wellactjoally's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
3.0
Garwood does character development well! Fall in love with a boisterous found family. Fast marriage. Lawyers gonna law.
Warning for the n-word repeated multiple times. Racism. Sexism. Family trying to change you. Kidnapping and mistreatment of kids. Dead parents. Abusive spouse. Slavery.
Warning for the n-word repeated multiple times. Racism. Sexism. Family trying to change you. Kidnapping and mistreatment of kids. Dead parents. Abusive spouse. Slavery.
aknas22's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of those books that really got to me. The whole thing about kids forming a family that lasts...I've read this book twice (once in 2007 and once in May 2004) and I loved it both times. Mary Rose is my kind of girl...she's someone I can relate to. The sequels are also good and well worth the read, especially the book about Cole.
One thing, the movie, based on this book with Jennifer Garner in it was horrible. It totally changed everything in the book...I mean, they killed off Cole.
One thing, the movie, based on this book with Jennifer Garner in it was horrible. It totally changed everything in the book...I mean, they killed off Cole.
randommom's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
iamderealthing's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
scotcheroo's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Overall really liked this book even though the end dragged a bit with the
Likes
-The setting of Blue Belle, Montana. It was neat that this took place before it was a state. I liked how the boys and Mary Rose moved her when there was nothing around, the town came after. And the town was named after the whore Blue Belle!
-The premise and plot of a rich English Lord & Lady's daughter being stolen and raised in the American Old West. Like talk about 2 completely different worlds. And then when Mary Rose goes back to England to reunite with her birth family, we really see how different the culture and mannerisms are. It's crazy that the westward expansion happened at the same time as lords & ladies were still a thing in England.
-Loved Harrison as a character. I know some reviewers don't (like the Not Your Mom's Romance Book Club podcast) but if this book didn't have a single logical character in it I couldn't have read it. I liked how he stuck to it, fell in love with Montana and Mary Rose and appreciated different traits of each of the brothers (Adam's debate, Douglas with horses, Travis for his lawyer-like observation skills, and Cole for his... idk his protectiveness?).
Dislikes
-The brothers and Mary Rose acting all quirky and ridiculous. The fact that they practice 4 different religions throughout the year was seriously ridiculous. It was a little hard to believe that they're all so well-read, fluent in French, etc.
-MARY ROSE. AHHHH she's so frustrating and emotional! She has extreme childish tendencies like throwing tantrums basically.
To summarize the book quickly: The 4 boys are living on the streets of NYC when someone throws a baby basket into the garbage. They recover her, name her Mary Rose, and decide to head west to raise her right and because Adam is black and likely wanted for murder. They raise her in Blue Belle, Montana, teaching her French, the piano, and sending her to boarding school in St. Louis where someone recognizes she looks a lot like a dead Lady Agatha, Mary Rose's mother.
Harrison is an English Lord/Viscount/something. His father was ill and they would have been penniless but Mary Rose's father, Elliott, took him in and practically raised him as a son. Harrison feels in his debt and has made it his mission to find his long lost daughter. He hears the St. Louis rumor and tracks her down in Montana. He instantly sees she is the spitting image of her mother, but he's cautious about his motives for why he's there (because he doesn't know if the brothers kidnapped her or what their relationship is), telling the brothers he wants to learn to be a rancher. As he grows close to the family he eventually figures out their story and he reveals he's there because he was searching for her. But he's also fallen for her and they get married.
He goes back to England. Mary Rose stews for a month that he lied to her but she eventually follows. Elliott and all her aunts & uncles aren't sure at first if she's the real deal, there have been pretenders, but her looks are too much like Lady Agatha's. Doctors there tell Elliott that he needs to put a damper on her past so that she can move forward, so he never lets her speak of her brothers or former life. Everyone calls her Victoria instead of Mary Rose. She gets increasingly miserable until the breaking point when Harrison also calls her Victoria while in bed. She goes back to Montana and Harrison immediately follows. Instead of reuniting though the town is in an uproar as Adam is on trial. Two white men claim he murdered their father. The Civil War has been going on and Adam's former owner used to beat his wife and his own mom. One day Adam protected them but the guy fell and killed himself. Adam ran to NY. But the man had 2 sons and they beat their own mom and forced a signed "confession" that Adam killed him. They want Adam to hang. Harrison serves as Adam's lawyer and gets the charges dismissed, and turns the town against the 2 white men that they are mother-beaters and that they've done nothing but insult their town and people since being here.
Harrison and Mary Rose reunite and Mary Rose is pregnant too. Elliott also turns up and apologizes for how he treated her and makes an effort to get to know her brothers now and sees how she was "surrounded by love" and had a good upbringing.
