Book Review: The Kiss of a Rose by Augustina van Hoven

Title: The Kiss of a Rose
Author: Augustina Van Hoven
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Age Group: Adult
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

A DISTANT PAST

In 1882, Rose Van Buren loved the wrong man and paid for it with her life. Now, more than a century later, the angel Gabriel has granted her another shot at living. In exchange, she must convince a smart, handsome, up-and-coming lawyer to set aside his lofty ambitions.

A FUTURE PRESENT

Stephen Winship is headed straight for the governor’s chair. He has a brilliant career, solid allies, and a seemingly perfect girlfriend. But night after night he finds himself dreaming of a heavenly beauty, a luminous but long-dead girl. Like some altered Ghost of Christmas Past, she shows him her own tragic tale in order to “save him.” And he’s beginning to see Rose is risking her heart as much as baring her soul. Yet falling for her will cost him everything—and open him up to a happiness he never imagined.

The Kiss of a Rose has an unique concept. Rose van Buren, our main character, loved a wrong man back in the nineteenth century, and eventually that cost her everything. A century later, the angel Gabriel grants her another shot at living. Someone has made a great sacrifice for her, allowing her this opportunity. All she needs to do to succeed is convince Stephen Winship to change his goal to become governor.

Stephen Winship apparently has it all. Brilliant career, wonderful girlfriend, and his dream of becoming governor creeps closer every day. But at night, he dreams of a heavenly beauty who shows him a tragic story, a story of love, pain and hardship, in an effort to save him. The more he sees this girl, the more he falls for her – yet she’s a ghost, a girl long dead, and if he falls for her, it might cost him everything.

Rose was my favorite character of the book. She was compassionate and loving, yet brave at the same time. The setting was quite unique, with Rose being some sort of ghost who had to connect with the world of the living through a mirror. Through the mirror, she can enter Stephen’s dreams. The elements of the book gave it extra points for originality. While Rose was my favorite character, and I felt most sympathy toward her, Stephen is a sympathetic, engaging character too. At the start of the book, he thinks he’s in a good place, but deep inside, he’s obviously lost. Of both characters, he develops the most, altering his personality to become a better person.

The story of both main characters in tragic yet at the same time, the path is open for a happy ending for both of them. The story switches between Rose’s perspective and Stephen’s, telling the story from the point of view of both of them. The writing is good, the plot is unique and entertaining, and it’s a quick read at just 160 pages. I would recommend this to fans of paranormal romance. It has enough original elements to be different and stand out from the crowd.