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Blood Roses
It began with a rose and the girl nobody else could see.
Her eyes follow Tom wherever he goes. Watching. Waiting. She leaves him gifts of roses and blood. She is constantly surrounding him. Her touch is like fire and ice and her scarlet eyes haunt him. She will hurt him. So...why can't anybody else see her?
Reality turns against Tom as he desperately clings to shreds of his sanity, knowing she's real. Knowing she isn't just in his head. With time slipping away from him, the battle between the unseen girl and the voice of reason is a dangerous one Tom knows he can never win. He has too much to lose.
As the battle commences, he has to overcome the cruel voice clawing at the back of his mind, whispering in agreement with those around him that he is rapidly falling into madness.
Who do you trust when your own mind rebels against you?
Her eyes follow Tom wherever he goes. Watching. Waiting. She leaves him gifts of roses and blood. She is constantly surrounding him. Her touch is like fire and ice and her scarlet eyes haunt him. She will hurt him. So...why can't anybody else see her?
Reality turns against Tom as he desperately clings to shreds of his sanity, knowing she's real. Knowing she isn't just in his head. With time slipping away from him, the battle between the unseen girl and the voice of reason is a dangerous one Tom knows he can never win. He has too much to lose.
As the battle commences, he has to overcome the cruel voice clawing at the back of his mind, whispering in agreement with those around him that he is rapidly falling into madness.
Who do you trust when your own mind rebels against you?
- GenresFantasy
264 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2014
5 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Chloe Testa
3 books1 followerChloe Testa was born in October 1990 on the beautiful Mediterranean island, Malta. She is of British-Maltese descent and grew up in the small, seaside town of Bugibba with her mother, grandmother and two arrogant cats. In 2009, Chloe left Malta for Gloucestershire University where she earned an English Literature and English Language Degree - despite many people questioning why she would ever leave such a beautiful country. Her course gave her the opportunity to work in California at a summer camp and, along with being eaten by every mosquito in Mendocino, it was here she began to consider her next career move. As a graduate, she moved to Brighton and, after a tough but rewarding year long example of the highs and lows of classroom life, gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).
Chloe now lives in Surrey, dividing her time between writing novels and teaching English with almost no time to sleep in between the two. She is a lover of great books, good company and bad puns.
Chloe began writing short stories at the age of 10. In Autumn 2008, while on a flight from Berlin to Malta and trying to ignore the horrible turbulence (she freely admits flying still makes her a nervous wreck) the inspiration for Blood Roses hit. Since that initial flash of inspiration, the story has gone through a series of hiatuses sparked by University and study commitments, as well as complete rewrites, creating the clean, dramatic tale it is today.
In Blood Roses, as with many of her other works of fiction, Chloe explores the themes of psychological turmoil, the darker side of humanity and the effects of both on those coming of age.
Chloe now lives in Surrey, dividing her time between writing novels and teaching English with almost no time to sleep in between the two. She is a lover of great books, good company and bad puns.
Chloe began writing short stories at the age of 10. In Autumn 2008, while on a flight from Berlin to Malta and trying to ignore the horrible turbulence (she freely admits flying still makes her a nervous wreck) the inspiration for Blood Roses hit. Since that initial flash of inspiration, the story has gone through a series of hiatuses sparked by University and study commitments, as well as complete rewrites, creating the clean, dramatic tale it is today.
In Blood Roses, as with many of her other works of fiction, Chloe explores the themes of psychological turmoil, the darker side of humanity and the effects of both on those coming of age.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 9, 2016
This book scared the hell out of me and I'm glad I started reading it in broad daylight. Then, I managed to shake myself and finish it in the middle of the night.
It's the kind of book where you definitely need to know what is going to happen next.
I don't generally read horror so I wasn't sure what to expect. But I did enjoy it a lot.
It's logically insane and would totally drive you crazy, or maybe it's just everyone around going crazy, who know.
The entire plot is extremely clever. The characters are likable and you can relate to them to the point that it made me feel insane and frustrated. I mean you can share every single feeling of the main character and that's a really rare thing to feel.
If there ever is a sequel to it, I would love to read it.
