The Golden Rose: Book One

Fantastic from start to finish, save that the finish leaves you wanting more and book two is still a WIP. Progress is ongoing on Book Two and the author is very active on Tumblr so you can get updates there, but be warned that the author prioritises quality over speed so completing the series may take some time. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed Book One and heartily recommend it even on a standalone basis.

Holy God, this is good. [b]Real good.[/b] Ana has a way of making all her descriptions feel so alive and flowy, I'm crazy over her writing style. Reading over and over each side story or chapter never gets tiring, and I cannot express how much I appreciate the cinematic imagery she manages to capture with words. A scene develops slowly, like the curtains drawn over a window in the corner of the room. They shake lightly from the wind gaping from a narrow gap on the broken glass. You shiver. This kind of thing ! Everything is easy to imagine, each character has its own personnality and own beliefs and traits, not just made to fit the story and make it easy to pick for the MC but more like the opposite : because they are here and they grow alongside you, the story unfolds and you fit in with it all. Being a Patreon is especially glorious, given the amount of side stories available (story content and steamy ones). I am a sucker for too-devoted Hadrian, ressourceful and wondrous Ysabella and loneliness-devoured Rafael. It's seriously incredible how alive each character is, even the not-so-nice ones ! I cannot stress how much I wait for Ana to release the next chapters (and once she feels better too, life has not been too kind to her lately it seems). I will definitly follow her in her coming works too. At the moment, this [b]IS[/b] my favorite IF. I would also count close with Cantata, Wayfarer, Tale of Crowns and Fallen Hero. I would almost want to add Text your Life to the lot, as I consider it a mix of Chat-Sim and IF.