In the Roses of Pieria

In the Roses of Pieria by Anna Burke was a delightful academically tilted double FF romance story. The plot twists and turns in such a brilliant way that kept me guessing all through the last page, where I remained shocked and intrigued by the end and wishing for the sequel immediately.

I immensely enjoyed the double FF romance, one across history; the other forming in the present as they translate this seemingly timeless undying love. I also loved that the FMC was in her 30's - it is nice to read about a character over the age of 25!

I loved this book! It had fantasy, romance, darkness, LGBTQIAP+ themes, academia, and history all wrapped up into a riveting story about an archivist who gains access to the private historic collection of her dreams.

The story follows Clara Eden, a 30 something archivist specializing in the history of the ancient city state of Nektropolis, who accepts a mysterious dream job to work on a gorgeous estate translating and digitizing Agatha Montague's private collection of historic documents and relics. A dream come true, Clara is immersed in pieces of history never before seen by her archivist counterparts while working alongside Fidah Halloran, Agatha’s assistant. Fidah and Clara’s budding romance forms as they work to translate what seems to be a collection of ancient love letters.The catch? She can't share a single word about it anywhere, ever.

Things are not quite as they seem, and life for Clara quickly takes several surprising turns, leading to a world she never thought existed.

I really enjoyed the uniqueness to how Anna created the workings of the fantasy world. A unique perspective on fae, it was unlike anything on fae I had read before. Fungal Fairies? Heck yes!

I'm so glad Anna included the translators notes at the end of the book, I enjoyed reading through those and referring back to the letters throughout the book to gain more understanding on what was going through Clara's head. It added another level of academia, and I truly appreciated it.

Overall, this was a 5/5 read for me. I would recommend In the Roses of Pieria to anyone who enjoys academic, romantic, and sometimes dark fantasy.

*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review*