Customer Reviews

The Wild Rose

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Like many other fans of Jennifer Donnelly I have been anxiously awaiting the release of this third and final installment of the Rose trilogy.

I've read and enjoyed all of Jennifer Donnelly's novels and this one is no exception. I read 'The Tea Rose' and 'The Winter Rose' back in 2007 so to refresh my memory before I picked up the conclusion to the trilogy I read a bit of the ending from 'Winter Rose'. I loved the Winter Rose and count it among my all time favorite books.

This was an action packed adventure of an ending. We are reunited with characters we loved from 'The Winter Rose'; Fiona Finnegan, her husband Joe Bristow the honorable member of parliament, Fiona's brother Seamus Finnegan world renown polar explorer, the beloved but estranged Willa Alden, as well as the reformed Sid Malone and his wife Dr. India Selwyn Jones.

Donnelly also introduces us to some new characters, teacher Jennie Wilcott and her father Reverend Wilcott, Gladys Bigelow one of the success stories from Jennie's school and Max von Brandt, Harriet Hatcher's cousin who also happens to be a German spy.

The Prologue takes place in 1913, the story itself begins in 1914, the Epilogue is set in 1919. World War I is a prominent feature in the novel and Donnelly works Lawrence of Arabia very neatly into her story. Reunions with notorious crime lord Billy Madden and drug dealer Teddy Ko yield suspenseful results that keep the pages turning.

I enjoyed the conclusion to the story of the Finnegan clan and those who are near and dear to them. I found this an engrossing and quick read, I finish all six hundred plus pages in two days. I would have liked a little bit more character development with some of the more central characters. I felt like I learned what happened in the lives of these characters but not necessarily how they'd changed over the years.

I really enjoyed Donnelly's descriptions of the East End of London and I've found books where the author credits Henry Mayhew and his work 'London Labour and the London Poor' are generally to my taste as far as depicting the grit and grime of filth and disease that I generally enjoy in my fiction.

I would love to see Jennifer Donnelly create another trilogy or a spin off series from the Rose trilogy. She has created enough interesting characters and obviously has the skill to write suspenseful stories that keep readers interested and eagerly awaiting the next installment.

This is a book worth waiting a little for. I've been a fan of Jennifer Donnelly's book for some time and was pleased to be given an opportunity to read "The Wild Rose" early. The plot begins as the 19th century was drawing to a close and the chaos of World War I was just beginning. It's a love story as well as a cautionary history lesson. Thanks to historical fiction I have become interested in this period of history - which in the past had never held much interest for me. It truly was a Golden Age before the war split Europe apart and wreaked so much havoc in the lives of so many millions of people. So may lives were lost, so many dreams shattered.

"The Wild Rose" is a very well written book that is replete with intricate sub-plots and complex, well crafted, characters whose relationships cross and re-cross each other....all seamlessly presented and extremely readable.

The book follows the lives of a group of relatively upper crust Londoner's and the places that are highlighted in the book are Britain, France and the sands of Arabia. Some famous people are portrayed including Willa Alden who is based on the famous heroine, "Desert Queen", Gertrude Bell. Spotlighted is Willa's relationship with Lawrence of Arabia and her love of Seamus Finnegan. Willa is portrayed as a strong minded, self directed and thoroughly un-Victorian female while Seamus Finnegan (Seamie) is part of a well know British family who shares a love for mountainous adventures. Their love that was passionate, complicated, and star crossed. It would take pages to simply describe the complicated relationship that they shared.

Although there are many pages in this book I found that it read quickly. I was fascinated by Ms. Donnely's careful research that allowed her portrayal of historically correct glimpses of the fashions, mind set, morals, entertainments, foods and adventures of the time. This book is rife with well fleshed characters, intertwined relationships, excellent adventures and a solid taste for the historical importance of this amazing period of history - the sunset of the Golden Age and the beginning of the world's introduction to the real horrors of modern warfare.

SPOILER WARNING. Those who have not yet read to the end of book #2, The Winter Rose, might find this review slightly spoilerish.

The Wild Rose begins about eight years after the close of The Winter Rose. Seamie Finnegan is now a famous explorer and the pride all of England. Willa Alden, on the other hand, still carries a lot of emotional baggage from her climbing accident on Mount Kilimanjaro, and when not drowning her sorrow and misery in alcohol and drugs, she lives by and climbs the *foothills* surrounding Mt. Everest. Just when Seamie thinks he can put Willa behind him and move on with life, Willa's father passes away and she returns to England for the funeral...

So as not to spoil, I'm not going to reveal anything else that happens in the book. This is another big ole' fat soap opera in the same style as the first two, cliff hanging chapters and all. I really liked the way Donnelly brings back characters from the earlier novels, plus she gives them an actual story instead of a quick nod and fade to black like you see in other series (although I would have like more of Fiona and Charlie after...). I also appreciate the way Donnelly brings social issues and prejudices into her stories and involves her characters in them, you can see that these are issues she cares a great deal about. That said, I do have a few quibbles.

One of the greatest aspects of the first two books were the strong female characters. No matter what adversities and crappy things life dealt them, Fiona and India always picked themselves back up, dusted themselves off and got on with life. Not so with Willa. She's self-destructive, pouty and some times just gawd-awful miserable, and she spreads that sunshine to everyone around her. Yes, I know it sucks she lost a limb, but Joe's in a wheelchair and gets on with life quite nicely thankyouverymuch. Willa would have been more sympathetic (and interesting), if the woe-is-me attitude was dropped and we see her carving out a new life dealing positively with her handicap.

As for the handicap itself? Willa has a prosthetic leg in lieu of the one she lost after her climbing injury at the end of book two. Unfortunately, there are times when that limb virtually disappears from the storyline for lengthy periods of time. While I don't want to be clubbed over the head with constant reminders of her artificial limb, I'd have preferred seeing more of the day-to-day impact it has on her. Does she take it off when she showers? Goes to sleep? What about when making love, and why is it when we do get *the big love scene*, is there no discussion/mention of it between the pair? Seriously, it wouldn't be far-fetched to imagine Willa being a bit sensitive about her partner's first look at it in the *flesh*, nor that her partner could reassure she's beautiful to him as she is. Why doesn't she worry about damage to it whilst hiking those dangerous slopes around Mt. Everest? After arresting a dangerous fall, all that's mentioned are a couple of broken fingernails??!!

I did enjoy this a lot, but just not as much as the first two books (which I loved to bits) and I'm knocking off a half star for the quibbles listed above. Fans will definitely lap this up like kittens with cream and I do recommend it, but I just wanted a little bit more. 3.5/5 stars.

FTC disclosure, I obtained a copy of this book from Net Galley.

I love sweeping family sagas and I have been enjoying the "Rose Trilogy" that began with The Tea Rose and concludes with this the final book in the series. I am so sorry to say that this was a huge letdown and disappointing conclusion.

Because it is the third book there will be spoilers in the review, so if you haven't read the other two books be wary.

The first two books focused on the story of Fiona and Joe, star crossed lovers who are separated by misunderstandings and timing. The second book was the equally intriguing story of India Selwyn-Jones and her love affair with the notorious gangster Sid Malone.

Book three focuses on Seamus Finnegan and Willa Alden, and opens about eight years after the catastrophic accident that severely injured Willa. The difference in the books is that Fiona and India were strong female protagonists, always ready to stand up for their principles, their rights and their families. Willa Alden on the other hand spends most of this book feeling sorry for herself and dealing with life by drowning her sorrows with drugs and alcohol. Every time the book focused on her I cringed. Her poor me attitude, abrasiveness and melancholy was so tiresome I literally couldn't wait for her story to come to an end, unfortunately that took the entire book.

The best parts of the book were those that focused on the original main characters of Fiona and Joe and their children, now adults, and the parts where Sid and India were the focus. In addition even though this is historical fiction it doesn't mean that every famous historical personage from this time had to cross paths with the Bristow's and the Finnegan's. I mean really, Willa Alden, a severely handicapped woman is allowed to travel with T.E. Lawrence as he crosses the deserts of Arabia? Eye rolling did occur. In addition that handicap seemed to come and go quite often, there were things that happened where no mention is made of it at all, which just seemed preposterous. Also there was an over the top spy story that came to an unbelievable conclusion.

So three stars for the memory of a good series and I'm sad to see it end, but if I never read about Seamie and Willa again it will be just fine with me.

(This review is based on the softcovered Advanced Uncorrected Proof of the book)

I think it would have been very helpful to becoming engaged in this book if I had read "The Tea Rose" and "The Winter Rose" before delving into "The Wild Rose" by Jennifer Donnelly. There are multiple characters introduced in the first few chapters with little description of who or what they are and as a first time reader of this trilogy I was bogged down trying to figure who each was and how one interrelated with the other. The author adds to each character bit by bit flushing them out into specific individuals both in their physical attributes and their moral characters, as well as, their relationship to the other characters. By time a reader is about one third into the book each is firmly embedded in the reader's mind and the interest in the plot - at least for me- increases. I found myself reading quicker and always wanting to read one more chapter to find out how one character's action impacted the next character's.

