Book & Audio Review: The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

The Rose Garden
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Narrator: Nicola Barber
Publication: Sourcebooks Landmark (October 4, 2011); Audible Studios (October 4, 2011)
Length: 448 p,; 12 hours

Description: A riveting and romantic journey through time, The Rose Garden drops a modern woman into the middle of a historical fiction novel when she's thrown back to 18th century Cornwall—only to find that might just be where she belongs.

After the death of her sister, Eva Ward leaves Hollywood and all its celebrities behind to return to the only place she feels she truly belongs, the old house on the coast of Cornwall, England. She's seeking comfort in memories of childhood summers, but what she finds is mysterious voices and hidden pathways that sweep her not only into the past, but also into the arms of a man who is not of her time.

Soon Eva discovers that the man, Daniel Butler, is very, very real and he draws her into a world of intrigue, treason, and love. Inside the old British house, begins to question her place in the present, she realizes she must decide where she really belongs: in the life she knows or the past she feels so drawn towards.

A brilliant escape that gives one woman the chance to time-travel and find her place in British history, The Rose Garden presents Susanna Kearsley's signature combination of romance and fascinating historical fiction at its very best.

My Thoughts: This was another engaging time travel romance by an author who is a star in the genre. Eva Wells is rather lost after her beloved sister dies. She is determined to take her ashes to a place where they were both happy. She ends up in Cornwall with people who made her childhood happy.

She finds that things are different in many ways. The farm is in trouble and the place isn't quite what she remembered. Then she finds herself hearing voices and traveling back in time to the same house in 1715. 1715 is a time of political unrest. Queen Anne has died, and George I and James Stuart are rival claimants for the throne. She meets Daniel Butler who is a free trader and supporter of James Stuart.

She also finds herself falling in love with a man from a time which is not her own. She gets involved with him, and he accepts her presence without question. Together they have to deal with a constable who really hates him and who is eager to arrest him for his support of James Stuart.

I enjoyed this story and loved the characters. It was a great romance and an interesting look at British History. The narrator did an excellent job expressing the emotion of the story. 

Favorite Quote:

"I would argue 'tis never the place, but the people one shares it with who are the cause of our happiest memories. That is why we find that having lived them once, we never can recapture them."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.