I loved The Poppy and the Rose. The cover drew me and the storyline kept me. I loved the mystery, that it is told from two points of view. The setting of a creepy, old house, the addition of a mysterious old woman, accompanied by a long lost family journal make this a delicious read. I really enjoyed the historical aspect in the book. I definitely recommend it.

Thank you to Ashlee Cowles, Owl Hollow Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book has it all: a gorgeous cover, 2 pov's, the creepy setting and an historical mystery.
I read this book in one sitting and I was left with a feeling of wanting more! It's just that good!

I cannot wait what Ashlee Cowles writes next!

I loved The Poppy and the Rose. I loved the mystery, being told in 2 voices, the creepy old house, mysterious old lady, long lost family ,journal, and the historical aspect. This book reads quickly, and I wanted to keep reading.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of The Poppy and the Rose.

I don't read much YA fiction anymore but the premise was so intriguing, I was excited when my request was approved.

Told in dual POVs set in the past and present, Taylor and Ava are teenagers who couldn't be more different yet similar.

When Taylor's father dies in Afghanistan, a search through his belongings yield a mysterious photograph with him and a woman who is not Taylor's mother. An opportunity to study in Oxford on a scholarship brings Taylor closer to discovering the truth behind her lineage and facing the loss of a parent she sorely misses.

In 1914, Ava is a respectable, cultured and wealthy young lady whose path in life has already been carved out in front of her: marry well.

But, her journey on the Titanic to New York will alter the course of her life in ways she could never have imagined.

First, I loved the setting of the Titanic and the discussion between social class, hierarchies and status. Yes, I pictured Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio as I was reading, but it couldn't be helped.

I also loved the supernatural elements, the concept of space and time, and would have loved more elaboration and discussion about these themes.

Second, I didn't like Taylor or Ava; both had Freudian issues about their fathers and the constant harping and fawning over their fathers was irritating.

I understand Taylor and her father were close and spent a lot of time together, but Ava and her father were never close (she mentions it often enough) so I surmise she relied on him since her mother was an addict.

Ava's POV of the story was far more engaging and compelling; Taylor was a passive character. She speaks regularly about investigative journalism but she doesn't really do any investigating.

She spends 90% of the narrative reading Ava's memoir. She is a passive observer, for the most part.

There wasn't a twist I didn't see coming, and there was one 'revelation' that turned out to be an all too often used literary device I'm not fond of.

Overall, the writing was good, and Ava's perspective was interesting, as was the supernatural themes.

You had me at Titanic. It was a very enjoyable read, I really liked the dual POV. It had beautiful writing. Overall a good book.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and was immediately stricken by the beautiful cover and the captivating title. This is my first ARC review (even though the book came out already). I found this book slow to read at times but that was most likely because I am not their target reader.
Ava is an English aristocrat on board the Titanic in 1912 with her father. Taylor is at Oxford doing a summer program and grieving her father’s death in 2010.
I was much more intrigued and enthralled in Ava’s storyline than Taylor’s and probably would’ve been more invested if it was only told from Ava’s perspective. I am always interested in the Titanic and it was clear that a lot of research went into this book. There were also some supernatural elements that were unique and made for an interesting story. As I said, I am definitely not the target audience for this book: I read YA romance and contemporary not a lot of historical fiction/supernatural mystery. If you are into those genres I definitely suggest this book!
BIG Thank you to NetGalley and Owl Hollow Press for the opportunity to read and review!

Thanks to Owl Hollow Press for ARC!

This book tells the story of Taylor Romano, a girl searching for answers about her past.
She sees a woman (who's not her mother) holding her father in a picture. So she wonders: who's she? Where were they? What happened? Did he have another family?

Back in 1912, Ava Knight, a young English aristocrat, boarded the Titanic. She met some incredible people there, and her life was changed forever. Now, in 2010, Taylor needs to read this story in order to know her own.

It was a good read!! I really like stories that take place on ships, especially the Titanic. It's the kind of book you might think you already know the ending, but you'll probably be surprised. I certainly was!

The Poppy and the Rose is the time-bending tale of two young women seeking answers about their fathers. One woman, Ava, boards the Titanic and is immediately swept up into a mysterious plot that brings her to cross paths with several alluring characters. The other, Taylor, has traveled to present-day England to track down the location of a photo that surfaced of her late father, when on her arrival she is approached by a peculiar old woman. In the end, the women’s stories will cross paths - the question is how?

