Helpful Score: 2
This is a sweet very British tale about a young widow in post war Britain. Though the cover says it is a thriller, is in not written in the current fashion of thrillers. It is a subtle read - one that I enjoyed re-reading from my teens.
This is a terrific relax, sip an iced tea and hang out on a hammock kind of book...
This is a terrific relax, sip an iced tea and hang out on a hammock kind of book...
Helpful Score: 2
This was a very sweet book about a young woman coming home to her past. Set in post WWII rural England, this offering by Ms. Stewart paints a lovely picture of a time past and throws in a bit of suspense which keeps your interest.
Helpful Score: 1
The style of this was definitely different from Stewart's Authurian Saga--in fact, it was hard for me to feel they were written by the same author. It was an okay read but just not a keeper for me (perhaps I just think too "American")...
Helpful Score: 1
If you like a cozy cottage setting in a semi peaceful little town read this little gem. I read cover to cover no stopping.
Helpful Score: 1
A comfortable read about a mystery in the "North Country" set in England and Scotland. A very light and quick read. Good character development and writing.
Rose Cottage is the story of a young widow in post-WW2 England. This is one of Mary Stewart's later books (copyright 1997) and is not up to par with her fabulous novels from the 50's, 60's, and 70's. Her skill for capturing a place and its people is still present, but rather than a breathless, mysterious adventure we have a mild puzzle that the reader will solve days before the gossiping village does, and the romance has been dialed back to merely a re-awakening of interest in the boy next door. The dedication is to friends "met again in my stroll down Memory Lane", and it truly is a pleasant stroll of a book. I did enjoy it; the worst Mary Stewart is head and shoulders above the standard modern romance; but I'm far more likely to re-read The Moon-Spinners or Airs Above the Ground.
Pretty, nostalgic story written as only Mary Stewart can do - with beautiful prose, always tightly constructed plots. An international bestseller, and well worth the read.
I can best describe this as a whimsical mystery set in a beautiful small town in England. Kathy returns to her old home to learn the answers to some lifelong questions in a very mysterious way.
Rose Cottage,a tiny thatched dwelling in an idyllic English country setting,would appear the picture of tranquillity to any passerby.But when Kate Herrick returns to her childhood home she uncovers a web of intrigue as tangled as the rambling rose in its garden.
This was my first book by the author. I thought it was a bit slow, really. I also didn't think there was a whole lot of suspense in it. I kind of figured out the big mystery less than halfway through.
However, it was very charming and I read it all the way through to the end. I will read more books by this author.
However, it was very charming and I read it all the way through to the end. I will read more books by this author.
Beautiful scenery.
This is excellent story-telling! I would recommend this to anyone!
Great novel by the author of the Merlin Trilogy.
This is a leisurely paced, sweet novel about going home again. Though the description mentions a "web of intrigue", the mystery is very understated. Certainly has a good sense of its time, since today the "intrigue" would not even be worth mentioning. But as a look back at a small English village right after WWII, it's quite nice. But still - it's not up to the romantic suspense Stewart wrote earlier. No flowing lovely descriptions of the countryside or food, barely a hint of a romance, even the climax at the end seemed oddly muted.
At the request of her beloved grandmother, war widow Kate Herrick returns to the idyllic English countryside and the tiny thatched dwelling of her childhood, Rose Cottage, where she must retrieve some valuable papers hidden in a secret safe. Yet Kate is intrigued to discover the mysterious documents have been stolen.
