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The Wildrose #2
Bitter Thistle, Sweet Rose
Details the relationship of a young woman and a mysterious young farmer
206 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1995
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18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 21, 2024
I can't say I didn't somewhat enjoy the book, but at times I did feel the author was all over the place with the story/stories she wanted to tell. I suppose I'll start with the easier one to get through and what the synopsis mainly touches upon. The story of Linn love story isn't the first time I read the type, but at the end of it, it felt predictable (to much) and left me with barely any closure/satisfaction to her story line. While I can appreciate the message of accepting that not everything is going to be in your control in life and that sometimes it'll hurt, but it felt like that conclusion was rushed. Also I have to say this too, I saw the misunderstand of Trapper's brother being the one kissing "another girl" from a mile away. it's not even outright stated if Linn and Trapper end up together at the end of the book. Now onto the rest of the characters-
I can appreciate other characters having their own stories, and maybe it's because the author wanted to make the reader know how small this community was, but it felt like there were unnecessary characters and felt more like filler. Some of them barely had any interaction Linn.
Kate-The woman Linn's first love interest left her for. When she was first introduced I felt the author was going to dive deeper into her character and have Kate contribute more to the story than she actually did. All she ends up being is she marries Linn's love interest and has a baby.
Dolly-We all know a Dolly and maybe this is what causes me to possibly be biased. That is part of her "arch" of becoming humble and note a self-righteous, hypocritical church member. This is at the expense of her daughter Charity. Who runs away and falls pregnant out of wedlock. As a side note, it wasn't until the end of the book was I able to tell/remember the 3 daughters differences, they seemed so similar.
Trapper-Linn views him as a man of Christian principles, which is fine considering the time this book takes place in, but it felt like the author tried to hard to give Trappper a "air of mystery" type character. There's not really much to his character outside of frontier man new to town. He's a character that mostly just does things and interacts with people to move the plot forward. Not a bad character but certainly not one you get to invested in.
Marc-Charity's love interest that Dolly has issues with because he's an immigrant. Slightly fleshed out but unfortunately most of his actions/feelings only revolved around Charity. Suffers the same problems Trapper does that's previously mentioned. You do slightly get attached though.
Overall I can't say I'd recommend this book, bI do see where the appeal to certain types of audiences would be. Side note: Don't expect much to happen with Linn's family, mostly her mother.
Scores:
Characters: 3/5
Story: 2/5
Setting 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Overall Score:
3 1/2 stars.
I can appreciate other characters having their own stories, and maybe it's because the author wanted to make the reader know how small this community was, but it felt like there were unnecessary characters and felt more like filler. Some of them barely had any interaction Linn.
Kate-The woman Linn's first love interest left her for. When she was first introduced I felt the author was going to dive deeper into her character and have Kate contribute more to the story than she actually did. All she ends up being is she marries Linn's love interest and has a baby.
Dolly-We all know a Dolly and maybe this is what causes me to possibly be biased. That is part of her "arch" of becoming humble and note a self-righteous, hypocritical church member. This is at the expense of her daughter Charity. Who runs away and falls pregnant out of wedlock. As a side note, it wasn't until the end of the book was I able to tell/remember the 3 daughters differences, they seemed so similar.
Trapper-Linn views him as a man of Christian principles, which is fine considering the time this book takes place in, but it felt like the author tried to hard to give Trappper a "air of mystery" type character. There's not really much to his character outside of frontier man new to town. He's a character that mostly just does things and interacts with people to move the plot forward. Not a bad character but certainly not one you get to invested in.
Marc-Charity's love interest that Dolly has issues with because he's an immigrant. Slightly fleshed out but unfortunately most of his actions/feelings only revolved around Charity. Suffers the same problems Trapper does that's previously mentioned. You do slightly get attached though.
Overall I can't say I'd recommend this book, bI do see where the appeal to certain types of audiences would be. Side note: Don't expect much to happen with Linn's family, mostly her mother.
Scores:
Characters: 3/5
Story: 2/5
Setting 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Overall Score:
3 1/2 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 8, 2022
Book two was not as engaging as book 1. A few of the main characters were so annoying that it was hard to like them. However,...well, that would be a spoiler.
I enjoy how the author weaves the story around the entire community. The focus has changed from the original families to other homesteads. But other characters continue to make an appearance.
In the end, I enjoyed the story and the growth of the focus characters.
I enjoy how the author weaves the story around the entire community. The focus has changed from the original families to other homesteads. But other characters continue to make an appearance.
In the end, I enjoyed the story and the growth of the focus characters.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews