The Rose Girls by Victoria Connelly

Thirty-year-old Celeste Hamilton’s life is at a crossroads: she has just left a disastrous marriage, and her estranged mother has recently died, leaving the family’s rose business in jeopardy. Reluctantly, Celeste returns to the family home, a moated manor house in Suffolk, to help her two younger sisters sort out the estate and revive the business. Having endured the fallout from her mother’s Narcissistic Personality Disorder when she was younger, Celeste is filled with self-doubt and crippling insecurities. But she must find the strength and courage to take charge and make some tough decisions to keep the old house from falling down around them.

I have just finished reading The Rose Girls by Victoria Connelly and having previously read this author’s books before I was eager to see what this author had in store for us this time around. This book shows a different side to the authors writing it was a deeper, emotional read this time and reminded me a little of Lisa Jewell’s kind of books which I also enjoy.

The story is set around the three Rose sisters, after their mother dies they are left to make some big decisions and some drastic changes, the family Rose business needs to bring in more money but it can’t come quick enough for the girls as their manor house is in desperate need of repairs. With mixed opinions all thoughts turn to the family paintings, the only thing that can bring them the money they need but can they stand to part with them?

One thing that I always loved in previous books by this author is her Incredibly descriptive writing style and this is taken to another level in this book it felt as though I was walking alongside the various roses and smelling their scent, the author has clearly has a great deal of knowledge when it comes to roses and she has obviously done a lot of research into paints and restoration.

The three sisters are each very different and they all bring something different to the storyline. They are each developed well and they felt like very down to earth women and grew to love them all as the storyline developed. The romance was also very believable and wasn't rushed it was great to sit back and watch things slowly blossom.

This was a charming, gentle read that involves an emotional and difficult topic which was weaved into the storyline with such grace. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend.

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