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ifyouhappentoremember's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
While it got too cheesy and gave me some Hallmark movie vibes, ultimately I did find this entertaining. Once I let go of my skeptical and cynical reading glasses, I got to a point when the romance in this book made me smile to myself in that happy, self-satisfied way, that only comes from consuming a piece of fluffy entertainment. This was a very light read for me and it was a nice change of pace from the more depressing aura of 2020.
While it got too cheesy and gave me some Hallmark movie vibes, ultimately I did find this entertaining. Once I let go of my skeptical and cynical reading glasses, I got to a point when the romance in this book made me smile to myself in that happy, self-satisfied way, that only comes from consuming a piece of fluffy entertainment. This was a very light read for me and it was a nice change of pace from the more depressing aura of 2020.
yonaruth's review
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
amandateaches's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
cathyatratedreads's review against another edition
4.0
This is now the fourth Kearsley novel I've read, and while it's not my favorite, it certainly satisfied. I do appreciate the nice romances, the history, the settings, the clean content: all make for a great stand-by.
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/rose-garden-clean-fiction-book-review/
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/rose-garden-clean-fiction-book-review/
barbaraskalberg's review
3.0
3.5 Sweet, easy romantic drama wrapped in a little supernatural and a sprinkling of English history.
ridgewaygirl's review
2.0
After Eva's sister dies, she brings her ashes back to Trelowarth House, in Wales, where they had spent their summers as children. Soon, odd things begin happening; Eva hears voices in empty rooms and then she keeps finding herself in the same place, but 300 years in the past, when Trelowarth House was owned by an infamous group of smugglers.
So, I was surprised to find a time-travel romance but, hey, smugglers are almost as fun as pirates and this story came complete with hidden caves and unscrupulous customs officers. And the writing was good enough not to get in the way of the story. In the end, however, the flaws outweighed the fun of this novel. I'll set aside the idea of going back to the eighteenth century to find a boyfriend, but what ended up bothering me about this story was the protagonist's passiveness, and the careless way the author explained time travel. Eva takes no real action until the final chapters of the book and is happy to pretend to be mute for much of the story.
How the author handled the questions of both how time travel worked and how the inhabitants of the past handled having someone show up claiming to be from the future irked me. If you were involved in dangerous political matters involving succession that could well result in you and your family's imprisonment or execution and someone showed up from the future, would you ask them who the next king was? Would you be curious about the future, or would you simply decided that it was better not to know, thanks anyway? Would everyone around you go along with this? And even though dismissing witchcraft out of hand is easier nowadays, would mental illness occur to you as a more likely explanation for a stranger claiming to be from the future than that she really was from the future? Time travel is such an interesting idea and the book never explores any of that, with everyone being bizarrely uninterested in the topic.
So while I can't help but like this book for having smugglers in it, in the end it missed the mark, lacking both adventure and characters with a healthy sense of curiosity.
So, I was surprised to find a time-travel romance but, hey, smugglers are almost as fun as pirates and this story came complete with hidden caves and unscrupulous customs officers. And the writing was good enough not to get in the way of the story. In the end, however, the flaws outweighed the fun of this novel. I'll set aside the idea of going back to the eighteenth century to find a boyfriend, but what ended up bothering me about this story was the protagonist's passiveness, and the careless way the author explained time travel. Eva takes no real action until the final chapters of the book and is happy to pretend to be mute for much of the story.
How the author handled the questions of both how time travel worked and how the inhabitants of the past handled having someone show up claiming to be from the future irked me. If you were involved in dangerous political matters involving succession that could well result in you and your family's imprisonment or execution and someone showed up from the future, would you ask them who the next king was? Would you be curious about the future, or would you simply decided that it was better not to know, thanks anyway? Would everyone around you go along with this? And even though dismissing witchcraft out of hand is easier nowadays, would mental illness occur to you as a more likely explanation for a stranger claiming to be from the future than that she really was from the future? Time travel is such an interesting idea and the book never explores any of that, with everyone being bizarrely uninterested in the topic.
So while I can't help but like this book for having smugglers in it, in the end it missed the mark, lacking both adventure and characters with a healthy sense of curiosity.
jocebee's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe it was because I listened to this one, but this book just didn't grab be the same way so many of Susanna Kearsley's other books have. It was good, but I was fine to listen to it over the course of a couple months here or there.
melodyharmon's review
4.0
this book took a bit of time to get into, but then i was HOOKED! It would irritate me at times because of "the change". i would be so engrossed in one storyline that I would be sad when it switched. i don't know how she is able to write lie she does. wonderful :-)
krisk2684's review
3.0
I had a hard time getting into this book because I think I expected something different at the start... (the beginning of the book is very, very, very sad and depressing, and I kinda felt like the author 'breezed' over the numbness or emotions that the characters should've been having). However, the book picks up about 60% of the way through and makes for a great ride!
I definitely didn't expect the twist at the end of the book. My heart sang for Claire as she finally founda confidant and Eva could be with the one she loved. The author did a good job of painting a not-always-sunny version of time travel. (Although I was annoyed that more thought/discussion wasn't given to some of hte logistics of Eva's time travel... why culdn't she just always carry some of the things with her if she was worried she would/wouldn't time travel with them?).
All-in-all, the book made for a romantic story. Not necessarily a ROMANCE (the sexy times were definitely lacking), but a story about two people falling in love and being willing to do anything for each other.
I definitely didn't expect the twist at the end of the book. My heart sang for Claire as she finally founda confidant and Eva could be with the one she loved. The author did a good job of painting a not-always-sunny version of time travel. (Although I was annoyed that more thought/discussion wasn't given to some of hte logistics of Eva's time travel... why culdn't she just always carry some of the things with her if she was worried she would/wouldn't time travel with them?).
All-in-all, the book made for a romantic story. Not necessarily a ROMANCE (the sexy times were definitely lacking), but a story about two people falling in love and being willing to do anything for each other.