Veiled Rose (Tales of Goldstone Wood) - Anne Elisabeth Stengl

Publisher:  Bethany House

Pages:  394

Source:  I received a copy for review from the publisher in exchange for a review

Genre:  Young Adult, Fantasy

Product Description

Rose Red trusts no one with her secret. She hides in the forest, her face veiled in rags, shunning the company of all save her old father and her nanny goat. Her life is bleak and lonely.

Until she meets a privileged young man sent to spend his summer in the mountains. Leo, a lonely lad, befriends Rose Red, and together they begin hunting for the Mountain Monster which, rumor says, stalks these lands.

But the hunt which began as a game holds greater risk than Leo supposes. Rose Red can scarcely guess at the consequences should he insist on continuing his search. Dare she trust him with her secret? Or tell him what dwells at the top of the mountain in the cave only she can find?

My Thoughts:

I had not read the first book in this series.  This means I will now need to do that.  It is not necessary to understand this story, it just makes for a well rounded  tale.  I loved the way we are taken on a journey where the reader is expecting one thing to happen and it doesn’t turn out the way expected.  I love when books surprise me in this way.

Leo sets off for adventure and finds Rose Red and her goat.  They become the best of friends.  His goal is to seek out the monster he has heard about.  Rose Red takes him to the cave where the monster supposedly lives.  What he learns in the cave takes the story and twists it in a way the reader never expects. 

For those who love the Chronicles of Narnia you will find the same quality here.  Stories don’t always have to have a happy ending for me to enjoy them.  This one was not your typical fairy tale ending and I have to say it made me anxious for the next book in the series.  I must have more info about the dragon.  I was not satisfied with the way the story left him.   I will definitely have to read the next book when it comes out. I will recommend this series  to all of my students who love fantasy.

Author Bio

Anne Elisabeth Stengl makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she enjoys her profession as an art teacher, giving private lessons from her personal studio, and teaching group classes at the Apex Learning Center. She studied illustration at Grace College and English literature at Campbell University. Heartless is her debut novel.