Kearsley (The Winter Sea) beautifully evokes the wild landscapes and history of Cornwall in this pleasant time-travel romance. In the present day, Eva Ward travels to the Cornish coast carrying her sister's ashes, determined to lay her to rest at Treloworth, the estate they summered at as children with the Hallet family. As she reconnects with the Hallets, Eva tries to figure out how to start her life over. Then Eva is transported back to 1715, a time when smuggling was common and hidden Jacobites swarmed the coast. At first she fears she might be hallucinating, but soon she meets and falls in love with widower Daniel Butler, who accepts Eva's time traveling at face value. Kearsley masterfully writes authentic voices for Eva and Daniel as they wrestle with their improbable connection and its implications. (Oct.)
"Kearsley masterfully writes authentic voices for Eva and Daniel as they wrestle with their improbable connection and its implications" — Publishers Weekly
"Like Anya Seton’s Green Darkness and Daphne du Maurier’s House on the Strand, Kearsley brilliantly brings together past and present. 4 1/2 Stars, Top Pick of the Month" — RT Book Reviews
"Kearsley makes the impossible seem real as she weaves a tale full of genuine characters and a strong sense of place and makes history come alive." — Booklist
"A sympathetic woman becomes the heroine of her own fate, both past and present, in this winning romance." — Kirkus Reviews
"Susanna Kearsley’s The Rose Garden is an enthralling and achingly romantic read. Top Pick in Romance." — BookPage
"Susanna Kearsley's latest is an imaginatively captivating trip through time. I found complete hours swallowed whole as I devoured THE ROSE GARDEN." — Fresh Fiction
"Canadian author Susanna Kearsley’s time-travel books have always enthralled me, and The Rose Garden is no exception." — Historical Novels Review
" I highly, highly recommend The Rose Garden (and Kearsley in general, but this is an excellent place to start) to anyone who enjoys a good story with a vivid setting and memorable characters. And if you’re in need of a well-written comfort read, run to your library or bookstore to get your hands on a copy!" — A Striped Arm Chair
"I’m sure I’ll be reading more books by Susanna Kearsley soon – I just need to decide which one to try next!" — She Reads Novels
"This will be going on my top 10 books for sure and I'm keeping my copy to read again!!" — Life in the Thumb
"Overall, The Rose Garden was a wonderfully imaginative tale with true love, time travel, and a fascinating setting." — Laura’s Reviews
"It’s very romantic in a kind of restrained way and unending sense of longing. Beautifully written, The Rose Garden is recommended for fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife, Rebecca, and historical fiction." — The Book Harbinger
"If you're in the mood for a story with a strong sense of place, a cast of wonderful characters, a plot with surprises, time travel and romance, I have just one piece of advice: Seek out The Rose Garden, and when you're done reading it, seek out the rest of Susanna Kearsley's novels." — Kittling: Books
"Kearsley fans will love this to bits" — At Home with A Good Book and the Cat
"It seems I've gotten into the habit of saying this for this author's work; The Rose Garden, by Susanna Kearsley is a must read. And as they say, there's no time like the present...." — Bookishly Attentive
"Overall a magical and heart-moving romance which should appeal to everyone loving romances." — Endlessly Bookish
"if you want a well-written, rich romance with a strong, mature heroine, The Rose Garden is strongly recommended." — The Romance Reader
"There's excitement, adventure, tragedy & romance in The Rose Garden, it's a compelling read." — I Prefer Reading
"So I invite you to come along to a special rose garden on the coast of Cornwall where you never know what might happen. At the least you will have a delightful reading experience lost in the magical world Susanna Kearsley creates." — The Broken Teepee
"I give it five stars!!!" — Celtic Lady’s Reviews
"If you are a fan of Susanna Kearsley's novels, then you already know what to expect in The Rose Garden... lyrical writing... vivid images of nature and the landscape...historical settings... characters that you come to know and really care about...time travel that changes seamlessly from one frame to the next...and a breathtaking and poignant ending. The Rose Garden is no exception." — Books, Belles & Beaux
"Susanna Kearsely is one of my favorite historical fiction writers. She always manages to write books that draw me in from the very first place. This one is no different and it just might be my favorite." — Books Like Breathing
"This is the kind of book you want with you when you curl up in front of a fire with a soft blanket draped over your knees and a mug of hot tea at your side. Or, okay, in my case, a glass of red wine.
