Customer Reviews

Cherrybrook Rose

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book kept me reading until the end but the end was such a let down that I almost gave it 2 stars. The story is about an innocent and headstrong young girl, Rose, who lives on the moors with her father and houskeeper. Her idyllic life is ended one day in the gunpowder factory that her father manages. Rose decides to marry for convenience, a wealthy man whose smothering affection for her after the marriage, causes her great anguish. The end of the story is very abrupt since the entire story has revolved around Rose's loathing of her husband. In the last paragraph of the novel, Rose decides with very little provocation that the loathed husband may not be so bad after all since he promises to help an escaped prisoner that Rose has helped. The entire last half of the novel concerns the hatred that Rose feels for the husband and in the last paragraph of the story all is packaged up and closed as if the writer did not know where else to go with the story. I can't recommend this book due to the abrupt and unsatisfactory conclusion.

The book wasn't that bad until I got about 3/4 of the way through & realized there weren't enough pages to actually wrap up the story. The ending was non-existant & abrupt. It seemed like the author got tired of the characters and didn't feel like writing any more.

This book is powerful and evocative, and I loved the strong, feisty heroine, Rose. I was intrigued by her developing relationship with the escaped convict from the infamous Dartmoor Prison, and was really torn by Rose's final acceptance of her lot. With regard to the abrupt ending mentioned by a previous reviewer, I think it's a pity it isn't mentioned at the end of CHERRYBROOK ROSE that Rose's story continues in the sequel, A BOUQUET OF THORNS. The author clearly knew exactly where the story was going, and the final touch with the prison doctor was a master stroke. I am now hooked and can't wait to read further novels by this exciting author.

If I could, I'd give this 0 stars. The book is poorly written, with gratuitous passages of description and a point of view that wanders from one character to another. The heroine is repeatedly raped by her controlling, stalker husband, and the book ends with her deciding she needs to be a good wife to him. Yuck! You'll need to take a shower when you're done reading.