Review: The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

Goodreads summary:  The vast multi-generational epic that began with The Tea Rose and continued with The Winter Rose now reaches its dramatic conclusion in The Wild Rose. 

London, 1914. World War I is looming on the horizon, women are fighting for the right to vote, and global explorers are pushing the limits of endurance at the Poles and in the deserts. Into this volatile time, Jennifer Donnelly places her vivid and memorable characters: 

- Willa Alden, a passionate mountain climber who lost her leg while climbing Kilimanjaro with Seamus Finnegan, and who will never forgive him for saving her life. 

- Seamus Finnegan, a polar explorer who tries to forget Willa as he marries a beautiful young woman back home in England. 

- Max von Brandt, a handsome sophisticate who courts high society women, but who has a secret agenda as a German spy; 
- and many others.

I am going to keep this one short and sweet (well maybe not so sweet), since I wasn’t asked to review this book. First off, let me tell you how much I LOVE Jennifer Donnelly. I have read all of her books and I pretty much beg people to read The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose. I have been waiting 5 LONG years for this book so you can imagine how I felt when it turned out to be such a disappointment. It took me 4 weeks to read. I just wasn’t interested in picking it up 

Donnelly’s previous two books were Epic romances with some crazy twists and turns that she managed to make believable. The Wild Rose on the other hand is completely unbelievable. I feel like the author just forced out this last book because she had a contract to fulfil and we have been waiting so long as it is. The ‘epic’ romance between Willa and Seamus was over shadowed by their adultery and delusions. Normally I always route for the soul mates; no matter what stands in their way, they should be together! But I just didn’t feel it this time. I had no sympathy or liking towards Willa.

My favourite character was poor Jennie. She was like a breath of fresh air blowing through all the heart ache and war. I felt so sorry for her, an innocent person, stuck in a marriage to a man who loves someone else. She is wronged throughout the book and it didn’t sit well with me.

I also felt that there was just too much going on in this book; too many sub plots, too many POVs. The story was written in a very similar way to the last books so I found it incredibly predictable, which made it boring.

I don’t want to tear this story apart. It did have some good moments. I loved seeing Sid and India again. I was intrigued by post-war England; shell-shocked soldiers returning home to a ruined economy. I also enjoyed Max, the villain of the story. I felt him and Josie were the only two characters with any real depth. It is the first time I have ever felt sympathy for the bad guy! So ya, I am glad I read it. I did enjoy moments of it. I just had such high expectations!

Evidently this was not short and sweet at all. The Wild Rose aside, I still urge you all to read The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose. They are amazing stories by a wonderful writer. While they are meant to be a trilogy you can definitely read them as standalone books! Despite this let down, I will still run out to buy any new book Donnelly writes. I have loved all her books; I just felt this was rushed and tired. It genuinely pains and upsets me, but I am only giving this one 2/5 Stars.

Review: Called Home: Two Hearts Answer by Gloria Schumann

Goodreads summary: Emma Benson's view of life was crafted by the death of her brother as a child, abandonment by her father and later, the man she trusted she would marry, until David Schlosser-back in town after years in New York writing best-selling novels-threatens her neatly tended life. Romance blooms. Emma and David eventually persevere in the face of tragedy, refusing to leave their dreams behind.

**Kindly provided to me by the Author for an honest review**

Favourite Line: "I don't need a hero, I just need someone to believe in me."

Emma Benson returns home to Wisconsin in order to help her mother and keep their farm from financial ruin.  David Schlosser, a best selling author from New York comes home again, seeking the quiet life that this small town has to offer. One stormy night, their lives are thrown together when David is forced to take shelter in Emma's cellar as a tornado rages above.

Essentially this a sweet romance with some crime and mystery thrown in. Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me. My main problem with the story was Emma. She is mean and rude and I cannot fathom why David is interested in her. She is nothing but harsh and sometimes cruel towards him. There is no endearing qualities about her, so I just can't understand what David sees in her. His irrational pursuit of her made me loose so much respect for an otherwise cool guy. 

Emma comes across as extremely bitter; a trait that I cannot stand. The reason for this bitterness is finally explained towards the end of the story and I did feel some compassion for her. But by then it was too little too late and the damage was done. I just couldn't warm to her.

David was a more interesting character for me. While he was very presumptuous and demanding, I did find his passion for Emma to be very sweet in the second half of the book. There are no sex scenes but what it lacks in sex it makes up for in the MANY steamy kissing scenes. Boy, those will get your heart racing. 

The suspense/mystery element is well written and exciting. Some of the crimes are particularly creepy which I enjoyed. The author kept me guessing as to who was behind all these crazy events and kept up a sense of suspense throughout the story. I did feel the the ending was a bit rushed but it was still intriguing. 

Overall I'm sorry to say that I didn't like it. Emma and David didn't gel for me. But if you like a clean, sweet romance with a bit of suspense and mystery to keep things interesting then I would recommend this for you. It's just not the one for me. 2 Out of 5 Stars

Savage Lands by Clare Clark

It is 1704 and, in the swamps of Louisiana, France is clinging to its new colony with less than two hundred men. Into this hostile land comes Elisabeth Savaret, one of twenty-three women sent from Paris to marry men they have never met. With little expectation of happiness, Elisabeth is stunned to find herself falling passionately in love with her husband, infantryman Jean-Claude Babelon.

But Babelon is a dangerous man to love. And when Elisabeth finds her love challenged by Babelon’s duplicity, the consequences are devastating.

This is the first book from my list of summer reads. And I found it very frustrating. I could barely contain my excitement when I first read the synopsis. The 18^th Century, a foreign land, Indians, marrying a man she has never met and then falling in love with him, where I could I wrong with this one?

Well for one thing, and this is probably the thing that annoyed me most, I didn’t have the slightest idea as to how she really met her husband, what drew them together and why she fell so passionately in love with him. Jean-Claude is away for most of the year negotiating with the Indians so we never really yet to see them interact as a couple. I found it very difficult to like Elisabeth as some of her actions are beyond belief.

The author also covered pivotal events in the story in a very ambiguous way and it left me thinking, what exactly just happened there…? I found this deeply frustrating and often had to put the book down and come back to it later.

I frequently found myself a bit lost in the time line of the story. Time moves along quite fast yet the characters stay the same.  We follow a very interesting character called Auguste.  At just 12 years of age he is billeted to an Indian Village where he must learn their language and customs.  As time passes Auguste continues to be referred to as a boy when he should be around 18 years old, which is clearly a man in those times.

This story has so much potential but unfortunately, to me, the characters’ were not well developed and just didn’t seem to click together well.  From a historical point of view I found it very interesting. The reader learns a lot about how hard and brutal life was in Louisiana in the early 18^th Century. Overall I was disappointed as it was not what I expected.

There is a bad mistake in terms of the writing and editing in this book. Auguste is thinking of a blue silk tablecloth that matches Elisabeth’s blue eyes and on the following page he remembers her brown eyes. I know I’m being petty now but in my opinion no author should make a mistake like that about their main character. What do you think? Am I overreacting?

If you like historical novels and want something light to read then give this go. 2 ½ out of 5

Describe it in two words: Disappointing and Lacking