The female characters are represented as strong women, even Katie, the teenage daughter of Fiona and Joe. Whether involved in politics, women's rights, conquering a mountain or helping the less fortunate, each is committed to their cause despite the hardships it might bring them personally. I think it is unusual - yet totally appreciated - to see so many strong women in one book.

I was very interested to read a different perspective of life in the timeframe covering before and after World War I, as my first book "Lillian's Diaries: Whispers from Galena's Past" covers the same time period only in the U.S. The details of how the war affected all classes of the English population are well defined in "The Wild Rose" and the commerce interaction between the English and Germans after the war offers a unique segment of history, not often seen in a "woman's" novel.

The unique English phrases and expressions add another dimension to this very British novel. At times I found myself sidetracked by wondering what each actually meant. It might be helpful to provide a glossary of terms to help the American reader along.

After I got into this book I really enjoyed it and plan to go back and read the first two "Rose" books.

(3.5 stars) If you enjoyed Donnelly's THE TEA ROSE (2007) and THE WINTER ROSE (2009), you have to read this one too. If you haven't read those first 2 Rose sagas, don't worry. This new one can be read as a stand-alone and, although it's not great literature, it's one heckuva good story, albeit somewhat predictable.

Here the historical time frame is 1914-1919, with World War I as the backdrop. You'll meet old friends again from the first books, such as Fionna, Joe, Sid, India, Seamus, Willa, etc, but for the first-time reader of Donnelly, they are introduced well enough that no prior knowledge is necessary. In addition to the personal stories, the war setting allows for spies, double agents, adventures in Arabia with T. Lawrence and, to make things even more exciting, London underworld figures also play a part.

Donnelly keeps the reader's interest by writing in short chapters. There'll be one chapter about one character, which usually ends in a cliffhanger, that you won't get back to until after reading a couple more short chapters about other characters and other scenarios. She uses this device to good effect and I didn't find it at all annoying.

So it's all in good fun. As many reviewers will probably say, it's a bit like a melodramatic historical soap opera, but you get a lot more history than the run-of-the-mill historical romance offers (especially the mass market paperback variety).

Will Donnelly now begin another trilogy involving the offspring of the Rose trilogy generation? Fans would probably welcome it.

I loved Donnelly's prior two books in this series and wanted to love this one too. Unfortunately, Donnelly must think that she already developed the characters in the previous books so felt no need to make them anything but cardboard cutouts in The Wild Rose. She has gathered all the people from the first two books, but there was nothing to love about them this time around. I've never been interested in the Willa character and she receives most of the attention in this book. Why all those handsome, sophisticated, talented, courageous (need I go on?) men are all wildly in love with a woman who starves herself so she doesn't have her menses, who has the emotional depth of a snail, and is completely self-absorbed, I don't understand. Willa is the Wild Rose of the title -Really, Willa? A Rose? More like a nettle.

The conclusion is both contrived and implausible. After finishing The Wild Rose, I still can't explain what the story was about. I was very disappointed.

Called by The Washington Post Book World as "a master of pacing and plot," Donnelly paints with a vivid palette of espionage, blackmail, steamy romance, exotic places, women's suffrage and politics. She is a born storyteller. The Wild Rose, her final installment of a trilogy is jam-packed with historical fiction, romance and adventure.

Drink mint tea in a Bedouin tent after desert wanderings sustained only by water, dates and courage. Ride an omnibus as it belches and careens over London's cobblestone streets. Watch a photo shoot of an avant-garde composer in Paris as the sun sets. Vivid description flows through this narrative as it travels from 1914 London to the mountains of Nepal and the Arabian Desert.

We are reunited with old friends Fiona and Joe Bristow, Sid Malone and his wife, Dr. India Selwyn Jones. Highlighted are Seamie Finnegan, famous polar explorer and Willa Alden, the "wild rose" and apparent heroine. Willa photographs and maps the Himalayas with a prosthetic leg. Seamie can't decide what woman he loves and winds up a captain in the British navy. Handsome Max von Brandt, a German mountaineer who toys with women for his own advantage, is a colorful, man-you-love-to-hate character. Maud Selwyn Jones, a scandalous lady novelist, is married to one man and mistress to another.

