Review: Roses and Rot by Kat Howard

Roses and Rot by Kat Howard
Published by Saga Press on May 17, 2016
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher (egalley)

As a child, Imogen created fairy tales in her mind, ones in which the evil stepmother died and the princess lived happily ever after. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case in Imogen's own home. Her mother abused both her and her younger sister, Marin, leaving them scarred both mentally and physically. Imogen left home as soon as she was able, unfortunately leaving Marin to deal with the brunt of their mother's brutality.

Now adults, the two reunite. Both are accepted into a post-grad arts program. Imogen is now a talented writer, Marin is a beautiful dancer. Life seems to be finally working out for them, both free of their mother's wrath and abuse.  Unfortunately, life isn't all about fairy tale endings...or is it?

The sisters soon learn that the school they've enrolled in is more than just a means to cultivate young talent. It's a source of payment to the land of the Fae.  Every seven years, they must pay a tithe. One student must enter the unknown world, leaving their loved ones behind. In return, they gain immediate and guaranteed success in all they do. Desperate for approval and success after suffering years of abuse at the hands of their mother, Imogen and Marin both find themselves as candidates for the tithing.  What they must realize is somethings are too good to be true...and everything comes with a consequence.

It was rather hard to write a summary of this book without giving much away. Thankfully, much of these is revealed in the early parts of the book.

It’s been some time since I’ve immersed myself into urban fantasy. This was certainly a unique one, in which fairy tales come to life…but not as positively as we would like.

Overall, I enjoyed this read. It was a breath of fresh air, a means to clean my reading palate and start anew.  It’s captivating and attention-grabbing, everything I was looking for in a book.

I would have loved to have learned more about the sisters’ past and upbringing earlier on in the book.  The conditions they faced with their mother were hinted at, yet not fully revealed until the middle and then end of the book. I wanted to know more about them, wanted to have some history to help form a connection.

Even without this back story, I was able to connect, although perhaps not nearly as much as I would have preferred. While I was invested in the story, I don’t know if I connected with either girl.

All in all, however, this is a quick and engaging read for fans of urban fantasy. Recommended.