Ava and Taylor’s stories, for me, were of two different calibers. Ava’s story aboard the Titanic was the most compelling, and it’s difficult for it not to be with our modern-day obsession with the ill-fated voyage. Truthfully, I wish that this had just been Ava’s story, as it would have made for a stronger read overall. I do still recommend this book, if only for Ava’s story of adventure and mystery aboard the Titanic!

If you loved the animated film Anastasia, Netflix’s Locke & Key, anything having to do with the Titanic, When We Left Cuba or any other Dual-Time stories - you’ll enjoy this read!

I recieved an e-arc of this from netgalley for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The start of this book made my heart soar with affection.  The treasure hunt that the dad put together was incredibly sweet. Taylor loosing her father made me feel incredibly sad for her and then loosing her house as well because of memories really hit hard for me.

The story starts off with Taylor arriving in England and is already thrown into the deep end of meeting a mysterious chauffeur called Nathaniel. He speaks of the mysterious Lady Knight. It is shown that Taylor is in England on a summer scholarship, and to uncover some questions she has about a photograph of her father and a mysterious woman in the UK. With the quick death of Lady Knight, only one day after she gives Taylor a letter from a woman called Ava and her expierence with the titanic. Will Taylor ever get answers or will she continue to just have more questions?

I found this hard to get into at the beginning, but the story gripped me and I found myself unable to put this book down at all...I ignored all notifications on my phone as I read this!

Ava had an absolutely beautiful and tragic story told in past tense as Taylor reads her memoir from the Titanic and after.

Taylor also had such an interesting storyline and I never knew where it would take me.

The ending wrapped everything up nicely and I really enjoyed it. The ending was effortlessly beautiful.

I throughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who loves a beautifully descriptive and well written story!

So you give me the Titanic, historical fiction, family secrets, and flash backs and I am SOLD. I loved this book so much. I loved seeing the past through Ava's eyes. I loved as this complex and compelling story unfolded. I loved as Taylor uncovered this story on her own through the journal. This whole book just had me wrapped in the pages from start to finish.

The Poppy and the Rose has an intriguing synopsis and is part Y/A contemporary part historical fiction which is what drew me to this book. Given that Titanic is one of my favourite films of all time, and I have such a fascination and have learnt so much about the real life ship and subsequent tragedy, I knew I had to read this book. I don't think I've read a book which centers around the Titanic before, specifically from the perspective of a survivor either, although it is fictional so of course there's plenty of creative license taken.

While I wanted to love this more and it had the ingredients for a great story, I felt more drawn to Ava's parts of the book and I found Taylor's parts lacking and kind of boring if I'm being honest. I was more interested in Ava's chapters as there was so much more going on and her narrative voice felt more interesting to me in general. I enjoyed the exploration of society at the time, the position of women as well as the impact of modern psychology as it was emerging. I felt like the central mystery - of how Taylor and the aristocratic Knight family are linked was intriguing to begin with and steadily just became too convenient as the story went on, it just fell into place so neatly that I was taken out of it a bit.

I also really liked that so many of the real life famous passengers, J.J Astor, Lieutenant Lightoller and Margaret Brown, to name a few - featured in the book, which gave it a bit of a factual element. I also learnt of some other passengers I hadn't heard of before, including Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche, a Haitian engineer who was one of the only known passengers of African or Caribbean ancestry on the ship, he got his wife and two daughters on to a lifeboat but was sadly unable to board one himself. Books like this strike me so deeply especially when they mention real people who have passed away, because even after all this time they are being remembered and their stories, albeit a small glimpse into them, are being shared and there's something strangely sad but beautiful about that.

Overall, this was a so-so read for me, there were parts I enjoyed - Ava's chapters, and other parts that felt a bit underdeveloped or unnecessary to me hence my middle of the road rating. I would still recommend this book to readers who have an interest in the Titanic, historical fiction and stories where there's a mystery linking past and present.

Now that's what I call a century-old plot twist.

