Bloodrose

Title: Bloodrose (Nightshade #3)
Author: Andrea Cremer

Initial Thoughts: That was really good.

I've heard other people complain about books where none of the main characters die. I've read some of those books. I usually really enjoyed them and didn't think too much about the fact that everyone has this ridiculous character shield protecting them. It's easier to get through that way. I read books to enjoy them, I don't want everyone to die, even if that is more realistic. I will admit, with Kingdom of Ash, I did think about the fact that everyone made it through (minus the Thirteen, may they rest in peace and their sacrifice never be forgotten), but I just knew that killing even one of those characters would mess things up and there'd be readers out for blood. How do you choose who lives and who dies? Everyone in that series had a love story and a place in the new world. Offing any of them would have just been tasteless after all the build-up she did. I get used to reading YA fic with happy endings where all the main characters survive to enjoy it. Andrea Cremer did an amazing job of giving you a happy ending, but she was willing and able to sacrifice characters along the way without turning the reader off of the series. I mourned Silas. I think he was supposed to be annoying, but I honestly found him a little entertaining and a good balance against the rest of the Searchers. I wasn't expecting him to die. She killed him, but she let them mourn him correctly (they were sad and they remembered him but yeah, they had found him annoying and were able to move on and not let it devastate them but they didn't forget him or just brush it off). It was a surprising enough death that I got a little worried about the other characters every time they would go into any dangerous situation. Would they all make it out alive? I also wondered if she was going to clear up the whole romance issue by just killing Ren or Shay. It's the easiest solution, though a little tasteless and cliche. The first chapter, when Calla started kissing Ren after having slept with Shay only a day or two before had me nearly putting the book down. The second chapter had me nearly giddy with relief and laughter because she wasn't going to have Calla try and juggle two boys and put off decision making until later and pretend that's not a terrible idea. I mean, yeah, she did kind of juggle two boys and put off making the decision, but they were pretty much kept in the loop about it, which really does make it better. She wasn't trying to play them and they knew how she felt about both of them. Also, she chose Shay before and Ren pretty much knew it and Ren didn't die because he lost to Shay, he died well and Shay wasn't just the last option because she made her decision first and let him know so props to Andrea Cremer for writing a love triangle that didn't totally sicken me. (Okay, most of them don't but I think I'm getting a bit more critical as I get older and read more and some of the scenarios are just getting old). So yeah, people died and some people didn't get the happy ending they wanted, but in general everything worked out and everyone can move on and find new happiness and I really, really enjoyed it (after chapter 1, that is - she seriously had me worried). It's not the magical happy ending that some might write where things somehow work out in everyone's favor, despite the original rules of the world, but it was a good ending.

Rating: 5. Well done, Andrea Cremer, well done.