The Silver Rose

Although I enjoyed the book overall, I liked it less than the other two in the trilogy. The plot seemed to ramble and I started skimming. And I got impatient with the long separations of the H/H. The ending finally came together and was very exciting. The book takes place 10 years after the end of The Courtesan and tells Miri (the youngest Cheney sister) and Simon's story. Was it my imagination or did it seem like there were some unanswered questions making me think there is another book in the series. (Grade: B-)

This was an interesting story! I’m glad to see a new threat introduced besides The Dark Queen herself. It’s also nice to see Miri finally ‘grown up’ and I enjoyed watching her character develop throughout the three novels. She still maintains a bit of her naivete, yet most of it is gone because of what went on between her and Simon in the previous book.

I was so glad to see Martin Le Loup was back for this book! I loved him as the comic relief, and he gets even more comical when he squares off with Simon. The pace of the novel was good and the mystery behind The Silver Rose was also well done. I was hoping to see the return of the older two Cheney sisters, but it seems Miri is just the main feature for this book. The plot has a show more more paranormal magical feel to it, it’s still in a historical setting, but you don’t really see famous royalty as much as before. I suppose the book was to take a break from the usual setting, to give the series a good break and to try something new. It’s good because not only does the plot take a turn for the more interesting, but a new setting is nice to see.

I liked seeing Miri and Simon together. There is a lot of tension and passion between the two of them. The reader does not feel that much intensity between Miri and Martin but they’re also nice together as well. It’s hard to choose between Martin and Simon as they both have their good qualities, but it just seems Martin is the more fun of the two men. His charm and his ability to get a laugh or a smile from the reader just seems to come naturally.

There was only one thing I did not like: there was a love scene, but what annoys me is during that particular point in the book the characters were being followed with the intent to kill or harm. Yet the couple in question feel it’s all right to take the time to do the deed. This is what I can’t stand. Really? couples do that? when they’re in danger they feel the need to do the horizontal dance and not care there’s a band of men ready to kill them? why? is that necessary? we already know they’re in love what’s the point?! it just annoyed me and I don’t like seeing this in novels I’m reading. To me, this does not make sense. All this aside though, I did enjoy reading this book. The ending opens more possibilities for future books which I will pursue. I have become too attached to the characters to just give up (plus, I’d really like to know what’s in store for Le Loup!)

It’s a great book and written with the same quality of writing as the other two, so fans will not be disappointed. Those just getting started would also enjoy reading this although it would help at least reading The Courtesan. Characters from the previous book are carried over to this one. show less

Okay, so I've read so many reviews were people say that this installment of Susan Carroll's fantasyish/historical fiction DARK QUEEN series is their favorite. So maybe I entered with too-high hopes, because while I did enjoy it, I still liked the first book the best. The whole witch/witch-hunter relationship certainly was interesting, but I still would choose Renard over Simon anyday. This book in particular just seemed a little too "wordy." I mean, characters would just go into paragraph-long emotional revelations (in their heads, most of the time) that became extremely repetitive over the 500 -page-course of events. At times, the dialogue would be so "emotional," it would come across as super-sappy. I'm sorry, but if two people are show more like making out--they're not going to be TALKING so much!!! I busted out laughing quite frequently with this book, that's for sure! It's funny, but also over-the-top, just *how* in-touch Simon seems to be with his feelings--now I'm not saying that men in books should have the emotional capacity of a brick, but when they say things like, "Ever since I was a boy, blah blah blah blah," it makes them seem very unrealistic! Like I said, I do like Simon and Miri and think they are cute together, but at times I thought that there were contradictions in their characterization. Either a character is "innocent" (a word Carroll really likes to use, but doesnt seem to know the definition of), or they're not, so make up your mind! But I will say that I liked the two of them together--their relationship seems natural, and they relate to each other really well (if not too well). There's not as much "history" in this book as The Dark Queen, but overall that wasnt too much of a loss. Catherine de Medici only has about 2 or 3 scenes in this book, and the climax doesnt revolve around a major historical event like in the first book. And Ariane and Gabrielle - while seen in flashbacks and referred to frequently - dont make an actual appearance. I just thought I'd throw that out there. Rather, a lot of characters from the previous book The Courtesan (which I have NOT read) are carried over into this book. Again, one thing I like about this series is the ability of each of the books to stand on their own: there's enough recap to make the reader aware of events from previous books without feeling lost or confused. I certainly never felt confused about characters or events, but I never felt like Carroll was getting redundant, either, so she did that well :D So yes, I "really liked it." I liked The Dark Queen better, but this was enjoyable nonetheless! show less

Apparently, this was the third in a series; I didn't realize it until I had already started the book, so I continued on with the hope that the author wrote well enough that this book would stand alone without the previous books. And I wasn't let down. The important details from the previous books are scattered throughout the novel in such a way that I didn't feel like I was missing important parts of Miri's background, and there wasn't so much that had I read the other books I would have felt like it was just the retelling of the same stories again.

Even though this is a typical historical romance, with a broken, tough guy as the hero and a fix-everything good girl playing the heroine, I really enjoyed this book. In this case, the broken show more man is a remorseful witch-hunter with a sad past and the good girl is technically a witch. I liked the twist of the Silver Rose's true identity, although it was revealed so early in the book that it didn't feel like a surprise when the main characters discovered her identity. show less

The is the final book in the Cheney sisters trilogy. Miri's story was great. I wish the author would have brought the other sisters into this one though. I thought I knew who the Silver Rose was at the beginning of the book but, the author threw me a curve ball. Excellent romance/historical fiction!

I enjoyed the first 2 in the series but this book seemed to fall flat for me. I probably should have taken a break between them instead of reading them in a row, but Miri's story just seemed too predictable. This was only ok.

Not as good as the other two books in the series, but does wrap things up nicely.