"The Cerise" by Bailey Black presents a thrilling tale of revenge, magic, and unexpected alliances. The protagonist's determination to seek justice for her family's murder sets the stage for a gripping narrative filled with twists and turns. What I particularly enjoyed about this description is the seamless blend of fantasy elements with a suspenseful plot, promising an engaging read. The protagonist's dilemma between personal vendetta and saving her friend adds depth to her character, making her journey all the more compelling. With its intriguing premise and echoes of popular fantasy romance novels, "The Cerise" appears to be a captivating addition to the genre that fans are sure to enjoy.

Firstly, thank you, Netgalley, for giving me this opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book was such a surprise. The blurb had me dying to read it, and the beginning had me so hooked. Then it gets a bit slow and, at times, a bit confusing. But the second half, well, that was great! Bash at first is so charming and alluring, but at the end I got a bit suspicious about him. Khiara was a very good character, and it was amazing to see how bad ass she is, but also, how broken she was inside.
Now, that cliffhanger at the end, it was criminal! I definitely will read the next book, I really want to know what happens and where all the lies come from!

I really wanted to like this book; I found the premise really interesting and am always a sucker for all things fantasy romance. However, as I was reading this book I got the impression that the author couldn't decide on many aspects of the setting and it was jarring to hear some of the dialogue and other tidbits that felt entirely out of place. Finally, this didn't feel like a complete story; the book ended at what should've been about the 2/3 mark, and rather than leaving me wanting to read the next book, I am left frustrated and feeling like I wasted my time on an incomplete story. That being said, there are still things to like in this story.

“i might be what the world calls a cerise, but i am not evil. at least, i don’t think i am. i mean… sure, i kill people, but only those who deserve it.”

Woo this book was a ride, it was a little slow to start but it picked up and it was great, I couldn't put it down.
"the cerise" is a magical, mind-blowing adventure. the twists, the characters, the plot – it grabs you and won't let go. if you loved “the selection” you will like this book.

And there it is - a cliffhanger that means you have to come back!! The end is nothing short of shocking!! I was not prepared.

Although this book starts off a bit slow it quickly gains momentum and then you are hooked. Very simply, one of those books that you start reading then can't seem to put it down. Characters are great, world-building is good, plot is good.

I am ready for the second in the series.

Recieved free in exchange for an honest reveiw.

Thank you so much NetGalley for this arc!!

As a fantasy girlie I was really excited for this one. I didn’t really connect with the characters unfortunately and the plot felt quite complicated so I ended up DNFing.

I really enjoyed the premise and the vibes I just couldn’t continue because I couldn’t process it!

Well, it's not the <i>worst</i> thing I've ever read. I'll give it that, I guess.

Let's start with the story. Witches, called the Cerise, are hunted and killed in this world. They're identifiable by their red hair. Our main character Khiara is a Cerise. We start the story with Khiara on an assassination mission to kill the man who killed her family among other horrible things.

This plot is pretty much done away with quickly, as she realizes that both her and her friend, Ezra, are poisoned by some sort of love spell. Ezra is near death and then she asks a guy who helped her earlier to take her to her Uncle's house.

Then we move into a Cinderella-like setup, where she's one of many women being proffered to the Prince. The story just sort of meanders after that, vaguely returning to Ezra and her assassination target, but doesn't really have a point. Oh, and it ends on a cliffhanger. Of course.

There are so many anachronisms in this book that I was laughing out loud. She pulls a zipper up on her dress. Someone has a clipboard and pen. Fairy lights are hung up. A servant asks her size and she replies "7". There's a lot more but those are the ones that I remember the most.

And then there's the main character, Khiara. She's just obstinate and argumentative and wholly unlikable. The two male leads, Bash and Riot (yes, those are their names) fare little better.

I really enjoyed this one - I was pulled in from the moment that I saw this being suggested to fans of Kiera Cass' 'Selection' series, and I was not disappointed!

4 Star Rating ****

Plot
The book opens with our protagonist on the hunt to kill a man that harmed her in the past (SA trigger warning), but when an unknown curse strikes down her best friend, she is forced to attend a royal selection ceremony at the palace to get close to him. Ensue love triangle between protagonist, prince, and prince’s guard.

Genre
Overall, I cannot say this is a work of literary genius, and if you are into advanced world building and character development this is probably not the book for you. But, if you are into cozy fantasy with cute characters, a fast-paced plot, and an overall cozy feeling, you would enjoy this book. The story to me was similar in feel to “A curse of true love” by Stephanie Garber, and “These Hollow Vows” by Lexi Ryan in the protagonist attends a ball with no interest in falling in love with the arrogant prince, she is just their for her own means, but ends up charmed regardless.

Likes
Firstly, when I picked up this book, I was told it was a love triangle, but I was NOT expecting who between. I was on board with an Ezra/Bash love triangle, but way to just eliminate Ezra and throw Riot in the mix! And then make him my favourite! Way to throw me off my game from the very beginning!
The thing I appreciated most in this book is the author is not afraid to make you really emotionally invested in a character or relationship, and then kill them off. For me this gives the book real stakes and an atmosphere. I feel the characters tension when things so wrong because it genuinely is life and death and I know the author is not afraid to pull that card.
I really liked the characters in this book, they felt fleshed out and unique, but were still realistic (with the exception of Bash in the last 50 pages who apparently put his charisma down somewhere for forgot to pick it back up). Riot and Khiara and super cute and defo my endgame.

Dislikes
A few negatives were that the story felt a little juvenile at times, with a slightly predictable premise. The romance between Khiara and Riot sort of came out of nowhere and it felt a little forced to begin with, like the author wanted a love triangle and Riot was just sort of the only other male around, but in the end, I really liked their chemistry and thought they were super cute together.
Another issue was the beginning of this book a long time to get going. The writing was very slow and nothing much happened for the first third of the book or so. I wasn’t sure based on the beginning if I was even going to like this book, as the whole mood was much more sombre and darker, with a focus on some very heavy topics. There is then a complete flip when the whole tone of the book becomes much lighter and enjoyable, and the main character stops being so introspective and becomes the sassy, fiery Khiara we know.

I have been slowly getting back into fantasy and I ATE THIS UP. SO GOOD I loved the storyline and it kept me enticed the whole time

I am a sucker for royal selection stories, assassins, and strong female leads - of which this book has each of these elements in spades! This book ended on a cliffhanger so I'm very excited to see where the second one goes, but I'm hoping the main character evolves a bit and is less contradictory and more clear with her motives & decisions as she progresses. It's written with a more modern feel than some of the other stories in this vein, and sometimes took me out of the magical setting. Overall, I enjoyed it and would like to see where this series goes.

This book was a bit slow to start, however when the action started it had me hooked! I love how Khiara is such a strong female lead, who doesn't take anything from anyone. Her story is powerful, and focused around her and the knowledge she is unaware that she is seeking. Riot is my favorite, though tough and bitter, I would love to learn more about all of the characters! I'm eagerly awaiting the next book!
Thank you to Bailey Black and NetGalley for this ARC!

*Arc received from Netgalley. All opinions are my own*

**Potential spoilers**
TLDR: I can’t recommend The Cerise at all. There are very few positives about the book and a whole host of issues and questions. You can find similar plots and tropes in different books but executed far better. Also has one of the worst sex scenes I’ve read so it’s not even worth reading for the romance.

My issues with The Cerise started in the opening chapters and found myself struggling through the entire story. It has been one of the worst reads of 2024 to date for me.

My issues with The Cerise started right from the beginning and unfortunately didn't improve. There is a massive emphasis on Khiara, our FMC, and her red hair which often signals someone as being a Cerise (a kind of elemental witch). Despite the importance of her hair colour being highlighted, her (disguised) red hair was uncovered very quickly with very few people actually being concerned by it and she is praised for her hair colour throughout the book. Even in the palace, despite the monarchy having gone on a genocidal spree to kill those with red hair to ensure all the Cerise were killed.

Our FMC has experienced SA and it was handled poorly and it often seems like the author has forgotten this bit of her character's history until it ties into the story somewhere. An example of how poorly this is handled, Khiara meets her abuser years later and he sends into what seems to be a sort of dissociative panic attack. The character with her (who out of the blue becomes a love interest) decides that the only way to “snap her out of it” is to kiss her and then says he would never lay hands on a lady. You just kissed her without her permission when she was clearly extremely vulnerable but okay??? There are a lot of inconsistencies with how Khiara acts in regards to her SA but it’s a common issue throughout.

You also have no reason to care about Khiara’s “mission” throughout this book, which is to save her best friend, as he drugged her so she would be with him. He pursues her despite her telling him no and that she doesn’t have those feelings for her and one of our first scenes with him is him leering at her in a way that makes her remember the man that assaulted her. So I really didn’t feel invested in having to go through all this effort for someone I really don’t find very redeemable and Kiara doesn’t give us many memories or reasons to like this friend either.

