Print List Price:	$14.99
Kindle Price:	$3.49 Save $11.50 (77%)
Sold by:	Amazon.com Services LLC

Promotions apply when you purchase

Add an

audiobook with Audible narration for $7.49

Audiobook Price: $17.46

Save: $9.97 (57%)

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Connie Suttle

+ Follow

More books from this author

The Rose Mark: Black Rose Sorceress, Book 1 Kindle Edition

by Connie Suttle (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 584 ratings

Book 1 of 4: Black Rose Sorceress

See all formats and editions

Sherra
We belong to the King--those of us with the black roses tattooed on our left wrist, directly over our pulse. As if every beat of our hearts reminds us that we are not our own.

All the women with the fire burning within them are culled, tattooed and taken to the warriors, to provide more energy. Energy that the warriors will then use to defeat the barbarians from the ocean of sand. Women with black roses on their wrists are emptied of their power by those warriors, who care not that they die a shrunken husk.

In the King's library, The Book of the Rose says to honor the tattooed women. More than anything, I want to spit on its pages.

As for running--there is one thing worse than having a black rose on your wrist. That is for the enemy to find you and see the black rose on your wrist. Your death will be slow and excruciating at their hands...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Reinvention/Reincarnation. Those words describe Connie best. She has worked as a janitor, a waitress, a mower of lawns and house cleaner, a clerk, secretary, teacher, bookseller and (finally) an author. The last occupation is the best one, because she sees it as a labor of love and therefore no labor at all. Connie has lived in Oklahoma all her life, with brief forays into other states for visits. She and her husband have been married for more years than she prefers to tell and together they have one son. After earning an MFA in Film Production and Animation from the University of Oklahoma, Connie taught courses in those subjects for a few years before taking a job as a manager for Borders. When she left the company in 2007, she fully intended to find a desk job somewhere. She found the job. And the desk. At home, writing.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B06X9ZTBSP
Publisher ‏ : ‎ SubtleDemon Publishing, LLC; 1st edition (February 23, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 23, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 506 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 362 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #833,422 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #20,223 in Paranormal & Urban Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- #29,263 in Paranormal & Urban Fantasy (Books)
- #147,131 in Literature & Fiction (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 584 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Connie Suttle

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Connie Suttle lives in Oklahoma with her patient, long-suffering husband and three cats. The cats are neither patient or long-suffering, as cats tend to be.

Connie is the author of the Blood Destiny Series, The Legend of the Ir'Indicti Series, The High Demon Series, The God Wars Series, The Saa Thalarr Series, First Ordinance Series and the R-D Series.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

584 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

D. Sandor

Inventive, creative writing!

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2017

Verified Purchase

Ms Suttle has again drawn me into an unforgettable adventure with an extremely strong and capable heroine.

What I liked: This new series, Black Rose Sorceress, from Connie Suttle showcases her imagination, her unconventional storylines, and intriguing characters. I never, ever thought I would be a Sci-Fi reader but Ms Suttle’s books have introduced me to a whole new world of possibilities.

The Rose Mark is the beginning of a new series and from what I can tell is not connected to any of her other works which is good and bad. If you love the characters in her previous books and liked their appearance in other series, you’ll be disappointed in not seeing them in The Rose Mark. BUT, a whole new list of characters in a different world more than make up for the familiarity of previous people.

Imagine from the time you are born, you know you’re not going to have much of a life and most of it will be painful and short. Our heroine, Sherra, laments having been marked with the Rose Tattoo and her projected service to the King’s warrior army. At the appointed age, Sherra is moved for her training. That’s another whole ugly chapter about being rose marked. Sherra has ideas to improve the training and prolong the lives of the rose marked but “politics” rears its ugly head. She does connect with some of the other trainees and makes friends but again they are not the favorites of the trainers. All they can look forward to is providing power to the warriors until they are drained dry.

One of the warriors takes an interest in some of Sherra's ideas which just makes her life harder with the trainers. But this warrior is just not anyone and Sherra soon finds out some of the real truths of the war that seems endless.

What is especially poignant in The Rose Mark is the way Ms Suttle incorporates some of today’s issues into her storyline. Not only in the archaic laws but the political power grabs between so many of the characters. It provides relevance to the storyline.

Sherra is a bit different than previous Suttle heroines. She’s strong but isn’t as accepting of what she’s dealing with in her story. She selfless in most cases but isn’t afraid to speak her mind even when expecting some type of punishment.

I could go on and on but this first book really grabbed and held my attention. Yes, I stayed up too late and felt like I was more than a bystander in the story.

What I didn’t Like: I can absolutely think of nothing not even the e-book pricing. If you’re a Kindle Unlimited member, it’s a free read but even at $4.99 for the e-book of your very own, it’s a bargain. Kudos to Ms Suttle for keeping the reader’s book allowance in mind!

Absolutely Highly Recommended!!

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

RabidReads

A truly spectacular piece of fiction

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2017

Verified Purchase

It’s been years since I’ve read something by Connie Suttle which is a real shame because she’s an incredibly talented author, and THE ROSE MARK reminded me of that fact. Neither teething baby nor attention deprived husband could tear me away from this book! I shudder to think that I almost passed on it in favour of staying true to my existing TBR pile. The blurb comes across as a sexist, male dominated society with a heroine who’s screwed from birth, and yes, that’s how Sherra’s tale begins, but the 400 pages that follow turn tragedy into triumph.

This novel is written in alternating POVs, mostly rotating between the protagonist and her warrior, Kerok, with the occasional deviation whenever another character needs to weigh-in. All of the chapters are clearly labelled, so you always know who’s speaking. I loved the way that this title was penned because the male / female perspectives are very different, and Suttle’s narrative for both was well executed which is a rare find because try as they may, most authors have difficulty with the opposite sex’s thought processes.

The world-building was rich, and intricate without the need for a lengthy lexicon like so many other Fantasy universes, although there is a brief list of the cast and places at the end for clarity’s sake. I really enjoyed how we got to follow Sherra’s journey from trainee to escort; instead of skipping straight to the trenches, readers are taken through their paces right along side the Black Roses. It allowed for a more thorough understanding of the magic and techniques used, and of the driving forces behind the war.

Sherra is an amazing character, and her relationship with Kerok is very complex. The hero’s loyalties are split between the army, the crown, Grae and his escort, so he’s walking a paper-thin line. The protagonist has more-or-less accepted her fate, but thanks to a bout of ingenuity and a little outside help, her destiny is no longer a foregone conclusion. Foreshadowing and whispers are peppered throughout the story, and the last pages confirmed a few of my suspicions. My family better buckle-down as there’s another binge read in my future!

THE ROSE MARK’s deceptively simple cover hides a truly spectacular piece of fiction.

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

Holloway

Refreshing

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2017

Verified Purchase

This book was refreshing after the butt load of heavy reading I recently put myself through.
It wasn't loaded down with unnecessary lengthy descriptions or a whole lot of flowery writting. It was quick and easy (only a few minor editing blips) with an interesting story idea that had (sadly unfulfilled) potential to be made into something "epic".
I consider this book sort of like YA "fluff" and will purchase the next because I'd like to see what happens (not that I don't already know, but would like confirmation) and because it was nice to just simply enjoy a book without feeling like I was slogging through unnecessary page filler.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Kindle Customer

Hopeful and Excited

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2017

Verified Purchase

Like some of the readers I had stopped reading her Demons and Vampire series because it got to depressing. I loved the two series but after a while the hope kept getting stomped in the ground and the female leads were being emotionally used and abused to the point that I didn't feel good about the books all I felt was down. This new series has some of that to start but not to the extent of the others. Then the lead female became a true lead and didn't just accept this was how it was going to be. I really liked that we are having a slow build on the romance and our bad guys are human in their actions but definitely bad guys that need to be stopped. I like that the Roses are growing and learning and starting to become a strong group of women. I really like the start of this new series and I am looking forward to the next book.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Amazon Kunde

Amazed

Reviewed in Germany on December 9, 2017

Verified Purchase

I had no idea what to expect, but was thrilled by it. Better than anything I've read in some time!

Translate review to English

Unicorn

The worse thing for me about her other books is they ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2017

Verified Purchase

I have been a Connie Suttle fan since her first novel Blood wager. I have bought all her books until the last series. Connie follows a certain formula with almost all her books, the female lead is always treated badly by the world/men. She usually turns out to be extremely powerful and can do incredible things. The worse thing for me about her other books is they are all intertwined and trying to sort out who is who and how each one fits in with the others, is almost impossible for me. The Rose Mark is a brand new story and although it follows Connie's trademark formula it is a great read. I loved it and didn't want to put it down. I am looking forward to the next one and feel I can get back to enjoying Ms Suttles books as they should be enjoyed

6 people found this helpful

Sylindria

Loved this

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2017

Verified Purchase

I'm not going to give away any plot here as there are a few twists and turns, some you see coming and some blind side you completely - so this is spoiler free. I love the world building which comes in layers...the more you read the more you learn. It's a dystopian setting but dont think 'if you've read one dystopia you've read them all. Strong female lead but again the main characters develop on the way through.

Stephanie turner

Excellent storyline and characters

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 5, 2017

Verified Purchase

Enjoyed reading this book so much, haven't read this author before but the writing is brilliant. It really entices you to read more and get drawn into the story. The characters were magnetic and their connections made you want to keep reading to see what would happen next. Can't wait to see what happens next and if the relationships develop further

One person found this helpful

Sarah Willers

Wow.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2017

Verified Purchase

Always a treat to see a new series from Connie and this does not disappoint. Strong characters, and an interesting take on a battle-stricken world. Love it! Cannot wait for the next book!

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Follow the author

Image Unavailable

The Rose Mark: Black Rose Sorceress, Book 1 Kindle Edition

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Connie Suttle

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries