Review: The Rose Trilogy by Jennifer Donnelly
by Jenners • 07/12/2011 • 4 Stars, D Authors, Fiction, Historical, T Titles, W Titles • 63 Comments
The Rose Trilogy by Jennifer Donnelly
The Tea Rose (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2007, 592 pages)
The Winter Rose (Hyperion, 2009, 720 pages)
The Wild Rose (Hyperion, release date August 2, 2011, 640 pages)
Genre: Historical Fiction
Where I Got Them: I bought The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose for my Kindle and received The Wild Rose from the Amazon Vine Program
My Rating: 4 stars
Don’t take this the wrong way, but the books in the Rose Trilogy reminded me of the Danielle Steel books I used to devour when I was 14-years old … and I mean that in the very best way!!
I used to love Danielle Steel’s books (though I’ve “outgrown” them after being exposed to a “better” class of books) because they featured heroines who experienced all these ups and downs but who eventually triumphed over difficulties to have amazing lives. Plus they also had complicated and often tragic love lives. The Rose Trilogy has all these same elements … except with better writing and historical detail!!
The Rose Trilogy focuses on the Finnegan family—a close-knit family from the hardscrabble section of London known as Whitechapel. Family members include: family patriarch Paddy, whose leadership in the nascent union movement leads to tragedy; his wife Kate, who struggles to keep the family together despite multiple difficulties; Fiona, the oldest daughter, who is in love with the boy down the street; Charlie, the oldest son, who contributes what he can to family finances, even when that means walking on the edge of what is legal; and Seamus, the youngest son, who is just 5 years old in the first book but is featured front and center in the final book of the series.
We first meet the Finnegans in The Tea Rose. It is the 1880s in East London, and a murderer named Jack the Ripper is terrorizing the area. (Donnelly even goes so far as to unmask Jack’s “true” identity in the book.) The Tea Rose of the title refers to Fiona Finnegan, the feisty daughter who is in love with a coster (veggie salesman) named Joe Bristow. They are saving every bit of their meager wages to open up a shop of their own. However, tragedy hits the family and Joe betrays Fiona in the worst way possible—leaving Fiona and Seamus in desperate straits. Fleeing to America, Fiona struggles to survive in New York City, where she vows revenge on the man who ruined her family.
The opening book sets the tone for the entire trilogy: star-crossed lovers; continual setbacks and obstacles; rich historical detail (Donnelly isn’t afraid to incorporate real-life historical figures such as George Mallory, Jack the Ripper and Lawrence of Arabia into her books), and a plot that keeps you wondering what will befall her beleaguered characters next. (Some pretty hot and heavy sex scenes are sprinkled throughout too!) Although there is a fair amount of coincidence that strains the limits of believability, just forget all that and enjoy the ride.
The second book, The Winter Rose, has a new “rose” as its center—Dr. India Selwyn-Jones, an idealistic young doctor who dreams of opening a clinic for women and children in poverty-stricken Whitechapel. Just like Fiona in the first book, India must deal with an evil man set on ruining her life while struggling with her attraction to a criminal named Sid Malone. The book moves from London to Africa and also introduces readers to Seamus as a young man. Fiona makes periodic appearances but isn’t the primary focus of the book. Although it sounds like the book doesn’t focus as much on the Finnegan family, I’ll leave you to discover why that isn’t true!
The third and final book, The Wild Rose, features Willa Alden, the great love of Seamus Finnegan’s life, as its rose. “Wild” is the right word to describe Willa, who readers first meet in The Winter Rose. She is a fearless mountaineer who defies expectations of what women can and should do, despite a significant handicap after an accident on Mt. Kilimanjaro (which takes place in the second book). Like the other two books, this book starts in London before moving the action to Arabia during World War I.
Each book is a chunkster (all of them are 500+ pages) and requires a fairly decent time commitment, but they are the type of chunksters that move along at a steady clip. My biggest criticism is the amount of coincidence that propels the plots, but don’t let that stop you from reading the books. This was historical fiction at its best: fast-paced, far-ranging and drama-filled. I enjoyed the series immensely, and thank Jill at Rhapsody in Books for turning me on to this series. I would have never picked these books up on my own as historical fiction isn’t my preferred genre and the staid covers don’t give you a full sense of all the action, drama and romance that pack the pages inside. Highly recommended!
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I think it definitely says something for the series that you could read them all in a row. So many series now are so heavy that they need a good break between readings. I’m excited to get to this series as I’ve been in need of some good but lighter historical fiction (with a little bit o’ nookie).
They were the perfect summer read I think … and different enough that you didn’t feel like you were reading the same book over and over.
Thank you for such a great review, haven’t read any of the books you mentioned, but I’ll check them out.
I think you might really enjoy this series.
Those are all beautiful covers. I haven’t read any of them, but I’d definitely pick them up based on the cover alone.
So funny … the covers were such a turn-off to me!!! : ) But what is inside those covers was just wonderful.
I really liked the Tea Rose, but still have #2 and #3 to read. I also liked Northern Light and Revolution (stand alones).
I saw A Northern Light at the library book store last week and snapped it up as soon as I saw it. I’ll read everything she’s written!
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I think I’ve found a new series to read. Thank you for your book reveiws.
want to correct my misspelling of reviews.
You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy the series as much as I did.
Danielle Steel in a good way? I’m in!
I agonized over describing them that way but it really is what I thought … it was afraid it would be a huge turnoff to compare them to Ms. Steel’s books!!!
After I read The Heretic Queen, I started to like the genre quite a bit, so I think I’ll give these a go.
For the record, I liked Danielle Steel’s extremely formulaic books up until a few years ago. I got tired of feeling like I was reading the exact same book over and over!
That is what ultimately did me in too. I had the same thing happen to me with the Stephanie Plum books.
I LOVED the Tea Rose and Jill can’t believe I haven’t read Winter Rose yet (soon Jill
).
I know she read The Winter Rose … I think she mistyped and didn’t read The Wild Rose yet. It was her raving about the first two books that got me to read the series.
I’m not reading this review because I haven’t got The Winter Rose yet and it’s KILLING ME! ARGHHHHHH! I hope I can come back soon to read this because my book will come (singing this: someday my book will come….)
I hope you get it soon!!!! It is awful that you haven’t read it yet … and yet you are the one who turned me on to this whole series. I feel guilty somehow about that.
I have The Tea Rose on my shelf, and have had, for the longest time. I think that after your review of these that I need to dust it off and go for it. I love historical chunksters that are slightly sordid, so these sound wonderful to me. I am glad that you ended up loving them so much. I probably will too!
I’m sensing a theme here … many seem to have this book sitting on the shelves but avoid it due to the length. I think you’ll really enjoy the books. I actually thought they read “fast.”
These sound like fun – I’ll have to keep them in mind!
They were great escapist reads. I really enjoyed the series.
You have me very intrigued about this series of books. I like historical fiction because it’s fun and always has a happy ending. I might pick up the first book just to check it out
Well, I’m sure there is some historical fiction that doesn’t end happily … but these poor characters have to really work to get their happy endings.
What if you never liked Danielle Steel’s books? I kept trying them in my younger days – because everyone raved about them….I don’t know – I think there was too much tragedy/drama in the heroine’s life or something….I am willing to give these a try though…Danielle Steel be damned!
Well, these are MUCH BETTER than Danielle Steel books but they have the same kind of drama and sweep that I remember those books having. I say get The Tea Rose from the library and if it doesn’t grab you after 150 pages or so, give it up!
oooh! Danielle Steele? My old obsession! I am adding these to my must-read list! I just read Never Knowing yesterday and agreed with your review whole-heartedly!
So you had a Danielle Steel habit in your past too? I was nuts about those books. I think it warped my idea of life though!! HAHA!
Oh dear, your comparison with Danielle Steele puts me off straight away. Still, each to their own, I’m glad you enjoyed the books.
