Intense. But in a good way. This was an amazingly romantic story, honest and heartbreaking, and it kept me riveted from page one.
Stephen, the Duke of Ashburton, has three months to live, six on the outside. After receiving the news, he fills two saddle bags with supplies and takes off alone to come to terms with his mortality. He might only have been gone a week, but when he saves the life of a boy who might have drowned into the river, he becomes a part of the boy’s family — a traveling theater troupe. He particularly stays for Rosalind, a foundling child rescued by Thomas and Maria Fitzgerald when she was 3 years old, roaming the streets of London. Now she’s 28, longs for a home of her own (as much as she loves her family, she is really no actress), and here is Stephen — clearly a nobleman, but hiding from something.
I did guess part of the ending — though I was pleasantly surprised to learn the why of it. But even if I had guessed at the whole thing, Stephen’s pain was real….both physical and emotional. He was dying, and he didn’t know how to deal with that. Neither did Rosalind, when she learned the truth.
I thought this was an utterly amazing romance novel. Don’t read it if you’re in the mood for something light and fluffy, but do read it if you’re looking for raw emotion and powerful themes — life, death, love, and forgiveness.
Rating: 5/5
Title: One Perfect Rose
Author: Mary Jo Putney
ISBN: 0449000184
Published June 1, 1998