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chartania's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
juliebcooper's review
3.0
The comparison to Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is what attracted me to this book. Just started so we'll see.
Finished a few weeks ago. Just read another book which was similarly compared to Rebecca and indeed was. This book, The Dark Rose, was only comparable in that it is a sort of gothic love story. Otherwise, not so much. That said, I did enjoy this book and the twists at the end totally threw me for a loop. It dragged in places, which is why I'm only giving it 3 stars. Could have used better editing....
Finished a few weeks ago. Just read another book which was similarly compared to Rebecca and indeed was. This book, The Dark Rose, was only comparable in that it is a sort of gothic love story. Otherwise, not so much. That said, I did enjoy this book and the twists at the end totally threw me for a loop. It dragged in places, which is why I'm only giving it 3 stars. Could have used better editing....
sarah_reading_party's review
3.0
Interesting premise and plot. The writing is excellent but no one is likable!! Why should I care about them? Even Paul... yes, there are attributes of him that make me want a good outcome for him but overall he is just weak and damaged (reason for his weakness??) so it’s just tough to cheer for him. Parts of this book were slow but I really did want to see how it turned out. Unfortunately the ending was awful! Disappointed... alas.
carrieta's review against another edition
5.0
Omgggggg! I just can’t stop appreciating the author in my head. What a wonderful read. At first you are about to quit the book but then later on when you gradually start reading more, the interest develops.
This story is about Louisa and Paul and how they fight their past evils to live their future better.
I highly recommend this book.
This story is about Louisa and Paul and how they fight their past evils to live their future better.
I highly recommend this book.
nicolebonia's review
5.0
In Erin Kelly’s The Dark Rose, Louisa Trevelyan is living a smaller life than the one she had as a rebellious but privileged teen growing up on the outskirts of London. Then she was prone dramatics, random dabbling in esoteric sciences and brief love affairs, but twenty years later she is still hiding out from the aftermath of an affair with a passionate young musician, and a secret so dangerous that she spends her life channeling her energy and talents into garden and estate restoration. Working on a project at Kelstice Lodge, she meets Paul Seaforth, a young man taking part in a rehabilitation program for youthful offenders and waiting to give testimony as the star witness for the prosecution in the murder trial where he will he testify against the man who bullied him his entire life, his best friend. Louisa and Paul bond and start a relationship, each finding a need satisfied in the other, but their time together is threatened by both their pasts, which can’t stay hidden or forgotten for long.
I loved Erin Kelly’s debut novel, The Poison Tree, and I was even more impressed here with her ability to create atmosphere and tension as she reveals the lives of her damaged, needy and long suffering characters- each of whom is well-drawn, complex and with secrets begging to be uncovered. The Dark Rose is a quiet novel, and Kelly slowly unravels Paul and Louisa. The events that have formed them are revealed in a jumble of flashbacks that become clearer and more horrific as pieces of the puzzle fall into place. I like that you get to know their families and friendships, and have a rich sense of who they were because it makes their approach and relationship to and with each other understandable, and eventually beautiful. I usually can see the twists and turns coming, but even I was in shock by the way Kelly wrapped this one up. Highly recommended.
I loved Erin Kelly’s debut novel, The Poison Tree, and I was even more impressed here with her ability to create atmosphere and tension as she reveals the lives of her damaged, needy and long suffering characters- each of whom is well-drawn, complex and with secrets begging to be uncovered. The Dark Rose is a quiet novel, and Kelly slowly unravels Paul and Louisa. The events that have formed them are revealed in a jumble of flashbacks that become clearer and more horrific as pieces of the puzzle fall into place. I like that you get to know their families and friendships, and have a rich sense of who they were because it makes their approach and relationship to and with each other understandable, and eventually beautiful. I usually can see the twists and turns coming, but even I was in shock by the way Kelly wrapped this one up. Highly recommended.
thatgirlwithyellowboots's review against another edition
5.0
Omgggggg! I just can’t stop appreciating the author in my head. What a wonderful read. At first you are about to quit the book but then later on when you gradually start reading more, the interest develops.
This story is about Louisa and Paul and how they fight their past evils to live their future better.
I highly recommend this book.
This story is about Louisa and Paul and how they fight their past evils to live their future better.
I highly recommend this book.
chrissireads's review
3.0
I'm surprised Stephen King wanted to write this book because it's not as brilliant as you'd think with that recommendation! Still, it is a decent enough read just big as gripping as I would've liked in a book!