This was such a good conclusion to a really great series. I loved every aspect of this series from the epic adventures, friendships, romances, witches,. I like that the main story was nicely wrapped up but that there is enough open endedness to imagine what other shenanigans the characters might encounter. I hope there is a revisit to this world in the future. I liked how the change in location/separation between Fi and Shane allowed an insight into their characters on their own and not just together.

The Cursed Rose is the finale to the trilogy that began with The Bone Spindle (that I had convinced myself was a duology). Going in, I wondered how Vedder meant to proceed with this story because I felt like everything had been wrapped up pretty nicely in The Severed Thread, but this final installment proved both engaging and closure-providing.
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Vedder gets back to the roots of this series as a Sleeping Beauty retelling by having Fi and Shane needing to break into Aurora’s tomb in order to save not only Briar Rose, who has been possessed by the Spindle Witch, but themselves. I appreciate that this book dives into more of the lore of this world even as the series is wrapping up. What really stood out to me, though, was the explorations of the relationships in this book. This series, to me, has always been about the friendship between Fi and Shane and their dedication to each other, and while we do get to see their relationship develop here, but what I felt really shone was the romance between Fi and Briar. Though they’re separated for the majority of the story, in Fi’s POV chapters we see how much she loves him and the lengths to which she will go for their relationship. Red (who was introduced in book 2) also gets some POV chapters in this final installment, and it was nice to be able to learn more about her and about her relationship with Shane (which also gets fairly intense). Overall, this book leaned more emotional than its predecessors, but there was still plenty of action and high physical stakes.
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Cant believe it ended. What a rollarcoaster ride! We get more of Shane and Red, and finally all the answers about Aurora!

This was a cute YA retelling. I found it interesting, but I made a huge mistake. I didn't know this was the last book of three.

The final book of my favorite series, The Cursed Rose, is absolutely fantastic. It reinforces the themes of our actions to protect our loved ones. By combining signature puzzles and a touch of tomb robbing, The Cursed Rose achieves a perfect mix of humor, heartwarming moments, and heartbreak.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it.

Let me start off by saying I have not read the other books, but since I got this as an arc I wanted to see how this book would be. Honestly with not reading the other two, I still had a blast reading it to the point I need to get the other books and then do a reread of this book. I know it would have more of an impact if I did not start with this but hey I chose to read it this way and not fault the author for that. I love the cover, I love the tropes, the world was amazing. So yeah, this book did hook me.

Thank you so much for the publisher for the arc!

I really enjoyed the last book of the trilogy and seeing everything resolved. So glad everyone I held dear made it out alive.

What an excellent wrap up to this trilogy! Honestly I'm just relieved that a certain sapphic antihero made it through despite the moments where I thought she was gonna be dead (red was my favorite of the entire series not gonna lie). I look forward to whatever Leslie Vedder has in store for us next, whether that's in this world, or a brand new one.

The Cursed Rose by Leslie Vedder is a captivating finale to a adventurous series. It blends perfectly romance and mystery and sets it against a backdrop of enchantment. Vedder weaves a spellbinding tale with intricate storytelling that keeps you guessing until the very end. The novel's atmospheric setting and vivid descriptions bring the cursed rose and its consequences to life, creating a compelling read that is both haunting and heartfelt. Fans of fairy tale retellings and intricate plots will find themselves drawn into this beautifully crafted narrative.

I couldn’t make it to this title as the writing was lacking, the story uninspired and the characters one dimensional in the first and second books that I *barely* made it through. Will not be reading anything else by this author or recommending them.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

I loved The Bone Spindle and The Severed Thread, and The Cursed Rose was the perfect roundout of the series. Fi, Briar, Shane, and Red are a badass group that never backs down.

This is the perfect book for those who love the writing and action style of Holly Black and Sarah J Maas!

Fantastic sequel. There was no putting this book down until I had finished it. I knew the twists were coming but never saw the direction they were going. Surprises at every turn and I loved it!

This was so wonderful! The hallmark of a good genre book to me is if you’re not sure everyone will get an HEA even if it’s convention which Vedder nails in this. I loved the way things wrapped up and I wish more people read these books! They’re so fun! Plus, I love that the two main characters have their strong friendship and their love interests outside of each other.

I requested this for consideration for Book Riot's All the Books podcast for its release date. After sampling several books out this week, I decided to go with a different book for my review.

Great finale! It had me going back and forth wondering how it was going to end. Yall got me with that memory twist.

Excellent addition to the Bone Spindle series. This entire series is really well paced and the characters are loveable, absolutely perfect for a 14-18 reading age in my opinion.
The stress that built as characters were kept from each other and fought fantastic challenges to be together was action packed! If this became a TV series I would watch it, it felt MADE FOR TV!
Of note- this one gets a little darker than the others, but that it what I actually liked the BEST. These characters have been through a ton, and while the first book felt very storytale-ish, this felt much more epic fantasy. I loved watching this series grow!

This book was truly amazing. It was a GREAT conclusion to this trilogy, and I loved being able to follow these characters through their journeys and adventures.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC.

While this is a very good cross-genre series as a whole, I felt like this book was probably my least favorite of the trilogy. While the last book in a series does often tend to be mostly action, as it’s the end of a whole plotline, I felt like this one was missing the character dynamics of the series as a whole, and the fact that one of the characters is basically possessed the whole time doesn’t help. And at the end, the story does try to bring some of the conflict back, of Fi and Briar thinking they can’t be together, it was done in a very afterthought way, after the main conflict of the story has already been resolved, and doesn’t last very long and has too convenient of a solution.