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A review by jaxgirl007
The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
3.0
"The Winter Rose", by Jennifer Donnelly, starts out promising. The scene of late 19th century London is set well with the book's heroine trying to make a difference as one of the first female Doctors in the City. Donnelly makes it easy to become interested in India Selwyn Jones' development as she learns how to treat her patients in the notoriously poor Whitechapel District. The conditions of the City, the struggles of those trying to scrape by with dignity...it's easy to become engaged and root for the clinic that is India's dream.
And then the book leaves this story hanging with no resolution in sight.
India meets Sid Malone, a London mobster, and things become complicated in more ways than one. While a love story doesn't hurt the appeal of the novel, this one brings with it so many additional characters and plotlines, it ends up relegating the interesting part of the novel to a small chapter in the last fourth of the book.
At over 700 pages, "The Winter Rose" seemed to be a few different stories that Donnelly tried to bring together but she doesn't quite succeed. The stories end up competing with each other and none are flushed out satisfyingly. There are several good parts, but as a whole, "The Winter Rose" comes up slightly short.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
And then the book leaves this story hanging with no resolution in sight.
India meets Sid Malone, a London mobster, and things become complicated in more ways than one. While a love story doesn't hurt the appeal of the novel, this one brings with it so many additional characters and plotlines, it ends up relegating the interesting part of the novel to a small chapter in the last fourth of the book.
At over 700 pages, "The Winter Rose" seemed to be a few different stories that Donnelly tried to bring together but she doesn't quite succeed. The stories end up competing with each other and none are flushed out satisfyingly. There are several good parts, but as a whole, "The Winter Rose" comes up slightly short.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review