The Poppy and the Rose first introduces us to Taylor, who is studying abroad at Oxford to study journalism for the summer. Her mantra in life is to find out the hard truth, like who really is the strange old benefactress who claims to have a story Taylor wants to hear, including how she knows her late father. Taylor can't help but be intrigued to listen to her story... only the strange benefactress dies before ever telling it to her. In the chaos of it all, Taylor discovers a diary and can't help but feel it's connected to everything. In that diary lies the story of Ava Knight, who boards the ill-fated Titanic with a Serbian soldier, a woman who claims to be clairvoyant, and a handsome sailor. Things begin to spiral out of control as the century-old mystery continues to build as Taylor tries to find out how Ava Knight is part of the answer she's looking for.

I hadn't had the pleasure to read something of Ashlee Cowles before, and I'm so glad I did for this one. It combined a classic historical fiction with a modern mystery twist that I imagine will compel any YA reader to take a chance on this novel.

There is a lot to unpack here – what with the infamous Titanic sinking and Taylor trying to figure out her own drama plots coming to play with each other. There was a lot of familiar to read, like all about the Titanic and some of the people involved. But there were a lot of new elements thrown in with. This is not your run-of-the-mill Titanic novel in case anyone was thinking this was going to be like anything else they previously read. The plot was built around seems to be a mystery started by Ava that took a century in the making for Taylor to discover. I loved that Cowles was able to combine both the old and the new to keep it intriguing.

There are few things I find lacking in this novel, and that's why I gave the rating I did. In my opinion, dual narratives can be tricky because one point of view tends to be stronger than the other. It was that way for me, at first. While Taylor's family mystery bits were interesting, the details and writing of Ava's storyline caught my attention from the get-go. It really picked up for both girls as everything started to fall into place, so both were just as interesting as the other, but I wish it was that way from the first page to its last. There were also a lot of subplots going on in each timeline that I felt distracted from the story. I think that's why the dual narrative wasn't connecting together and sometimes fell flat due to detail. The conclusion was also a tad bit predictable, but I was glad it ended the way it did. These are all minor things in a bigger picture, so I don't discount it from how I view the book.

If you love historical fiction, murder mysteries, and family drama, then put this book on your list to read soon.

Thank you NetGalley and Owl Hollow Press for the chance to read a copy of The poppy and the rose by Ashlee Cowles. This tale is told from two points of view. One from Ava, in 1912, and Taylor in 2010. Ava is boarding the Titanic, and Taylor is a student at Oxford and is there to find out more about the secrets behind a photo of Father. I enjoyed the book but found it slow paced especially during the Taylor segments. However, for those who are into YA historical fiction, and Titanic in particular, you may enjoy this.

The second I saw the cover and read the description for The Poppy and the Rose I was interested. I'm always intrigued by stories that are told from two points of view as I'm always trying to piece together how the two fit together. I'm quite a fan of historical fiction, especially in the early 1900s and stories that involve the Titanic then you add in a good mystery and I am all over it.

The Poppy and the Rose follows two young women on the brink of something life-changing. Ava, a young aspiring photographer, and heiress in 1912 has no idea just how much her life is about to change when she steps foot onto the Titanic. In 2010, Taylor arrives in Oxford for a summer journalism program while also searching for the answers to a mysterious photo that she found of her father after he died. Quickly you discover that the two young women are linked and the story of how is slowly unraveled throughout the book. The story alternates between their points of view, Taylor's in real-time and Ava's through her diary recounting her time on the Titanic. Sometimes stories with alternating narratives can be choppy or difficult to follow from one narrative to the next and it can be unsure of how the two work together, that is not the case here. I found the switching of narratives to be done extremely well.

I found the story very easy to follow and while I was able to predict a lot of the reveals I wasn't upset by that. For me, it was easy to see the pieces fit together because it made sense and I was so excited for the characters to discover the answers (and to see if I was actually right because sometimes I can have some far-fetched ideas - I will say the reveal towards the end of Ava's story I did not see coming at all!). I also thought that the characterization was great! There were times where I could definitely relate to things that Taylor and Ava were feeling, and they were both good and interesting narrators. I found Galena to be one of the most interesting characters in the entire book and I would've loved for there to have been more interactions with her that were not observations but conversations between her and others because she was so interesting.

One of the things that I felt could've been expanded upon was the history of Meadowbrook Manor. Throughout the story, there are multiple references to the spirits that are still in the house. This could simply be because I absolutely love ghost stories, but I felt like there could've been something really interesting had that been further developed, especially when connecting it to Lord Knight, Galena, and the clear mentions of the spirit world in Ava's section.

