REVIEW: "Legacy of Roses" by Melanie Cellier

-

 About the Book:

✦ Title: Legacy of Roses

✦ Author: Melanie Cellier


✦ Genre: Clean fairytale reimagining


✦ Series: Book #1 in the Kingdoms of Legacy series


✦ Recommend for: ages 14/15+

My Personal Rating

3.75 ⭐

📖 Synopsis

A merchant’s daughter who knows better than to pick roses.
A returned royal with no interest in becoming an enchanted prince.
A Legacy determined to force them into a story neither wants.

Rosalie’s family has already lost everything, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to protect them from further harm. Even if that means stopping ignorant newcomers from picking enchanted roses.

Dimitri knows little about his new kingdom, and he can’t help being captivated by the fiery girl who holds the answers. But Rosalie seems horrified by both his presence and his handsome face, and it turns out she has good reason. In the kingdom of Glandore, it’s a dangerous thing to be a young man of royal blood living alone in a castle. Almost as dangerous as being the youngest daughter of a merchant.

Enter a world where tales of the past shape the enchanted landscape—where glass can bend like a slipper and picking a rose courts danger. A world where the inhabitants must overcome the fabled Legacies as they find romance, adventure, and friendship.

💭 My thoughts

This was a fun read. The concept is so unique and creative, and I can see why devoted fairytale fans would love it. Unfortunately, I’m not very familiar with the original Beauty and the Beast, so a lot of the references and nods to that went right over my head. If I knew the fairytale better, I’m sure those moments would have landed more strongly, but that’s on me, not the book.

The triplet brothers were really funny. I like sibling dynamics in fiction, and those three were highly entertaining. Daphne was also one of my favorite characters, and a wonderful friend to Rosalie. I’m excited to read her story later in the series!

This was my first book by Melanie Cellier, and I enjoyed her writing style. The romance was nicely done. Not my favorite part, and as usual I would have preferred it to be lighter, but it was fine. What I loved most was the whole idea of outsmarting the Legacy and all the little intricacies that come with it. I’m really looking forward to continuing the series and seeing how that concept plays out with all the different fairytales!

All in all, not a new favorite, but enjoyable.


⚠️ Broad content notes

No language stronger than blasted; deaths of loved ones and grief; being abducted twice; fighting, injuries, blood (up to semi-descriptive); past toxic relationship; romance/falling in love and kisses.

🌹 Was this review helpful? Please consider following The Boundless Bookshelf!

Bookishly yours, 


Lottie M

Popular this week

REVIEW: "A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure" by Angela Bell

-
Image
  About the Book: ✦ Title: A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure ✦ Author: Angela Bell ✦ Genre: Christian Historical Romance (with steampunk elements and nods to Around the World in 80 Days and the Nutcracker) ✦ Series: Currently a standalone novel ✦ Recommend for: Ages 14/15+ My Personal Rating 5 ⭐️ 📖 Synopsis Miss Clara Marie Stanton's family may be eccentric, but they certainly aren't insane. London, England, 1860 When Clara's ex-fiancé begins to spread rumors that her family suffers from hereditary insanity, it's all she can do to protect them from his desperate schemes, society's prejudice, and a lifetime in an asylum. Then Clara's Grandfather Drosselmeyer brings on an apprentice with a mechanical leg, and all pretense of normalcy takes wing. Theodore Kingsley, a shame-chased vagabond haunted by the war, wants a fresh start far from Kingsley Court and the disappointed father who declared him dead. Upon returning to England, Theodore meets clockma...
Read more

REVIEW: “The Nature of Small Birds” by Susie Finkbeiner

-
Image
  About the Book: ✦ Title: The Nature of Small Birds ✦ Author: Susie Finkbeiner ✦ Genre: Triple timeline fiction w/ light faith threads (1975, 1988, 2013-2014) ✦ Series: Currently a standalone novel ✦ Recommend for: Ages 16/17+ {not for those very sensitive to war and adoption} My Personal Rating 3.5 ⭐️ 📖 Synopsis In 1975, three thousand children were airlifted out of Saigon to be adopted into Western homes. When Mindy, one of those children, announces her plans to return to Vietnam to find her birth mother, her loving adopted family is suddenly thrown back to the events surrounding her unconventional arrival in their lives. Though her father supports Mindy's desire to meet her family of origin, he struggles privately with an unsettling fear that he'll lose the daughter he's poured his heart into. Mindy's mother undergoes the emotional rollercoaster inherent in the adoption of a child from a war-torn country, discovering the joy hidden amid the difficulties. And Mind...
Read more

REVIEW: "Once Upon a Summer" by Janette Oke

-
Image
  About the Book: ✦ Title: Once Upon a Summer ✦ Author: Janette Oke ✦ Genre: Christian historical fiction ✦ Series: Book #1 in the Seasons of the Heart series ✦ Recommend for: ages 14+ My Personal Rating ⭐⭐⭐.5 📖 Synopsis Sure, his family isn't typical-Josh knows that. He's a twelve-year-old orphan being raised by his eighteen-year-old aunt. When Grandpa and Uncle Charlie start making plans to find Auntie Lou a husband-and take away the only mother Josh has ever known-he knows something has to be done. His family has shaped the young man he has become. Now, as he grows into manhood, he begins to face important questions about life, love, and faith. How can he find his way when his whole world threatens to come apart? Trying desperately to cling to the life he's always had, Josh does what he can to keep his aunt single. But when a preacher comes along, Josh sees that things are going to get complicated. 💭 My thoughts This story was overall sweet and enjoyable! I thought it...
Read more

REVIEW: "Wormwood Abbey" by Christina Baehr

-
Image
  About the book… *Title: Wormwood Abbey *Author: Christina Baehr *Genre: Cozy historical fantasy (with dragons and a touch of romance) *Series: Book #1 of the 5-book series The Secrets of Ormdale *Recommend for: Ages 13/14 & up My Personal Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ 📖Synopsis As a Victorian clergyman’s daughter, Edith Worms has seen everything — until a mythical salamander tumbles out of the fireplace into her lap. When a letter arrives from estranged relatives, Edith is swept away to a crumbling gothic Abbey in the wilds of Yorkshire. Wormwood Abbey isn't just full of curious beasts and ancient family secrets: there’s also a tall, dark, and entirely too handsome neighbour who is strangely reluctant for her to leave. An unexpected bond with her prickly cousin Gwendolyn gives Edith a reason to stay in this strange world — especially when it turns out that Edith herself may have a role in guarding her family's legacy. But not all of the mysteries of Ormdale are small enough to fi...
Read more