This is one of those books where you find yourself absorbing every word rather than merely reading them.
This is the kind of book you never want to end and you'll never forget." — A Writer’s Ramblings
"This one is going on my favorite's list. I enjoyed every scene, conversation, and pictorial description." — Step into My World
"The Rose Garden is part historical, part romance, part historical, and sheer brilliance." — Royal Reviews
"Susanna Kearsley's unique time-travel romances have gained her renown as an author capable of whisking away readers to another time, in another place, in a world real to our imaginations. With the style of a modern day Daphne Du Maurier, Susanna Kearsley writes with a graceful poise blended with just the right amount of mystery and romantic elements. Following in the footsteps of 2010's The Winter Sea, The Rose Garden brings a mystical Cornish tale to life in an unforgettably elegant way." — Suite 101
"This book will keep your attention from the first line to the last. My only complaint, I couldn't put it down, making for a very tired employee at work the following day. Read it. You will fall in love, too." — Write Brained Readers
"As always with Kearsley, the book is rich in atmosphere and location. I wanted to go to Cornwall really badly as I was reading." — Rosario’s Reading Journal
Canadian author Susanna Kearsley's time-travel books have always enthralled me, and The Rose Garden is no exception.
Susanna Kearsley's latest is an imaginatively captivating trip through time. I found complete hours swallowed whole as I devoured THE ROSE GARDEN.
Susanna Kearsley's The Rose Garden is an enthralling and achingly romantic read. Top Pick in Romance
Kearsley makes the impossible seem real as she weaves a tale full of genuine characters and a strong sense of place and makes history come alive.
Like Anya Seton's Green Darkness and Daphne du Maurier's House on the Strand, Kearsley brilliantly brings together past and present. 4 1/2 Stars, Top Pick of the Month
More than the heirloom roses defy time in this romance set on the magical Cornish coast. Eva Ward returns to Trelowarth a broken woman. Bearing the ashes of her beloved sister, she has come back to the centuries-old house where they spent their summers to find her childhood friends, the house's current owners, struggling. In return for room, board and solace, she sets out to help them. Mark, who loved Eva's sister, wants to keep the old house a farm, where he grows rare roses. But Susan, his sister, suspects that the beautiful setting, along with the area's romantic history, would lure tourists to a tea house on the grounds. Eva, a PR expert back in Los Angeles, sets out to help Susan and, researching rumors that the estate was part smuggler's den and part anti-Hanoverian hotbed, seemingly starts dreaming herself back to 1715. Except that upon awakening, she finds herself still wearing the dressing gown the handsome Daniel Butler gave her when she showed up in his bedroom 300 years earlier. As repeated time trips deepen their romance, Eva finds herself swinging back and forth through the centuries, playing a crucial role in the lives of Trelowarth's owners in each era, before deciding where her own heart--and her fate--lie. Kearsley (Mariana, 1995, etc.) has made time travel feasible before, and here she matches it with appropriately flowery but light-handed descriptions of the rugged coast and neat summaries of 18th-century politics. It takes some temporal gymnastics to engineer happy endings for everyone--from the mysterious widow Claire to Eva's present-day suitor Oliver--but these are accomplished with some well-placed "local legends" that presage Eva's own future. Although the neat conclusion stretches credibility a bit, this colorful romance peoples both the past and present with characters worth swooning over. A sympathetic woman becomes the heroine of her own fate, both past and present, in this winning romance.
