Rosemarked - Livia Blackburne

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"A healer who cannot be healed . . .

When Zivah falls prey to the deadly rose plague, she knows it’s only a matter of time before she fully succumbs. Now she’s destined to live her last days in isolation, cut off from her people and unable to practice her art—until a threat to her village creates a need that only she can fill.

A soldier shattered by war . . .

Broken by torture at the hands of the Amparan Empire, Dineas thirsts for revenge against his captors. Now escaped and reunited with his tribe, he’ll do anything to free them from Amparan rule—even if it means undertaking a plan that risks not only his life but his very self.

Thrust together on a high-stakes mission to spy on the capital, the two couldn’t be more different: Zivah, deeply committed to her vow of healing, and Dineas, yearning for vengeance. But as they grow closer, they must find common ground to protect those they love. And amidst the constant fear of discovery, the two grapple with a mutual attraction that could break both of their carefully guarded hearts.

This smart, sweeping fantasy with a political edge and a slow-burning romance will capture fans of The Lumatere Chronicles and An Ember in the Ashes."

I was lukewarm on this one. The concept was intriguing, and the execution wasn't bad, but it was longer than it needed to be. If I drew a line graph of the action throughout the book, it would look like someone flatlining and then finally being revived just when you thought hope was gone. The book starts off strong. Zivah is a promising apprentice healer who passes her final test just as a squadron of soldiers camped in her village falls ill with the rose plague, a vicious illness that kills most who succumb to it and leaves many survivors permanently infected and contagious to everyone around them. While caring for the soldiers, Zivah also contracts the plague, surviving but ending up one of the permanently contagious. At first, Zivah loses all hope, planning to live out the rest of her life in isolation, unable to put her skills as a healer to good use. When she and Dineas are forced together, another path presents itself and the two of them set off to the capital, planning to spy on the Amparan leader and help free their people from its rule.

Here's where the flatline begins. pick a chapter in the middle, any chapter, and I can pretty much guarantee you that what happens is 1. Dineas trains, 2. Zivah works as a healer in the rosemarked compound, and 3. Dineas comes to the compound for his regular visits with Zivah to make his report of what he's learned. Lather, rinse, repeat. At times, I wasn't even sure what, exactly, they were trying to accomplish with their infiltration. Fortunately, just when I was starting lose hope, the last few chapters blew up. Zivah and Dineas were forced into action, and the book ended leaving me wanting more. Good save, Blackburne!