Rose Petal Graves: The Lost Clan, Book 1

I am not now, nor have I ever been a fan of fairies, I find them tiny and annoying (Disney ruined them for me, LOL); but if this author writes it I read it, plain and simple.Well let me just say I am now a fan of THESE fairies. I LOVED how the author made them human but with extra traits, magic and senses. I love that they were so easy to understand yet unique and different enough to feel like new creatures; like I can see them flying out of the shadows of real life.I was unprepared for the emotional journey both the characters and I would take during this book. I am not a fan of feelings but this book made me feel and a lot; and I enjoyed it! That is how invested I was with these characters.I found the world this author created to be detailed and imaginative. Real yet just slightly off from what I live in each day. I liked the mythology and the history the author incorporated into the story, it helped me imagine this world and these characters, (their beliefs and reasonings) in a way that connected me to the outcome. I loved how atmospheric the story is. I could feel the snow, the rain, the darkness and the light. I wanted to be apart of it.I could go on and on, but I will leave my review here as I need to jump into book two and discover what’s next. Once again this author proved she is a master at her craft as she took two things I dislike in a story and made me love them! Brilliant!

I don’t really know what I fully think of this book. It was good, great even at some parts. However, it also had issues that was hard to see past.The beginning of the story was intriguing. The sudden passing of Cat’s mom, the rose petal grave and the mysterious medical examiner with the instant attraction between him and Cat. Best of all though was that the story constantly kept me on my toes. Nothing was ever what it seemed, people weren’t who they said they were and new characters were often introduced with their own agenda and part to play who later had new unexpected parts. Enter Kajika with his past and connection to Cat … well, let’s just say that the story had a lot of moving elements to take in and I’m impressed that the story handled so many moving and changing parts so well. Albeit, it did not handle it perfectly. At times I felt that characters actions and feelings didn’t really feel as developed or natural as I would have liked. Characters deaths usually have me crying when the story is good, and while this one is good, the emotional impacts didn’t really hit due to it having so much going on that the characters was given very little room to grieve or handle any other emotion like hate or betrayal. Sure, Cat hated Gwen for a hot second but then kind of just dropped it with no shown reason as to why.The lack of emotional processing aside this story was a roller coaster with twists and characters, so much so that the romance in itself became a mystery. On the one hand, me being a huge romance nerd am a bit disappointed that it isn’t as clear cut as any romance story I’m just to. On the other hand the potential couple possibilities have all been really intriguing and I honestly don’t really know who I’m shipping, having gone back and forth throughout reading the story. Having finished the book I’m leaning a bit more towards Kaijka and Cat, but whoever is the end goal I think I will be happy either way, which is a great feeling to having jumping into the next book in the series. Fingers crossed that it holds the same level, if not better, as this one did.I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My first thought picking up this book was that the title makes a good murder mystery. It is not. This book dives into a fictional Farie world that has human hunter enemies. The accidental awakening of the hunter ancestors brings back a fued that is hundreds of years old. I ate this book up in 4 hrs and it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

For absolutely no good reason, I never quite got into this story. The characters are interesting, the story progresses at a good pace... but somehow, I never clicked with it. Even the curiosity of what happens next likely won't be enough for me to continue this series. And I have no idea why! Frustrating.If you like intrigue, faeries, and a real world setting but with a touch of magic, you'll probably love this.

Olivia Wildenstein is never a miss for me and this book is no exception!It starts off grim and our main character, Catori, is one who can never seem to catch a break. Bad things keep happening to her and the latest is the death of her mother under mysterious circumstances.And the story only gets eerier from there, catapulted by the arrival of the medical examiner Cruz, who is just a little too perceptive and a little to interested in more than just the manner of Catori’s mother’s death.This book has an air of the supernatural hanging over it constantly, and for good reason. Catori isn’t just plagued by the death of her mother, but of her mother’s stories of the fae and the indigenous tribe they’re descended from, the Gottwa. Add in an unfamiliar relative attending her mother’s funeral, who is more stranger than not, and the story really kicks off with a heady dose of suspense and magic.And, as the story progresses, Catori realizes those tales weren’t simply fiction and not everything is as it seems.I really enjoyed the twisty and haunting aspect of this story, as well as the slower burn romance between Catori and Cruz. It’s absolutely a solid start to the series and one I’m excited to have read, as it’s been on my shelf for a few years!The ending only left me wishing for more, and I’m excited to see where the story goes in the rest of the series!

Ich verschlinge gerade alle ihre Bücher und liebe sie alle. Sie sind gut geschrieben, spannend erzählt und haben einen unvorhersehbaren Verlauf. Ich kann ihre Bücher nur empfehlen und bin gespannt, wie es weitergeht.

Rose Petal Graves was SO GOOD.I wasn’t expecting it to be as engaging as it was. I find that normally the first book in a series is a bit slower as to get the reader and main character acquainted with what’s going on, but not this book. I couldn’t put it down because there was so much happening.I also loved it because it pulled at my heart strings. The thought of dying lingers in a lot of books, but in this book—oh man—we have an important character die and I nearly cried. Plus the mystery of Cat’s mom’s death mixed with Cat having to go through her mom’s stuff and learn to live without it. I want expecting it to be so heavy.And then we have the love interests! Man or man!We have insta-love with a fairy, then a strange love story that I don’t want to spoil, and then a enemies to lovers which a fairy which is more of enemies to friends but I’m secretly rooting for them.Cat + Ace forever.

This author was new to me and I’m seriously glad I took a chance on them, and this series as Rose Petal Graves is amazing. I really hope the rest of the series lives up to book 1.Catori is training to become a doctor but has to put her education on hold when her mother dies suddenly and she has to return home for the funeral. She’s convinced her mother didn’t die of natural causes and even after the medical examiner pronounces the cause of death she isn’t satisfied. Something isn’t right and she knows it. There’s also something about Cruz, the medical examiner, that Catori can’t explain. When she learns the truth about him, her ancestors and her mother, she’s forced to see the world with new eyes. Life for Catori will never be the same again.Some people might find Cat (Catori) flighty, as she keeps changing her mind, but I think she’s just an open minded person who is desperately trying to find her way and place in this “new world”. She knows absolutely nothing about the history of her people, or their enemies, which makes it difficult to decide who to trust. Not to mention that no-one is very forthcoming with her and they all tell her bits and pieces of the story. Add in the fact that Cat is still grieving, and you can understand why she’s willing to listen to everyone and even give second chances like she does. There are the makings of a love triangle in this book, so if that isn’t your thing, then you might not like the direction the book takes. Cruz is one of Cat’s love interests and their chemistry is obvious. He’s a very secretive character and while I suspect he has Cat’s best interests at heart, he doesn’t go about things in quite the right way. Her other love interest is a little more complicated and I don’t want to give too much away so that’s all I’m going to say about him. I’m not sure which one I want to claim her heart, but it’ll be fun finding out.Honestly, I almost didn’t bother with this book as the cover didn’t exactly draw me in. It’s bright and pretty and eye-catching but I get so many recommendations that I’ve begun to ‘judge a book by its cover’. Stupid I know, but I know the types of books I read and enjoy and have begun to identify with certain types of artwork. Thankfully, since I was being offered the chance to win an audio version of the book, I took the time to read the blurb and realised that ‘Rose Petal Graves,’ was just my sort of book. If I hadn’t of won a copy, I might have missed out on an amazing story. It has a bit of a depressing start but stick with it, it is well worth it, I promise. The story is captivating, unique and very well written; it’s very descriptive but not overdone which means it feels very natural. I lost myself completely to the story, so much so that I could barely find it in me to hit pause and go to bed. I can’t wait for the next book.Profanity: NegligibleSexual content: NegligibleViolence: Moderate but sporadic

I went through so many emotions reading the book liking one person then not liking them. Hating another then liking them and the same with others aswell felt like i was on a damn roller coaster which is something i have come to expect with olivias books.For now though i cant wait to dive into the second book to see where everything leads.

I'd just finished reading this author's latest book - which was fantastic - and so I found this older one to give it a try. There is a massive difference between the two, her latest was unputdownable, but this one I had to put down and didn't resume. Unless this book is an anomaly, I can only assume that the author has vastly improved as time has gone on. I am glad I read them in the order I did though, because if this book was my introduction then I wouldn't ever pick up another. As it is now though - in 2023 - Olivia Wildenstein is a fantastic writer.