When I requested and subsequently received an ARC of The Midnight Rose, I didn't realize that I would be unable to send it to my Kindle. My computer is too old to allow me to download and read anything from NetGalley on it, and my phone is about 10 years old with a very small screen. I tried to read this book through the NetGalley app on my phone, but it is just too much of a pain. So me not finishing this title is entirely the technology's fault and not the fault of the book/author. I fully intend on checking the book out from my local library when it is available. After that, I will update my review to actually be about the book.

I absolutely loved this book! I didn't think I would get into it first but it drew me in and I couldn't put it down!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

For transparency, I DNF’d this book at 25%.

I think this novel has potential in its concept, however it would benefit from more rounds of edits and polishing. The story heavily tells instead of showing, making the reader feel as though they are not being trusted to put the pieces together themselves. There are even sections of character thought that are solely there to explicitly tell the reader what is happening - this felt unnecessary. I also thought there was a lot of unnecessary details that were given for objects and rooms, but minimal world building details - what is the setting? Who are these characters and what are their motivations? Are we in one world or travelling between different ones? What happened to the “urgent situation” outlined in the prologue, this urgency was not sustained by the character.

Overall I think this novel would suit a young YA reader who is not too concerned about their world building and wants to get straight into the story.

The Midnight Rose is a fantasy book with a bit of adventure and mystery in it. We follow both Leo, an alchemist that went on a quest to find the scrolls and talismans to protect them from the Dark Wizard, and Lisandre, a young faerie in great need of his assistance. Among the way we are introduced to Flora, a witch who’s hiding her powers while sneaking into royal balls and Lucien, a warlock with very questionable intentions.

The premise of the story was very good; however, I think it’s missing some world building and a bit more character development. The pace of the story was great, and it was full of challenges and dangers among the way. The writing was good, and I really wished we had a deeper knowledge of the world we dive into as well as the characters we met along the way.

Overall, it was a nice read, full of magic and alchemy elements that took place in another world full of supernatural creatures. So, if you are a fantasy fan like me, you’ll find it a good read.

Thank you, NetGalley & the publisher, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.

I thought this was a good fast read. The story follows the journey of Leo, a sixteen-year-old apprentice at the Alchemical Court, whose life is turned upside down when the castle is attacked and he is forced to flee through a new portal he creates using mysterious runes from his missing master's notebook. This leads him to the forgotten realm of the Fey, where he meets the enchanting Lady Lisandre, a young faerie in need of his help.
Together, they embark on a dangerous quest to find the mythical Talismans of Atlantica before the elusive Dark Alchemyst can get his hands on them. Along the way, they are joined by Flora, a charming witch searching for the truth about her family, and Lucien, Leo's former classmate and a warlock with questionable intentions. As they face numerous challenges and dangers, the four of them form an unlikely but powerful team.
What I loved most about this book was the rich and vivid world-building. The author has created a unique and imaginative world filled with magic, mythical creatures, and mysterious realms. I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of fantasy.

This was a promising first book, but overall it lacked any real character development. I don't feel like I really know the characters that well, and the book itself started a bit slow. I found myself having to re-read parts because the story wasn't capturing my attention. (I also feel the need to disclose I have ADD, so I really need a book that is paced well) That said, I do think I will at least read the second book in this series as it can be hard to develop characters and the world building in one single book. The ending didn't leave me hungry for the next book as I would have hoped.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I am looking forward to the next 2 books of the trilogy. The beginning was a little difficult to get into the story, but once I was understanding the story and the many characters, I really enjoyed it. I finished this book in just 2-3 days. I almost gave this book 5 stars, but for me, it was a little difficult to get into the storyline at the beginning. I recommend this for those who enjoy YA, fantasy, magic/spells/alchemy, and supernatural beings/worlds.

This one lacked what a lot of indie authors lack and that is development. I think that this one could have been great but it was just underdeveloped and the characters were lacking.

The Midnight Rose is a fantasy adventure story. Leo is an alchemist went on a quest to find the scrolls and talisman's to keep them from the Dark Wizard. Then we follow Flora who is a witch hiding her powers and sneaking into royal balls.
The story has promise but I found it lacks world and character building. For example I thought Flora said as just sneaking into balls because she had a crush on a prince. That would have been enough of a motivation but half way through it's was said her motivations were completely different.
I think Leo is supposed to be the main character but I know nothing about his personality other than he likes languages. If he's in such a rush to complete his quest he wouldn't have spent so much time in the fea realm getting to know Lisandre.
Lucien is my favorite character I understood his motivations the easiest. He has his mother and his family to think about. I understood his suspicion of Flora given the circumstances.
The story is hard to follow and I found myself getting lost as to what was happening half the time.
A lot of time was spent discussing what they were wearing which I don't mind but I wanted to know the background and motivations more.
Thank you to netgalley for this arc and all opinions express are my own.