Scan barcode
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
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.
lisawreading's review against another edition
3.0
"The Rose Garden", much like Susanna Kearsley's previous novel, "The Winter Sea", is the story of a modern-day woman who finds love in a by-gone age. Eva returns to the Cornwall home where she and her sister spent many happy summers in their childhood, to scatter her sister's ashes in the place where she'd been happiest. While there, Eva finds herself mysteriously transported back three centuries into the past, where she encounters the man who may just be the love of her life.
"The Rose Garden" is by no means great literature, but it is an engaging tale of time travel, adventure, sorrow and loss, and enduring love. The various plot threads and characters hang together well, and while it might be a tad predictable, the story was quite gripping nonetheless. This is light reading -- it would make a great vacation book -- and it certainly held my interest beginning to end.
"The Rose Garden" is by no means great literature, but it is an engaging tale of time travel, adventure, sorrow and loss, and enduring love. The various plot threads and characters hang together well, and while it might be a tad predictable, the story was quite gripping nonetheless. This is light reading -- it would make a great vacation book -- and it certainly held my interest beginning to end.
guylou's review against another edition
3.0
Loved the story! The author described the landscape so beautifully; I want to go there! Love all the little nuggets about Irish beliefs. I also like the surprising last chapters... did not see this coming.
bmg20's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars
This is the second Susanna Kearsley book I’ve read and she’s quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Her writing style is simply beautiful and has a definite talent for writing fascinating stories. I’m not usually a fan of wordy books but she does such an amazing job of describing the simplest of things you can’t help but love it.
One of my favorites:
“And at the window of the room the cold November rains slid down the glass and cast their shifting shadows in a room that could no longer hold the light.”
Rose Garden tells the story of Eva and her struggles to cope with the death of her sister Katrina. Katrina had requested to be cremated and have her ashes scattered; Eva decides it would be most fitting for her to scatter them where the two of them once belonged: Cornwall, England. She travels there and stays with her two childhood friends Mark and Susan. During her first night there, she wakes to the sound of two men having a conversation only to find there weren’t any men in the house. She then begins to see things that others cannot and is unable to explain it. When she finds herself thrown back in time, she meets Daniel Butler, a man who was a part of the Jacobite Uprising. Knowing what she does about the outcome of said event, she finds it difficult to not disclose information to him that could essentially change the future. The more time spent with Daniel, the closer she becomes to him, as she finds herself bonding with him as two people who have both lost loved ones. Eva’s only concern is for her inability to control when she goes back in time and how the two of them can ever have a life together based on this instability.
Lovely novel. I’ll definitely be picking up more of her books in the future.
This is the second Susanna Kearsley book I’ve read and she’s quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Her writing style is simply beautiful and has a definite talent for writing fascinating stories. I’m not usually a fan of wordy books but she does such an amazing job of describing the simplest of things you can’t help but love it.
One of my favorites:
“And at the window of the room the cold November rains slid down the glass and cast their shifting shadows in a room that could no longer hold the light.”
Rose Garden tells the story of Eva and her struggles to cope with the death of her sister Katrina. Katrina had requested to be cremated and have her ashes scattered; Eva decides it would be most fitting for her to scatter them where the two of them once belonged: Cornwall, England. She travels there and stays with her two childhood friends Mark and Susan. During her first night there, she wakes to the sound of two men having a conversation only to find there weren’t any men in the house. She then begins to see things that others cannot and is unable to explain it. When she finds herself thrown back in time, she meets Daniel Butler, a man who was a part of the Jacobite Uprising. Knowing what she does about the outcome of said event, she finds it difficult to not disclose information to him that could essentially change the future. The more time spent with Daniel, the closer she becomes to him, as she finds herself bonding with him as two people who have both lost loved ones. Eva’s only concern is for her inability to control when she goes back in time and how the two of them can ever have a life together based on this instability.
Lovely novel. I’ll definitely be picking up more of her books in the future.
nic72's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
amibunk's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
This novel is by far my favorite book from Susanna Kearsley. While the book follows Kearlsey's usual time traveling formula, it feels much greater than the sum of its parts. There is tangible chemistry between the characters in this book, the writing is lovely, and there's just enough of a slight twist at the end to make the plot entirely enjoyable.
Fluffy, but fabulous.
This novel is by far my favorite book from Susanna Kearsley. While the book follows Kearlsey's usual time traveling formula, it feels much greater than the sum of its parts. There is tangible chemistry between the characters in this book, the writing is lovely, and there's just enough of a slight twist at the end to make the plot entirely enjoyable.
Fluffy, but fabulous.