The Winter Rose

Jennifer Donnelly
707 pages

Reason for Reading: Various Challenges, Interest, Received an ARC from the publisher.

From Amazon:
When India Selwyn Jones, a young woman from a noble family, graduates from the London School of Medicine for Women in 1900, her professors advise her to set up her practice in London's esteemed Harley Street. Driven and idealistic, India chooses to work in the city's East End instead, serving the desperately poor.

In these grim streets, India meets--and saves the life of--London's most notorious gangster, Sid Malone. A hard, wounded man, Malone is the opposite of India's aristocratic fiancé, Freddie Lytton, a rising star in the House of Commons. Though Malone represents all she despises, India finds herself unwillingly drawn ever closer to him, intrigued by his hidden, mysterious past.

My Thoughts:
I read The Tea Rose last year and when I heard that there was a continuation in the series, I couldn't wait to read it.

I was glad to see Fiona and Joe Bristow make a reappearance in this book. After all the angst and drama they suffered through in The Tea Rose, they deserve to be happy. However, their lives are not perfect and they still face challenges.

I liked India Selwyn Jones as the heroine as much as I liked Fiona Finnegan in the first book. Jennifer Donnelly has the ability to make noble heroines without making them annoyingly perfect. They have flaws and often must suffer the consequences of their impulsiveness.

Sid Malone is a great hero. After years of being a victim of circumstance, he takes control of his life and rises to the top. Unfortunately, he rises to the top of a crime ring. Still, his compassion and caring for the people of Whitechapel, who are crippled by abject poverty, is admirable and I liked him a lot.

My only problem came when the setting of the story switches from London to the plains of Africa. It felt a little bit strange to me but that may be because I so enjoyed seeing Sid & India help the people of Whitechapel.

I still enjoyed the story quite a bit. This series is great for lovers of historical fiction. (4/5)