This title was a Did Not Finish. Unfortunately, I was unable to connect with it whether it be for characters, story-line or writing style.

Thank you for providing me with a copy.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. Unfortunately, I have lost interest in the title, partly due to trusted reviews, and will not be reviewing the title. I have, however, promoed the title through my weekly recap with links to Amazon. Thank you again, and I apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

I wanted to give a new chance to AG Howard (I've read her first series) but I'm again disappointed. This book was difficult to read and unfortunately, I didn't finish it. I think the author's books are not for me.
I agree that she has a powerfull imagination but there is something I don't like. Maybe it's too vivid or dark.
Roseblood was not my cup of tea. I wanted to discover this new retelling but the story wasn't for me.

Unfortunately, I DNFed this book in the first 15%. It just didn't grab my attention.

Solid characters, intriguing story--worthwhile read.

When I first heard about Roseblood it was one of those books that I was excited about, everyone was excited about it and the cover was so beautiful and for me, it did not disappoint.

No, it was not the best book that I have read all year but sometimes you need a trashy paranormal romance story to keep you entertained and this is what Roseblood did for me.

I am also not a massive Phantom of the Opera fan, so I did not really know the story at the beginning but I did not find this to be a problem when getting into the plot. I also really enjoyed the French and boarding school setting that was present throughout the book and found this quite different from other YA books and it made it more enjoyable.

I also really loved Thron as a character and he was definitely one of those protagonists that you just can't help but fall in love with. Although Thorn was good, I didn't really find many of the characters to be well developed especially at school but I guess they were not really central to the story but it would be nice if they were more developed.

I also have not read a paranormal romance in a while so it was quite nice to read some again especially as Roseblood was so unique. Overall, I did like Roseblood and I did think that it was quite a good book.

The Verdict:

Roseblood is a unique take on Phantom of the Opera which was weird and had me entertained throughout especially as someone who hasn't read paranormal in a long time.

He’d walked as a ghost in the gloomy bowels of this opera house for so long, darkness had become his brother, which was fitting, since his father was the night, and sunlight their forgotten friend.

Roseblood by A.G.Howard is marketed as a supernatural YA fractured retelling of the Phantom of the Opera. It was hands-down a must-read for me because I’m a huge fan of the author's Splintered series and the classic tale of the Phantom of the Opera has always been a favorite of mine. That said, I struggled with Roseblood and am torn about my feelings for the book.

Rune Germaine, a Texas teenager, has a mysterious operatic affliction. Her mother believes that proper music instruction will help her. As the story opens, Rune is reluctantly traveling with her mother to a French arts conservatory boarding school outside of Paris that, decades before, was the opera house depicted in Gaston Leroux's novel, The Phantom of the Opera. While there, Rune meets Thorn, a masked violinist, and discovers the two have an otherworldly connection. When romance blossoms between them, Thorn has to decide whether he will adhere to the dark agenda the Phantom tasked him with which will result in Rune’s demise or to face the wrath of the only father he’s ever known.

As opposed to being a fractured retelling, Roseblood feels more like a sequel to the original Phantom of the Opera. The writing is dark and slow-building; but also vivid, original, imaginative, and, near the end, pulse-pounding. I never considered quitting because, hey, it’s written by one of my favorite authors, and it truly is, in hindsight, an epic read. But, I was bored through much of it. Part of me feels that while the story line is intricately detailed and phenomenally and powerfully fabulous, the characters felt more like tools of the plot line. I liked the characters, but I didn't form the strong attachment with them that would allow me to FEEL through them.

Following please find a few of my favorite quotes from Roseblood:

Ever since I was small, opera has been a living, breathing part of me.
The problem is that as I’ve grown, it’s become more demanding… an entity that controls me. Once a song speaks to my subconscious, the notes become a toxin I have to release through my diaphragm, my vocal cords, my tongue.
---

Maybe being here won’t be so bad after all… as long as I can avoid the music, the bloodthirsty diva duo, and the phantom’s shadow lurking around every corner.
---

Ironically, the first time he played it, he experienced his first dream vision with his own ‘flame jumelle’, Rune – and saved her from drowning. Thereafter he decided that must be the magic the instrument held: the ability to bring two souls together when they needed each other the most.
---

Guard your throats and hide your eyes. He’s not dead, you fools. Legends never die.

I wanted to be swept away by this story, but I wasn’t. Am I glad I read it? Yes. It left me awestruck and filled with wonder. Unfortunately, I wasn't captivated by it until the last third of the book. It’s creative and well-written, but the characters felt flat. The ending was perfect. If you are a fan of the original Phantom of the Opera or of the author, you may like Roseblood, but I am leery of recommending it to everyone.

DNF 35 pages in. Sadly I just wasn't feeling it. It's not bad but not my cup of tea. But I do want to check out Howard's other books!

SUPER high cheese factor her.
It's not really a retelling of Phantom, it's actually a sequel set in modern times. That for some reason features Geppetto (from Pinocchio) and a lock picking cat.
Also there is an epic battle waged through the singing of operatic arias. And toe socks with emojis sewed on them figure prominently.
It was hilariously bad.

AG Howard is one of my favorite storytellers! Loved this retelling!

