Rose of the Fae by Brittany Fichter
Fantasy. 525 Pages. 5 Stars
Synopsis:
A rose mage who cannot utter her own name.
A fae prince who never had one.
The fae queen who desires to use them both to start her reign of darkness.
Favorite of the fae Queen of the Eclipse Court, Rose–or Ruby, as everyone knows her–had been raised with all the privileges and luxuries of a princess, despite being human. And all the queen has ever asked in return is for Rose–the only known rose mage in existence–to gather for her the magical rose oil. But the queen is no benign ruler, and Rose knows better than any the darkness and power the queen will use to get her own way.
Playing the puppet for the sake of her friends, Rose has had little choice but to obey the queen since she was small–even when it broke her heart. But when the queen makes a request of Rose that she dares not fulfill, Rose makes her escape from the queen’s dark domain into the magical–and dangerous–world of Faerie.
Despite his closest friend’s betrayal five years before, Aemon and his followers escaped the Eclipse Court and have been doing their best to stop his mother from spilling her darkness out of the Eclipse Court into Faerie and the rest of Aerovain. Which shakes him all the more when he finds his childhood friend and betrayer on his doorstep, begging for help to save Aerovain. And though her story seems credible, Aemon wants little to do with Ruby…even if she’s blossomed into the most beautiful creature he’s ever seen.
Whether they want to or not, however, Rose and Aemon have little choice. If they wish to keep the powerful oil out of his mother’s hands, they must flee to the Winter Court–the home of Aemon’s estranged father. And as they and their friends flee north, they find that Vashti isn’t their only enemy. Rose’s humanity makes her a target for the local fae, as does Aemon’s lack of a True Name. And it quickly becomes undeniably clear that they must learn how to fulfill the roles they were meant to play.
For if Rose can’t become the rose mage the world needs…
If Aemon can’t complete his magic…
The Eclipse Queen will soon rule them all.
Read this young adult fae fantasy adventure today for complex, colorful magic, clean childhood sweethearts, forbidden romance, and the lore and legends of Faerie like never before.
Rose of the Fae is the first book in the Rose of Destiny Trilogy.
My Review:
Eep! Okay, so this may be my favorite of Fichter’s covers! It’s SO BEAUTIFUL! (Though I am partial to Cinders, Stars, & Glass Slippers and the Autumn Fairy–the nostalgia, you guys, the nostalgia.) But not only is this fat new book gorgeously covered, it signifies new territory for Fichter, too: the world of the fae. And not her Classical Kingdoms fae, but a more traditional fae world and story–with the inevitable Fichter Fiction Twist.
Honestly, I really enjoyed this one. Fae books are hit or miss for me, but I trust Fichter with content levels and I love seeing her build whole new worlds and magic systems cause she does epic fantasy justice. This one was a slow start for me. But about 9 chapters in, we shift into gear and it was hard to put it down after that.
The characters balance some of the traditional fae qualities we see in popular fiction (perfection, agility, strength, courts, magic, tempers, etc.) with real, tangible desires and fears. One of the first things that drew me to Fichter’s work was her characters, and I really loved seeing the struggle of humanity within this new cast (fae or not).
This story explores the question of humanity and purpose, something I think we all wrestle with to some degree. I loved seeing Rose come into her own and her bravery to leave all she’s ever known to stand for what’s right, in spite of the literal pain it causes. And Aemon was just plain fun. I really enjoyed seeing how he wrestled with self-control and nobility in a society of impulse and pleasure-seeking fae as well as how he had to come to terms with being worthy of love and wanted. Again, such deep core desires and fears we all deal with in some way at some time. It was cool seeing how the characters sought something deeper and more meaningful and that’s the kind of story that challenges me as a reader to do the same in my own life.
I was a little confused by the world and opening. The names and customs and magic were difficult to process and grasp and there are still questions I have that I look forward to seeing answers to later on. But the neat thing about Fichter’s world is how well it sets up this perfect look at cultural pressures and norms vs. pushing against the bandwagon to do what’s right. The magic system is intriguing and I’m curious to see more of it unfold in subsequent books (I was super intrigued by the weapons tradition and how it was tied to the fae magic. Song magic was cool and the idea of the nature magic is fun, but we don’t see much outside of the rose oil magic, which I’m still a little lost on.) But thematically, this story holds such potential for the beauty of God’s grace and loving sacrifice. A theme that resonates deeply with me (and I’m sure many others).
The plot itself was intriguing, again after the story got to moving. And the world feels so expansive. I sure hope we explore other courts in the other books too. But most of all, I’m reeling from THAT TWIST AT THE END guuuyyysss. So, like, I thought I had guessed it (and I did one of the twists–well foreshadowed, Fichter. Well foreshadowed. But THE OTHER?! It was perfectly executed and NOT something I saw coming!)
Content: there’s a clean romance and some fantasy violence. No swearing. But definitely the contrast of dark vs light in the world, exploring the idea of seeking pleasure to the fullest vs using our gifts for how they were intended, which results in some selfish motives and capable villains. I’d probably recommend the book for a 16+ reader.
More:
Book 2 in the Rose of Destiny Trilogy is TBD
Book 3 is TBD
When the sequels are published, I definitely intend to read them, so stay tuned for more info! Also, these must be read in order.