Rose Cottage

Rating:
Summary: disappointing plot
Review: I loved Mary Stewart's books during high school and college. Recently I reread her "Nine Coaches Waiting" and it gave me the same thrill as before. But "Rose Cottage" was not up to her ususual standard. It didn't have the same sense of suspense and romance that her earlier books did. It started out suspensefully, but it never managed to sustain that mood. The ending was very much of a let-down because I had anticipated more mystery and there wasn't much of it. I also think it needed more of a drawn-out plot.

Rating:
Summary: Enchanting and cozy
Review: I loved this book. Very few books make me cry nowadays but this one did. I finished it in about a day and when I was close to the end I said to my husband "I want to own this book." It was the perfect blend of coziness, English countryside, suspense, romance, not to mention the fact that it was touching. My mom is more of the Mary Stewart fan than I am, but that may change now. I remember reading her Merlin trilogy years ago and would highly recommend them. So if you want a little escape to a cozy world that isn't too syrupy-sweet, get this book!

Rating:
Summary: Incredible!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. "Rose Cottage" is the first book I have read by Mary Stewart, and I really loved it! I am an avid mystery reader and romantic suspense reader and this had a little of both, not much romance, tough. The main character is Kate or Kathy and she returns to her old childhood home in England called Rose Cottage. Her grandmother has sent her there to retrieve some old keep sakes from a safe Kate never new had existed. Kate arrives there to find the entire safe empty. During this mystery, she meets old friends and comes across new mystries, and most shocking of all the dark secrets from her past and her family. You will enjoy this book! Read it!

Rating:
Summary: Incredible!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. "Rose Cottage" is the first book I have read by Mary Stewart, and I really loved it! I am an avid mystery reader and romantic suspense reader and this had a little of both, not much romance, tough. The main character is Kate or Kathy and she returns to her old childhood home in England called Rose Cottage. Her grandmother has sent her there to retrieve some old keep sakes from a safe Kate never new had existed. Kate arrives there to find the entire safe empty. During this mystery, she meets old friends and comes across new mystries, and most shocking of all the dark secrets from her past and her family. You will enjoy this book! Read it!

Rating:
Summary: Favorite Author
Review: I think I have everything written by Mary Stewart--at least I try. She so vividly pictures everything for the reader that one feels one is right there in that world. I keep watching for any of her books that I might not have and any new ones.

Rating:
Summary: Sweet but tame
Review: I used to be addicted to Mary Stewart's suspense/romance novels (Nine Coaches Waiting, Madam Will you Talk?, My Brother Michael, etc.) back in high school, but I hadn't read one in years. I picked this one up hoping to recapture some of that naive thrill; I was rather disappointed. It was not at all the kind of page-turner I remember reading and rereading and rereading until I had many of the passages memorized. I'm rather perplexed as to why she bothered to write it; it felt more like a prologue than an entire novel.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely lovely
Review: I was engrossed from Chapter 1. It wasn't as dangerously dramatic or violently romantic as her other books (all of which I've enjoyed, so far), but it had drama, it was romantic. The story was beautifully written, realistically conveyed; the plot gracefully woven, not cluttered. All the things we seem to need in our books and films these days, romance, scandal, suspense, deceit, death... were there, and in their place, not exploded to overwhelming proportions. I recognised some of the people she described, most of us have known similar, in our own spheres. Sometimes you want a comfortable read, but nothing too dull... and this is the book for it.

Rating:
Summary: This book was not up to Mary Stwewart's usual quality.
Review: I was so disappointed in this book. While her books are not meant to be profound reads, I've really enjoyed her gift for description, quotes from classic literature, the depth of her characters and how she develops the suspense/romance in the story. This book had only glimpses of Ms. Stewart's wonderful story-telling ability, as was found in some of her previous books including My Brother Michael, The Ivy Tree, This Rough Magic, etc.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting story, but fairly predictable
Review: I'll admit the cover grabbed me and the synopsis made me want to read it, but I didn't get the amount of romance and mystery I expected. I enjoyed it and the story of the past meeting the present was nice, but again the ending was predictable. A light-read. Entertaining, but not thought-provoking.

Rating:
Summary: A good book to just curl up by the fire and read.
Review: I've been hooked on Mary Stewart's books since I read The Ivy Tree, but this book isn't up to her standards. I mean the first part is great, it starts out like her wonderful mysterys, but after 1/2 through it turns for the worst. I give it four stars.