The Rose and the Thorn by Michael J. Sullivan was a great read. But a very light read. As I’ve been saying before, I prefer Riyria Revelations and Michael J. Sullivan’s Age Of Myth and Age of Swords over the Riyria Chronicles. The Riyria Chronicles is a bit too simple and easy reading for my taste. But of course, I absolutely like The Rose and the Thorn too, I like the characters Royce and Hadrian of course, and I also like the other characters that show up in this world.
A bit more magic and mysticism would have been great though. Mainly I read the Riyria Chronicles books while waiting for the next book in the Legends of the first empire series. That way I can stay in this world for a bit longer.
Even if the Rose and the Thorn by Michael J. Sullivan is an easy reading book, I give the score of 5/5, only because I absolutely love the world and the characters.