{Blog Tour} Rose Petal Graves by Olivia Wildenstein (Review & Giveaway)

YA Bound Book Tours is organizing a Blog Tour for: Rose Petal Graves by Olivia Wildenstein. This tour will run from March 6th to 10th. Check out the tour schedule.

Rose Petal Graves
by Olivia Wildenstein
Genre: Paranormal/Faeries
Release Date: March 29th 2017

Summary:

ANCIENT SECRETS CANNOT REMAIN BURIED FOREVER.

Founded two centuries ago by a powerful tribe of Gottwa Indians, Rowan was a quiet town, so quiet that I fled after graduation. Staying away was the plan, but Mom died suddenly.

Dad said she suffered a stroke after she dug up one of the ancient graves in our backyard, which happens to be the town cemetery. Creepy, I know. Creepier still, there was no corpse inside the old coffin, only fresh rose petals.

As we made preparations for Mom’s burial, new people began arriving in Rowan, unnervingly handsome and odd people. I begged them to leave, but they stayed, because their enemies—my ancestors—were beginning to awaken.

  

Review:

This book follows Cat as she has just arrived home because her mother suddenly passed away.  Cat is convinced there is foul play with her mother's death due to her sudden passing and wants to investigate what happened.  Cat's Dad is basically in a state of shock over what happened and isn't really sure what is happening.

I read the original version of this book a few months ago and really enjoyed the story.  I wanted more out of the book though when it ended it felt very abrupt that I couldn't wait for the second book in the series.   The extended version gave me exactly what I wanted and so much more.  The first half of the book was the identical background story about Cat's mother's death and her learning that maybe all the stories her mother had told her were not stories at all, but true.

The author does a great job with the expanded story.  We get a much larger picture of the history of Cat's family as well as what the fae world is like.    We also get a closer look at a lot of how the town as well as characters in the book are intertwined.   We get to really see how strong of a relationship that Cat had with her best friend Blake.  We also get to see some more of Ace and Lily and how they effect Cat.  

I still love Cat as the main character.  She honestly gets so much stuff thrown at her all at once and she seems to take it with stride.  I am not sure how she never breaks during the book.  She is quick to learn when to ask questions and when to stay quiet.  She is always questioning her relationship with other characters and not giving out to much trust when it isn't due.  I am not 100% sold on the relationship that Cat has with any guy in her life.  I am not sure if we have a love triangle going on or what is even happening at this point.  The author doesn't really give us to much when it comes to Cat's feelings on the guys since her emotions are all over the place a good portion of the book. 

The story does have a lot of action packed into it and the author does a great job keeping the story moving.  We learn information when we need to learn it so it isn't all to overwhelming and presented at once.   Also, the author does a great job with all the details in the story I could really picture what was going on with the characters and what everyone looked like. 

The author leaves a lot of openings at the end of this book for a squeal.  I want to know more about the fae world and the hunter world.  I do have a few lingering questions and I want to see where some relationships in the book go.  

My one complaint would be some of the Gottowa language is a little hard to follow along with the fae language and sometimes if there was a lot of this in one section it took me awhile to fully understand what was going on.  I needed a dictionary at some points and I felt like I got to roped into wanting to know what they were saying I was losing some of the story. 

My other issue is the topic of suicide is brought up a lot in this book.  I don't feel like the entire topic was addressed really well by the author.  I want a book to have suggestions for how people can cope with suicidal thoughts and it wasn't really addressed.   I feel like if you take a very challenging topic you need to also have in ways to help people or have the characters getting help for these issues. 

I would suggest this as a nighttime read.  It was easy to put down the book and pick it back up without losing your place.   There where some points where the action really picked up and you wanted to know what was going to happen next, but there were also a lot of sections of background information that I found to be comfortable stopping points. 

I received a copy of this book from YA Bound Tours for the purpose of providing an honest review.  This does not effect my opinion of this book.

My Rating: 4/5

About the Author

Olivia Wildenstein grew up in New York City, the daughter of a French father with a great sense of humor, and a Swedish mother whom she speaks to at least three times a day. She chose Brown University to complete her undergraduate studies and earned a bachelor’s in comparative literature. After designing jewelry for a few years, Wildenstein traded in her tools for a laptop computer and a very comfortable chair. This line of work made more sense, considering her college degree.

When she’s not writing, she’s psychoanalyzing everyone she meets (Yes. Everyone), eavesdropping on conversations to gather material for her next book, baking up a storm (that she actually eats), going to the gym (because she eats), and attempting not to be late at her children’s school (like she is 4 out of 5 mornings, on good weeks).

Wildenstein lives with her husband and three children in Geneva, Switzerland, where she’s an active member of the writing community.

Author Links:

   

Giveaway

http://oliviawildenstein.com/giveaways/a-rose-is-a-rose-is-a-rose/