Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

Bloodrose
Andrea Cremer

Grade: F-


Description from goodreads.com:
Calla has always welcomed war. But now that the final battle is upon her, there’s more at stake than fighting. There’s saving Ren, even if it incurs Shay’s wrath. There’s keeping Ansel safe, even if he’s been branded a traitor. There’s proving herself as the pack’s alpha, facing unnamable horrors, and ridding the world of the Keepers’ magic once and for all. And then there’s deciding what to do when the war ends. If Calla makes it out alive, that is. 


In the final installment of the Nightshade trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Andrea Cremer creates a novel with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat until its final pages. A dynamic end to this breathtaking trilogy


I'm going to do a cut in case people haven't read Nightshade or Wolfsbane yet because there will be spoilers for those two books. 

My thoughts on the book:
This was the most depressing ending I have ever read. There are a few ways that ending could have played out that could have been much less depressing, but Cremer chose the saddest one. That being said, I did cry, so I guess the ending at least caused a cathartic reaction in me. I'm glad it's the last in the series because I could barely finish reading the book after a certain thing happened. I skimmed over the last 20% honestly because I just didn't care anymore. 


Calla went from being strong and unique in the first book to manipulative and cold-hearted in this book. Her emotions fell flat for me. I felt that Cremer told instead of showed us what Calla was feeling. Also, Calla bounced back from big events way too easily. None of her feelings seemed real. By the end of the book I hated her and was hoping an anvil would fall out of the sky and squish her or something. She was that bad. 


Shay... I have never hated a literary character as much as I hate Shay. NEVER. He is obnoxious, not funny (even though he seems to think he is), annoying, whiny, weak, and selfish. He was even worse in this book than he had been in previous ones. I just couldn't stand him or the fact that if he said "jump," then Calla would ask, "how high?" As I said, Calla was no longer a strong character in this novel, and that had everything to do with Shay. I wish Calla had let the bear kill in him the first book.


Ren even fell flat for me in this novel. He was reduced to fighting over Calla and making the same "terrific plan" for war over and over again. None of his personality shined through. It was disappointing. Also, Ansel annoyed me and I used to love Ansel. Bryn was also obnoxious, and she, too, was a former favorite. Nev and Mason were very two-dimensional, as Connor and Adne. Sabine was just bitter and weak in this novel. 


There was a lot of action, and the plot was fast moving, but it seemed like the same thing over and over again. I almost felt as if Cremer just copied and pasted the fight scenes in each section. I skimmed over a lot of it because it didn't hold my interest. There was nothing to keep me on the edge of my seat. I just didn't really care, which is odd because I cared about the characters in the last two books. The only thing that saved this book from getting a D is the fact that I liked the rest of the series and the cover is pretty. 


Bottom line: If you have already started the Nightshade series, then read this because you need to know how it ends. However, I am sorry for how depressing it is. If you haven't started the series, don't. Otherwise you'll have to read this depressing book that falls flat in order to see the ending. It's better just to avoid it all together. 


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