couple years since the second book came out and I definitely needed a refresher on where we left off. I do recommend rereading or at least refreshing yourself on the previous two books before starting this one.

Rose has grown so much as a character from the first book and it's been so rewarding watching her character arc.

We start Roots of Ruin with peace in Delmar now that Rayce is the new Emperor but Rose and Rayce are unable to touch due to a method used to save Rayce's life in book two. And what of Rose's homeland? Don't worry, there is plenty of action and swoonworthy moments in this book and it leaves readers with a satisfying end in this truly fantastic trilogy.

Overall, this book was well worth the wait and I'm so happy to have read this series. I highly recommend it to all fantasy lovers.

Thank you so much to the Entangled Teen and Amber Mitchell for the opportunity to read her book and review it.
"Roots of Ruin" is the third book in the Garden of Thorns series. Although I have not read the first two books but it didn’t prove to be any hurdle while reading the third. The writing is good with point on explanation so that you will not feel lost, it’s simple and easy to follow. It’s a fast paced story of Rose, who is the long lost princess of Varsha and after the Rayce win’s for the Delmar, this book focuses on Rose and the hardship, the struggle that comes when she goes to claim her throne from the false king and in the road map for it she comes across some hard betrayals. The chemistry between Rose and Rayce helps them make a strong connection and survive this action packed journey. It’s remarkable how the character of Rose develops.

Roots of Ruin was a solid ending to a thrilling trilogy. The book picks up right where the second leaves off, where we are pulled into the world of Rose and Rayce. The entire book was action-packed and there were plenty of swoon-worthy moments throughout the entire storyline.

The ending was so satisfying and it wrapped up the series perfectly. There was such strong character progression and a thrilling story throughout that had me eager to turn the next page.

If you haven’t read this series, you are sorely missing out. I highly recommend it for your next binge read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts an opinions are my own.”
Roots of Ruin is the third book in the Garden of Thorns series. This book (and the whole series) is very fast paced, and i was able to read it in one day! The writing is simple and while there is still a lot of action, the story is easy to follow. This series also has such a cute romance! There were surprising plot twists as well!
Overall, this book is very fact paced, filled with action and romance! I really enjoyed reading this book (and series)! I love the main characters (Rose and Rayce)! I will be recommending this series to more people in the future!
A solid 4/5 stars!

Some of my favorite lines from the book (no spoilers):

“If I am the flower, then he is the sun. I always want to face him.”

“And then there you were. My entire world shifted in that moment, and I feel like it’s been tilting towards you ever since.”

“Because I believe in you, just like you believed in me.”

“I learn to love you more every second of every day.”

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Roots of Ruin is the final installment of Garden of Thorns series. I wasn't expecting everything to fall into this little box with a neat bow on top, but it did. I've honestly enjoyed the entire journey from the very first page to the very last. Things either went the way I planned in my head or they gave me whiplash.

Then there's the characters, they were wonderful throughout the entire series. I feel like they are all a part of my family now. We've been through so much and I'm not sure I will be able to cope without them now. The romance was easy to fall in love with too. Even when the characters were being frustratingly annoying and made me want to strangle them. They were hopelessly devoted to one another and it truly showed in this one.

Other than that, all the twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. It's definitely bittersweet to reach the end of this and I'll have to find another series to fall in love with. Maybe even dive into another book that Amber writes in the near future. I'll gladly volunteer as tribute for that.

I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I wasn't as invested in this book like I was with the others. I think it was Rose herself that turned me off. In the first two books, she seems strong although unsure. A wonderful contrast that helped her character grow and thrive, but this time around, I felt that Rose was unsure and weak. Everything all the other naysaying characters in the book thought she was. At the end, I didn't want her to take her rightful place as ruler of Varsha.

The rest of the world was kinda lost to me as I was hyper focused on how annoyed I was with Rose, that's my fault. I don't have much input there.

I will still always have a special place in my heart for this series and will need to reread the first book as I loved it so very much.

