Rose - Holly Webb

Title: Rose
Author: Holly Webb
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 262
Date read: May, 2011

Rose is an orphan, who has lived at St Bridget's Home for Abandoned Girls for as long as she can remember. One afternoon, a thin woman in a smart black coat comes to the orphanage looking for a maid-of-all-work, and chooses Rose. Rose is delighted. Miss Bridges looks stern, but she is surprisingly pleasant as they walk to Rose's new home -- a tall, thin town house in a smart square.

When she's inside and being shown her small attic bedroom, Rose realises that the house is drenched in magic! Rose knows this because she has a certain amount of magic herself. She can tell thrilling stories that transform themselves into pictures on shiny surfaces as she speaks, and she rescues her alchemist master's apprentice from a mist-creature he has mistakenly conjured up. It is this magic that she will call upon in times of dire need, for children are going missing across the town, and none of them show any signs of returning.

Very charming YA. I loved the characters, the universe and the story, and will definitely be keeping my eye out for the rest of the series. I liked the way magic was used, and hope we get to hear more about Rose's history in the later books.

A quick read and a sweet, feel-good story.