The Children of the Roses

The War of the Roses #2

by Warren Adler

Warren Adler’s The War of the Roses leaped into the public consciousness and has since remained an essential thread in a wider tapestry of divorce iconography. Now, Adler presents us with the chandelier-shattering legacy of Barbara and Jonathan Rose relived in their children, Josh and Evie, in a hilarious sequel to the original iconic tale about the perils of marriage, divorce, and the destructive power of materialism.

Unlike the legendary Roses, Josh’s marriage to Victoria should have all the qualities of an everlasting union. But when an innocent caper involving missing Milky Ways catapults out of control at their son’s elite private school, they find themselves entering into a shattering warfare of a different kind. Armed with the emotional mayhem inherited from their parents, as well as compounded pressures involving a depraved headmaster, clandestine affairs, and Victoria’s male-hating mother, The War of the Roses: the Children presents a gripping story of the lengths to which parents will go to protect their children.

Little more than a child herself, Josh’s ever-sympathetic and over-stuffed sister Evie lavishes her ‘food-is-love’ obsession on her beloved niece and nephew coping with their own sense of loss. Meanwhile, Michael and Emily, soon-to-be children of divorce, orchestrate their own plan to keep their family together at all costs. Adler, once again, demonstrates his storytelling mastery by revealing the intricate blending of the past with the present, and how time unravels all seemingly perfect things to be darkly and even comically dysfunctional.

About the Author
Acclaimed author, playwright, poet, and essayist Warren Adler is best known for The War of the Roses, his masterpiece fictionalization of a macabre divorce adapted into the BAFTA- and Golden Globe–nominated hit film starring Danny DeVito, Michael Douglas, and Kathleen Turner. Adler’s internationally acclaimed stage adaptation of the novel will premiere on Broadway in 2015–2016.

Adler has also optioned and sold film rights for a number of his works, including Random Hearts (starring Harrison Ford and Kristen Scott Thomas) and The Sunset Gang (produced by Linda Lavin for PBS’s American Playhouse series starring Jerry Stiller, Uta Hagen, Harold Gould, and Doris Roberts), which garnered Doris Roberts an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries. In recent development are the Broadway production of The War of the Roses, to be produced by Jay and Cindy Gutterman, The War of the Roses: The Children (Grey Eagle Films and Permut Presentations), a feature film adaptation of the sequel to Adler’s iconic divorce story, Target Churchill (Grey Eagle Films and Solution Entertainment), Residue (Grey Eagle Films), Mourning Glory, to be adapted by Karen Leigh Hopkins, and Capitol Crimes (Grey Eagle Films and Sennet Entertainment), a television series based on his Fiona Fitzgerald mystery series.

Adler’s works have been translated into more than 25 languages, including his staged version of The War of the Roses, which has opened to spectacular reviews worldwide. Adler has taught creative writing seminars at New York University, and has lectured on creative writing, film and television adaptation, and electronic publishing. He lives with his wife, Sunny, a former magazine editor, in Manhattan.

Genres: Fiction, Ebooks

328 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

Warren Adler was an American author, playwright and poet. His novel The War of the Roses was turned into a dark comedy starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito.
Adler was an essayist, short-story writer, poet and playwright, whose works have been translated into 25 languages.

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a trainwreck. I read it because I loved the movie the War of the Roses but this was just awful. The characters were ridiculously over the top.

I took a huge issue with the author's portrayal of Evie. This book is supposed to be about her as well as Josh but all she ever says is "food is love" and "oh dear brother". She also apparently is a layabout with no skills or job and yet she can whip up amazing 5 course French meals with little notice. That seems like a skill to me. Oh and also, she's fat. She's super fat. Disgustingly fat. Did I mention she's fat? That's pretty much how the author described her each time she appeared in the novel. It was incredibly insulting!!

[Emily Nemecio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty shit things happen from trauma of first book events but overall still a good read

[Angie Fehl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I initially thought the story would pick up pretty close to the end of the first book, but we actually meet back up with Evie and Josh as full grown adults well out of their college years. Josh married with kids, Evie the doting aunt.

