Today, I will be
reviewing Rose by Another Name by Melanie Thurlow.
Here's the synopsis:
“Her worth decided
over a game of cards, Lady Rosalyn Hayes has accepted her future. She
will marry a duke she doesn’t know to protect her sisters’
reputations. But when a year of preparation for her debut vanishes in
the blink of an eye, Rose flees her gilded cage in search of
unrestrained adventure.
Lord Robert Phillip
Clarence, Duke of Brighton, lives a life of debauchery far from his
country estate, and even farther from the lady he must marry in order
to restore his family’s ancestral lands. But when he is summoned
home to meet his future wife, he realizes he hasn’t lived at all.
Rose and Robert do
not meet when their eyes lock across a ballroom swathed in
candlelight. They do not meet amid fine clothes, genteel manners,
debonair charm, and chaperones. They meet, alone, upon Rose’s near
death. It is this near-death experience that catapults the two
nobles, disguised as servants, towards a romance that seems destined
for failure.
They think they know
each other. But when their true identities are revealed at a house
party, will they live happily ever after or will the ton be shocked
to see a lady run?”
My rating: *****
Even though I don't
read them a lot, I love a good historical fiction. Rose by Another
Name is the first regency historical romance that I've read, so I
personally don't have a lot of books that I can compare it to in this
genre.
I will say that the
story had a bit of a slow start, which wasn't necessarily a bad
thing. It's good, because it gave the story time to immerse the
reader into the world of the story. It also helped the reader to
learn more about Rose and Robert and see their romance unfold. The
one downside to a slow start is that it took me a little longer to
really get into the story.
But once I did get
into the story, I kept looking forward to seeing what would happen
next.
I loved the
characters of Rose and Robert. They were interesting and intriguing,
and had great chemistry with each other. From the moment they met, I
was looking forward to when they would realize who the other was. I
was rooting for them to be together and to live happily ever after.
Something I felt Rose really deserved, because she does not have an
easy life.
I thought I knew
exactly where this story was going and how it was going to end.
Boy was I wrong.
I have to give
Melanie Thurlow some major credit, because she provided a twist that
I did not see coming and ended this story in a way that I wouldn't
have expected from a historical romance.
This is the first
book in a series and I look forward to seeing what will happen with
Rose in the next book. If you're looking for a regency novel to read,
I would recommend checking this book out!
