Sonoma Rose by Jennifer Chiaverini
Sonoma Rose by Jennifer Chiaverini
An Elm Creek Quilts Novel
Genre: Inspirational Historical Fiction
Pages: 516 Hardcover
Date Published: February 21st, 2012
Publisher: Dutton Adult, an imprint of Penguin Group USA, Inc
From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini, a powerful and dramatic Prohibition-era story that follows the fortunes of Rosa Diaz Barclay, a woman who plunges into the unknown for the safety of her children and the love of a good but flawed man.
As the nation grapples with the strictures of Prohibition, Rosa Barclay lives on a Southern California rye farm with her volatile husband, John, who has lately found another source of income far outside the federal purview.
Mother to eight children, Rosa mourns the loss of four who succumbed to the mysterious wasting disease that is now afflicting young Ana and Miguel. Two daughters born of another father are in perfect health. When an act of violence shatters Rosa’s resolve to maintain her increasingly dangerous existence, she flees with the children and her precious heirloom quilts to the mesa where she last saw her beloved mother alive.
As a flash flood traps them in a treacherous canyon, only one man is brave—or foolhardy—enough to come to their rescue: Lars Jorgenson, Rosa’s first love and the father of her healthy daughters. Together they escape to Berkeley, where a leading specialist offers their only hope of saving Ana and Miguel. Here in northern California, they create new identities to protect themselves from Rosa’s vengeful husband, the police who seek her for questioning, and the gangsters Lars reported to Prohibition agents—officers representing a department often as corrupt as the Mob itself. Ever mindful that his youthful alcoholism provoked Rosa to spurn him, Lars nevertheless supports Rosa’s daring plan to stake their futures on a struggling Sonoma Valley vineyard—despite the recent hardships of local winemakers whose honest labors at viticulture have, through no fault of their own, become illegal.
It was a few years ago when I jumped into book reviewing and reading all the time and at the same time I became a quilter. So when I came a cross a book entitled An Elm Creek Quilts Album, a three-in-one of books #4-6 of her on going Elm Creek Quilts Novels I knew I had found a brilliant match. Now while I’m not sure that this book would be labeled as Christian Historical Fiction, it is inspirational as well as Historical and her Elm Creek Quilts Novels are sold by ChristianBook.com and that’s good enough for me to label it as such.
I was delighted to see her newest title, Sonoma Rose to be coming out at the end of February. Immediately from the beginning of the novel I was intrigued and captivated by the characters and the story. Through out with the flashbacks and to current day watching the personalities change and grow as well as corrupt and fade for others was something that kept my interest. Dealing with topics that provide such personal controversy for so many people such as divorce in an abusive marriage, prohibition from vineyards that have been active for years and even medical break-throughs really makes a reader think. Watching some of our main protagonist’s children suffer an illness that is just now becoming really well-known about is heart breaking. One of my sister’s has an intolerance for gluten and while I had never heard of the Haas diet with bananas, it’s fascinating to see the beginnings of such research that benefits her was started back in a time while so much other turmoil went on.
The forbidden romance and the circumstances of their lives makes it uncomfortable reading about Rosa and Lars. My romantic reader heart wants it to work out for them, although I do not condone their past, I admire their present and possible future. Just one more thing that keeps the pages turning, wondering how in the world it can work out for them. As a quilter, I love reading the descriptions of quilts and how they were lovingly made. Being able to visualize and connect with a character really brings them even more to life out of the page and Jennifer does that so well. After reading Sonoma Rose, I’m quite certain that I will want to return for more and more Elm Creek Quilt Novels.
*Thanks to TLC Book Tours for providing an ARC for review.*
Jennifer Chiaverini’s Sonoma Rose Book Tour officially began on February 13th and will end on March 15th. You can visit the blog stops to find out more about this intriguing book.
JENNIFER CHIAVERINI is the author of the New York Times bestselling Elm Creek Quilt series, as well as five collections of quilt projects inspired by the novels. Â A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago, she lives with her husband and sons in Madison, Wisconsin.
Connect with Jennifer at her website, Elm Creek Quilts Online. She also has a great reader community located there!
https://twitter.com/#!/DuttonBooks
https://twitter.com/#!/jchiaverini
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennifer-Chiaverini/146579596348?sk=wall
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(No spam, I promise. Just creative madness ramblings, reviews and life-stories, with quilting and cross stitch inspiration in between!)
12 Comments
apple blossom
Yes I love reading books that have to do with hobbies that I do. thanks for the giveaway
Wendy Newcomb
There aren’t a lot of book about reading, and since reading seems to be my hobby now, I guess you’d say that I don’t read books about my hobby, lol.
wfnren(at)aol(dot)com
wrensthoughts.blogspot.com
CherryBlossomMJ
That’s why I like books about authors. … like Nancy Moser’s Just Jane… or Little Women about Jo Marsh.
Renee C.
I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book about a blogger before but that would be interesting LOL! I also like football a lot and I think I’ve only read two romance books in the past five years that have dealt with that so I guess you could say I don’t really read many books centered around my favorite hobbies! 🙂
XOXO~ Renee C.
CherryBlossomMJ
There is! Lisa Samson’s teen series on Hollywood Nobody. She was a blogger, that’s how it started!
Renee C.
That’s so cool! I’ll have to look them up. Thanks! 🙂
XOXO~ RENEE C.
CherryBlossomMJ
http://creativemadnessmama.com/blog/tag/hollywood-nobody/
Melissa B
I like reading books about my hobbies! Some of my hobbies include crafts, scrapbooking, I love quilts, but Ive never made one..and I love baking!
Thanks for the giveaway!
Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours
I think I’d really enjoy the part about the early medical breakthroughs, though it would probably break my heart as well; I have a child with severe food allergies and there’s no way he’d have survived back in those days.
This series sounds like a wonderful one on many levels – the characters, the stories, and of course the quilts! Thanks for taking the time to read and review this one for the tour.
CherryBlossomMJ
Thanks for stopping by Heather!
Amanda
While some people may interpret this as “Christian” or “inspirational” historical fiction, I don’t believe the author intended it as such.
CherryBlossomMJ
I think it fits because of the faith of the characters that is shared through out the story. I do agree that it was no marketed as such, but many of her books are now being sold in Christian sections in stores as well as ChristianBook.com. While it is a general market publisher, I do think that her stories would appeal to similar people who enjoy that genre. The story is inspirational. It’s not preachy as many of that genre USED to be (and some still are), but it’s good and subtle.