Carolina Rose


Fiction - Southern
362 Pages
Reviewed on 06/17/2016
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

Carolina Rose by Rafael Rivera is a family saga. Wilma is bored with life in South Carolina and wants more fun. Heading off with a friend to a local bar, she gets more than she bargained for when she meets a young Marine Corporal called Joe. A short but heady romance leads to disaster, but life must go on. And so it does, in a continuous cycle of tragedy, boredom, and secrets. Rose, Wilma’s daughter, wants more; she wants to break out of the poverty she was born into and take her life in another direction. Unfortunately, it is a direction that will force her to confront her past. Will this reckoning lead to more heartache or redemption?

Carolina Rose by Rafael Rivera is a heartbreaking yet sweet story. It is very involved and is written from two perspectives – Wilma’s and her daughter Rose’s. Each story intertwines neatly with the other in a manner that draws a reader right into it. The emotional range in this story is amazing, from passion, tenderness and love right through to the black end of the scale. The characters were incredibly well developed, written in a natural way and allowing the reader to gradually get to know them – by the end of the book, they are a part of your life. The story is very cleverly woven into a fantastic family saga, much like the Catherine Cookson sagas. I didn’t find it the easiest book to get to grips with but the more I read, the easier it got and the more drawn in I was, to the stage where it simply couldn’t be put down. Great story, highly recommended for anyone who wants a deep and involved read.