thank you to netgalley and Olivia Wildenstein for my advanced listener copy of Rose Petal Graves. My opinions are my own and done voluntarily.

This one was very YA, and i enjoyed many YA novels as an adult, but this one was too much for me. However, it was well written and will be great for the young reader in your life.

This book is about Catori, a young medical school student who returns to her home town after her mother dies. She suspects foul play and wants to find out more about what happened to her mother.

I read the entire thing, but many times considered DNF'ing this. I don't normally continue but I wanted to check whether it got better given I knew this was part of a larger series. There are honestly so many things I disliked about this, but to briefly summarise:

Catori made no sense to me. She is 19 and a medical student, who acts like a 16 year old but speaks of her life experience as though she's 25. I don't think her personality came across very likeable, and I found myself more annoyed by her and her actions. A lot of characters make really stupid decisions which don't seem justified, and I felt myself wanting to slap sense into them. Also the love interest (s) made literally ZERO sense to me in terms of chemistry.

The book revolved a LOT around death, grief, loss. I *know* the word grave is in the title, but I didn't feel like the book was so fully going to revolve around the topic. It felt dark and not in a good way. The story around the Native American side of her family felt really forced, and as it was a main plotline I felt didn't help that nothing felt explained about WHY certain plot points happened. Because I listened to this in audiobook format, a lot of the terminology that was thrown around I didn't feel was adequately explained which led to some very confusing bits around the half way mark (ish!).

Finally, and very mean of me to say, but the writing reminded me of a fanfiction from 2015 when Wattpad was all the rage. Word usage bothered me and the way it was constructed really gave me that vibe. I can't explain it any better I'm afraid - I think the fact it was first person narration and we were hearing her thoughts was actually part of why I ended up disliking the MC.

Not my favourite, though I have to say the narrator did a good job (especially with all the terminology) and I feel bad leaving this review because she really did a decent job with portraying the different characters.

<i>I was provided with a complimentary copy of this audiobook by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, which I leave voluntarily</i>

This book started super weird and I just could not get into it. Why is the coroner looking at her mom’s dead body in their home? Why did she insist on also looking at her mom’s dead body? Makes no sense.

Rose Petal Graves
My review

I listened to this book on audio and had a lot of fun while doing it. Yes. The book has a few jumps in logic that makes little to no sense. It is however a book about fae and fae hunters so I resigned myself to the concept early on.

The plot is a bit more complicated than what is usual but not overly so and I liked that I needed to pay attention to the characters and literally almost know who is who in the zoo because there are quite a few characters that plays a major role. They however are fluffed out enough so that they do stand out and so that you the reader can differentiate between them. There is no love triangle in this book although the trappings are there for all to see. I liked that the seriously over use of a love triangle was not used. I personally am growing tired of it. As for the reference to the vampire diaries. Luckily that is not true either. The book has a fresh feel to it although the only thing that I found different from all the other books were the American Indian beliefs and culture woven into the fae legend. This I found intriguing.

I base my star stats on how much I enjoyed a book and could not put it down or could not wait to read more of it. If there are technical fallacies like in this book and it distracts so much from the story line that it annoys me and I want to stop listening or reading a book the stars go way down.

For structure and flow I give this book a
3-star rating.

For character development and writing of characters I can support and cheer on I give this book a
4-star rating.

As for the audio and narrator. I was very impressed with Stephanie Fritz and the way she made the book pop. She gets a
5-star rating.

For overall impression and here a special mention to that stunning cover I give this book a
4-star rating.

Synopsis, thank you Goodreads

Rose Petal Graves
(The Lost Clan #1)
by
Olivia Wildenstein (Goodreads Author)
3.75 · Rating details · 2,490 ratings · 591 reviews
I wasn't the type of girl who believed in fairytales, much less tales about faeries, but that changed the day the fae walked into my life.

Staying away from my lakeside hometown was the plan, but Mom died suddenly. Dad said she suffered a stroke after she dug up one of the ancient Native American graves in our backyard.

Creepy, I know. Creepier still, there was no corpse inside the old coffin, only fresh rose petals.

As we made preparations for her burial, unnervingly odd and beautiful newcomers poured into my small town. A coroner with emerald eyes and black hair, much too young for the job. An arrogant blond socialite, who lived to get under my skin. And a tattooed Native man, who wasn’t supposed to be alive.

By dying, my mother had inadvertently revived an age-old feud between the fae and the tribe that hunted them.

A feud that was about to tear my world apart.

Dive into this paranormal adventure that readers are comparing to Vampire Diaries...but with faeries.




About the author

This taken directly from Goodreads. Thank you Goodreads

Olivia Wildenstein
Goodreads Author


Born
in London, The United Kingdom

Website
http://www.oliviawildenstein.com


Twitter
OWildWrites


Genre
Romance, Paranormal, Young Adult


Influences
L.J. Shen, Lucy Score, Amy Harmon, Bryn Greenwood.


Member Since
October 2012


URL
https://www.goodreads.com/olivesreadsalot


edit data

Olivia is the byproduct of a meet-rude in a Parisian discotheque that turned into an epic love story spanning several decades. Naturally, this shaped the way she viewed romance.
After meeting her own Prince Charming—in a Parisian discotheque of all places—she decided to put fingers to keyboard and craft love stories for a living. None of her characters have ever met in a Parisian nightclub... as of yet.

Ready to fall in love? Sign up to her Newsletter to claim your FREEBIE: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/hmniv0406r

WEBSITE: http://oliviawildenstein.com
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/olives21/
TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@owildwrites
FACEBOOK READER GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Olivi...
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TWITTER: https://twitter.com/OWildWrites

Thank you Instagram for this tidbit on the narrator


Follow this link - https://www.amazon.com/Rose-Petal-Graves-audiobook/dp/B073VZRR56/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1M4NZV5ER57KT&keywords=Rose+Petal+Graves&qid=1658376125&sprefix=rose+petal+graves%2Caps%2C331&sr=8-1
To purchase this book on Amazon

Until we read again.

Well my TBR just got a little longer books 2 and 3 were published years ago and now I am going to have to go and read them to find out what happens next.

Stephanie Fritz did a great job with the narration of this novel. I was able to speed up the recording to 2.0x and still understand everything.

I thought this book was well done and the author left you wanting to find out what happens next. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil anything. If you like stories about the Fae world then you will probably enjoy this book.

Whilst enjoyable to listen to I found this book slightly complicated. I wasn’t sure which characters I actually liked and found it hard to feel any emotional investment in the book.
I liked the idea of the story ut felt it was not executed as well as it could have been.

Rose Petal Graves is an enchanting story of Fairies versus Hunters. Our main character, Cat, is discovering long hidden family secrets, and has some difficult decisions to make. The audiobook was easy to listen to, and the narrator brought the characters to life. The author pulled me in right from the beginning, and was able to really bring the characters to life. The story is well written and imaginative. I was left wanting more, and will definitely continue on to see where the story goes in book 2. This was a fun read.

I love a good story dealing with the fae! I’ve read several lately, and I definitely enjoy the addition of fae hunters to this story!

After the unexpected death of her mother, Cat is confronted by a world she didn’t know existed - and is now a part of. Weird things happen and she finds herself trying to figure it all out while still remaining herself.

I’m finding it hard to talk about without spoilers really, but I will say I’m glad there’s more because this ended on a weird note that feels unfinished.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audio copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to netgalley for this ALC.

DNF at 50%. Tropes weren’t for me and I didn’t connect with the characters. Hopefully the reviews are better for the next few books and I’ll try again for this one because I want to like it.