My thanks to NetGalley and ABRAMS Kids Amulet Books for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

This book didn't grab my by the 25% mark and left me somewhat meh, so I have decided to DNF it at this time. Not a bad book, but it had some inklings of going in a way that would make me less than pleased. From reading some other negative reviews, it didn't look like it would end up with me feeling positively towards it.

The cover is absolutely GORGEOUS. The artist is amazing. It's one of the best covers I have seen in a while.

So while this book didn't do it for me, it may for you. I have stated before that I am a Beauty and the Beast purist and I have since discovered that I am a Phantom of the Opera purist as well. If you are not familiar with the story of the Phantom of the Opera, I would recommend the original book, rather than this one. This wasn't horrible, but it left me rather blah.

2 stars, because while I didn't hate it, it didn't grab me enough for three stars.

This next generation take on the Phantom of the Opera is as breathtaking as the cover. Rune and Thorn's connection is something of fairy tales yet with realistic undertones. For lovers of retellings with exquisite twists, check this one out!

I wanted to love it, but the voice and tone fell flat for me in the opening chapters and then she started talking about her gypsy blood and being cursed, and gypsy is racial slur and the "Gypsy curse" is problematic at best and racist at worst, and completely overdone and inaccurate, and something like that so early on in the book is an immediate no for me.

After loving AG Howard's self published book, The Architect of Song, I was so excited to read RoseBlood, especially knowing that it's a Phantom of the Opera retelling. I ended up not being able to finish this book as I found it really difficult to connect with the main character. I'm so sad about it because I really thought I would love it.

As excited I was to read this, the story fell short and remained uninteresting.

I was so excited to read Roseblood after hearing that it is a retelling of The Phantom of the Opera, and gratefully received an Ebook copy to review from the publisher. I loved the story concept behind Roseblood, in which a teenager named Rune attends an opera school in France where she meets a mysterious man who is helping her control her singing voice. Unfortunately, the book is executed all wrong for me, and I found it challenging to read to the end.

If you are going to read Roseblood, I definitely recommend being familiar with the original story. I saw both the stage and film adaptations of The Phantom of the Opera, but it has been years since I saw either, and I think I would catch on more to the little details in this novel if the story was fresh in my mind. I think watching the film before picking up Roseblood will help you understand more of what’s going on, and also increase your enjoyment of the book.

Moreover, my biggest issue with Roseblood is the book’s pacing. The story is very slow from start to finish, and it took me twice as long to read this than a normal young adult book typically does. Not only did it take a very long time for anything exciting to happen, but because there was such a long build-up, I kept putting the book down because there was nothing interesting to hold my attention.

Similarly, I found that the author missed many opportunities in the book. There were multiple times in the novel for a big and exciting reveal, but then the “Aha!” moment is answered quickly in passing. For example, readers know early on in Roseblood that Rune is some sort of paranormal creature. When we finally find out what kind of creature she is, it’s dropped into a sentence and never explained. These missed opportunities happen at other points in the story, making the moments where I expected big reveals very anticlimactic.

As I mentioned earlier, I absolutely loved the story idea behind Roseblood. However, the plot feels like it is reaching a bit to fit together. I appreciate all the research the author did to fit in a lot of historical details, but I felt like the building blocks holding the book in place were quite weak and could tumble at any moment. I’m disappointed that the plot felt so contrived.

Additionally, I was a bit put off by the romance. Although I really liked who Rune’s love interest is, and their history together, the love scenes felt too much like a cheesy romance novel. I fully recognize that this is a personal preference, and if you enjoy reading traditional romance books, you will probably adore the romance in Roseblood. When I couple the love scenes with the way the book ended, I feel a bit uncomfortable about the way things leave off, and disappointed that an awesome fantasy could end in such a way.

Finally, I want to talk a bit about Rune as a protagonist. She is a likable enough character, and I definitely empathize with her for all that she’s gone through in her life. Unfortunately, she has a huge character flaw in that she trusts people way too much. Rune will wholeheartedly trust whomever she is speaking with at that moment in time, but when the next person comes along with a contradictory opinion, she immediately changes her mind and trusts the new person. I wish Rune would use her own mind and intelligence more instead of blindly following others.

I also really did not like how Rune is so concerned with her love interest’s physical features. Although she does mention she would still love him if he were disfigured, Rune is beyond relieved when he has the perfect face and the amazing body that readers hear about far too often. When I contrast how much the book focuses on the beautiful person being good and the disfigured person being evil, I get a very bad taste in my mouth.

In the end, I am very disappointed with Roseblood, and would only recommend this to those who are Phantom super fans or those who really like romance novels. The slow pace, contrived plot, and lackluster protagonist just didn’t work for me.

https://www.lostinlit.com/2017/03/mysterious-little-peculiar-roseblood-ag-howard/

The characters were wrong. The plot was wrong. The setting was wrong. The romance was wrong.
Every single detail was WRONG. The book failed on possibly every level and in a way I'm glad I read this book (although my dead brain cells are not thanking me) because it's literally a guide of how not to write a YA book.

I usually don't write reviews this scathing but how the author treated the source material is just wrong. In fact some parts are insulting even. I never read a retelling this BAD.

After reading the Splintered series by this author, I was super excited to have the chance to read Roseblood. With the same beautiful cover designwork as her previous novels, this novel was incredibly delightful and full of mystery, romance, and intrigue. I definitely recommend it for fantasy fans!