Friday, July 13, 2012

Book Review: Return of the Rose by Theresa Ragan...

Title: Return of the Rose

Author: Theresa Ragan

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Pages: 311 (Print), File size: 654 kb

Page Number Source ISBN: 1463610068 ASIN: B004Q9TGG0

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords

Summary from Amazon.com:

Twin sisters are born in Medieval England. One of the infants is dying and is taken to the Witch of Devonshire, who uses supernatural powers to transport the ailing babe to the future. It is the year 1986 when Cathy Hayes, a woman who has lost her child and husband in a car accident, finds the baby at her doorstep, gets her the medical attention she needs, and raises the baby as her own. Morgan grows up in the twentieth century with a mysterious attraction to a hollow suit of armor that stands in the window of her mother's antique store.

Morgan is twenty-four years old when she becomes entangled within the armor's metal plates and is whisked back in time where she is mistaken for Amanda Forrester, a twin sister she knows nothing about. In Amanda's place, Morgan is forced to marry King Henry's favored knight, Derek Vanguard, Lord of Braddock Hall. Abandoned by his mother and having failed as a child to gain his father's love, Derek's heart is as cold as the stone walls of his castle.

In the end, Morgan discovers the true power of love and for the first time in her life she knows where she belongs.

My thoughts:

I have to admit, this book got my attention right away. Yeah, it is a romance. But not a mushy, gushy kind. There were a couple of times when some sexy scenes were back to back, but they weren't overly descriptive, which is what I prefer. I was skeptical at first, with the whole 'being whisked back in time' thing. I still have a bit of a problem with the fact that the historical characters didn't find Morgan's modern clothing a bit more surprising and more deserving of a quick glance. Had any of the characters paid attention, I think they would have noticed some differences between Morgan and Amanda right away.

That's just a minor thing, though. The book's over all flow and style was pretty darn good to hold my attention and make me want to keep reading til the end. There are times when I come across a book, figure I will give it a shot and then I can't finish it no matter what. Return of the Rose, however, caught my attention and held it all the way to the end, making me want to stay up late just to finish it. Not many books do that.

The characters, aside from being a bit too self absorbed, were fairly well developed. The beginning of the book, where Morgan is inside her mother's antique shop was good, I just wish it had lasted a little longer. Perhaps Morgan could have left, interacted with her mother a little more and then the next day get whisked back to the time she belonged. That's just me, though. A couple other spots could have had more attention paid to them, but these are trivial things.  Good book!

I give it 4 and a half skull and crossbones.

2 comments:

Angela Brown said...

The books premise is very intriguing. To be thrown forward in time, learn modern ways then get yanked back must have been an ordeal for the MC to handle. But it's interesting the things love can conquer.

Mel Chesley said...

The whole premise is what got me to get the book in the first place. I wanted to check it out and it did work. Even if I was skeptical. The MC felt like she belonged in that era once she was whisked back. I've felt that way too, that I was born in the wrong time period, lol! But she adapted better, I think, because she felt more at ease there than in the future.