Can two broken people ever find redemption?
Title: A Wolf’s Rose: The Feyfolk Trilogy #1 (The Chronicles of Rinnil)
Author: M.C. Kennedy
About
Can two broken people ever find redemption?
Roshien Cochall has one goal: appear before the Gwyns and prove that she can move beyond the mistakes of her past. Nothing seems to move her closer to that goal, however, and she is left feeling stuck.
Lorcan Mactíre has been waiting patiently for nearly ten years to seize a cochall’s magic ring. Taking Roshien’s grandmother hostage, he lures Roshien to his fortress and holds her captive, confident that he will soon uncover her ring’s secret.
Is this Roshien’s opportunity for redemption? Can she somehow convince Lorcan to let her go—and maybe even take him with her? Or is this the beginning of her ultimate failure?
Rating:
5 stars
Review:
A Wolf’s Rose is an interesting blend of Little Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast.
Plot
As I said above, this story is quite interesting. Most retellings follow similar veins and some even have little to no creativity when it comes to expanding the story beyond the fairy tales, but A Wolf’s Rose definitely is not one of those. I’m not going to say much about the plot except that it was unique. The mesh of the two fairy tales is quite clever.
Characters
Roshien (or, Ro, as I called her) is a sympathetic character and the reader is instantly rooting for her. Her familial loyalty and protectiveness over her siblings and grandmother are endearing. Lorcan (I love that name) is an interesting character too. Honestly, I felt he was shorted just a smidgen because things happened so quickly, but he is a strong character that the reader both wants to love yet doesn’t at the same time because he can be such a pill.
Setting
Kennedy is excellent at creating settings and making the reader feel like they’re there, whether it’s a dark, cold cell, a cool, snowy day, or the bustling marketplace.
Other/Content Warning
What Kennedy is also excellent at is building the tension and creating one heart-stopping ending. The battle was imminent, and boy, was it a fight.
Content warning is as follows:
Characters are injured; characters die; fights occur; buildings are burned; the darkness is quite present and just ominously evil; and characters get smacked around. Magic is an intricate part of this tale.
Conclusion
I wasn’t sure where the faith aspect was included until I was well within the book’s pages. It’s slow to build, but then crescendos into a beautiful example of how God’s grace can extend to even the darkest of hearts and how salvation is attainable by all through Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection. And that ending. My goodness. I was a bit peeved because I had grown to like a certain character by then, and then he’s gone, but I understand why it had to happen. It’s bittersweet, though, which is a sign of Kennedy’s ability to create emotion within the reader.
If you’re looking for a unique fairy tale retelling, this may be the book for you.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.
Madi's Musings 