Arianna Rose is the first book of the Arianna Rose series and it offers a more in-depth approach of the paranormal/psychological aspect of the genre. I was pleasantly surprised by this book, though it had its rise and falls.

The novel starts with the death of Lily which is presumed to be a witch, though we don’t see any exhibits of her powers, it introduces to us the antagonist, a man who fights in the name of the Holy to rid the world from witches. Even though the purpose of this chapter it’s highlighted by the antagonist’s appearance, I do believe that showing the scene from his point of view would have been much more fruitful. Howard is portrayed in a conflicting manner which does good to the suspense of the story; he’s either a holy man or a psychopath. His goal is to find Sola, the unifier of all covens.

The second chapter we meet Arianna itself, which is a girl who constantly moves homes because of her mother’s inability to be a proper adult and provide for them. Arianna is mature, self-confident, strong and a ”no-bullshit” kind of girl who falls right into my liking. I am completely tired of the Bella-damsel-in-distress, so this character is a breath of fresh air. She’s taking care of her mother even if she’s an alcoholic who sleeps around too much, not really caring for her daughter. But even though her circumstances are unfavourable, she’s proves strength of character. She’s also the one who’s mostly working so that she can buy the things that she wants rather than having everything handed to them.

Apart from the fact that the premise of the book is really enticing and the characters are just lovable or “hateable”, I was disappointed of how the book ended, or rather say, when it ended. A good book shows a good ending, but here, I was left hanging for more, but that’s not the part that left me with a so-so feeling about the book. The ending didn’t answer questions that were early defined in the book, we see no real confrontation between this bad vs evil, as well as no goal for Arianna in the story. Things happen to her, she reacts, she wants to know what’s happening, but the story ends way before she can figure out who or what she truly is. Well, we can foresee that, but I am unsatisfied with the ending, which is really a pity since the book was such a pleasure to read.

I sincerely hope that the second instalment of the series is going to keep up the same writing quality, while providing with a better ending.

PS: I loved the cover!!!