It's the kind of book where you definitely need to know what is going to happen next.
I don't generally read horror so I wasn't sure what to expect. But I did enjoy it a lot.
It's logically insane and would totally drive you crazy, or maybe it's just everyone around going crazy, who know.
The entire plot is extremely clever. The characters are likable and you can relate to them to the point that it made me feel insane and frustrated. I mean you can share every single feeling of the main character and that's a really rare thing to feel.
If there ever is a sequel to it, I would love to read it.
May 4, 2015
Review copy given by Bit'N Book Promoters
Blood Roses starts off giving you the chills. You’re introduced to Rose House, which is an average family’s home until strange things start to happen. Murder and disappearances occur when blood, red roses fill the grounds. The abandoned house is now home to nothing but urban legends. Despite these awful things that happened within the house, Tom and his friends, Sabastian, Oliver, and Mariana set a bet to enter Rose House. Tom a well-developed character enters the house on a dare. Time passes by quickly and before he knows it times up and nothing happened…well that’s until he turns to leave and the myths now become a reality.
After coming face to face with a young girl with crimson red eyes, he shrugs it off as his mind playing tricks on him…from him being scared of being in a house where someone was murdered. However, after leaving Rose House Tom has this never ending feeling of being watched. And when red roses, identical to the ones that fill the yard of Rose House show up everywhere from him locker to his house, he knows that the girl with red eyes is after him.
Contemplating whether he’s crazy or not tom confides in his friends. They are more than willing to try to catch this Alyse, but they can’t see her. No one can. Tom begins to spiral down a dark path as this girl who is a creature from myths torments and tortures him without the help of his friends. Hell bent on getting them to understand she’s real he invites his friends back to Rose House to see her for themselves. But they still can’t see her and not everyone makes it out alive.
Tom is blamed for the murder and put on some pretty heavy drugs when he’s diagnosed with some mental disorder. If only a mental hospital would keep him safe from Alyse. She’s expressed that once she wants someone she gets them.
The book was pretty enjoyable. There were parts that did repeat themselves, such as when Tom felt Alyse watching him he kept repeating that he knew she was there, he didn’t know how or where, but she was there. Once the novel got to the big plot line along with the ending it put me on the edge of my seat, which is good.
The characters were realistic and well developed. Each had their own personality and it came across clear within the book. Alyse, this supernatural demon of sorts is grotesque and described very well from her paper thin wings and her distinctive smell, death.
Overall, I give the novel three stars. It was a little slow in beginning, but it does pick up and it doesn’t disappoint. It also ends very openly, so one can only hope that a sequel is in progress.
Blood Roses starts off giving you the chills. You’re introduced to Rose House, which is an average family’s home until strange things start to happen. Murder and disappearances occur when blood, red roses fill the grounds. The abandoned house is now home to nothing but urban legends. Despite these awful things that happened within the house, Tom and his friends, Sabastian, Oliver, and Mariana set a bet to enter Rose House. Tom a well-developed character enters the house on a dare. Time passes by quickly and before he knows it times up and nothing happened…well that’s until he turns to leave and the myths now become a reality.
After coming face to face with a young girl with crimson red eyes, he shrugs it off as his mind playing tricks on him…from him being scared of being in a house where someone was murdered. However, after leaving Rose House Tom has this never ending feeling of being watched. And when red roses, identical to the ones that fill the yard of Rose House show up everywhere from him locker to his house, he knows that the girl with red eyes is after him.
Contemplating whether he’s crazy or not tom confides in his friends. They are more than willing to try to catch this Alyse, but they can’t see her. No one can. Tom begins to spiral down a dark path as this girl who is a creature from myths torments and tortures him without the help of his friends. Hell bent on getting them to understand she’s real he invites his friends back to Rose House to see her for themselves. But they still can’t see her and not everyone makes it out alive.
Tom is blamed for the murder and put on some pretty heavy drugs when he’s diagnosed with some mental disorder. If only a mental hospital would keep him safe from Alyse. She’s expressed that once she wants someone she gets them.
The book was pretty enjoyable. There were parts that did repeat themselves, such as when Tom felt Alyse watching him he kept repeating that he knew she was there, he didn’t know how or where, but she was there. Once the novel got to the big plot line along with the ending it put me on the edge of my seat, which is good.
The characters were realistic and well developed. Each had their own personality and it came across clear within the book. Alyse, this supernatural demon of sorts is grotesque and described very well from her paper thin wings and her distinctive smell, death.
Overall, I give the novel three stars. It was a little slow in beginning, but it does pick up and it doesn’t disappoint. It also ends very openly, so one can only hope that a sequel is in progress.
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December 5, 2025Ordinary teenage life takes a strange turn when Tom's friends dare him to enter a decrepit house which gives everyone bad vibes. Dark legend and lore surrounds it, but despite the ominous feeling he gets, he still takes the challenge and enters into Rose House. At first it's only a house, and he greets his friends from the window of a bedroom on the second floor. But when he turns to leave, only then does he realize what a terrible mistake he's made.
Red eyes, pale skin, sharp teeth. Tom is met with a violent force which takes the form of a woman, but he's not sure if it's a dream, a hallucination or if she's real. She haunts him nonetheless. Though he wants to return to normalcy in his everyday life, he's restricted and he begins to struggle against a decent into madness while his friends watch helplessly.
This paranormal tale leads you into the realm of paranoia, especially if you've ever thought something was real but others insisted it wasn't. I can imagine being called crazy when you're adamant you aren't is on a fair number of people's "fear" list. Did you really see a dead girl? Is she really stalking you and leaving roses? Is she really trying to kill you?
Blood Roses reads rough. There are some technical issues, but the biggest detractor was that it read like a movie. It starts off following Tom, but in the middle of following him it might switch from him to another person's perspective. Following them and their thoughts. For me, the transition from character to character was difficult to follow as I could never predict it and at times was hard to discern who it was following.
Despite any shortcomings, I thought the overall story was good. There are decent dynamics between characters and the story doesn't sit idle for long. It didn't scare me, but Tom was in a near perpetual state of fear, and his character left me wanting to know what was next for him. If you like paranormal horror, consider checking this book out. Just because I didn't like that it read like a movie doesn't mean you won't.
Red eyes, pale skin, sharp teeth. Tom is met with a violent force which takes the form of a woman, but he's not sure if it's a dream, a hallucination or if she's real. She haunts him nonetheless. Though he wants to return to normalcy in his everyday life, he's restricted and he begins to struggle against a decent into madness while his friends watch helplessly.
This paranormal tale leads you into the realm of paranoia, especially if you've ever thought something was real but others insisted it wasn't. I can imagine being called crazy when you're adamant you aren't is on a fair number of people's "fear" list. Did you really see a dead girl? Is she really stalking you and leaving roses? Is she really trying to kill you?
Blood Roses reads rough. There are some technical issues, but the biggest detractor was that it read like a movie. It starts off following Tom, but in the middle of following him it might switch from him to another person's perspective. Following them and their thoughts. For me, the transition from character to character was difficult to follow as I could never predict it and at times was hard to discern who it was following.
Despite any shortcomings, I thought the overall story was good. There are decent dynamics between characters and the story doesn't sit idle for long. It didn't scare me, but Tom was in a near perpetual state of fear, and his character left me wanting to know what was next for him. If you like paranormal horror, consider checking this book out. Just because I didn't like that it read like a movie doesn't mean you won't.
August 28, 2014
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a honest review.
Tom is a normal teenager. He has good friends, a good family and a nasty smoking habit. He's also the normal teenager that wouldn't say no to a dare. When he's dared on Halloween to enter the town's own haunted house, Rose House, he meets his worst nightmare. A girl with red eyes and a burning want for Tom. After that night, he sees her when others can't, roses are left in wait for him and as he desperately clings to his sanity, his friends grow more worried about his erratic behavior. And then the worst thing imaginable happens...
This book at first, I was skeptical, I mean come on, cliche haunted house but within a chapter, I was hooked. This story is definitely a lot different to your classic horror stories, it has it's own twist on the traditional myths and rarely do you get to experience the main characters descent into madness with them. It was a really enjoyable and creepy read. It genuinely left me and my overactive imagination scared, especially as I mainly read at night!