I was afraid of that … please don’t think they are JUST LIKE Danielle Steel … they are much much better!
Not my usual type of book – but this sounds like great light summer reading.
It wasn’t my usual type of book either … but I really enjoyed them. Sometimes it is good to step outside of your usual box and try new things.
You know…I think this might be my summer read this year, thanks to you! I sort of cant wait! Thanks!
These would be PERFECT summer reads!!! Except they are best read on an e-reader due to the size.
I never read Danielle Steel, but I will cop to enjoying Harold Robbins back in the day.
Oh I did my fair share of Harold Robbins … and Sidney Sheldon too. Guilty pleasures all!!
Wow, did you read these all at once? I have The Tea Rose on my shelf and want to read it but have so many other books stacked up to read right now (tons coming in from publishers and the library hold list) that I’m going to have to wait a while. I must admit that the size has kept me from diving right in. I’m glad to hear that you think the books are good too, and that there are some steamy scenes to break things up.
I read The Tea Rose back in March … and then I read The Winter Rose and the Wild Rose back to back. (I felt some pressure since I got the Wild Rose via the Vine Program). Don’t be afraid of the size … they move along quickly.
The family thread linking the stories is what appeals to me. It goes on from one generation to the next. Jeniffer Donnolly has been on my TBR for ages but I have not yet got to her books.
I liked that aspect too. I kind of wish she would keep on going and write about more generations of the family.
I can’t wait to get started on this series! I already own book 1 and the Ripper aspect has got me even more excited to read it!
It is a wonderful series … I think you’ll enjoy it immensely. I love that she takes real historical figures and weaves them into her books.
About the only Danielle Steele book I’ve read is the one about her bipolar son.
Romance isn’t really my cup of tea, but if it was steeped in history, I might be able to give it a go. Gone with the Wind worked that way for me – it was more about the Civil War era, and less about the activities of Scarlett, though I liked her most when she was at her most conniving.
And at 500+ pages per book, it better be good.
Romance AND historical fiction isn’t my cup of tea … yet the series worked for me. And I’d say if by p.200 you aren’t digging it, give it up.
I am so looking forward to The Wild Rose! Glad you enjoyed this series.
I thought she did a good job ending the series … though I’m sad to see it end. I don’t see why she can’t keep going with all the different Finnegan generations up until the present day.
Yes, that Jill. I have the first two on my Kindle, but haven’t started them yet because they are so huge! But the time is drawing near. I love epics, even if they do have coincidences and corny love stories. I dedicated like six months of my life once before I started blogging reading this whole huge series by Wilbur Smith that was set in South Africa. I get drawn in, and it doesn’t really matter what the author does to me. It is compulsive!
Even though they were so big, they didn’t feel long or overly big. I love getting lost in big epics. Jill was right on the money with this one!
The term “chunkster” always makes me smile. This trilogy does sound very good.
It was a very satisfying series. Such a treat when you find them.
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and you sure make these sound good. The length concerns me a bit since I’m currently reading a long one now, but I may have to add them to my wish list anyway.
I read my share of Danielle Steele in my younger days, too.
If you like historical fiction, you’ll love these. And although they are long, they don’t FEEL long if that makes sense. And we need to “own” our Danielle Steel pasts!
Sounds interesting. Guess what! I am on my fourth book of the summer. This is very impressive for me
I’m so proud of you!!! Read on!
I can live with coincidences if it helps the book move along. I’ll have to investigate this series.
I felt the same way … it was very forgivable. Treat yourself to these books … you’ll love them I suspect!
I read the first one a couple of years ago – I liked it! I have every intention of reading the other two but I’m not sure when. It’s nice to know you enjoyed them.
It is just a wonderful series … and I’m actually kind of jealous that you still have two left to read.
Here is a coincidence for you. I just read these books and reviewed all three of them this week. And I agree with everything you said about them.
Wait … are we in the middle of the Rose Trilogy with this coincidence? : ) Too funny … I have to check out your reviews. Great minds think alike!