The Wild Rose

I've been busy this past week reading a book that I just could not put down. I had been anxiously waiting for The Wild Rose, the third book of the Rose Trilogy by Jennifer Donnelly, to appear in a nicely wrapped Amazon box at my front door. When it finally got here, I had to resist tearing into the box and reading right then and there.

The Wild Rose @ Amazon.com

Let me just say, I actually read the book slower so it wouldn't end. That's how much I loved it. Below is the description of the book, which you can also find here.

London, 1914. World War I looms on the horizon, women are fighting for the right to vote, and explorers are pushing the limits of endurance in the most forbidding corners of the earth. In this volatile time lives three exceptional people:

• Willa Alden, a passionate mountain climber who lost her leg while summiting Kilimanjaro with Seamus Finnegan, and who will never forgive him for saving her life.

•  Seamus Finnegan, a polar explorer who tries to forget Willa as he courts a beautiful young school teacher back home in England.

•  Max von Brandt, a handsome German sophisticate who moves in high society London, but has a secret agenda. 

Seamus Finnegan and Max von Brandt both loved Willa Alden, and both men lost her. Neither expects to ever see her again, but when a catastrophic event calls Willa home to London, expectations are smashed, promises broken, and none of the three will ever be the same. As the last golden days of the Summer of 1914 give way to the gathering clouds of war, Willa, Seamus, and Max find their lives forever intertwined in a lethal web of forbidden loves, hidden loyalties, and dangerous lies.  

The Wild Rose is part of the sweeping, multi-generational saga that began with The Tea Rose and continued with The Winter Rose. Many beloved characters from both books continue their adventures in  The Wild Rose. With myriad twists and turns, thrilling cliffhangers, and fabulous period detail and atmosphere, The Wild Rose provides a highly satisfying conclusion to an unforgettable trilogy. 

I've read and throughly enjoyed all of Jennifer Donnelly's novels and this one is no exception. Even though The WIld Rose is part of a trilogy, Ms. Donnelly does such a great job at incorporating the background of the main characters that you don't need to read them all in 
order. I actually stumbled upon The Winter Rose, the second book of the trilogy, at my local library and read that one first. I didn't even know it was part of a trilogy until I looked to see what other books Ms. Donnelly wrote. 


This novel was an action packed adventure from start to finish. Even though the book may look a bit intimating to read (all 600 pages of it), the uncertainties and thrills each character encounters will not let you put this book down.