The Tears of the Rose is the second installment in the Twelve Kingdoms series. I absolutely had a fun time with this one but I knew that it would be a highly emotional read considering how the first book ended for this heroine in book 2. I was ready to go though, because I had such a blast with "The Mark of the Tala" so I had high expectations of it, but I will say that this one was a slight disappointment. It wasn't nearly as good as book one and the primary reason for this is the heroine. She was so challenging and I just had the hardest time even relating to her character, but the plot and story line was done very well, its just that our heroine, Ami, has been dealt a difficult blow and she doesn't react well at all to it. I understand that she is dealing with a trauma, but before she was this kind generous woman and now is angry and spiteful and so bratty. I do not like bratty heroines at all, and its a good thing the hero is a badass and can take some heat and tell her the truth about herself because she needs someone that will. I was actually much more interested in the hero. He was just wonderful, and he has gone through so much himself, and I respected his character and his ability to touch base with the heroine and really make her see the truth about herself. This isn't the easiest romance to read, but I did enjoy the aspects of character growth and building and seeing the woman that Ami becomes in this story.

Overall a solid installment, but had some issues, but really intrigued by the way the world building is becoming built within the serial storyline and ready to jump into Ursula's book and get the finale.