This story really illustrates how the feud between Barbara and Oliver from Book 1 emotionally damaged each child down to their core, their individual personalities becoming disguises for the psychological scars created from the devastating implosion of their parents' marriage.

Josh is now married to Victoria, a lawyer and the one who clearly wears the pants in the relationship. Coincidentally, Victoria has her own inner scars, being raised by a single, embittered mom who never let Victoria forget that they were both abandoned by Victoria's father. When Victoria and Josh have their own children, they both seem to feel the need to compensate for the broken family histories they come from, so they try to become super-parents, meaning rigid schedules, no junk food, insistence on stellar grades. Josh insists his meals only be for fuel. Oh, and he has a slight phobia of chandeliers... understandable, I'd say...

Meanwhile, Victoria looks at her sister-in-law Evie as a gluttonous, obese, joke of a woman. In reality, food is Evie's way of coping with her trauma. Remembering Barbara's catering background, Evie sees food as a way to connect with happier memories, so she learns all of her mother's recipes, plying people with luxurious comfort foods to show she loves them. Eve also never developed any marketable skills, so her income is pretty much entirely reliant on the sale of her parents' antiques that weren't destroyed in the epic house battle from Book 1.

History repeats itself in this sequel when Victoria ends up requesting a divorce from Josh after he feels compelled to come clean about something (and rightfully so) that's been eating him up. And once again we have the wife asking for insane amounts in settlement money because she "lost out on career opportunities". What is with these women?! If you decided you marry, you made a choice! YOU! You can't hold that against your spouse later!

Concurrently, we also see Victoria dealing with Mr. Tatum, the principal at her son Michael's school, blackmailing her to keep Michael from being expelled over what I thought was a pretty silly matter to make a big drama over. I was more shocked to read Victoria going along with this guy. I just wanted to jump in there and be like "WHOA... woman, what are you doing?! No! You don't buckle, you fight dirtier!" And that Mr. Tatum -- ugh. That character just made me want to do a deep scrub, he was so skeevy!

Speaking of other ugly characters -- Victoria's mother. She was a special kind of bitter, evil hag. The definition of man-hater! Something about her I found reminiscent of the grandmother from V.C. Andrews' Flowers In The Attic. Not in violence, just in tone when she spoke. She always had such venom that she tried to use to turn others to her way of thinking.

Though this novel seemed to have a quicker pace than Book 1, I missed the tension and dark humor that can be found in the original War Of The Roses. I also found myself a little more entertained by Barbara and Oliver than Josh and Victoria in this one. They sometimes struck me as pretty whiney and immature for their age, though I give them props for not turning their relationship quite as acidic as the previous generation! And I really liked Evie here, though she sounds different -- in this novel, she almost sounds as if she emotionally regressed, which is actually understandable, considering.

While the first novel in this duology illustrated the dangers of putting the most importance on material things, rather than family, this continuation novel brings to light how choices of one generation can trickle down and negatively affect the next branch on the family tree... and so on, and so on... until hopefully one generation comes along who is strong enough to "break the cycle". The title of the novel also seems to have a double meaning because while we get to see what became of Barbara and Oliver's children, we also meet the children of Josh and Victoria and how the disintegration of that marriage affects this new generation of children.

*A heads up to readers: this novel is quite a bit more sexually explicit than its predecessor, in graphic language and descriptions of sexual acts. Just thought I would mention this in case this is an issue for potential readers.

[rivka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Surreal, creepy, but fascinating -- in the rubbernecking sort of way.

[BookishDramas · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars for the book.
I thank the publisher Book Whisperer for the free review copy and also extend my thanks to NetGalley. I read this as a free copy from NetGalley and here is my honest opinion.
Upfront my clarification that I have been a big fan of the previous book and the movie.

I went into The Children of the Roses with a mix of excitement and wariness. Warren Adler’s The War of the Roses is one of those unforgettable stories, a darkly comic battlefield of marriage that still lingers in my memory. The movie adaptation was a riot, all sharp edges and chaos, so I wondered how a sequel could possibly measure up. What Warren gives us here is not another chandelier crashing spectacle, but a quieter, more unsettling tale about what happens to the children who survive such an epic implosion.

