Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

I received a galley of this novel from NetGalley for review. This in no way affected my opinions.

A thrilling conclusion to a epic trilogy. Although, I certainly wouldn't mind if this series kept going. There were a few characters I'd like to see more of, such as Fiona and Joe's daughter Katie, but I digress.

The Tea Rose was Fiona and Joe's story; and The Winter Rose was Sid and India's story; The Wild Rose was Seamie and Willa's story. And their story is just as complicated and full of ups and downs as their predecessors.

I liked Willa. I liked how adventurous she was, and how intelligent she was. However, she was the weakest of the three heroines of the trilogy, but I suppose I can give her a break because compared to the other two, she's been through the ringer. India still remains my favorite heroine. Seamie bugged me a bit, but not to the point of irritation. By the end of the story, I loved him like I did before.

Everyone from the previous two books were back for The Wild Rose, with their stories continuing. Fiona is still kicking butt and taking names, this time fighting for women's suffrage. And her daughter Katie is a pistol. Fifteen years old at the start of the book, and already with her own radical newspaper, fighting for the rights of women and workers.

Just like the the previous installments, The Wild Rose was full of tragedy. I could pretty much mark which characters were doomed from the beginning and I braced myself for their demise. There were a few characters whose stories tugged at my heart strings. And their was one character whose story I didn't even see coming!

I've been waiting more than two years – since I finished The Winter Rose – for this book, and I was not disappointed. I can say that I am honestly pleased with the way this epic series came to a close.

3 comments:

Marg said...

I liked this one, but didn't love it as much as I loved The Winter Rose. For me Sid was still a scene stealer in this book!

I am however glad to have the book out now as I have been waiting for it for more than 5 years! And now, I can't wait to see what Jennifer Donnelly comes out with next.

Joanne said...

I'm looking forward to this as well -- I adored The Winter Rose and know I will enjoy the continuing saga of old favorite characters.

P. S. Christy - I bought the book of short mystery stories that contains Kate Ross's short story (on ebay). I'll be posting about that soon.

Nicole C. said...

I just have to say I am so jealous!! LOL!! The Tea Rose is one of my favorite books, followed by The Winter Rose. I actually am a fan of all of Jennifer Donnelly's work and can't wait to read this one.