Rosehead is a work of fantasy fiction by Ksenia Anske. I first heard of Anske through Twitter and ended up reading and reviewing the first book in the Suicide Sirens series. Last week I was fortunate enough to meet her at the Dallas Amtrak station. Anske is currently finishing up her Amtrak Writers Residency and had a short layover in my city. The few minute meeting confirmed that she is very much like her video posts, smart, quick thinking, genuinely a very nice person, and a very good writer. She was born in Russia and immigrated to the United States in 1999.

Most of my reading is non-fiction and very occasionally I will drift into a fantasy. I do like Russian fiction and that was probably the reason I became interested in Anske's writing. There seems to be something a bit different from American and English Literature a bit of magic, so to speak. Although Anske now lives in America, she has kept some of that magic in her work. I picked up Rosehead two weeks ago as something different to fit between books on Xiaoping and America's use of drones in war and enjoyed the break.

The tone is set from the opening line:

Lilith Bloom had a particular feeling that the rose garden wanted to eat her.

This story is set in Germany and although some very weird things happen, they are taken in stride. There are some surprise but not the crippling shock you would expect, this is a fantasy novel, after all. Lilith, the main character, also has her trusted pet a whippet -- Panther Bloom Junior. Panther is more than just a loyal dog. He can talk. A talking dog shouldn't be a big deal, after all, Bulgakov had a talking cat who shot pistols and played chess in his novel. There is also a much more serious underlying story about prescription drugs and our nation's youth.

This novel turned out different than I expected and all in good ways. Lilith is almost thirteen, but this is not a young adult book for teenage girls as I first suspected. Also, this novel being fantasy leaves quite a bit outside the willing suspension of disbelief. It is not a novel that you fall into and believe it is happening around you. It is more like a scary story your grandmother would tell you. You knew it was a story, but you were intrigued by every word. Rosehead is that type of story.

I really enjoyed the story and the build up to an exciting finish. The characters are all very well developed as are the relationships between the characters. There are the typical mother-daughter friction and father protecting "daddy's girl." Relationships between Lilith and the other characters develop in a believable manner. Lilith's relationship with her grandfather and his estate are the centerpiece of the book. There are a few reoccurring themes in the book some are obvious and other's the reader will have to discover.

Over the years, I have read plenty of independent fiction. Most are adequate, several have been simply terrible, and very few have been great. Rosehead falls into that last category. Anske is a great storyteller and it shows in her work. I found Anske's novel to be a refreshing change in the current fantasy offerings. An outstand piece of independent fiction. Read Anske's books or the roses will eat you...

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(aahrggghhh! my original review was accidentally deleted)
I won a free copy of this book as a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
Out of all the books I have won this one is one of my top 5 favorites. It's a lovely tale about a girl whose family owns a grand estate with a rose garden. The girl goes to stay at the estate, and while there strange things start happening, all leading back to the roses. They are beautiful, but a bit creepy and more than a little sinister. I really enjoyed this book, and have recommended it to just about everyone I know who enjoys books like the Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and the Lord of the Rings. ( )

Of the "extra-sensory perceptions misunderstood as insanity" genre, for which there are two possible endings - 1) protag saves the world while parental figures remain oblivious, or 2) protag saves the world and parental figures are suitably chastened. I won't spoil the ending as to which prevails in this case but the story on the way is full of creeptastic imagery.

My main critiques would be that the bulk of it was too slow/repetitive; and that the copy-editor has apparently never heard of the pluperfect tense and kept substituting/stetting the simple perfect. The other language thing that sometimes made me twitchy was the protag's habit of using long words for the joy of showing off, without necessarily making sure that they're appropriate long words - like when she ends a tirade about her grandfather's evil garden with the damning adjective "innocuous" - but this is more plausibly ascribable to the character herself. ( )

Oh. My. Gosh. From the first line (which may be one of the best opening lines I've ever read) I was hooked. I won't tell you what it is, I'll let you read it for yourself :).

Lilith Bloom is the hero of our story, a misunderstood little girl with what her parents assume is an overactive imagination. Of course, we the reader learn early on that her dog does, in fact, talk, and the rose garden is, in fact carnivorous. She must figure out how to save her family before the garden swallows them whole.

This book would be absolutely perfect as a movie. I can already picture an Alice in Wonderland-esque feeling to it, bursting with color and magical creatures that are delightfully horrifying. I fully intend on picking up more work by this author. ( )

I picked this novel up after meeting Ksenia at the Indie Book Fair in downtown Seattle. While I’m not a big fan of horror novels, the premise of Rosehead sounded very unique and fun.

The novel follows Lilith Bloom on her trip to attend the Bloom family reunion being held at her Grandfather’s estate in Berlin. Lilith is not your average 12 y/o girl, even before you consider the fact that she has a talking dog. Her dialogue is witty and sharp, and I loved being in her head.

Despite the fast paced, almost frantic action, there is not a lot of actual plot development until after the 50% percent mark. During the first part of the book, the action goes like so: Lilith visits the garden, learns some minor thing, returns to the house and accuses her Grandfather of murder. Rinse and repeat for six or seven garden visit scenes. I think the entire thing could have been condensed down to one MAYBE two visits to the garden, where she learns the entire set of secrets. As it was, I ended up skimming about 50 pages of material after about her third visit to the garden.

The plot really takes off at the point that Lilith is visited by the psychologist. After this I couldn’t put it down until I’d finished. The ending is a bit predictable and the wrap up chapter is suitably cheesy.

Overall I give it 4 stars, taking off a star for the fact that I judge it to be about 35% longer than it needs to be. ( )