This time the focus is on Josh and Evie, the grown children of Jonathan and Barbara Rose. Warren asks the question that often gets lost in stories of bitter feuds: what is the fallout for the next generation. Josh is outwardly a man who has made it, successful, ambitious, and married to Victoria, a woman polished to perfection. But behind the curtain his life is crumbling. His marriage is brittle, his children are caught in the undertow, and his search for escape only tightens the noose. Reading his unraveling was uncomfortable, sometimes painfully so, because it rings true. That mix of professional confidence and private chaos is exactly the kind of tension Adler knows how to expose.

Evie, by contrast, is the heart of the book. She cooks, she soothes, she tries to glue people back together, but even her nurturing comes with its own costs. Her dynamic with Victoria, especially when it comes to the children, gives the story its sharpest edges. The moments I felt most invested were when the children themselves began to react, picking up on the unspoken fights, working around the grownups, and showing how resilient yet vulnerable they are. Those passages reminded me that this is not just a story of family drama but of inheritance, the emotional kind.

The tone of this novel is very different from the first. Where The War of the Roses was outrageously funny and over the top, this one simmers with quiet despair and rueful humor. The satire is there but it is more muted, more sad smiles than laugh out loud. At times, I found myself missing the wildness of the original but the basis of this sequel does not give opportunities because it depicts the emotional fallout of the previous book. Some chapters linger too long on the same notes and some subplots felt stretched. Still, Adler’s knack for sharp dialogue and for finding the absurd in everyday domestic life keeps things moving.

As a sequel, it earns its place. It does not try to recreate the explosive theatrics of the original which was probably an extreme challenge and that is a wise move. Instead, it is about the scars that remain after the fire has gone out. Reading it felt like checking in on old acquaintances, only to find their wounds never truly healed. It is not a comfortable read, treading a difficult path but it is a thought provoking one.

The Children of the Roses is not as outrageous or biting as its predecessor but it has a quiet power of its own. If you ever wondered what became of the children left behind in the wreckage of Jonathan and Barbara’s much public war, this book offers an answer that is both sobering and strangely tender.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚The Children of the Roses
✍🏻Warren Adler
Blurb:
Whatever happened to the children from The War of the Roses?

Warren Adler's The War of The Roses leaped onto the public consciousness and has since remained an essential thread in a wider tapestry of divorce iconography. Now, Adler presents us with the chandelier-shattering legacy of Barbara and Oliver Rose relived in their children Josh and Evie in a hilarious sequel to the original iconic tale about the perils of marriage, divorce and the destructive power of materialism. Unlike the legendary Roses, Josh's marriage to Victoria should have all the qualities of an everlasting union. But when an innocent caper involving missing Milky Ways catapults out of control at their son's elite private school, the pair find themselves entering into a shattering warfare of a different kind. Armed with the emotional mayhem inherited from their parents, as well as compounded pressures involving a depraved headmaster, clandestine affairs and Victoria's male-hating mother, The War of the Roses - the Children presents a gripping story of the lengths to which parents will go to protect their children.

Little more than a child herself, Josh's ever sympathetic and over-stuffed sister Evie lavishes her 'food-is-love' obsession on her beloved niece and nephew coping with their own sense of loss. Meanwhile, Michael and Emily, soon-to-be children of divorce, orchestrate their own plan to keep their family together at all costs. Adler, once again, demonstrates his storytelling mastery by revealing the intricate blending of the past with the present, and how time unravels all things seemingly perfect to be darkly and even comically dysfunctional.

