A Curse of Roses by Diana Pinguicha || Review

I received an eARC from Netgalley, that doesn’t affect my opinion of the book, all my thoughts are my own and honest.

With just one touch, bread turns into roses. With just one bite, cheese turns into lilies.

There’s a famine plaguing the land, and Princess Yzabel is wasting food simply by trying to eat. Before she can even swallow, her magic—her curse—has turned her meal into a bouquet. She’s on the verge of starving, which only reminds her that the people of Portugal have been enduring the same pain.

Yzabel hopes to find a way to reverse her curse so she may turn flowers into bread. An opportunity comes up in the form of Fatyan, a beautiful Enchanted Moura, but she is trapped and will need a kiss to set her free. That kiss has Yzabel yearning for more. A Curse of Roses is based on Portuguese legend, it is also a #OwnVoices historical fantasy. This contains forms of religion-based self-harm, eating disorders and homophobia, be wary if you are triggered.

This book was about a girl discovering and accepting her sexuality in a time that was not allowed. It also didn’t she was to marry the King of Portugal.

Yzabel was an interesting character to follow. She was sweet, selfless and only ever wanted to help people. At the start of this book she is wasting away as she can eat very little, and does not want to waste food on trying. She also feels like she needs to hurt herself to appraise the lord of her sins. Throughout the book, you get to see how she thinks and how easy it is to slip back into old patterns.

Fatyan really helped Yzabel heal and realise what life is about and how not everything people say is the lords doing. She was strong-willed and even though she is a powerful Moura, she has feelings like the rest of us.

Denis the King of Portugal had his faults as everyone does, but he had good qualities too. He cares deeply for Yzabel and accepts her for who she was, and he kept surprising Yzabel.

The plot was solid, the only issue I had was how fast the main problem was resolved. It was slow to build but fast to be resolved so it felt the pacing was off because of it. The magic in here was never the same and was explored in a way I’m not used to. The fact the magic needed to be fed is not a concept I am familiar with. Overall a solid read and would recommend it to people who are looking for a sapphic historical romance.

Thank you to NetGalley, Diana Pinguicha and the publishers for approving me a copy.

3 ⭐️

Published on December the 1st 2020