#RosePetalGraces by#OliviaWildenstein was narrated by #StephanieFritz. I love a moment to go back to fairytales and wonder about magic. This story brought me back to the magic of the car. It all starts bizarrely with an ancient grave being dug up but no body just filled with rose petals. Thanks to #Netgalley for gifting me the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I did not finish this book, while I usually love anything related to Native American culture and the concept of fae, this really wasn’t for me. A lot of things just didn’t make sense and I found the characters very unlikeable
.I won’t bother with a super long review considering I didn’t enjoy it much but I will say that I can see why others may like this book and the narrator was quite good !!

The whole feel of this story went in circles for me and I ended up Dnfing the book. I really really wanted to like it but I just didn’t.

This story fascinated me from page one.

Catoti left college to go to the small town she grew up in. Her mother had passed away.

The story then gets into Faroese and humans. The story gets more and more intriguing as it flows. In a few parts of the book I had to set it aside for a few minutes because it got so sad.

The story was so compelling that I listened the book in two settings.

I am so impressed with the orginality and deep origin/mytholgy in this book! Fantastic charecters and plot left me wanting more! I hope there will be more! Hihgly receommended read!

Although the characters have interesting backstories and I love the incorporation of Native American mythology, the plot was lacking. This is a very character-driven story where the intrigue of who the characters are and what they are doing is the driving point.

The main plot is solved halfway through, which was bitter-sweet in my opinion. I kept holding out for more twists and turns, but it was hard to feel engaged with them for they centered around the previous history of the characters that are barely known.

Was not a fan between Catori and her love interest. The small redeemable part about it would be that even she is not fully into it either at times; which feels a bit meta.

I will want to listen to the next book if it got turned into an audiobook for I am interested by the tribe and their history as well as what will happen with the faeries.

It was a really good audiobook!
I really liked the reader, she brought the book to life!
Also the story is very interesting! I am thinking about getting the next two audiobooks as well as I am kind of hooked now and want to know how the story goes on.
I will definitely recommend it!

This book was confusing for me. While I loved the mix of Native American folklore and fae folklore, it got a bit overwhelming for me. The main character Catori was so wishy-washy to me. The love triangle was a bit much for them not knowing anything about each other. The plot was meh.... a war between fae and hunters with the main character caught in between. Despite all this, Rose Petal Graves by Olivia Wildenstein kept me reading. I believe the Narrator of the Audiobook may have had something to do with that. I am not sure if I had been reading this book on my own if I would have even finished it. I will say I would read the rest of the series only to finish the storyline but I am not rushing out to download them.

Thank you Netgalley for the Advanced copy of this Audiobook in return for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

"Rose Petal Graves" had an interesting and promising premise. Keywords I'll use to describe this book would be: fae, fae hunters, ancient magic, instant attraction and romance. I had a hard time connecting with the characters in this story. Aside from maybe one or two supporting leads. Catori, the MC has made some very questionable choices throughout the book. While I understood the motivation behind her actions. It was still very frustrating to read/listen to. Overall, it was an average read for me. The ending was a good surprise. 2.5/5

The audiobook performance was good. I also like the book cover.

Thank you NetGalley and Olivia Wildenstein for providing this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I could get into this book, I may try re-reading it at a later time, The premise started off good then the story dropped as it got too convoluted.

Rose Petal Graves is a YA fantasy novel.

Catori has to return to her hometown when her mum suddenly dies in strange circumstances. And things get even stranger when strangers arrive and Catori begins to discover her families history and who she really is.

Whilst this isn’t my usual genre I do pick it up occasionally and have read & enjoyed some of Olivia Wildensteins books before.

I thought the storyline and setting for the book was original. I enjoyed getting know Cat, her friends and her family more. The cover is beautiful too.

I did struggle to enjoy some parts of the book though, I didn’t like Cats “relationships” with some of the new comers, some of the things certain characters did don’t feel right and I found some of the dialogue between characters odd.

It is well narrated, the voice tells the story well and keeps your attention throughout.

Whilst I did finish the book, I probably won’t read any more of this triology.