In The War of the Roses, Adler set the ultimate standard for dysfunctional families. Now in his long-awaited sequel, the sins of the father are visited upon the next generation of Rose offspring... Adler's gift is to turn outrageously bleak scenarios into outrageously appealing black comedy." Booklist
My Thoughts:
Adler was a writer who frequently took dark turns, in an entirely believable and horribly hypnotic way. He does the same here – it’s not at all a happy book, but it’s very hard to look away from what’s happening to Josh and his family..Not surprisingly, daughter Evie turned to food and cooking and other sensory pleasures for comfort, and although morbidly obese and not ever desirous of earning money but content to get by by selling off her parents’ prized antiques, seems to be extremely happy with her life. Her younger brother, however, never felt he would fall in love or marry, seeing the ruinous consequences that could occur when relationships turn sour — until he fell instantly in love with a woman with her own childhood trauma with the same expectations. Given their shared feelings, truth and honesty became the pillars of their marriage.
Without revealing much more, let me say that this book will not leave you as close the final pages. Self-reflection will occur as the reader goes through all the ups and downs and feels the pain of twisted love and expectations. A new movie is coming out about their parents.
Thanks NetGalley, Adler Entertainment Trust LLC and Author Warren Adler for the complimentary copy of "The Children of the Roses" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation
#NetGalley
#AdlerEntertainmentTrustLLC
#TheChildrenoftheRoses
#WarrenAdler
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Peter Baran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warren Adler wrote The War Of The Roses in 1981, and the original film came at the end of the decade. I remember reading the book when the film came out, partially to confirm if the book was more brutal than the film (and the film was directed by Danny DeVito who isn't particualrly squeemish about black comedy). It is, not least because in the book The Roses have children, and end up both killing each other. So when Adler decided for whatever reason to revisit the story in 2004, he started with his two protagonists dead. Hence The Children Of The Roses, here Jack and Evie, both having to deal with the trauma of being children of divorce/mutual murder. The book is most interested in Jack though: Evie is shunted off as a side player, who comforts herself with good food. Jack, however, is happily married to Victoria, herself a child of a nasty divorce. Adler sets up a nice suburban satire, much like he did in the original, down to Jack having an affair with another designer in his architecture firm. Indeed as the book continues, it feels very much like another adaptation of the original novel: Victoria discovers the infidelity, but also she is involved in a nasty bit of sexual blackmail with the school principal. By the time the house is set on fire in the last act, I largely expected it just to re-run the complete previous ending.

Whilst the difference between the War and Children of the Roses is significant in its viewpoint, and a vaguely cynical view on the solution in real life. The book is more interested in Jack and Victoria's children (Michael and Effie) than the original was, and they become the scene of the central battleground of the break-up, even though the stated aim was not to affect them. The book is clever enough to recognise the kids as active protagonists in their own right, and ones whose parents, until the break-up, didn't seem to have any marital problems. The idea of staying together for the kids' sake is not very popular these days, and perhaps dates this from twenty years ago, though its own peculiar scenario does at least make it less problematic. More problematic is the treatment of Evie and her eating, which initially presents her as an obese feeder with a case of arrested development (which the original book does at least contextualise), but luckily even in this case there is mild redemption at the end. Indeed, from the moment I started I had to find out when this reissue was actually written, as it feels solidly out of date - despite mildly progressive aspects. Despite its hopeful ending, I still found it quite a dispiriting read, and probably too close to the original to truly enjoy.

[Marcia Crabtree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given an advanced review copy of Warren Adler’s “The Children of the Roses,” sequel to his now infamous “The War of the Roses” written nearly 45 years ago. My copy begins with an introduction by Mr. Adler himself noting that he’s written this sequel nearly thirty years later. At its conclusion, Adler’s children thanks the reader for continuing to read their father’s works. Thus, I’m confused as to why I have just read an advanced reader’s copy instead of an already published book. Nevertheless, I’m grateful for being given the opportunity to read this by NetGalley, and I am leaving my review of it voluntarily.

Not having read the original but vaguely remembering the movie adaptation of “The War of the Roses” starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito and highly anticipating its remake “The Roses” starring Olivia Coleman and Benedict Cumberbatch, I was excited to read this sequel. Also, having not been the child of divorced parents but having produced two, I was anxious to see how the fictionalized trauma to the Rose children manifested.

Not surprisingly, daughter Evie turned to food and cooking and other sensory pleasures for comfort, and although morbidly obese and not ever desirous of earning money but content to get by by selling off her parents’ prized antiques, seems to be extremely happy with her life. Her younger brother, however, never felt he would fall in love or marry, seeing the ruinous consequences that could occur when relationships turn sour — until he fell instantly in love with a woman with her own childhood trauma with the same expectations. Given their shared feelings, truth and honesty became the pillars of their marriage.

As the saying goes, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry! Such as happens here, as their lives spiral out of control in ever more surprising and complicated ways, towards the inevitable conclusion to which all of their ill-conceived decisions lead. It is a most satisfying, if predictable, ending!

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a fan of Adler’s many years before I read “The War of the Roses”, an immensely enjoyable and very dark comedy. This sequel has a very similar tone, although doesn’t sink to quite the same dark cynical depths.

This sequel was written in 1981, although I believe it was not published until 2004 (after Adler’s death). This review is of the reissue in September 2025. In light of that, one of the first things to say is that the novel has not dated. Sure, some slightly different tech might appear if it was written today, but that was barely noticeable. Not much else has changed.

Adler was a writer who frequently took dark turns, in an entirely believable and horribly hypnotic way. He does the same here – it’s not at all a happy book, but it’s very hard to look away from what’s happening to Josh and his family.

It feels wrong to say that I enjoyed something so dark, but I certainly appreciated it. It’s well written, and both the tone and thematic messages are consistent with the first novel. It both continues and advances the story of marital discord. At the same time, if you haven’t read the first novel, it stands entirely on its’ own. Anything you need to know is recapped in the narrative.

The characters are strong and realistic. I don’t remember much of Josh and Evie from the original novel – hardly surprising, as it was focused almost entirely on their parents. Plus it must be 30 years since I read it. And now they’re grown. Here both are presented vividly, with believable traces of trauma from the way their parents died.

This is a great read – it’s a little dark, thematically, but there are no explicit scenes of violence or abuse. I’m not sure I was entirely on board with the ending, but there is apparently a third novel yet to come, and that might address my feeling that the end wasn’t quite enough. It felt a little incomplete, as though perhaps it needed one more chapter.

Nevertheless, I recommend this.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Children of the Roses by Warren Adler is a follow-up to an earlier book. The War of the Roses, and is about the son of the Roses. It is a rerelease. In reality it is about a marriage that has taken a wrong turn. As if often the case, the wife thought everything was fine until she found out abut the affair her husband was participating in. Then everything went off the rails. She acted immediately, seeing a lawyer and setting up a joint custody arrangement on which each parent came to the house to live with the kids on a revolving bi-weekly basis. The plan was to make it through with as little disruption to the children as possible. Victoria had been an up-and-coming lawyer before becoming a mother and stepping back. She returned to her career to support herself and her children. Then there was the issue with the chocolate. It was not the candy that was important but rather the fact their son had lied to them. And what Victoria had done to keep him in school. After the split, both moved people into the house to help that the other would not approve of. The complicity of the children was required.

All these children wanted was for their parents to get back together and love one another again. Isn’t that what most kids of divorced parents want? This was the story of the breakup but also the mayhem it caused with the children. Chilling. It makes one take a look at their relationships and their behavior. How about Evie’s eating disorder? And her loose attitude about money and men?Could Victoria believe the affair had been an aberration and trust again? How about the kids? How had this affected them? A moving story of modern life.

I was invited to read The Children of the Roses by Book Whisperer. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #BookWhisperer #WarrenAdler #TheChildrenOfTheRoses

[Rebecca Graf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The War of the Roses was a hit. Love turned to bitterness to destruction. But is it only the married couple it impacts? No. The children and everyone else is impacted, sometimes even generations later. This is the story of the children from the book and movie and how their own lives as adults have been impacted by the dramatic marriage and death of their parents. 
I'll admit that I didn't realize the movie was a book first. And I'll admit that I didn't give the children of the Roses much thought at the end of the movie. I should have. I mean their parents just didn't get a divorce, they killed each other in the process. That would change anyone, and it did to their son and daughter. 
Decades later, the reader meets the children grown with their own lives. The daughter has lost herself in food and men. The son has found himself determined not to repeat his parents' mistakes with his own marriage and children. Determination is not always the best defense to not repeating the past as he finds out. His own marriage takes a hit and is on the road to destruction. He'll find himself repeating history before he knows it. 
This is a read that has the reader not just in the mind of the son of the Roses. We get into the mind of his wife as well to realize that sometimes it is not just the one "bad" guy in a marriage. There are multiple perspectives we shouldn't ignore. No one can escape unscathed. 
Without revealing much more, let me say that this book will not leave you as close the final pages. Self-reflection will occur as the reader goes through all the ups and downs and feels the pain of twisted love and expectations. A new movie is coming out about their parents. I suggest you read this afterwards and learn the rest of the story.

