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expandingmybookshelf's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Rape, Child abuse, Gore, Child death, Murder, and Cursing
mariediane016's review
3.0
Like many other goodreads reviewer's I found White Rose Rebel to be quite impressive as a fictionalized account of real historical events and characters. I enjoyed reading about the Jacobite rebellion, and as someone who had only a wee bit of knowledge about 18th century Scotland, I had little trouble following the detailed narrative of the British civil war. It was detailed but not too detailed, and biased (in the Scot's favor), but not too biased.
I liked the character's too. While the female protagonist, Anne, took a little while to grow on me, I grew to admire the character's strong sense of self, and had to accept that she wasn't quite as archetypal as I thought. Often, I take issue with "strong" female protagonists, who despite their "fiesty" demeanor, still serve as a reinforcement of traditionally sexist ideologies. Anne wasn't like this- she felt no guilt at fulfilling her own needs and desires, and fought for what she believed in, even when her entire world fell apart. I was especially intrigued by her relationship with her sister, a somewhat weaker, character, who despite many missteps, I also found likeable.
The aspect of this novel I take umbrage with is the "sensuality." While I'm certainly not against sex scenes, Paisley's writing was fraught with unnecessary references to Anne's sexual appetite. I found it hard to believe that a character who showed such great strength in other aspects of her life was such a slave to her sexuality, swooning into her husbands arms even when she was upset with him. Anne's obsession with sex, which I think Paisley intended to be a symbol of female empowerment, actually took away some of the character's power, making her seem like a slave to desire.
Overall, however, I did enjoy reading this book, especially as I reached it's second half. What it lacked in style (the writing was sometimes unnecessarily flowery), it made up for in a plot. The book was both exciting and informative, and I would probably recommend it to a friend, albeit not a friend with a distaste for romance.
I liked the character's too. While the female protagonist, Anne, took a little while to grow on me, I grew to admire the character's strong sense of self, and had to accept that she wasn't quite as archetypal as I thought. Often, I take issue with "strong" female protagonists, who despite their "fiesty" demeanor, still serve as a reinforcement of traditionally sexist ideologies. Anne wasn't like this- she felt no guilt at fulfilling her own needs and desires, and fought for what she believed in, even when her entire world fell apart. I was especially intrigued by her relationship with her sister, a somewhat weaker, character, who despite many missteps, I also found likeable.
The aspect of this novel I take umbrage with is the "sensuality." While I'm certainly not against sex scenes, Paisley's writing was fraught with unnecessary references to Anne's sexual appetite. I found it hard to believe that a character who showed such great strength in other aspects of her life was such a slave to her sexuality, swooning into her husbands arms even when she was upset with him. Anne's obsession with sex, which I think Paisley intended to be a symbol of female empowerment, actually took away some of the character's power, making her seem like a slave to desire.
Overall, however, I did enjoy reading this book, especially as I reached it's second half. What it lacked in style (the writing was sometimes unnecessarily flowery), it made up for in a plot. The book was both exciting and informative, and I would probably recommend it to a friend, albeit not a friend with a distaste for romance.
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