This story is centered around two main characters. When the second book in the series, Veiled Rose, was released I knew right away that I wanted to read it.Veiled Rose is an epic fantasy where dragons are feared, beauty is praised and things are not what they appear to be. I fell in-love with the fantasy world Stengl created. Last year I had the privilege of reviewing the first book in the Tales of Goldstone Wood series, Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. Perhaps the author was aiming for something more "realistic" or to simply get the reader to continue the series, but loose endings this big make me feel like I wasted my time reading the book, only to get no satisfaction at the finale. Certain things are expected of classic fairy tales, and none of this was included in the ending of this book.
At each break, I would get the feeling that the plot was picking up, only to be let down that the climactic moments have been glossed over. The book is divided into five parts, with chapters in each part, but in between each part a vague sense of time has passed, so that the reader cannot pick up where the last chapter left off. As an allegory for Christianity, some characters were clear - such as the Prince, but others were murkier, such as the Lady.The structure of the book itself was off-putting for me. These polar opposites manage to pull him across the world again and again as he struggles with the simple question, "What do you want?"Many other characters litter the pages of the book, which was at times confusing as I attempted to deduce which creature or character was on the side of good or evil, such as the Dragon - which became apparent at its occupation of Southlands. Leo knows his responsibilities, but he secretly just wants a friend and to make people laugh as a court jester.
Even at the end of the book, I could not fully grasp who or what she is.Leo manages to find and befriend Rose Red in boyhood, but he has a burden of his own as Prince Lionheart of Southlands, destined to become King. The shame she bears for her own appearance is so great that her very existence is surrounded by grand tales of monsters and demons told by all of the local villagers, yet she bears a strength much greater than she appears to possess and she has a kind of magic that allows her to walk the secret Paths and face down death in all its forms. It took me awhile, but I also gathered that the book is a kind of Christian allegory, and parts remind me of Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan.Rose Red is by far the most intriguing character, as her birth is shrouded in mystery, her friends are animals with voices, and she cloaks herself in veils and layers to hide even the smallest scrap of skin from any prying eyes - including her own. I am always a fan of fairy re-tellings, even if it is for a fairy tale I am not actually familiar with, as that of Rose Red.
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