[Marilyn Boyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Children of the Roses is an intriguing book, in that as a follow-up to the damaged children of the Roses, after their parents horrendous death, it presents us with a complex interaction of the new families those children have created, and an examination of how parental choices and behaviour emerge in their children. Adler's own children faced a challenge in publishing this text, as their father was no longer alive to give input into style or plot. There are some repetitions of exposition that served no purpose, and seemed to me like it may have been still in draft phase. If completed by him, the repetitions might have been removed, and the story line carried through more clearly. I found the novel to be a bit difficult to read, as it is quite negative in many ways, but by the end, much is resolved. As a satire it works, but it is almost a farce in extremes of plot and characterization. I think it will do quite well as a basis for a film, however, Adler is quite adept at describing absurd action, I would rate it 3.5 and was glad for the chance to read it.

Thanks to Book Whisperer and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Sharon M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to NetGalley and Book Whisperer for gifting me a digital ARC of the sequel to The War of the Roses by Warren Adler. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

After The War of the Roses, this book introduces us to the lives of their children, Josh and Evie, but picks up decades later as Josh is married to Victoria, with two children of his own, and Evie is single and struggling, selling off what's left of her parents' valuables to make ends meet.

I recently reread the first book, followed by this sequel, before I watch the new movie based on the original book. For the most part, these books have stood the test of time, as marital difficulties are certainly still occurring. Some things may be a bit cringy for our current times - in this book, the focus for Evie is on her weight and food choices. Helicopter parenting is in full force here, as the lines are drawn on just how far we will go for our children. This was still another entertaining read, as generational trauma raises its ugly head and continues to haunt the Rose's.

[Claudete Takahashi · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoyed reading The War of the Roses you'll also enjoy reading The Children of the Roses. The story follows the life of the two children, Evie and Josh and shows how they were affected by their parents destructive behavior and also how what they saw and felt as children impair their present behavior. Josh has a good marriage with Victoria (whose father left her and her mother) but gets in an affair with a co-worker and when he tries to finish the relationship is faced with blackmail. Victoria will do the unthinkable to keep her son in the private school but gets herself tangled with the headmaster. A house where lies were not acceptable now is riddled with them. Victoria wants a divorce and places the papers in motion and although they assure the children that nothing will change, everything changes, Michael and Emily will then take in their hands the family's destiny. A compelling criticism of behavior and its consequences.
I thank the author's estate, their publisher, and NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

[Farah G · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story that began with the War of the Roses continues with us following the (mis)adventures of their offspring. Although Josh and Evie Rose seem to be cut from different cloth than their vengeful parents, similarities may lurk below the surface.

In an era where helicopter parents and insanely competitive schools often serve to fuel tensions between members of school communities, things quickly get out of hand over some missing chocolates at Josh's son's school. The mayhem that is part of the fallout does beg the question of whether the rose blooms have fallen far from the bush.

An enjoyable, darkly comedic story, this is worth a read, especially if you enjoyed the earlier story of the senior Roses.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

[Martin Maenza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Whisperer, who will be rereleasing it on September 15, 2025, provided a galley for review.

After reading the original The War of the Roses earlier this summer, I was interested in seeing what its sequel had to offer. Adler jumps the story from the 80's into the 2000's as now we are focusing on the grown-up Rose kids in this new century.