THE SEX SCENE. I have read some pretty poorly written sex scenes but this was by far the worst I’d ever read and made me visibly curl up and cringe while reading it. Also the plot just before and after wasn’t handled well and it was just terrible.

There’s a very weak love triangle, but again, I really didn’t fancy anyone in the triangle as a good love interest so, once more, there was just no incentive to keep reading or be invested in the story. Had this book not been for review, I would have DNF’d it multiple times. Definitely recommend looking for something else to read.

3.5 stars. This book was very hard for me to get into (this may just be a personal thing since life has been very busy), but once I was about 60% through it, things started progressing and I was more into it. I really like how there are multiple love interests at the beginning and it isn't clear who's - the one - and that keeps coming back. I was disappointed by how much of a cliffhanger the ending was. I feel like the next book and this one should probably just be one since this one wasn't too long or this should have ended more smoothly while still allowing for a cliffhanger. At the same time, this is smart to get the reader to read the next book... which I'm looking forward to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bailey Black for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book surprised me with its engaging pace and unique magic system. While it started slow, it quickly picked up, offering a well-executed love triangle and addressing dark themes, though potentially triggering. The cliffhanger ending left me eagerly anticipating the next installment. However, the story fell flat, with confusing character motivations and unresolved plotlines. Despite this, the unexpected love interest, political intrigue, and tension between characters added depth. Overall, a quick and enjoyable read with room for improvement in character development and world-building.

This book was confusing and intresting at the same time. I enjoyed the main character, I liked her empathy but I felt she lost it as she slowly seemed to forget why she was in the palace at all. The other characters were quite intresting but they really switched up their personalities at random points so it didn't feel very realistic.

The idea of her revenge plot really interested me and it was disappointing when this slowly tapered off and we were left with her mess of a plan. I don't understand her magic, though I suppose she doesn't either and the elements of history were intresting but SOOO info dumpy it made it hard to fully pay attention.

It was a great concept and I think it needed better plotting, and editing. (there were a lot of issues with speech marks that I found annoying) The Cerise is an intresting idea in need of a better execution and a more consistent storyline.

3.5/5

Overall I enjoyed the story and thought it was an interesting plot. It did seem very rushed though and I wish it had been longer with the storyline better developed. Some of the choices the main character main were confusing and I think the fast pace of the story contributed to that. I will be reading the next book but I hope it isn't as rushed and there's better character development.

Thank you netgalley for the arc.

I loooooovee the prose in this book. It was like reading poetry chapter after chapter. The nickname “little bird” was so swoon worthy. The writing was very enjoyable and fantastical . I will say that it started extremely slow and took me a moment to get into but once the plot picks up I couldn’t put it down. My only other issue was the love triangle. I hate love triangles. But I will say the author did a great job of making both love interests likeable.

The fantasy novel receives a 3 star review for its imaginative world-building and intriguing premise, yet its execution falls short. The author crafts an immersive realm filled with mystical creatures and magical elements that spark the reader's curiosity. However, the convoluted plot overwhelms at times, with too many characters introduced too quickly without proper development. While the protagonist's quest to overcome a dark force threatening the land provides an epic backdrop, the stakes feel diminished by the confusing and slow-moving storytelling. The villain lacks nuance, coming across as generically evil. Still, the richly described setting and sprinkles of clever humor offer glimmers of enjoyment for fantasy fans willing to overlook the narrative shortcomings. With tighter plotting and characterization, this concept and setting could have transported readers; instead, the execution hampers its potential. The novel ends up a mixed bag with inspired world-crafting weighed down by haphazard storytelling. Overall, it shows promise but misses the mark for a truly engaging fantasy adventure to me.Personally the world building seemed to take more of a priority, in this first installment. I would definitely be interested to read another to see the development with the situation and characters.
Thank you Net Gallery for the opportunity to be an ARC reader and posting my honest opinions.

I didn't the like the first half of the book at all. The story didn't make any sense to me and there was almost no worldbuilding in the beginning, then you finally got a few explanations towards the end.
Reading the first words, you immediately got thrown into the story. I really thought at first that it's a sequel and I missed something, but no, suprisingly not.
Most of the book was sadly quite uninteresting and the FMC's emotions and feelings were barely described. The love interests were alright.

2 ☆ stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.