The Queen of Roses by Julia Kelly ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

Spanning the ballrooms of Pasadena and the sunlit gardens of Altadena, a new novel of love and sacrifice.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

If you loved Julia Kelly's The Last Garden in England, you will want to get her new book. In The Queen of Roses, readers are transported to Pasadena's high society days of the early 1900s. 

I wouldn't truly consider this a dual timeline story, though there are a few moments in the 1960s. Adele Pearce is telling the story of her life to a reporter. The 1960s timeline serves more as a means to move the story forward, like when we get the newspaper clippings of the wedding and honeymoon without Adele having to share every detail. Though even the few characters in the 1960s timeline are immediately endearing.

If you like reading memoirs and biographies, then you will enjoy this book. It is a feel-good story. It is definitely a tale that hooks you and then reels you in with every page turn. I might have cried a little at the end, as I was so attached to the characters by the end. 

Adele spends a good deal of time developing the garden at her Rosewood House, and as such, the reader gets immersed in it as well. Her descriptions made me once again wish for a true garden - if I could only find a gardener instead of the "landscapers" that just mow grass and trim hedges.

I'm kind of sad that the book is over. The story is neatly wrapped up, and we aren't left wondering about the futures of any of the characters, but I still would like to spend more time with the characters.

Buy The Queen of Roses at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of the how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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