Rose House
Random House, Inc / 2009 / Paperback
Number of Pages: 336
ISBN-13: 9781400073597
Book Summary
A vivid story of a private grief, a secret painting, and one woman’s search for hope.
Still mourning the loss of her family in a tragic accident, Lillian Diamon finds herself drawn back to the Rose House, a quiet cottage where four years earlier she had poured out her anguish among its fragrant blossoms.
She returns to the rolling hills and lush vineyards of the Sonoma Valley in search of something she can’t quite name. But then Lillian stumbles onto an unexpected discovery: displayed in the La Rosaleda Gallery is a painting that captures every detail of her most private moment of misery, from the sorrow etched across her face to the sandals on her feet.
What kind of artist would dare to intrude on such a personal scene, and how did he happen to witness Lillian’s pain? As the mystery surrounding the portrait becomes entangled with the accident that claimed the lives of her husband and children, Lillian is forced to rethink her assumptions about what really happened that day.
A captivating novel rich with detail, Rose House explores how the brushstrokes of pain can illuminate the true beauty of life.
My Review
I'd like to take a moment to thank Ashley at Random House for sending me my copy of Tina's book. You can learn more about Multnomah Books, a division of Random House at Randomhouse.com. To learn more about Rose House or to purchase the book click on the title.
Like Tina's first book, Ruby Among Us, I was drawn into the beauty of the landscape. We meet Lillian as she is at Rose House and is grieving the loss of her family. In the moment of her grief spilling out, someone is watching her as well as photographing her. She senses she's being watched and leaves quickly.
Forward four years and Lillian is still trying to work through her grief. She is at an art store and sees a painting of Rose House with a woman sitting next to it that looks strangely like herself. It sends her back to La Rosalida in search of the artist.
In the meantime, her ne'er-do-well sister, Geena is being threatened in a phone call and takes off to find her sister, whom she had betrayed. Will she be able to convince Lillian that someone is watching both of them again? Does she know more about the death of Lillian's family than she's letting on?
When Lillian visits La Rosalida she meets a wonderful group of ladies who are taken with her and with the fact someone painted her. They all try and figure out who could've painted her. I really liked that she was forced to open her life up to these women. I got the distinct feeling Lillian wasn't close to anyone and really had no friends. These ladies came alongside her and pulled her out of her grief.
Then we meet Truman. He's an artist who is beloved by the people in town. He has his own history of pain, but also an air of mystery. Tina created Tru to be mysterious enough for us to question his motives of getting to know Lillian. Does he have something to hide? As much as you want him to really care for her, you have this nagging feeling that he might not be on the up and up, regardless of all the ladies Lillian gets to know saying he's a wonderful man. Will she find out in time if he can be trusted?
About the Author
Tina Ann Forkner is the author of Ruby Among Us. Originally from Oklahoma, she now lives with her husband and three children in Wyoming, where she serves on the Laramie County Library Foundation’s board of directors.
A vivid story of a private grief, a secret painting, and one woman’s search for hope.
Still mourning the loss of her family in a tragic accident, Lillian Diamon finds herself drawn back to the Rose House, a quiet cottage where four years earlier she had poured out her anguish among its fragrant blossoms.
She returns to the rolling hills and lush vineyards of the Sonoma Valley in search of something she can’t quite name. But then Lillian stumbles onto an unexpected discovery: displayed in the La Rosaleda Gallery is a painting that captures every detail of her most private moment of misery, from the sorrow etched across her face to the sandals on her feet.
What kind of artist would dare to intrude on such a personal scene, and how did he happen to witness Lillian’s pain? As the mystery surrounding the portrait becomes entangled with the accident that claimed the lives of her husband and children, Lillian is forced to rethink her assumptions about what really happened that day.
A captivating novel rich with detail, Rose House explores how the brushstrokes of pain can illuminate the true beauty of life.
My Review
I'd like to take a moment to thank Ashley at Random House for sending me my copy of Tina's book. You can learn more about Multnomah Books, a division of Random House at Randomhouse.com. To learn more about Rose House or to purchase the book click on the title.
Like Tina's first book, Ruby Among Us, I was drawn into the beauty of the landscape. We meet Lillian as she is at Rose House and is grieving the loss of her family. In the moment of her grief spilling out, someone is watching her as well as photographing her. She senses she's being watched and leaves quickly.
Forward four years and Lillian is still trying to work through her grief. She is at an art store and sees a painting of Rose House with a woman sitting next to it that looks strangely like herself. It sends her back to La Rosalida in search of the artist.
In the meantime, her ne'er-do-well sister, Geena is being threatened in a phone call and takes off to find her sister, whom she had betrayed. Will she be able to convince Lillian that someone is watching both of them again? Does she know more about the death of Lillian's family than she's letting on?
When Lillian visits La Rosalida she meets a wonderful group of ladies who are taken with her and with the fact someone painted her. They all try and figure out who could've painted her. I really liked that she was forced to open her life up to these women. I got the distinct feeling Lillian wasn't close to anyone and really had no friends. These ladies came alongside her and pulled her out of her grief.
Then we meet Truman. He's an artist who is beloved by the people in town. He has his own history of pain, but also an air of mystery. Tina created Tru to be mysterious enough for us to question his motives of getting to know Lillian. Does he have something to hide? As much as you want him to really care for her, you have this nagging feeling that he might not be on the up and up, regardless of all the ladies Lillian gets to know saying he's a wonderful man. Will she find out in time if he can be trusted?
About the Author
Tina Ann Forkner is the author of Ruby Among Us. Originally from Oklahoma, she now lives with her husband and three children in Wyoming, where she serves on the Laramie County Library Foundation’s board of directors.
To win Rose House, let me know if you've ever seen a vacation spot in a picture, in a commercial, or in some other advertisement and decided to visit. Was it like you expected from the ad?
I've never had the chance to do something like that. When I'm at doctor's offices I love looking at the travel magazines because that's about as close as I'll ever get to being at that specific destination. :)
As usual, leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win. No email means no entry, sorry. Contest open to US residents. Giveaway will run thru Sept 4.
5 comments:
Such a kind review. Thank you so much, Mimi. :-)
This is an interesting question. Does Disneyland count? I did see some pictures from Space Camp and knew that this kind of adventure would be right up my alley. Then I was blessed to be selected as a Honeywell Space Educator and got to go to the Space Academy for Teachers. It was even more than I expected. I was living a dream while I was there.
Thank you,
Christine
womackcm at sbcglobal dot net
I went on a cruise once and i loved it. Put my name in the giveway.
Thanks,
Sherry D.
heelfan91@att.net
I've never seen a vacation spot in some sort of media and then decided to visit. I have been to certain tourist attractions like museums and the like based on what i've seen in pictures though.
andie.v107(at)yahoo(dot)com
I never have gone any place that I can think of based on an ad or commercial. I kind of have an idea of where I want to go ahead of time and research hotels, etc. way ahead of time. Not into spur of the moment trips now that I have two kids under the age of 7.
Would love to be added into the drawing for the book. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
cherierj(at)yahoo(dot)com
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