RoseBlood (Splintered)

This novel was a MAJOR disappointment. The writing style is great - if not a bit overly dramatic. The novel's atmosphere didn't feel so much "Gothic" as someone quit young trying to be "Gothic". To top it off, all the characters - especially our heroine - are terribly boring and/or underdeveloped.

Also - I HATED that our heroine kept mentioning her "cursed g*psy blood" - a phrase she apparently picked up from her French grandmother. Uh. . .Ms. Howard - G***y is a major slur toward Romani people.

I really wanted to like this book because I enjoyed Howard's Splintered series. The premise is really interesting but the execution falls flat. Too much angst yet somehow very weak connections. The main characters were not particularly engaging and I lost interest pretty quickly. Beautiful descriptions but not enough substance for me.

ROSEBLOOD is about three of my favorite things: The Phantom of the Opera, the Comte de Saint-Germain, and vampires. All three together? Oh, heck yes. Set in a gloomy boarding school/converted opera house in the middle of France, I was certain that this neo-Gothic, ROSEBLOOD, would be able to do one of my favorite classics justice in a new and interesting way.

I was wrong.

It kills me to say this, because the writing in ROSEBLOOD is so beautiful that it actually almost convinced me that ROSEBLOOD was a better book than it actually was. A.G. Howard can write. However, her characters and story-telling choices are odd. Like, campy 80s horror movie odd. There were so many moments in here that had me blinking, and going, "Did that really happen?" Towards the end of the story, it happened more and more.

**WARNING: THAR BE MAJOR SPOILERS**

First, let me get something out of the way that really bothered me. I hate this new YA trend of taking the "ugly" characters in classic stories and making them beautiful. Sarah J. Maas did this in A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES, taking the "beast" and making him a gorgeous fairy prince cursed to wear a mask. A.G. Howard does this in ROSEBLOOD, with the "phantom" love interest being not the tortured, disfigured genius, but the tortured, disfigured genius's adopted (but gorgeous) son, Thorn. Coincidentally enough, Thorn also wears a mask, just like Tam Lin, only for fun. When you do this, it takes all the original meaning out of the story. Part of what made Beauty and the Beast such a powerful story was that the beast was a horrible man when he was attractive and human; it took being ugly and monstrous to make him realize how lonely and awful it is to be despised when your exterior matches your interior, and it took a love that was based on more than looks (well, you can argue about that, since, you know, "Beauty" and the Beast) to redeem him. Likewise, part of what makes Phantom of the Opera such a tragic story is that Erik's genius and artistry goes unappreciated because of his lack of looks; what draws him to Christine isn't just her ethereal beauty and innate talent, but also because he sees her as his soulmate; the beautiful foil to his hideous appearance.

STOP MAKING THESE CHARACTERS GORGEOUS AND SHALLOWING EVERYTHING UP.

Anyway, to the plot of the story. Our heroine is named "Rune." She has a tragic history. She doesn't want to go to this special school because she has a special ability: she is compelled to sing at certain moments, and always does it beautifully. Naturally, she is "compelled" to do this while the resident Queen Bee is auditioning, before pretending to pass out. Her mother sticks around for a while but is about to go on honeymoon with Rune's new stepfather, so like Bella Swan's mom, or Mindy from Animaniacs, she goes, "Okay, I love you, bye-bye," and swans off, leaving Rune to her own devices. Luckily, Rune makes a whole bunch of friends, immediately, who are so fascinated by her lack of personality and her special secrets that they see absolutely zero problems about sneaking into her room and snooping into her belongings. This happens several times.

Rune meets a boy named Thorn who appears around the Opera House. He always wears a half-mask, but is super attracted to the half of the face that she can see. He tells her that they're "twin souls." No, literally, they are two halves of the same soul: incarnations of the Christine from the Phantom of the Opera myth. Only, Thorn can't sing because when he was young, he was kidnapped by sex traffickers, and his voice scared them so much that they poured lye down his throat. So instead of singing, Thorn plays the violin, and when he plays, Rune no longer feels sick after she sings.

This is because Rune, Thorn, and the Phantom (Erik), are all PSYCHIC VAMPIRES who use their magical abilities to draw out people's life force.

