The story starts out with Omorose traveling with her father when a earthquake hits and merges her magic world with our magicless world. Our world hunts the people from their world that have magic. Omorose having magic must hide it for years before running away to the Beast's kingdom to freely use her magic even through her magic drains her life. While learning how to use her magic, she falls in love with Cole the "beast" of the book. During Omoroses time in the castle she discovers a sleeping luminous lady, why she's cursed, and Cole's secrets. Going into the Withering Rose, I wasn't sure if I'd actually would like the book because the reviews were only lukewarm and I can be fussy about my books ;). But I figured it's a fairytale retelling and I have a hard time finding retellings I don't like or love. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading Withering Rose and I really liked it. I mean I really liked it - like a lot. It was creative and well thought out how the magic and fairytale characters came to our world. The book is similar to a traditional Beauty & Beast story but with some differences. Such as the "Beast" is a shapeshifter not actually cursed (though his subjects are kind of cursed) and it is Omorose (Beauty) who is cursed. Another difference (and for me one of the negatives of the book) is that Cole (Beast) doesn't have any character growth. He's not brutish, cruel, or lacking manners like the traditional Beast. Although if anyone in the book were to have character it'd be Omorose but even she really doesn't have any character growth. For me, Withering Rose is a now in my top 5 fairytale retellings books. I'd recommend for anyone who likes Beauty & the Beast, fairytales retellings, or Once Upon a Time. I'm now going to buy the first book in the series because I loved and enjoyed Withering Rose so much. I read Withering Rose without reading Gathering Frost the first book in the series. It can be read as a stand-alone but will spoil some stuff from the first book. *I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Withering Rose (Once Upon A Curse) (Volume 2)
By Kaitlyn Davis
**A USA Today Recommended Series!**
What if Beauty was cursed, and the Beast was the only one who could save her? Don't miss WITHERING ROSE, a dystopian romance from bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis that reimagines the classic fairy tale of Beauty & The Beast.
"As the heat finally disappeared, I felt the bloom blossom in the very core of my soul, a rose just like my name--a ticking clock hidden behind a façade of beauty. From that moment on, my life would become a countdown, and all I could do was wait and watch as the petals of time slowly started to fall."
Omorose Bouchene has a secret--magic. There's only one problem. At the age of seven, an earthquake struck, catapulting her into a new world. A land made of skyscrapers and cell phones. Fast cars and fluorescent lights. A land where magic isn't supposed to exist and anyone who wields it is the enemy.
But after ten years of hiding, she's desperate to find a place where she can be free. Because all magic comes with a curse, and her curse is time--every ounce of power she uses strips days off of her life. The clock is winding down, and the only option left is to escape to the realm of the Beast. But the king of monsters isn't what he seems. And the more Omorose opens her heart, the more she comes to realize that the only person she may need to fear is herself.
*This is the second book in Once Upon A Curse, a series of interconnected stand-alone novels all set in the same fantasy universe.
What if Beauty was cursed, and the Beast was the only one who could save her? Don't miss WITHERING ROSE, a dystopian romance from bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis that reimagines the classic fairy tale of Beauty & The Beast.
"As the heat finally disappeared, I felt the bloom blossom in the very core of my soul, a rose just like my name--a ticking clock hidden behind a façade of beauty. From that moment on, my life would become a countdown, and all I could do was wait and watch as the petals of time slowly started to fall."
Omorose Bouchene has a secret--magic. There's only one problem. At the age of seven, an earthquake struck, catapulting her into a new world. A land made of skyscrapers and cell phones. Fast cars and fluorescent lights. A land where magic isn't supposed to exist and anyone who wields it is the enemy.
But after ten years of hiding, she's desperate to find a place where she can be free. Because all magic comes with a curse, and her curse is time--every ounce of power she uses strips days off of her life. The clock is winding down, and the only option left is to escape to the realm of the Beast. But the king of monsters isn't what he seems. And the more Omorose opens her heart, the more she comes to realize that the only person she may need to fear is herself.
*This is the second book in Once Upon A Curse, a series of interconnected stand-alone novels all set in the same fantasy universe.
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN-13: 9781533020635
ISBN-10: 1533020639
Published on 5/16/2016
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 314