Heather’s Bookshelf: Like Red on a Rose
Author: Rathan Krueger
Released: 09/03/24
Genre: Adult Literary Fiction
“The bubble burst around her, and she was surrounded by snow she didn’t feel. Many of the stars that fell didn’t make it, instead staying slivers of memories too ashamed of her newfound strength. Others were more defiant. They delighted in standing tall and burrowing deep. Towering gravestones bound in kohl ivy and emerald roses, each a tumorous monument to assured agony she had to overcome.”
“Like Red on a Rose” introduces Rudella and Piri, two young women with challenging backgrounds that find each other and love.
Rudella is a “Goth, Korean girl living in Conyers, Georgia”. She finds her passion early on and pursues it to become a mortician. Supportive parents don’t shield her from the challenges of the world and she meets her fair share.
Piri’s a young homeless woman from Chicago who works hard and in various capacities to get on her feet. Unfortunately, Piri meets countless challenges including travesties that shape her relationships for the rest of her life.
When Rudella and Piri meet, falling in love is easy. Keeping the relationship intact, that’s the challenging part. They must learn to fight and fight to learn if they are going to make this whole thing work.
Trigger Warning: reference to rape, adult language, prostitution, sexual situations, homelessness, fire-related loss
Overall, I found some interesting aspects to this story but couldn’t get into it entirely. The story proceeds from what has happened in the pasts of Rudella and Piri through the present and into what’s occurring now- all told from third person POV and without narrative. It took me reading about a third of the book before I got used to it. As I did, the middle portion transitioned into poetry and then back to the original format. The writing is often fast-paced with varying sentence formations and lengths and countless references. It’s a bit hard to keep up at times and I think it’d make an exceptionally challenging audiobook. I did find the fourth wall breaks entertaining and the pronunciation breakdowns to be an interesting add-on. What Rudella and Piri go through and experience throughout the pages is often heartbreaking. There’s also significant challenges to their relationship which are complicated by their pasts and circumstances. However, the writing style provides more disconnect to the main characters and feels like someone telling a story about people they know instead of the reader going along for the events. I also found the ending to be quite abrupt. Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A third person POV and a challenging story structure detract from what could be a thought-provoking and heart-breaking tale
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Rathan Krueger
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