Psychic. Vampires.

Erik even owns a themed club in Paris. A rave club, where he picks off victims when he's so inclined. This is one of many moments, when I was just shocked and could only mumble, "Phantom...of the Rave? Phantom...rave...huh? Rave...phantom...rave..."

PHANTOM OF THE RAVE.

I'm sorry, I can't let that go. Erik doesn't belong anywhere near a rave. I refuse to believe that his artistic integrity would allow him to tolerate dub-step.

If you're wondering where Rune fits into all this, it ties back to the Phantom. Apparently, he and Christine got together at one point and had a baby (YESSSSSS). The baby was stillborn, but Erik has been keeping it alive in a Frankenstein-style incubator for all these years, waiting for Christine's reincarnation so he could kidnap that person, cut out their vocal chords, and implant them in the baby...because this will bring the baby to life again for some reason. All his attempts to get to Rune have been to activate her power, have Thorn seduce her, and then basically cut out her throat.

What.

The.

Fork.

I've seen and read several Phantom of the Opera adaptions, and this was one of the worst because it was so weird. It reminded me, actually, of that bad Italian remake, Il fantasma dell'opera (1998), which features Julian Sands looking less like the Phantom of the Opera and more like a reject from Interview of the Vampire since a) he's not disfigured (and is actually pretty hot), and b) the movie is less about him pursuing Christina for his sensually artistic purposes and more about sex (if I recall correctly, it actually features an orgy scene) and countless violent murder sprees. Not that ROSEBLOOD was gratuitously violent or needlessly sexual - it wasn't; it's similar because, like Il fantasma dell'opera, it was so over the top that in its attempt to differentiate itself from the work it was paying homage to, it pretty much lost sight of the original's purpose and become something totally and completely different. For better or for worse.

P.S. I'm disappointed to say that the Saint-Germaine connection basically goes nowhere, which is a shame, because he was a fascinating guy. For another story about Saint-Germaine and vampires that's actually pretty good, I suggest you check out Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Saint-Germaine series.

2 to 2.5 out of 5 stars.

**Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy**

ROSEBLOOD is, for lack of a better word, a bit weird. Billed as a young adult retelling of The Phantom of the Opera, it reads more like a sequel to its inspiration, rather than a retelling. Dark and mysterious, ROSEBLOOD has a lot going for it, but it just didn't live up to what I felt it could have been.

One thing that is important to me when I read is the cast of characters of the book. Unfortunately, the characters of ROSEBLOOD never felt more than one-dimensional, and all could easily fit into a nice little box - none were very complex, save one adult who mostly just went from heartbroken to scary.

The magic in ROSEBLOOD felt almost like an afterthought, like halfway through the book the author decided they needed a reason for something and added it in. What I felt was "the big reveal" was casually remarked upon and then not explored much further.

As the original phantom is a character in ROSEBLOOD, but the main characters are two teenagers, like I mentioned, it reads more like a continuation of the original Phantom of the Opera story, which could have been quite cool, but ended up failing in a few major ways. The ideas were creative, and the story well written, but the characters fell flat and the mythology just wasn't developed enough. If you liked the original Phantom of the Opera, you might like ROSEBLOOD out of curiosity, but I wouldn't recommend it for everybody.

This book is weird. WEIRD. [Psychic vampires, taxidermist teachers, near drowning in a baptismal, wtf.]

BUT....
*there is a cat
*and a swan
*both are adorable as heck

However, the "gypsy curse" and "gypsy blood" aspect of the book seemed problematic, and made me uncomfortable whenever it would come up.

A Gothic Modern spin on the classic Phantom of the Opera, this deeply engrossing book blends teenage reality with the deep darkness of the macabre. A wonderfully haunting read... follow up by reading Splintered series.

I was so looking forward to reading this book. However, when I received it, I discovered that it is published in red ink. And a very light red ink. The eye strain was beyond me and I couldn't even make it though the first chapter.

Absolutely ridiculous to the point of stupid, completely unenjoyable main characters, and it totally misses the point and depth of the original and honestly, it's offensive to what the original story was. So, so disappointing. I'm also upset that it has such a gorgeous cover but is just so awful.