This book is very much a focus on Josh's household and marriage with Evie serving as a secondary, support character until much later in the book. It certainly works for me. It is also about secrets and transparency, and how too much of the former and too little of the latter can lead to major problems. As with the first novel in the series, this one turns up the heat at a steady pace and brings the whole situation to an overflowing boil of emotion and reactions. It is interesting to see characters put through this kind of gauntlet.

[Mr. Elijah Avalos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this one on audible pretty quickly and started it right after reading war of the roses the first in the series I really enjoyed this one and felt like it tied the two novels together well especially because it went on similar themes, Johnathon sleeping with a coworker and his father sleeping with the au pair. Barbara rose turning the dog into pate and Victoria considering killing evie’s cat. Another thing that I feel like connected the two stories was the fire in both of the families homes, I feel like that brought it all back to the beginning again in the first book and created the point of divergence that they could then choose to either be their parents or be make a different choice from what their parents did, I went into it unsure if it would spark the same joy the original first book and movie did but I ended up loving it

[Howard Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars
Having enjoyed the movie version of The War of the Roses, I was anxious to read the sequel and was not disappointed. The novel is an interesting depiction of family relationships (mother/daughter, brother/sister and parents/children). In addition to dealing with family relationships, lies, deceit, private schools, food and sexual indiscretions play integral roles in this novel. The novel is quick reading and very entertaining and I would not hesitate to recommend this book. I thank NetGalley, Mr. Adler and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

[Vanessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Children of the Roses by Warren Adler is the second book in the The War of the Roses series and I found it very hard to get into. This is the second book of Barbara and Oliver and it is the following the (mis)adventures of their 2 children, Josh and Evie, which I have not read.

Within this book Josh is married to Victoria, who is a lawyer and they have children, and Evie is the doting aunt, but she has away of coping with her childhood trauma, and this is with food.

I did not enjoy reading this book, I did try several times but it was not for me. This book did not flow and was Jumbled throughout.

[Hazy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very trashy melodrama. Feels more like a cartoon in places than human beings interacting with each other wrapped up too quickly because there was nowhere else for the story to go.

Victoria is made into a shrill harpy with little motivation to be so. Evie is written in an almost fetishistic fashion. The mother-in-law is just surreal in her bitterness.

I get that 'War of the Roses' was over-the-top, but at least you got Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in a good movie. This is the half-assed sequel made for the Hallmark channel.

[VDKeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y’all!! This is a wickedly funny, razor-sharp sequel that proves family drama can be dark, messy, and oh-so-entertaining. If you think your in-laws are a handful, wait until you meet Josh and Evie Rose’s world. 🥀💣

From the very first prank involving missing Milky Ways to the spiraling chaos at their son’s fancy private school, Adler serves up emotional firestorms with a side of biting humor. The depraved headmaster, hidden affairs, and a mother-in-law with a vendetta? Pure chaos gold. And the kids? Don’t even get me started—they’re plotting their own schemes like pint-sized masterminds. 🍫🕵️‍♀️

Josh and Evie are so vividly drawn you can practically hear Evie chopping vegetables while holding the family together, and feel Josh’s exasperation as his perfect façade crumbles. Adler’s writing style is sharp, witty, and perfectly paced—like a perfectly timed joke that stings just enough. ✍️🔥

Four stars because I loved every messy, deliciously dark second, though I wanted just a little more payoff in the final chaos. Still, it’s unforgettable, wickedly smart, and impossible to put down. 🖤🥀

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you thought the War of the Roses was rough… whew! This is the story of the kids that were left in the ending of the War of the Roses. And they are grown up. And, like we all do, they have their own stuff. Evie coins and has a cat. Josh is married with kids. And most of the action is on the Josh side. His kids are having school issues, he is having an affair and his wife is doing things too. This whole thing felt like A trauma dunp, but it was Quick and compelling to read. I enjoyed it at 3.75

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Children of the Roses
By Warren Adler

I loved The War of the Roses – both the book and the movie. So I looked forward to reading this one. Unfortunately, to me this is just a spinoff to make the author more money. The children of the title are in fact now adults with their own issues. How much these issues hark back to the original book is up to interpretation.

