*** Review*** Winter Rose by Rachel A. Marks

On the Back of the Book

A dark and haunting tale of a young girl trapped in winter, longing to be free. When Rose and her sister are left to fend for themselves and an ailing mother, they must fight both nature and the darkness of the soul to survive. And perhaps, along the way, they will find the strength to love.

Pre Read Thoughts

I’m choosing this because:

I found this while searching for free books on Kindle. Two things made me stop and click buy 1. The cover. Let’s be honest, it’s stunning but more on that later. 2. The synopsis. It intrigued me and you know what happens when I get intrigued, I end up buying and that doesn’t always go well. Hopefully this will.

Judging a book by its cover:

I just touched upon the cover. I think it’s beautiful. The simplicity is what makes it special. The girl staring over her shoulder with a haunted expression draws you in. The black and white makes you feel the bleakness of the story just from one look and the touch of pink on the “R”, I swear it’s one of those covers I could stare at all day.

Pricing the (possible) awesomeness:

Well I got this for free; I’m good at finding freebies. The price of it now though is £1.98, which still isn’t bad when you think about it. Paperbacks are way more! So yes, after you’ve read my review you can go buy it... maybe.

Post Read Thoughts

Wow, this as an incredible story. I was immediately drawn into the story and felt the desperation that Rose and Becca must’ve felt. In my opinion this novella is beautifully written and it felt achingly real to me, it was haunting. I’m actually having trouble describing how much I truly loved this. The only thing I needed more of was the story. I could’ve read the story forever. I really was immensely disappointed when I reached the end.

Rose – Rose is such a brave character and I admired her so very much. She’d been through a lot so I didn’t blame her when she did finally snap. I think anyone would’ve. I really enjoyed being a part of the experience of her walls coming down, as the realisation that not every guy was like the ones she’d encountered in her life.

Becca – Becca is such a sweet girl and she wants to make it better for her sister but she wasn’t sure how to do that. I love how she didn’t judge Rose, and allowed her the chance to overcome her demons in her own way.

Luke – I can’t explain Luke’s entrance but I love how he waited for Rose, even though she thought he was in love with her sister. I’m glad that he didn’t force himself on Rose and found a way to help her overcome her demons.

Overall this is a stunning novella. I wish that it was a full length novel because then there could have been even more depth to the story and the characters. It’s beautiful and haunting and I loved the way it was written. I’ve fallen so completely in love with it that I can’t fault a single thing.

My Rating

5 stars – This is perfection for me, I cannot tell you how much I adore it. I recommend this to everyone. Just so long as you don’t mind a bit of violence. I can’t say what the violence is though – I try not to use spoilers in my reviews.

A Final Note

I originally wrote this review in 2012 and have just found it in my book of lost reviews.  So this is what I felt after reading this book and I haven’t re-read it so we’ll all have to take 20 year old me’s word on its quality.