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The Thornbury Stories #1
When Roses Bloom
Step into the story of Kate and Alexander, in this historical romance, filled with adventure, suspense, and a love story you won’t forget. Indentured servant Kate (Caitlin) Grady and Alexander Fraser, the young farmer next door, fall in love in the bleak winter cold of a sugar bush on a poor eastern Canadian pioneer farm in 1869. Alexander and Kate promise to love each other forever. He must leave her to earn the extra money they need to marry as soon as possible, and in early spring, he leaves for the deep bush, promising to return to her in mid-summer when the roses bloom. But fate and circumstance intervene. Both of them are forced to make very different lives for themselves - an ocean apart. Will the time ever come that they will meet again, "When Roses Bloom" ?
647 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 9, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 10, 2019
Meh, like the rating says, it was "ok". I could title this review "Unsuccessful Marriage Of The Outlander And The Shrew".
This promised to be an interesting romance/novel, but totally disappointed. The initial setup of the story was not bad, except, it seems, characters fell in love at a drop of a hat and want to marry each other after 5 min conversation. I've always found that very unbelievable. I think I enjoyed the descriptions of the life in the 19th century Canada and England the most in this story, though I'm not totally sure they were historically correct. The story itself, well, there is no other way of saying this: It was boring, and totally predictable. In many places in the middle of the story, between the initial disaster and the expected reunion, it just felt like a filler until we got to the "good part". You know the book is in trouble when you keep looking at the % read, hoping you are getting close to the end.
And it seems someone has been watching "Outlander" too much. For goodness sake, if you love someone else's character that much, don't give him the same name in your book! Sure, model your character after him, but at least name him differently.
I admit I almost put the book down on a number of occasions but decided to stick it out in hopes of getting a nice, juicy reunion but, alas, was rewarded with the worst lovers reunion scene I've ever read. With shades of The Shrew, they quarreled and behaved like buffoons and it was just a painful and stupid mess. I almost quit then but figured it had to get better, right? It sort of did, but I only made it to 90% of the book because, well, I just had enough and I knew what was coming (predictable much?). Didn't really want to waste any more time on it when I have more interesting books on my reading list.
Oh, forgot to add, there were quite a few typos and grammar mistakes in it as well.
This promised to be an interesting romance/novel, but totally disappointed. The initial setup of the story was not bad, except, it seems, characters fell in love at a drop of a hat and want to marry each other after 5 min conversation. I've always found that very unbelievable. I think I enjoyed the descriptions of the life in the 19th century Canada and England the most in this story, though I'm not totally sure they were historically correct. The story itself, well, there is no other way of saying this: It was boring, and totally predictable. In many places in the middle of the story, between the initial disaster and the expected reunion, it just felt like a filler until we got to the "good part". You know the book is in trouble when you keep looking at the % read, hoping you are getting close to the end.
And it seems someone has been watching "Outlander" too much. For goodness sake, if you love someone else's character that much, don't give him the same name in your book! Sure, model your character after him, but at least name him differently.
I admit I almost put the book down on a number of occasions but decided to stick it out in hopes of getting a nice, juicy reunion but, alas, was rewarded with the worst lovers reunion scene I've ever read. With shades of The Shrew, they quarreled and behaved like buffoons and it was just a painful and stupid mess. I almost quit then but figured it had to get better, right? It sort of did, but I only made it to 90% of the book because, well, I just had enough and I knew what was coming (predictable much?). Didn't really want to waste any more time on it when I have more interesting books on my reading list.
Oh, forgot to add, there were quite a few typos and grammar mistakes in it as well.
March 1, 2020
I put reading this book off until I could read all 700+ pages at once so I could enjoy it. While on vacation, I had the opportunity to read this historical romance. The topic is a heavy one, servitude, class structures, domestic violence and even murder. The beginning third of the book was a bit hard to read, but Heather Anderson has an art of making the reader feel as though they are immersed in the story and want to keep going. The plot moves along, turning in unexpected directions as Kate and Alexander are separated for years on different continents after they fall in love. Glad I finished cover to cover, so will you when you discover how it all comes together.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews