The Rose and The Thistle by Laura Frantz
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Bethany House
Publication Year: 2022
4 Stars
The Rose and the Thistle was a lovely book that took me way back to my old-school reading. I grew up reading classics and literature written most times in the 1800’s or early 1900’s and there is a different way of writing and flavor that the time period brings to those books. This felt the same way.
Description, atmosphere, aesthetic and history all blended together to create a beautiful and stunning novel. Learning that the author’s ancestral history was woven throughout the story made it all that much more enjoyable and gave a taste of realness to the novel.
Blythe was a character I could relate to a lot with her desire to be busy, her fierce strength in her faith and her faithfulness in pursuing her passions. Her desire to get away from the tawdry and useless ways of the world was also something I could sympathize with.
Everard was of course a favorite with a few of my favorite tropes wrapped into his character. A man who loves kids and has a fatherly and protective air over his little brothers and others in his employ? YES PLEASE! He additionally shared a name with one of my favorite characters that I’ve written which just added to the lovableness of his seemingly prickly character.
This novel was RICH. While some of the romance seemed to move swiftly, it also had slow-burn characteristics to it and I loved it. Items of married life were handled tastefully and this is a book that I would not hesitate to recommend as clean. If one has a desire to learn more or read about old Scottish and English history, then this is one you will LOVE having in your library!
Laura Frantz did an impressive job of creating a story that draws you in and fills you with all of that nostalgia for a world that we never got to experience! It was a little slower than I would have liked, but I wasn’t mad about it either as it gave me time to fully digest such a lovely and atmospheric tale.
Content: a few mentions of a married couple having children or wanting children. A moment between a married couple on their wedding night. Nothing graphic, but the moment of them sharing a bed for the first time is mentioned as he holds her and strokes her hair. Another off-screen and tasteful mention of sharing a bed and consummating the marriage covenant.
*This book was given to me free of charge in exchange for my honest review. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own and in no way influenced by the author or publisher.
