Reviews

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

roseleaf24's review against another edition

3.0

I enjoyed this, and enjoyed the twists in the story, particularly in the last half, but it felt a bit clunky in its writing to me. This is much more of a romance involving time travel than speculative fiction.

uearthen's review

5.0

Whimsical, fun, flowery. Everything you want in a lovely little romance.

jyoti_balodhi's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

a_becker248's review

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

enchantedbookends's review

adventurous emotional relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

lamom77's review against another edition

4.0

I started this book several times and kept putting it down, this time I decided to give it one more chance and make it to that magical page 50, and of course, around page 50, the book took off. What another wonderful, magical story from Susanna Kearsley. She brought the characters and setting to life and threw in huge surprises at the end.

rebroxannape's review

5.0

Wow. Susanna Kearsley always aspires to a twisty emotionally charged climax and resolution, and she really nailed this one. Her books are usually quite leisurely with lots of detail on history and description, and culture. Romance usually takes a second seat to atmosphere and plot. So, in my opinion, they really need those endings to push them over the top to a 5 star rating from me. I didn't really try to figure out in advance how all the past and the present were going to resolve themselves, so I don't know if I should have seen it coming or not. Safe to say, I didn't, and because of that, I was very moved and astonished. I loved that she really took her time with it and went into detail with the "reveal." I had to go back and trace the few clues that were hidden from the reader in the minutia of description and background. I am glad I read this on kindle so it was easy for me to trace back to the important scenes. Knowing what I knew at the end of the book while rereading those pages really breathed new life into her words. The moral of this story, past and present, is "Home is where the heart is."

https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings.com/

colormedorie's review against another edition

3.0

This is such a good summer read and/or book club read: light without being too fluffy, dramatic enough to draw you into the story but not so much that it seems ridiculous and dumb. Well written with wonderful characters and it gives a lot of material for group discussions!

24marsha's review

5.0

Funny thing... While reading the first 50 pages I stopped every few pages trying to figure out what other book I have read with a tea room, rose gardens and an actress for a sister. It was so confusing I spent an hour hashing through all my reviews trying to remember. Then it dawned on me. I've read THIS book already. Haha. I'm faithful at staying current on goodreads but this one slipped through somehow.
As soon as I accepted that I remembered a lot of the story and how much I liked it - so I read it again. All my favourite parts of a story are in hear. Fun romance, a little surprise, some adventure, and a happy ending. Can't wait to read more from this author!

darkcrystal1839's review

5.0

I can't get enough of Susanna Kearsley's books, it seems. I got my hands on various titles and I've spend a very lazy few days plowing through them. I read this gem in all of an afternoon. This title has a lot in common with my first introduction to the Kearsley style - The Winter Sea. There are two main storylines that we are given, and we travel back and forth along with the main character. I just adore the paranormal aspects of Kearsley's books. This book seemed to be more centered around romance than any other element, which was fine; but those expecting a bit more of the mystery that can sometimes be found in her other books might be a little disappointed. There was a bit of confusion for me towards the end - inevitable, really, when you throw time travel in the mix - but it was fairly easily sorted if you stop and think it out. Not an easy feat for a writer; I've read some books where the timeline gets so screwy and the author just assumes that the reader won't take the time or energy to worry about sorting it out, so they don't worry about it either. Just make it work for the story. Well, I may be wrong, and I'm sure there are far smarter people out there who might have found flaws, but I thought all the oddities with the timelines were explained to satisfaction. I'm welcome to hear corrections if I'm wrong; I don't think I'd be bothered enough for it to ruin the story for me.

As I said, this book is more for the fan of historical romances than anything; fans of The Winter Sea will definitely enjoy this book. And now I'm off to read yet another Kearsley title!