This is my idea of romance. Time travel, fantastic historical detail, a slow burn of a relationship that felt genuine and sweet, smugglers, a historic home in Cornwall, and a glorious garden. A perfect read for those who like Jane Austen-style romance, British history, and a touch of time-traveling magic. Reminds me very much of an old novel by Mark Luke called The Nonsuch Lure. If you liked this book, you might enjoy that one as well.

Ahhh..what a concept! This will go down as one of my all time favourite. I must admit that in the beginning I found a couple of the characters annoying but it soon had me hooked. The style of narration in the book is totally captivating. While reading I got lost in the world of this beautiful novel that combines of historical fiction, romance, time travel and just a touch of the supernatural. There's a lot of twists that I didn't see coming. And I enjoyed every minute of it.

The moment I realized this novel was set in Cornwall, I was halfway to loving it already. Then it had that du Maurier flavor, the atmosphere of Jamaica Inn and the mystery element, the historical setting and charming gentleman that put me in mind of Winston Graham’s Poldark, with the addition of a well-conceived and executed time-travel angle. What’s not to like? My only regret is that I let it languish on my bookshelf for over a year.There was something about this remote western corner of Brita...

I really like Susanna Kearsley's writing. I loved the descriptions of Cornwall, England in the beginning of this book. I could envision it so clearly in my mind.

The story started off quite nicely for me but I found it to be rather slow in the middle. Not much happened and I found it sort of wandered to nowhere for a bit. The ending picked up and the twist was a nice one!

A Good Yarn
The tale is a good yarn, primarily along the romantic side with touches of historical data incorporated throughout. The author provides a substantial amount of detail about the main characters which makes them all the more realistic. Although I found it a bit slow at the beginning, I soon began to enjoy the colourful characters and found it flowed along nicely. If you have never read a S. Kearsley’s book then I highly recommend “Mariana” as a first pick which was superb.

I find it difficult to rate this novel. On one hand, I was sufficiently engaged by the narrative and the characters to read it in two or three sittings. On the other hand, it requires a massive suspension of disbelief, which at times I found difficult to sustain. The heroine is Eva Ward, who after the death of her much loved sister, travels from the United States to Cornwall to scatter her sister's ashes near Trelowarth House, where she and her sister spent their childhood summers. Family friend...

To me, a good time travel yarn must possess a certain amount of plausibility. I found this vital element seriously lacking in "The Rose Garden." Daniel and Fergal should have been shocked by a woman from the future suddenly appearing out of thin air; e.g., they should have been questioning her about her strange appearance, what time period she came from, what it was like in the future; etc., etc. Instead, they're pretty much blasé about this mysterious phantom woman. Fergal is a little taken aba...

I find it interesting that Susanna Kearsley's books are compared to works by Daphne du Maurier, Mary Stewart, and Diana Gabaldon, some of my favorite authors. Kearsley certainly has du Maurier's talent for sense of place and Stewart's mix of romance and suspense, however I'm not so sold on the Gabaldon comparison though both do deal with time-travel. Gabladon's books are dense and history-heavy (something I happen to love) and while this may be historical fiction it's of a much lighter variety. ...

Re-read January, 2014 with Jeannette and Diane Lynn:Actually a better read the second time around, as I was able to watch for the myriad clues Kearsley had laid down throughout the storyline that culminated in her cool twist at the end. Great story; warm and wonderful characters. I cried again this time around, which is always a bonus feature :DOriginal Review:How does she do it?No, seriously, how does Susanna Kearsley manage to engage me, move me to tears and surprise me time and time again wit...

3.5 stars out of 5I keep seeing it everywhere... "If you enjoyed Outlander, you'll love The Rose Garden" Ok...me, me, me!!!I loved Outlander and the entire Outlander series. So, that means I'll love this book right?Wrong. I didn't LOVE it. I liked it. It was good but not outstanding (the way Outlander was). It was interesting but not interesting enough to warrant the comparison to Outlander.Hold up, don't get me wrong here.This book was good. I thought the beginning was excellent. I thought the ...