Fair is the Rose (Lowlands of Scotland Series #2) (Paperback)

by Liz Curtis Higgs (Author) "Rose McBride pressed her back against the paneled wall, her gaze fixed on the man kneeling by her sister's bedside..." (more)
Key Phrases: repentance stool, spence door, claret gown, Reverend Gordon, Lillias Brown, Neil Elliot (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In this sequel to Thorn in My Heart, Higgs, a popular inspirational author, continues her 18th-century Scottish love story paralleling the biblical saga of Jacob and Esau, exemplifying sacrificial and patient love. Sisters Leana and Rose McBride are both in love with handsome Jamie McKie of Glentrool. After conniving with her father to spin a web of deceit and trickery, one sister wears a wedding ring and bears Jamie's child. But will the marriage consummated in the previous novel be honored? The challenges of adapting the scriptural story to the 18th century are daunting (polygamy, for example, wasn't acceptable in Scotland as it was in biblical times) and make for some contrivances that would be difficult to believe from any author not as talented as Higgs. Or, as the characters muse at one point, "the story was so implausible it had to be true." Admirably, Higgs keeps her protagonists multifaceted and readers' allegiances shifting as the story unfolds, although some may find one sister's contrition and sacrifice hard to swallow. A welcome glossary helps readers navigate the Scottish terms that lend color to the dialogue, and historical details-including church customs, medical and herbal information, and food descriptions-create a vivid backdrop. As the author of 21 books with more than two million copies in print, Higgs commands the affection of CBA readers, who will devour this novel eagerly and anticipate the story's resumption next spring in Whence Came a Prince.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
After retelling the biblical story of Jacob and Esau in her first historical novel, Thorn in My Heart (2003), Higgs continues with Rachel and Leah's story in this dramatic sequel set in eighteenth-century Scotland. Rose McBride, having been denied marriage to her true love, Jamie McKie, by her father, the Machiavellian Lachlan McBride, must watch as her sister Leana rejoices in the birth of a son and her husband Jamie's newly professed love. Bitter and betrayed, Rose finds distraction at boarding school with a new friend, Jane. The friends' nighttime excursion to a local witch reveals prophecies both promising and forbidding. Both girls return home for the holidays, and their fortunes begin to unfurl--Jane becomes deathly ill, and Rose is greeted with the news that Jamie and Leana's marriage may not be legal. Distractingly peppered with Scottish vocabulary (glossary in back) and melodramatic scenes and dialogue, this second entry in a proposed trilogy will satisfy romantic historical fiction fans and can also be suggested to readers of historic inspirational fiction. A readers' discussion guide is also included. Kaite Mediatore
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press (March 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578561272
• ISBN-13: 978-1578561278
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #149,819 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolutely Stunning Sequel!, March 18, 2004

By	Diane Noble (Southern California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

FAIR IS THE ROSE captured my heart and didn't let go even after the last page was turned. Ms. Higgs transported me back in time to eighteenth-century Scotland with such excellent storytelling skill and historical accuracy that I was THERE, walking beside Leana, Rose, and Jamie on their heart-wrenching journey. Leana's example of sacrificial love and triumphant faith is with me still. This is an absolutely stunning sequel to THORN IN MY HEART.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartstopping, October 17, 2005

By	Dolly Murphy "loves a great story" (Rio Rancho, NM USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After the first book, Thorn in my Heart, I was living Leana's every emotion except her love for her sister. This book showed me how selfish I often am in the secret place of my own heart. I read all 3 books in 5 days time - I could not put them down! They got me through a rocky spot in my own life and drew me every closer to the Savior. I plan to read them again and to give them as gifts to many "sisters" who I strive to love as Leana loves Rose! If you want to get lost in a story, this series will not disappoint!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Distracting vocabulary and disappointing plot, March 4, 2006

By	Em (Ohio, United States) - See all my reviews

It's been a while since I read the first book in this series, and I'd forgotten how distracting the Scottish vocabulary was. Some of it, like "ken," I could easily figure out, and could skim through without detracting from the flow of the prose. However, a lot of it just seemed sprinkled in there for no good reason, and made the book seem pretentious. I'd have to stop reading, flip to the back of the book, and look up a word, only to find out that frequently, there was a modern English synonym that would've worked just as well. Don't use "kintra-side" or "speeritie" when "countryside" or "spirited" will do just as well.

Aside from that, I found the switching sisters plot, and as they went through the kirk session, kept thinking, "There's no way they're going to tell him he's got to sleep with the other sister, and even if they did, there's no way he would do it." And yet just a few (2?) months after the alleged love of his life (who he spent months learning to love) leaves, he's all excited about having a baby with her sister and praising her for being a good mom to Ian.

I was really disappointed by how this turned out, and that Leana would stand aside and leave both her husband and her son. I realize that social and religious codes were very different in the time the book's set in, but still, the unbelievability of the characters' actions make it very difficult to think any of the main characters are doing the right thing, or to root for them. I'll probably skim through the 3rd book just to see how it ends, but I'm frustrated with how the 2nd book went.