Chloe Testa has a great writing style, very coherent and concise but also very engaging. I loved how she built her characters and also developed them, especially Mari and Tom. I loved thinking of what could have been there. Another personal favourite of mine was Sebastian. It's always the best ones...
All in all, this is a great read and well done and a massive thanks to Chloe Testa for allowing me to read her book!
Tom is a normal teenager. He has good friends, a good family and a nasty smoking habit. He's also the normal teenager that wouldn't say no to a dare. When he's dared on Halloween to enter the town's own haunted house, Rose House, he meets his worst nightmare. A girl with red eyes and a burning want for Tom. After that night, he sees her when others can't, roses are left in wait for him and as he desperately clings to his sanity, his friends grow more worried about his erratic behavior. And then the worst thing imaginable happens...
This book at first, I was skeptical, I mean come on, cliche haunted house but within a chapter, I was hooked. This story is definitely a lot different to your classic horror stories, it has it's own twist on the traditional myths and rarely do you get to experience the main characters descent into madness with them. It was a really enjoyable and creepy read. It genuinely left me and my overactive imagination scared, especially as I mainly read at night!
Chloe Testa has a great writing style, very coherent and concise but also very engaging. I loved how she built her characters and also developed them, especially Mari and Tom. I loved thinking of what could have been there. Another personal favourite of mine was Sebastian. It's always the best ones...
All in all, this is a great read and well done and a massive thanks to Chloe Testa for allowing me to read her book!
August 14, 2014
WATCH YOUR BACK AMANDA HOCKING
Chloe Testa, the author of Blood Roses, is a very talented writer with a maturity beyond her years. She has the ability to draw the reader into her story from the outset and hold their attention throughout the book.
This is a story of an awkward young man, who feel the need to prove himself. Egged on by his group of friends, who don’t have the guts to do so, he enters Rose House which has a history of murder and hauntings, and meets the scary lady from the past who resides therein and attaches herself to him and his life. A superb touch were the blood red roses growing outside the house, which are more than they seem to be, but I’m not going to reveal the entire story here.
I found this book captivating, flowing from scene to scene and taking me with it.
In my opinion, this young lady is poised to take over Amanda Hocking’s crown as Queen of the scare/mythical/vampirical romance genre. Let’s all support her in this endeavor and buy the book.
Chloe Testa, the author of Blood Roses, is a very talented writer with a maturity beyond her years. She has the ability to draw the reader into her story from the outset and hold their attention throughout the book.
This is a story of an awkward young man, who feel the need to prove himself. Egged on by his group of friends, who don’t have the guts to do so, he enters Rose House which has a history of murder and hauntings, and meets the scary lady from the past who resides therein and attaches herself to him and his life. A superb touch were the blood red roses growing outside the house, which are more than they seem to be, but I’m not going to reveal the entire story here.
I found this book captivating, flowing from scene to scene and taking me with it.
In my opinion, this young lady is poised to take over Amanda Hocking’s crown as Queen of the scare/mythical/vampirical romance genre. Let’s all support her in this endeavor and buy the book.
August 13, 2014
I have to say this was a great read. The characters were fleshed out and you could really imagine them being real. This allowed the horror elements in the story to be genuinely scary. There were moments when I got chills reading it because of this. Also the book is paced very well with parts that make you unable to put the book down. I have to say this book has changed my view on teen fiction. It's well written, clever and makes you want more. I recommend this to anyone looking for a fantastic psychological horror. Excellent.
August 13, 2014
I found this book to brilliantly written. This book had me hooked from page 1 and I didn't want it to end. The premise was intriguing and the story did not fail to deliver. If you like a good, nail biting, heart stopping, psychological thriller then I would definitely recommend this book.
October 17, 2014
Well i know to never go into a rose house
November 19, 2014
I guess this book wasn't for me.
I just couldn't get it. Maybe if I read it again
it will be different. Sorry to the author.
I just couldn't get it. Maybe if I read it again
it will be different. Sorry to the author.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews