Format: E-Book, 370 pages
Release Date: March 6, 2017
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Source: Amazon
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Romance
After seven grueling years of captivity in the Garden—a burlesque troupe of slave girls—sixteen-year-old Rose finds an opportunity to escape during a performance for the emperor. But the hostage she randomly chose from the crowd to aid her isn't one of the emperor's men—not anymore. He's the former heir to the throne, who is now leading a rebellion against it.
Rayce is a wanted man and dangerously charismatic, the worst person for Rose to get involved with, no matter what his smile promises. But he assumes Rose's attempt to take him hostage is part of a plot to crush the rebellion, so he takes her ashis hostage. Now Rose must prove where her loyalties lie, and she offers Rayce a deal—if he helps her rescue the other girls, she'll tell him all the Garden's secrets.
Except the one secret she's kept for seven years that she'll to take to her grave if she must.
Garden of Thorns is the first installment in author Amber Mitchell's Garden of Thorns trilogy. Rose is from Varsha. When the traitor took the Varshan Throne, she fled with her caretaker only to be captured and enslaved. Since then, Rose has been forced to serve in a burlesque troop made up of under aged slaves called the Garden. She is called Flower, and her job is to dance. Dance until your feet give out, never talk back, and don’t ever disobey an order, or your Wilted pays the price.
During a performance for the Emperor of Delmar, who takes a keen interest in her, Rose chooses a random stranger to take hostage. She makes a big mistake in who she chooses. The hostage she randomly chooses is the former heir to the throne, who is now leading a rebellion against it. Rayce Sun is a wanted man and dangerously charismatic, the worst person for Rose to get involved with, no matter what his smile promises.
Rayce assumes that Rose is an assassin sent to kill him by his Uncle the Emperor, and takes her hostage. The problem is if anyone finds out who Rose really is, the likelihood of rescuing her sisters will be the furthest from her mind. She will be used to bargaining chip from everyone from the Gardener, to Rayce, to perhaps the Emperor himself if he learns her true identity. She has to prove herself to Rayce and the Zareeni rebels or end up in yet another prison cell.
Rayce is called the "shogun," and the names of the people and the decor of the city mix elements of sandy deserts and Japanese gardens. Rayce and his people are fighting to overthrow his horrible uncle, a man who won’t hesitate before killing and destroying in order to maintain his power. Unlike him, Rayce is all about the people—he wants a fair world where everyone can leave in peace. It's clear he takes his leadership role very seriously and his reasons for going against his uncle have a personal aspect to them.
Rayce is still a fairly young man, who has ideas that might not play out in other situations. He has some solid support from not only Oren who is the guiding hand he needs to stay focused on what's right, but Arlo and Piper. His people rely on him, and every time they don't come home from a mission, or a battle goes horribly wrong, or Rose ends up captured, he puts everything he has to try to get them back safely. I mentioned Oren above. He's the man who helped Rayce become a leader and he was the one who helped Rose realize what she really needed to do to save the people she loves.
Rose and Rayce have that type of slow burn romance that isn't forced into being. Rose has every reason in the world to hate men, and doesn't like anyone touching her. She’s been betrayed her entire life by men, and with the secret identity, there's a good chance that Rayce would be put in a position to betray her, too. One can legitimately say that this is Rose's growth as a character story. She seems meek and afraid of her own shadow once we meet her. She struggles to stand up to men in authority. Later, she becomes someone who is able to fight for herself, and for others.
There is quite a bit of action in this story to keep even those who don't care for fantasy happy. This story really does address the sickness that is sex trafficking. Rose and the other girls suffer the kind of mental and even physical abuse that paints in bold colors a really ugly picture of what a life as a Flower must be like. I think I would have preferred this story was told in the third person, and that the author used Rayce to tell the reason behind what drives him. I think it would have added a much needed element to the story.
No comments:
Post a Comment