Cherrybrook Rose
Rose Maddiford, the daughter of the manager of the gunpowder mills at Cherrybrook, has no time for a husband; she devotes all her love to her father. Despite her determined efforts, when tragedy strikes, she realizes she cannot manage alone. Rose is forced to make a difficult decision and thus traps herself in an impossible situation.
Dartmoor and the gunpowder mills are well described, as is the harshness of prison life at that time. Rose is a wild and determined character, and her exploits, especially on horseback, are entertaining. The male, Charles, is drawn as unpleasant and insensitive, which is a mistake in a romance of this sort. The reader needs to warm to both the hero and heroine.
Adjectives are overused, and this detracts from the flow of the story; more rigorous editing would have helped here. Unfortunately the denouement of this book is contrived; Rose in the last three pages undergoes a complete volte face that contradicts all that has gone before, in order to give the reader a happy ending.
No doubt the numerous fans of this author will still read Cherrybrook Rose with enthusiasm.