This is a gorgeous Phantom of the Opera retelling with a pure yet zippy YA feel. If you enjoyed Beautiful Creatures (book or movie) you'll enjoy this! Lovely writing that captivates an adult mind and vocabulary as surely as the thrilling story and sweet romance will captivate a teen's. Give this one a go, you won't regret it!

RoseBlood was not what I was expecting at all. Both in good and bad ways. Rune is being sent to a music conservatory after she puts a boy in a coma. Yeah, that sounds weird and it is. But Rune has this gift which might also be a curse. She’s overcome by music and has to belt it out no matter what, and sometimes she hurts those around her when she does it. Obviously, Rune hates this and wants nothing to do with opera music. Until she meets Thorn, the opera ghost, who helps her overcome her “musical sickness” and uncovers some deep family secrets.

RoseBlood was just weird. The paranormal aspects simply didn’t work for me at all. It was interesting to have the original Phantom of the Opera be an immortal incubus. It makes sense. But everything else does not. At all. Rune being compelled to sing whenever she hears an aria, and then promptly being sick afterward? Makes no sense. Rune being an incubus? Also makes no sense. Family trying to kill Rune because she’s an incubus (but so are they, probably)? Definitely doesn’t make sense. I really could have done without the paranormal additions.

What I did like about RoseBlood was how the author fleshed out Erik and Christine’s story. Well, the “real” Erik and Christine, rather than the ones in the original story. I found all of that really interesting, sad, and kind of disturbing. I also liked Thorn’s backstory, which was quite tragic. But the story happening in the present didn’t hook me like that, which is unfortunate.

RoseBlood was one of my most anticipated releases and it sadly let me down. I love Paranormal Romance in general, but the paranormal elements here felt forced and random. I also couldn’t get behind Rune and Thorn’s romance. It was just kind of there and expected. Nothing grand or heart-fluttering about it.

RoseBlood was not what I was expecting at all. Both in good and bad ways. Rune is being sent to a music conservatory after she puts a boy in a coma. Yeah, that sounds weird and it is. But Rune has this gift which might also be a curse. She’s overcome by music and has to belt it out no matter what, and sometimes she hurts those around her when she does it. Obviously, Rune hates this and wants nothing to do with opera music. Until she meets Thorn, the opera ghost, who helps her overcome her “musical sickness” and uncovers some deep family secrets.

RoseBlood was just weird. The paranormal aspects simply didn’t work for me at all. It was interesting to have the original Phantom of the Opera be an immortal incubus. It makes sense. But everything else does not. At all. Rune being compelled to sing whenever she hears an aria, and then promptly being sick afterward? Makes no sense. Rune being an incubus? Also makes no sense. Family trying to kill Rune because she’s an incubus (but so are they, probably)? Definitely doesn’t make sense. I really could have done without the paranormal additions.

What I did like about RoseBlood was how the author fleshed out Erik and Christine’s story. Well, the “real” Erik and Christine, rather than the ones in the original story. I found all of that really interesting, sad, and kind of disturbing. I also liked Thorn’s backstory, which was quite tragic. But the story happening in the present didn’t hook me like that, which is unfortunate.

RoseBlood was one of my most anticipated releases and it sadly let me down. I love Paranormal Romance in general, but the paranormal elements here felt forced and random. I also couldn’t get behind Rune and Thorn’s romance. It was just kind of there and expected. Nothing grand or heart-fluttering about it.

I wanted to love this book. The plot sounded great, the cover obviously gorgeous. I was so excited and bought it the day it came out. But when I opened it and started reading, 150 pages in and I didn't even know what was going on. I loved her splintered series a lot so I was hoping for something great from her again.

Roseblood reads more as a continuation of Phantom of the Opera. It takes us on an adventure of what the Phantom would be doing if the story continued in today's time. The book did start off a little slow. I had a hard time understanding exactly what was going on and had to push through the first part a little. But after about the first 1/3 of the book I was sucked into Rune and Thorn's world and everything started to come together. .... For my complete review check out catsreadingcorner.com

I, myself, sing opera and reading this re-telling of one of my favorite musicals of all time possessed me- mind, heart, and soul- in song as it it did the heroine, Rune. A masterful story-spinning of haunting beauty that will entrance all who turn its pages.