Extensive period detail entrenches us in the historical setting. After seventy pages of the main characters' back stories from The Tea Rose (2002) and The Winter Rose, (2008), the book takes off at a fast clip. Women seek equal rights in England. Climbers scale mountains in Nepal. Anxious people wait for news of their loved ones at war. Love, lust, jealousy, deception and action-packed adventure intertwine. World War I looms before us. The Dali Lama, Ernest Shackleton, Lawrence of Arabia and Winston Churchill make appearances.

Reading the other books in the trilogy will enhance your enjoyment of The Wild Rose, but in case you haven't, Donnelly fills us in on sufficient background. That attempt proves a bit mind-boggling due to the myriad of characters and sub-plots it produces. Sadly, minor roles are given to some of the characters I came to love in the first two books.

The novel does yield a refreshing dose of adventure not found in the first part of the trilogy. Their appeal lies in Donnelly's strong, never-give-up female characters, Fiona and India. That element is curiously lacking in The Wild Rose. Here, the author chooses a different tack.

A third book in any trilogy is tricky. Donnelly turns the tables on us by giving her main characters a surprising twist. In The Wild Rose, main characters Willa and Seamie are unlikable, self-absorbed people. Driven Willa uses any quest (mountain, man or fame) as a coping mechanism for her inability to accept her lost limb. When Seamie marries Jenny we are hopeful, but he soon becomes devoid of backbone or honor until the end of the book. Not villains, Willa and Seamie are simply flawed humans clawing their way out of their misery. Some readers may balk at this abrupt change in writing technique. This reviewer found it refreshing. Irritating characters can be more interesting than protagonists. Changing things up a bit is a bold author's prerogative.

Some of the book's themes converge on our current world state, elevating the book's relevance. Political intricacies, horrors of war, drug abuse, and economic crisis mirror many issues facing us today.

Despite the fact that I longed for more character development and fewer characters, I couldn't put the book down. The plot twists seemed outrageous at times, but the novel is engrossing and seductive. Donnelly has a vivid imagination and it gushes through her writing.

Hyperion graciously supplied the review copy. Opinions expressed are unbiased and wholly that of the reviewer.

Reviewed by Holly Weiss, author of Crestmont

i thoroughly enjoyed the first 2 novels in this trilogy, The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose, so I so looked forward to The Wild Rose,.... a completely different spin altogether and one i didn't care for.

The two main characters, Seamus and Willa, were spoiled, selfish, thoughtless and cruel! Nothing admirable in either of them,...i don't understand how they came from such strong, loving families and turned out to be so toxic. i found myself hoping they'd wake up and make the right choices, but they just seemed to fall into a downward spiral of stupidity.

As I read through these reviews, i see that i'm not the only one left shaking their head with disappointment

over 2 pathetic main characters. So many other characters, like Jenny, Aunt Eddie, Albie and, of course, Joe and Fiona and their children, seemed to be the only ones to stay true to being kind, loving and decent people.

I wish I could find something positive to say regarding this novel, but I can't.

The Wild Rose is the final book in a trilogy by Jennifer Donnelly. This book is set during World War I and tells the story of Seamus Finnegan and Willa Alden. Seamus and Willa have known each other since they were children. They fall in love, but when Willa has a terrible accident while they are mountain climbing and loses her leg everything falls apart for the couple. Willa will not forgive Seamus for letting the Doctor amputate her leg to save her life. Seamus tries to move on with his life by marrying someone else but Willa returns and they both realize how much they love each other. They both deal with the feelings they have for each other while getting caught up in fighting in the war against Germany.

Jennifer Donnelly is a wonderful story teller. I did not particularly like the main characters in this book and didn't feel much sympathy for them, but I did get swept away in the story that Donnelly tells. She does a wonderful job of showing the effects the war had on England: the suffering of the poor, the decisions the government had to make throughout the war, and the use of spies by the Germans and England. All of this made for a great read.

I did not like the two main characters but there are lots of other characters in this story that are complex and well developed. Max Von Brandt, the German spy, was a very complicated villain that added a lot of suspense and intrigue to the book. Joe and Fiona who I enjoyed reading about in the first book, The Tea Rose, are also a big part of this story and I was glad to read about them and their family again.

I would have to say that this is my least favorite of the three books in this trilogy. The main characters were not as engaging as the ones in the other books. Still, the detailed look at England during World War I, a fascinating look at the spy network, and getting to read about characters from the previous books again made this a book worth reading for me.