I also felt that the romance between Taylor and Nathaniel was not needed. It's not that their subplot drew attention from the actual plot or was poorly written, I just felt that it didn't really add much to the story and was thrown in because Taylor needed a love interest.

Overall I found The Poppy and the Rose to be a quick and enjoyable read that kept my attention from start to finish.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge fan of well done historical fiction, and the sections of this book that took place on the Titanic really hit the spot. Her descriptive language is gorgeous, and I felt like I was there. The scenes where the Titanic was sinking were incredibly poignant, and I immediately wanted to rewatch that particular scene from the movie in the 90s. Ava's storyline was incredibly interesting. <spoiler> I did wish that she had suffered the loss of either her father or Caleb on the Titanic. It seemed too fortunate that they both survived. I knew the father was going to survive due to hints earlier in the story, so I was expecting that one. </spoiler>

I felt like having dual narratives caused the overall story to suffer. Taylor's storyline just seemed like a vehicle to tell Ava's story and to connect it so something modern. I'm not sure if this is because the author felt that readers needed someone from our time period to connect with, but I felt that Taylor's storyline was weak as a result. Also, the entire ending felt shoe-horned in with <spoiler> the woman from the photo being a distanced relative who was also the murderess. </spoiler> It was rushed in comparison to all the build-up with Ava's storyline, and I honestly found that ending confusing.

Ava's storyline is lovely, and I wish that it had been the only one in the book. For that story alone it is definitely worth the read.

The Poppy and the Rose is part historical novel, part thriller, and part modern-day family drama. How all three of these things intersect was the part I liked the most about the book. Moving back and forth from Ava's story abord the Titantic in 1912 and Taylor's modern day efforts to uncover her father's secrets was moving and well blended. I spent the entire book trying to figure out what was happening but the characters were smart and adventurous and made dumb choices, but they felt real and their heartbreaks hit me harder than I expected. I genuinely wanted more story when it ended and while the ending was resolved I still wanted more. My only complaint is that there were parts of the 1912 story that felt impossible and ridiculous, but the twists definitely made it entertaining.

2 STARS


Told through two timelines, The Poppy and the Rose explores questions of past, present, future, and fate.


On the one hand, we follow Taylor Romano in her journey to Oxford for a summer journalism program, where she meets an eccentric old woman who knows more about Taylor's family history than she's letting on. On the other hand, we spend the bulk of our time with Ava Knight, a passenger on the Titanic and a young woman on the brink of earth-shattering change. Darting between the two timelines unravels a mystery that spans generations, and with it come many questions about free will versus fate, and the price of knowledge.


Personally, this wasn't the book for me, not by any means.


I'll be absolutely up front about that. The Poppy and the Rose may appeal to more avid readers of historical fiction, but it left me feeling that I wasted my time. I initially requested it via NetGalley because the mystery element jumped out at me, something it didn't do in the book. Sure, Taylor wraps herself up in discovering her father's history without her mother's shadow to hold her back, and Ava is up to her eyeballs in a life-threatening mystery surrounding her father, an apparently psychic woman, and the fate of Europe and beyond. But the elements to keep me guessing? 

Well, I still haven't found them, since the connections that our characters can't make are apparent to the reader from the start.

Within the first fifth of the book or so, I had most of it worked out. It wasn't lucky guesses so much as it was a heavy reliance on cliches that so readily prop up split timelines like the one The Poppy and the Rose utilizes. Nothing about it particularly surprised me, and I truthfully only kept reading it because I'm outrageously stubborn and have yet to DNF a book on purpose in my life.


A mystery should have solutions, too, not just questions.


Possibly my biggest gripe next to the perfectly average plot and characters is the roundabout nature of the ending. As ever, I try to avoid spoilers here, but I can say that it brings me little to no satisfaction. Key items and revelations never reach fruition, and a major plot point remains intentionally unresolved. On the one hand, the book is trying to interrogate fate versus free will, and whether knowledge can change one or the other. It also asks if that greater knowledge is even worth possessing.

On the other hand, it produces an effect that says to me that I wasted my time reading 260 pages for very few answers. It's not a pleasant feeling, as a reader. And I certainly can't give it a recommendation while I feel this way. Poetic justice only works when it's satisfying, rather than vague.

"Well, I guess it's lost forever" really doesn't cut it when I've spent a whole book waiting to see how things pull together on all fronts.


I'll admit I sound critical in this review, so let me be clear: this is not a good book, but neither is it bad.


Frankly, I think The Poppy and the Rose occupies a space of perfectly average. It attempts to ask lofty questions about life, love, and the intertwined nature of fate and time, but it forgets to create characters worth investing in, and presents a mediocre plot. As a light read for historical fiction fans who go in with the bar set low, maybe this will be worth the time. Going in with high expectations of any sort, however, will likely ruin the experience. 

Maybe if this had been a different genre, I would have enjoyed it more despite its flaws. As things stand, however, The Poppy and the Rose did little to stand out in my eyes, and I'm not terribly concerned if it quickly falls into the realm of forgettable.


CW: loss of a loved one, racism, miscarriage, suicide, drug use, addiction, violence

[This review will go live on Hail & Well Read at 2pm EST on 10/7/20.]

I am thrilled by this ARC I was lucky to get through Netgalley.
Looking for a historical fiction filled with intrigue, romance, tragedy, and a bit of spirituality mixed with science? Well, you've found your next read. I could not put this book down, devoured it by staying up past 2 am.
This book merges the timelines with grace and fluidity. There is no jumping back and forth, instead the tale of the pasts flows smoothly with the story from current times. I can't wait for the official release so I can buy a copy for my mother!

I really enjoyed this novel! It read quickly but had such lovely prose, in both Taylor and Ava’s narratives. Though at first seemingly unrelated, their two stories proved to be tangled together in a variety of ways. Dealing with family bonds, with loss and hope, and highlighting how the past influences the future, this is a huge tale to tell and it was told quite well.

Certain revelations -- and there were a lot of them -- seemed to come from nowhere, but with such a large story a few surprises were certainly necessary. As a lover of historical fiction, contemporary mystery, and paranormal books, I appreciate how the author blended the genres together to craft a satisfying tale. The paranormal aspect was unexpected and yet also so lightly touched upon that you question whether its presence is real or simply a figment of your imagination, as do the characters.

Every plot string was wrapped up nice and tight with a little bow on top -- maybe a bit too neatly for my taste. With so many moving parts involved in two simultaneous stories, however linked they may be, I would have found more satisfaction in the ending had there been some mystery still left unsolved.

That being said, I especially loved the glimpse into first-class life on the Titanic, fictional though it may be. It felt real, very believable. I sympathized with both Taylor and Ava’s plights -- though did find myself questioning some of Taylor’s decisions. (But as a young protagonist, that is to be expected.) The connections from past to present were beautifully crafted, the characters relatable and engaging. The Poppy and the Rose is sure to please fans of historical fiction and mystery of all sorts.

This is part suspense novel, part love affair with past Gothic novels, and part Titanic retelling with a supernatural twist. I love books with both historical and modern timelines.

Taylor travels to England to study journalism, but also to find a missing piece of her dead father’s past. He’s left behind a photograph of him on a secret trip to England with his arm around a red-haired woman. Conveniently, the past is looking for Taylor too, in the form of an aristocratic woman demanding to take Taylor to tea with a promise to shed light on her father’s secrets. Unfortunately, she dies just as Taylor arrives for the promised tea, and a rainstorm washes out the bridge, trapping Taylor with the staff - housekeeper, butler and chauffeur- in the crumbling manor.

Back in the past, Lady Ava Knight boards the Titanic and immediately finds trouble in the form of a Serbian officer demanding she spy on a fellow first class passenger, a woman named Galena, who has a secret document he wants. In exchange, he’ll help her get her mother help with her addiction issues.

In true Titanic story fashion, she also meets a cute sailor who turns up everywhere she goes, sometimes getting in the way of her spying.

Complicating things, her father seems to be entangled with Galena in some way, possibly through a deep interest in psychology and the supernatural. And Ava suspects the document she needs may be locked in Galena’s closely guarded jewelry box.

Then, of course, the Titanic hits the iceberg, sending all of the characters scrambling for their lives.

Like most stories with dual narrators, I found one voice to be more captivating than the other. Ava leaps off the page, but I enjoyed Taylor’s sections as well. I loved the bits of romance included in the book. That sailor was downright swoony.

The conclusion of a couple of the mysteries felt a little anticlimactic, but the book delivered one final twist that made up for it. This is one I want to reread.