I found this book to be just an okay read, which was a big disappointment.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

[Donna Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a sequel to the movie The War of the Roses. Josh and Evie Rose were children when their parents died. Josh married Victoria who also came from a dysfunctional family. They had made a promise to each other that honesty and faithfulness would be a top priority for them and their children, Michael and Emily. Their commitment to each other fell apart when actions and lies were exposed. Trust was broken and divorce was the only recourse. Michael and Emily wanted the family to stay intact.

Thank you Book Whisperer and NetGalley

[LauraLee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yikes, this was pretty bad. Couldn’t compare to the first book, which I honestly think I enjoyed simply because of its connection to the 1989 film. This sub-par sequel just seemed so far fetched and over the top.

[Joseph Wolff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weird, but fun times.

It was nice catching up with Josh and Eve. If you dug the first one, you won't be disappointed here.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Couldn’t get into it.

[Nicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a fan. I didn't like the characters. And the lies told by every one is a downer. Not my cup of tea.

[Aaron Lazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The War of the Roses - The Children, by Warren Adler provides an intimate glimpse inside the fragile lives of the surviving children of the original blockbuster book/movie, War of the Roses, an iconic story that resonated across the globe for decades with an international audience.

When the marriage of Barbara and Jonathan Rose disintegrated, it launched a sequence of events leading to their ultimate demise, which left their two children alone. Although this story was told with savvy noir humor which appealed to many, its darker themes also rang true with scores of couples dealing with or about to delve into the complicated world of divorce.

In this intriguing sequel, poor little Josh and Evie were raised by loving grandparents, but the effects of exposure to parental violent screaming matches and obsessions over property destruction for spite marked these kids as damaged.

Often the consequences of divorce and parental discord are intangible, lingering and festering for years to come in the children’s hearts and minds, and frequently such past events can ruin the next generation’s marriages. Mr. Adler’s treatment of this very serious situation is handled tastefully, and in spite of the nature of the subject, he manages to inject some delicious humor into this sequel.

As always in a Warren Adler book, the writing goes down like a cool mint frappe, smooth and delectable. Mr. Adler’s dialog is natural and on target, and progressive scenes draw the reader forward in a rush to reach resolution. His characters come alive on the page and reveal human foibles. Infidelity and dishonesty run rampant in this story, and the length to which a headstrong mother goes to protect her son is rather alarming.

After the first few chapters, readers will feel as if they know these characters, not only recognizing common human frailties in them, but relating to and caring about them.

Josh Rose, son of Barbara and Jonathan Rose, is now a married adult with his own two children, Michael and Emily. His human failings are severe, and although on the surface of his marriage it seems all is golden, we discover there is a quagmire hiding beneath. The dichotomy between the verbalized philosophies of their family versus reality is striking.

Evie Rose, surviving daughter of Barbara and Jonathan, has tumbled in and out of relationships and finds her best friend to be mini-epicurean adventures. A talented cook with no acknowledgement of healthy eating, she whips up fattening, luscious meals to both soothe tears and comfort breaking hearts. Evie relates food to joy, to love, to happiness (don’t we all?). And her upbeat attitude, regardless of her flagrant disregard for healthy eating, is contagious. Evie was unquestionably this reviewer’s favorite character.

Tension simmers between Victoria, Josh’s health-nut OCD wife, and the sweet, foodaholic Evie. Josh is torn between them, yet although he is mindful of his wife’s desires regarding the kids and what they eat, he harbors great love for his sister. Fiercely loyal to her, this allegiance drives a wedge between the family. Subterfuge becomes the norm.

In the end, the grandchildren of Barbara and Jonathan Rose are the instigating factors of changes needed and changes to come. Brilliantly planned, they turn life upside down to force healing in their parents’ relationship.

War of the Roses – The Children is highly recommended as a fascinating look at psychology and family with a tongue-in-cheek flavor that will make readers chuckle and smile. Question – will there be a sequel to the sequel? Perhaps Mr. Adler will consider it.

Recommended for adults only by Aaron Paul Lazar, www.lazarbooks.com.

[Joo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent enough book but lacked any oomph. I felt I didn't care for any of the characters and there didn't seem to be much depth to anything.