Shattered Roses

A tale as old as time … set in the present, where memory, myth, and heritage intertwine.

Blurb

When Megan volunteers at a residential home, she meets Lady — an elderly woman with a fragmented, unsettling story about a duke who never aged, his fate bound to the roses that grew in his garden. As Megan listens, she becomes increasingly drawn to the mystery: was the duke real, or simply a figment of Lady’s imagination?

The deeper Megan digs, the stranger the tale becomes. Unravelling the truth behind the “beast” leads her to a hidden family secret connected to her own West Indian heritage — a revelation powerful enough to shatter everything she thought she knew. Shattered Roses blends modern gothic atmosphere with a beloved fairy‑tale structure, bringing Beauty and the Beast into a contemporary Scottish setting filled with folklore, memory, and emotional depth.

Reader Recommendations

‘If you like retellings you should read this book… There is much more going on than meets the eye and Megan is going to have the biggest shock in her life… The plot was very well thought through and involves some harsh subjects that you didn’t see coming’
—Desert Rose

‘It’s really interesting seeing the story told in a different way. The characters are the strong points in E.L. Parfitt’s story. Megan is a likable, relatable girl who struggles to be the odd one out at school and in her extended family. She is mature and introspective and not as interested in “nail varnish colours, gossip and possible weddings” as her female cousins. It’s also refreshing for Megan’s family to be immigrants from the West Indies, an unusual heritage in YA stories. It helps that I’m also West Indian!’
—Silverpetticoat