Book Review: Burning Roses by S.L. Huang

Title: Burning Roses

Author: S.L. Huang

Genre: Fantasy Novella

Number of Pages: 156

Rating: B+

Recommended?: Yes

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With it’s admittedly off-kilter premise, this book could have come off as stupid or forced but the author pulled it off beautifully. Even though it’s based on a variety of different fairy tales it’s storyline is strong and unique.

This novella is about two gay women with haunted pasts, and their journey to reconcile with their mistakes. Rosa is based on Little Red Riding Hood, and a traumatic childhood event led her to make irreversible mistakes and eventually lose her wife and daughter. Rosa’s friend Hou Yi’s quest for immortality also led her to lose the people the people who were most important to her.

Both the main characters in this novella are very flawed but you still can’t help but root for them. Their backstories are both really interesting and even though the book is quite short the author still does a great job with the world-building and pulling you into the unique and vivid universe she creates.

The ending was bittersweet and wrapped things up nicely, and the story was fast-paced while still allowing time for character development. I’m not a huge fantasy reader and this isn’t the type of book I typically read, but I’m glad I decided to give it a chance.