Also didn't mention but there's a side character, Eleanor, who Mary Rose met at boarding school and she comes to live with them at the ranch when she's financially ruined by her dad. She's literally insane and complains nonstop until Harrison and the brothers play a trick on her to get her to stop. Then she finally pitches in to help out. She and Cole seem like they have a thing but nothing comes of it, and when Mary Rose goes to England, Eleanor goes too. She really enjoys English culture and finery and becomes a personal secretary for Mary Rose's aunt. When Mary Rose goes back to America, I think Eleanor stays and we never see her again? Kind of sucks, I wonder what happened to her. I thought she would reunite with Cole.
Spoiler
To Kill a Mockingbird-esque trial.Likes
-The setting of Blue Belle, Montana. It was neat that this took place before it was a state. I liked how the boys and Mary Rose moved her when there was nothing around, the town came after. And the town was named after the whore Blue Belle!
-The premise and plot of a rich English Lord & Lady's daughter being stolen and raised in the American Old West. Like talk about 2 completely different worlds. And then when Mary Rose goes back to England to reunite with her birth family, we really see how different the culture and mannerisms are. It's crazy that the westward expansion happened at the same time as lords & ladies were still a thing in England.
-Loved Harrison as a character. I know some reviewers don't (like the Not Your Mom's Romance Book Club podcast) but if this book didn't have a single logical character in it I couldn't have read it. I liked how he stuck to it, fell in love with Montana and Mary Rose and appreciated different traits of each of the brothers (Adam's debate, Douglas with horses, Travis for his lawyer-like observation skills, and Cole for his... idk his protectiveness?).
Dislikes
-The brothers and Mary Rose acting all quirky and ridiculous. The fact that they practice 4 different religions throughout the year was seriously ridiculous. It was a little hard to believe that they're all so well-read, fluent in French, etc.
-MARY ROSE. AHHHH she's so frustrating and emotional! She has extreme childish tendencies like throwing tantrums basically.
To summarize the book quickly: The 4 boys are living on the streets of NYC when someone throws a baby basket into the garbage. They recover her, name her Mary Rose, and decide to head west to raise her right and because Adam is black and likely wanted for murder. They raise her in Blue Belle, Montana, teaching her French, the piano, and sending her to boarding school in St. Louis where someone recognizes she looks a lot like a dead Lady Agatha, Mary Rose's mother.
Harrison is an English Lord/Viscount/something. His father was ill and they would have been penniless but Mary Rose's father, Elliott, took him in and practically raised him as a son. Harrison feels in his debt and has made it his mission to find his long lost daughter. He hears the St. Louis rumor and tracks her down in Montana. He instantly sees she is the spitting image of her mother, but he's cautious about his motives for why he's there (because he doesn't know if the brothers kidnapped her or what their relationship is), telling the brothers he wants to learn to be a rancher. As he grows close to the family he eventually figures out their story and he reveals he's there because he was searching for her. But he's also fallen for her and they get married.
He goes back to England. Mary Rose stews for a month that he lied to her but she eventually follows. Elliott and all her aunts & uncles aren't sure at first if she's the real deal, there have been pretenders, but her looks are too much like Lady Agatha's. Doctors there tell Elliott that he needs to put a damper on her past so that she can move forward, so he never lets her speak of her brothers or former life. Everyone calls her Victoria instead of Mary Rose. She gets increasingly miserable until the breaking point when Harrison also calls her Victoria while in bed. She goes back to Montana and Harrison immediately follows. Instead of reuniting though the town is in an uproar as Adam is on trial. Two white men claim he murdered their father. The Civil War has been going on and Adam's former owner used to beat his wife and his own mom. One day Adam protected them but the guy fell and killed himself. Adam ran to NY. But the man had 2 sons and they beat their own mom and forced a signed "confession" that Adam killed him. They want Adam to hang. Harrison serves as Adam's lawyer and gets the charges dismissed, and turns the town against the 2 white men that they are mother-beaters and that they've done nothing but insult their town and people since being here.
Harrison and Mary Rose reunite and Mary Rose is pregnant too. Elliott also turns up and apologizes for how he treated her and makes an effort to get to know her brothers now and sees how she was "surrounded by love" and had a good upbringing.
Also didn't mention but there's a side character, Eleanor, who Mary Rose met at boarding school and she comes to live with them at the ranch when she's financially ruined by her dad. She's literally insane and complains nonstop until Harrison and the brothers play a trick on her to get her to stop. Then she finally pitches in to help out. She and Cole seem like they have a thing but nothing comes of it, and when Mary Rose goes to England, Eleanor goes too. She really enjoys English culture and finery and becomes a personal secretary for Mary Rose's aunt. When Mary Rose goes back to America, I think Eleanor stays and we never see her again? Kind of sucks, I wonder what happened to her. I thought she would reunite with Cole.
nadiatrotwood's review against another edition
3.0
This review is also posted and cataloged on my blog, Nadia Reviews.