My review will be live on my blog Book Confessions on 9-21-21.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Chapter by Chapter, Netgalley, and Entangled Teen for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

It’s definitely difficult to give a good recap of what’s happening without spoiling the previous novels, but that’s prone to happen when reviewing the final book in a trilogy – or any sequel book for that matter. Our main characters come from warring empires / kingdoms / places to rule, and in the spirit of star-crossed lovers, there are things they have to figure out in order to keep their love from falling apart at the seams.

Rayce is the new emperor of Delmar, while Rose must return to Varsha in order to save her people. Despite going there with good intentions, would Varsha see an incoming Delmarian army as help? For sure the usurper king wouldn’t believe so, but then again the whole point is to get rid of that dude so that Rose can return to her rightful place on the throne. Still, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the people of Varsha saw this as an act of war on them as a whole, not as an act of liberation.

Looks like she is going to have to bring peace to yet another warring kingdom, and somehow get her people to realize that Delmar isn’t their enemy anymore… if she wants to be able to have the love of her life without her people believing she’s a traitor. You know how it is.


I thought that this was pretty good! I love stories about bringing peace to a place dealing with corruption, and seeing young people being the ones to make the changes that the world needs. It’s a reminder that it’s going to be the younger generations that will be super instrumental in making the changes we need to see in our real life world, and having the inspiration from fantasy worlds can give us that push we need. Is that me being preachy? Nah, it’s just something I know we need to see right now. I liked the relationship between Rayce and Rose, especially since we were able to see it develop and grow over the course of three novels. I think they work pretty well together and it kind of reinforces that idea that people from opposite sides of the track – so to speak – can help one another see things from a totally different perspective. Teamwork makes the dream work, right??

Anyway, I’m glad I got to read this one, and I think it was a great ending to the trilogy. I can’t wait to see what other work Mitchell will have in store for us in the future. Definitely take this trilogy into account and try it out for yourselves!

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. In this book we find out more about Rose's pass and the world she fled as a child and the man who killed her father. Rayce is the new Emperor of Delmar. Now Rayce, Rose and Rayce's army march on Varsha where Rose is the rightful heir. The two kingdoms have been at war for as long as anyone can remember. Can Rose and Rayce unite the two kingdoms with a mole among? There was a lot going on in this book. I think it was a good way to wrap up the story.

Roots of Ruin by Amber Mitchell
Book three in the Garden of Thorns series.
Rose/Arianna works alongside Rayce to unite their two kingdoms and to restore her rightful place as ruler of her kingdom. There’s a traitor in their group who keeps giving valuable information to the enemy and man who took Arianna’s father’s life and crown, King Ganem. As king, he has broken apart families and caused extreme poverty and violence. With Rayce’s help, they plan to bring the kingdoms together and create peace. The stress picks up at the last third of the book when the traitor is discovered and the rebels find themselves in a twisted mess. A solid ending in this YA dystopian series, 4 stars!

*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

I've been waiting for this book since I read the first two in 2018, and I was starting to wonder if it would fall victim to the Unfinished Series Plague like so many other book series I've enjoyed (Dear publishers: Don't do that!). Thanks to Amber Mitchel for replying to my Tweet(s?) a while ago and assuring me that yes, the book was still going to be published.

This book was a fitting ending to the series, which has been a solid 4 stars throughout the whole journey. The writing skillfully done--poetic at times with recurring themes of floral imagery but not overbearing and overly saccharine. Occasionally cumulative adjectives preceding a noun felt out of order (I kid you not, there is an order), but that's really the only complaint I had about the writing. Story wise, I feel like everything flowed naturally and went exactly where it should have. A couple of the solutions were perhaps a little convenient, but neither of them was easy or unbelievable. Character development continued its progression. Although the twists weren't entirely out of the blue for me, I can say that I questioned my assumptions up until the moment the truth was revealed. I liked that Rayce (almost 20 in this book) and Rose never wavered in their devotion to each other, despite the many obstacles their relationship faced.

And in case you're wondering (as I did until just now when I Googled it--why didn't I do it before?), "Kacper" is pronounced similarly to "Casper." It's Polish.

Note: I don't recall anything other than some violence.

I absolutely love this series. There’s a two year gap between this and the last book and I would highly recommend having a refresher before starting this. It’s a continuous story that needs to be read in order.

Rose has helped start the journey to peace in one kingdom but what of her own. When she’s giving the cruel facts of the fate of her own people she knows what she must do. Lucky for her so does the shotgun. With their passion still on hold it’s time to get this story back on the road.

Can two kingdoms learn to move forward and what about Rose where will her fate end up.

This is fast paced and a great adventure series. Rose has a twisted past but her heart is kind. Let’s see what she can do for her own people.

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

and saving it from the tyrant currently ruling it! I was a little annoyed at home Rayce would just make decisions about strategy or keep things from Rose and she would be like oh, ok, I understand that you shouldn't tell me this stuff because I'm not in charge but hello! You kind of are! It's your country! It didn't really impact my reading, just made me slightly annoyed with Rose/her inability to stand up for herself (but at the same time, it was a smart decision on Rayce's part because tactically, he knew what he was doing). There were so many twists and turns in this book that I loved- it definitely kept me on my toes! I feel like some of the pacing was a little weird, but overall, not too too bad. In general, a great way to end things and if you liked books one and two, you'll definitely like Roots of Ruin! Make sure you go grab it today!

I really enjoyed this final installment of the Garden of Thorns series. I did have to go back to review book two just to remind myself of what happened and the threads of the storyline and if it's been a while for you, I definitely recommend doing the same.

This book picks up almost where the last one left off and we are immediately pulled into Rose and Rayce's stories. There's still plenty of action and swoons in this book so if you like that, consider picking it up. Not only did I get a satisfying ending to their story, I also got great character progression and an interesting story that made me want to see what was going to happen next.

If you haven't started this series yet, I recommend it if you're looking for a YA fantasy series that is complete. I'll be looking forward to the next book that Mitchell writes for sure!

Roots of Ruin, by author Amber Mitchell, is the third installment in the authors Garden of Thorns series. The story is told in the first person narrative by Rose, aka Arianna Vasile, aka the lost princess of Varsha. Hundreds of years ago, there was a single country called Delmar. Then, Varsha came to being and hundreds of years of constant war followed. Delmar now has a new Emperor thanks to the actions of Rose, Rayce, Arlo, and Marin. One of the first things on Rayce's docket is to keep his promise to Ariana by freeing Varsha and letting them decide if they want to reunify the countries or stay separate.

10 years ago, Arianna's world was turned on its axle when her father was murdered and the usurper king took power. Thankfully for Arianna, she was saved by her caretaker who helped hide her until she was captured and sold to a man called the Gardener. For 7 years, Rose/Ariana was part of Gardener's disgusting trope where she was supposed to dance until her feet fell off. He loved to call his girls by flower names. Some of those girls (Calla, Lily, Juniper, and Clover) have become Rose's sisters and family and have followed her to Delmar.

It was at the Garden during a performance that Ariana met Rayce, who was called Shogun by his people, and have since found a way to do impossible things together. But things aren't exactly perfect. Because Ariana used a mixture of Borenite and Zarenite to save Rayce, she can't touch him without him turning wild. When he turns wild, it is her touch that brings him back to normal. Unless the brilliant minds of Delmar can find a cure, Ariana and Rayce will have to stay apart for fear of touching at the wrong time and ending up in enemy hands.

Arianna desperately wants to return to Varsha and the Imperial City and reclaim her father's crown and remove the false king who destroyed her destiny. When word comes down that her people are being brutalized, and facing execution for rebelling against the king, Arianna knows that the time has come to return home and put things back on track. But with backstabbing friends, and allies just waiting in the wing, and a single touch sending Rayce into a rage, the odds at survival grow less likely day after day.

Fairness in reviewing. It has been 3 years since War of the Wilted was released. While I am happy that we get a conclusion of the series, I am unhappy that there wasn't a sort of summary attached to the book. One of the biggest things that happens in this book is the betrayals. One you will likely see one coming, but one you won't see until it happens. Ariana also has a tendency of blaming the world's problems on her actions. Stop it. You don't control every aspect of what happens around you. People like Calla, Lily, Juniper, Marin, Arlo, Clover and Rayce adore you because you respect and care for even the lowest member of society. Rayce loves you with all his heart and it doesn't matter what you did to him in order to save his life.