Cover Image: The Poppy and the Rose

The Poppy and the Rose

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This split time Young Adult story takes the reader onboard the Titanic's fateful voyage and to present-day United Kingdom. I found the historical story more engrossing with its more prominent elements of intrigue and romance. The contemporary story echoes those elements and similar themes, and it all ties together well at the end.

An interesting subplot involves Spiritualism and occultism and the dangers therein. Their treatment seemed blasé at first, but, in the end, their place in life is made clear amidst the fate of the characters.

The Titanic story never gets old and the setting is rich with drama and meaning. Despite that, the characters didn't grab me until well into the story, and then mainly the historical ones - Ava and Caleb. There was an unexpected twist near the end that helped things fall into place, and that was a nice surprise. Additionally, there are quite a few insightful gems mixed in the dialogue that bear re-reading and contemplation. And that cover - just lovely!

Was this review helpful?

I love dual storylines but feel that the "perfect for fans of XYZ" was misleading. This was also fairly onesided as it seemed to overlap a lot.

Was this review helpful?

Loved the past meets present merging of storyline concept. Written from the POV of two heroines from different timelines, the cursed titanic voyage plus a deceitful family story are intertwined beautifully!
A lovely read!

Was this review helpful?

Such an interesting concept for a book. I loved the alternating POVs and perspectives as you switched back and forth the Titanic and present-day Oxford. This was a fun read. Would recommend.

Was this review helpful?

Just couldn't get thru this one. The synopsis really got me, love a good YA mystery, but I didn't connect with the main characters, so the book became boring. Maybe I'm too old for it or is just too different of what I wanna read in the momment.

Was this review helpful?

"The past must be shared because we never truly get past it, now do we? No, some memories linger like radiation. They remain eternally present. The journalistic aspirations you described so well in your scholarship application assured me this is a sentiment you understand."

This juicy historical fiction novel tells the tale of Taylor Romano and Ava Knight, two young women separated by time and circumstance, yet inextricably linked. Part mystery, part historical fiction, part adventure, The Poppy & The Rose juxtaposes the ill-fated journey of the Titanic with Taylor's quest to discover a mystery woman that her father visited in England prior to his death. As with any good mystery, the road to understanding is a long and winding one, giving you, the reader, time to get to know both Ava & Taylor before reaching its inevitable conclusion.

A great read for middle grades and up.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

Was this review helpful?

Family secrets, treasure hunts, a very suspicious death, creepy old houses, a woman with clairvoyant abilities, the Titanic and a stunning cover. This story had every ingredient for awesomeness but, unfortunately, it didn’t deliver what I expected it to.

Was this review helpful?

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our library collection on preorder and will recommend it to students.

Was this review helpful?

The synopsis of this book is really interesting. The thing is that I couldn't bring myself to continue with this. I read about 1/4 of the book before giving up. I just couldn't do it anymore and felt bored reading it. From the part that I read, the story wasn't bad.

Was this review helpful?

This book was a DNF for me. I was truly excited about this one but I just could not get into it, I was only able to make it about 15% before deciding it just was not for me.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I read the synopsis of this book and didn’t hesitate to select the “read now” option on NetGalley. I was hooked from the beginning. I loved that this story was written in two timelines. I loved that it was written around the Titanic. About halfway through my interest started wavering and I was able to predict a few things. I wish there would have been more character development. This book has potential but fell flat.

Was this review helpful?

First things first, I was COMPLETELY biased when I got the approval for this,. Mainly because my name is Ashlee and the author's name is Ashlee (hi fellow Ashlee!) But if it's bad, it's bad and I'm gonna tell ya. This book is a mixture of my two favorite things. History and Mystery. As we follow Ava and Taylor, I couldn't help but be on the edge of my seat the entire time. This book was read in record time! For me? Two days (I gotta sleep now!). I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the Titanic or just wants some good old fashion mysterious atmosphere as they ready for bed.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. This is such a great premise for a book. It is told in 2 timelines and that was well done. It grabbed me in the beginning but somewhere along the way, it lost that excitement. It tied together nicely but by that point, I really didn't care too much

Was this review helpful?

I'm very late with this review but this was a very enjoyable story that pulled me in from the start. I'm not a big fan of alternating storylines but this one worked for me especially once the connections fell into place. Recommended.

Was this review helpful?

Initially I was very enticed by this book's cover and blurb, and was extremely excited to dive into the world. Unfortunately the romance and characters fell flat and I did not enjoy the book as much as I expected to. That being said it was an easy to read book and it flowed well and I enjoyed the writing style.
Thank you to Net-Galley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I received this book free from Netgalley and Owl Hollow Press in exchange for an honest review.

Okay initially this cover sucked me in it’s beautiful. Then I read Titanic and I was sold! Done deal! I loved the duel histories and perspectives. I really enjoyed the whole story and I liked that it had a bit of mystery too it, nothing to crazy but just enough.
I would definitely recommend this book to others.

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately, I've found this book absolutely not as engaging as I've hoped after reading the blurb. The romance felt blank, the supernatural part wasn't developed enough, and one of the narrators was just there to read the memoirs of the second and pine after a boy.

Was this review helpful?

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ever since I saw The Poppy & the Rose was a book that really intrigued me. Mostly because of the cover and the title but once I read the synopsis - I was basically hooked and wanted to dive into the book.

In it, you will meet Ava and Taylor. They are living in different timelines and have pretty different lives. Sometimes the dual timelines works for me but this one seemed a bit odd because nothing was really meshing with me. I mean, the characters themselves were pretty interesting and entertaining at times. Plus getting to see someone on the actual Titanic is pretty cool. Yet, these two didn't have much in common so it was hard to connect with them at times.

Out of the two, I actually enjoyed Ava's parts a lot more than Taylor's. It wasn't hard to fall for her parts because of knowing the Titanic pretty well. At one point, Taylor does become a bit more interesting than she originally was but that was near the ending of the book. So long story short, her parts definitely dragged for me and I found myself just wanting to skim them at times.

In the end, it was still an interesting book but it would have been nice to have both parts being equally intriguing and entertaining for me.

Was this review helpful?

DNF at 20%
I just lost interest in this book and didn't want to pick it back up. I didn't connect o the characters or the story and found the book confusing at the beginning.

Was this review helpful?