Immortal Rose by Alexandra Bracken: An Honest ARC Review
This post contains an ARC review. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Y'all know I love a good fantasy romance, and when I saw the premise for Immortal Rose by Alexandra Bracken, I could not request that ARC fast enough. A magic system built entirely around scent? Sign me up. But friends, I have to be honest with you about where this one landed for me, and I promise there is still plenty to love here even if it wasn't a full home run for my personal taste.
Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work!
The Premise
Here's the publisher's description to get you fully caught up on the world:
Members of the ancient Rosebourne family have a strange gift born of a fairy ancestor: the ability to infuse fragrance with magic capable of manipulating mind, body, and emotion.
When a shocking murder leaves the kingdom of Albion vulnerable to a coup, royal spymaster Hugh Thornton seeks the one person who can help: Viola Lockwood, the last living Rosebourne and secret heir to a fraught legacy.
Livid at the silver-eyed aristocrat who had her thrown in jail to force her compliance, Viola nevertheless comes to an agreement with him. In exchange for crafting Immortal Rose, the singular perfume capable of saving Albion, illegitimate Viola can seize the life and fortune that should have been hers.
As Hugh and Viola race to find the perfume's lost fairy ingredient, hidden deep in Albion's dark underbelly, neither can deny the scorching attraction building between them, especially as the attempts on Viola's life grow increasingly brazen.
But a terrible truth lurks in the heart notes of their kingdom, and while every bargain has a cost, Immortal Rose may demand more than Hugh and Viola can ever pay.
What I Loved
The scent-based magic system is genuinely one of the most creative concepts I've come across in fantasy romance lately. Viola's ability to read people and gather secrets through fragrance alone gave the book a flavor all its own, and I was fully on board with the concept from page one.
I also have to give credit to the world building. This is Regency England with a fantasy twist (Linden standing in for London was not lost on me, and honestly, I loved that little touch). The setup of fairy magic being outlawed for everyone except the upper class, who get to use it consequence free, is such a smart bit of built-in class commentary. I wanted the story to dig into that tension even more than it did, but the bones of it are so good.
Where It Didn't Fully Land For Me
I'll be honest, I had some trouble keeping track of the larger cast here, especially the various villains and their motivations. There were a few moments where I had to flip back just to remind myself who was who.
The scent magic, as much as I loved the concept, also needed a little more room to breathe. I noticed some inconsistencies that pulled me out of the story here and there.
And then there's the romance. I am a slow burn girl through and through, so a slow burn on its own was never going to scare me off. But I wanted more payoff for all the angsty tension being built between Hugh and Viola. The pining was there, the stakes were there, but the emotional release I was waiting for kept getting pushed further down the road. As for the spice, this one landed lower than I expected given how much tension was set up. More of a slow simmer than an actual payoff.
My Rating
I'm landing this one at 2.5 to 3 stars, with a spice rating of 2 out of 5.
There is a lot here for the right reader, especially if you love fantasy romance with a strong sense of place and a magic system unlike anything else on your shelf. I'm just not sure I'll be picking up the next book right away, though I would not be surprised if this series finds its footing and really delivers for readers who stick with it.
Have you read Immortal Rose? Let me know if the slow burn worked better for you than it did for me!