I read this book after one of my coworkers recommended it to me. Julie Garwood was my introduction to romance literature. I grew up with her Highland paperbacks scattered around the house, cracked and dog-eared. It's been years since I've read her books, but the recommendation of my mother and coworker were enough for me to try this one.
For the Roses is the story of Mary Rose, a baby thrown into an alley in Late Reconstruction New York City. She is adopted by a rag-tag gage of four orphans: Travis, Douglas, Cole, and Adam. All of the boys have their skills and fulfill certain stereotypes. In the novel, the boys move West with her and they form a family. To me, Adam, the runaway slave who committed murder to escape and is the intelligent and soft-spoken patriarch of the family, was the most fascinating.
This novel feels like four stories in one. There is the story of Mary Rose's childhood, her romance with Harrison, her reunion with her father, and Adam's trial. While all of the stories find their own resolution, they do it independently. Garwood could have had at least two of the stories converge, tying the ends together instead of moving from one thread to the next.
Personally, I though Adam's trial was the most engaging section. I would have cut Mary Rose's reunion with her family in favor of more pages spent on the trial and its implications. But, this is a romance novel with some history thrown in, not the other way around. Overall, I found the novel to be mostly readable, with very few cringe-worthy moments. 3/5
Feminist Lens: For a novel published in 1996, Mary Rose is less of a caricature than I expected. She's story, willful, and stubborn. She is treated more like a child than an adult, even ignored by the men surrounding her. But, all of her decisions are her own. There are a few 'rapey' scenes, but it's a bodice-ripper romance.3/5 Not as bad as you could have been
I read this book after one of my coworkers recommended it to me. Julie Garwood was my introduction to romance literature. I grew up with her Highland paperbacks scattered around the house, cracked and dog-eared. It's been years since I've read her books, but the recommendation of my mother and coworker were enough for me to try this one.
For the Roses is the story of Mary Rose, a baby thrown into an alley in Late Reconstruction New York City. She is adopted by a rag-tag gage of four orphans: Travis, Douglas, Cole, and Adam. All of the boys have their skills and fulfill certain stereotypes. In the novel, the boys move West with her and they form a family. To me, Adam, the runaway slave who committed murder to escape and is the intelligent and soft-spoken patriarch of the family, was the most fascinating.
This novel feels like four stories in one. There is the story of Mary Rose's childhood, her romance with Harrison, her reunion with her father, and Adam's trial. While all of the stories find their own resolution, they do it independently. Garwood could have had at least two of the stories converge, tying the ends together instead of moving from one thread to the next.
Personally, I though Adam's trial was the most engaging section. I would have cut Mary Rose's reunion with her family in favor of more pages spent on the trial and its implications. But, this is a romance novel with some history thrown in, not the other way around. Overall, I found the novel to be mostly readable, with very few cringe-worthy moments. 3/5
Feminist Lens: For a novel published in 1996, Mary Rose is less of a caricature than I expected. She's story, willful, and stubborn. She is treated more like a child than an adult, even ignored by the men surrounding her. But, all of her decisions are her own. There are a few 'rapey' scenes, but it's a bodice-ripper romance.3/5 Not as bad as you could have been
nbvanderhyden's review against another edition
DNF at 75%. I honestly couldn't take the multicultural MC narration anymore. Hero is supposed to be Scottish but often, and in the same sentence switches from Scottish to Indian and other various cultures. I just wasn't engaged enough in this PERFECT Heroine to keep me listening to the last 5 hours. Bc yes, you read that right, 5 hours is only 25 % of the book.
theatergeek's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Slavery and Racial slurs
ccgwalt's review against another edition
Romance Lovers book Club pick for June.
There's nothing really wrong with the book, but I couldn't get into it. I just wasn't interested in the characters and the story looks predictable. And I have to say, the characters were all just a little too perfect. Former street rats who are highly educated, play piano, are the "best" at shooting, or horse whispering, or whatever they do seems unlikely. Plus they now own a big ranch. And Mary Rose is the type of heroine that bores me to tears. She's "spunky" and independent, but sweet to everyone including the town curmudgeon. She's a tomboy, but also so beautiful everyone in town comes out to the sidewalk when she passes by. ::gag::
There's nothing really wrong with the book, but I couldn't get into it. I just wasn't interested in the characters and the story looks predictable. And I have to say, the characters were all just a little too perfect. Former street rats who are highly educated, play piano, are the "best" at shooting, or horse whispering, or whatever they do seems unlikely. Plus they now own a big ranch. And Mary Rose is the type of heroine that bores me to tears. She's "spunky" and independent, but sweet to everyone including the town curmudgeon. She's a tomboy, but also so beautiful everyone in town comes out to the sidewalk when she passes by. ::gag::