For the Roses (Claybornes' Brides (Rose Hill) Book 1)

This is probably the fifth time I have read this book, though the last time I had read it was many years ago. When I picked this book up again, I immediately felt reminiscent of when I read it as a teen & that was just the prologue. This truly is one of my absolute favorite, never go without, must-have-in-my-library-always books.The thing I love most about this book, other than the well-done writing and plot that (1) has no holes in it, (2) a story that isn’t stagnant or has me saying, ‘can we please move on?’ and (3) answers everything that is mentioned so you aren’t left wanting, are the characters and their dialogue. I literally laugh out loud throughout this entire book. You can feel the love and respect the brothers and sister have for each other. I don’t think I’ve ever read any book that expresses this kind of palpable love. I even got so exasperated by a character’s behavior I literally sighed, shook my head and my husband laughed at my reaction, which I of course considered an opening to vent about the character! Lol. You can’t help but feel the full gambit of emotions with this book & even though I knew what was coming up in the story (since I have read it so many times before, not because it was predictable), I was still so engrossed I couldn’t put the book down! I had to keep reading. I was still mad, happy, sad, and shocked while reading this book and ultimately just fell in love with it.Don’t let the fact that it is a romance put you off. It is not a simple boy meets girl, fall in love, have sex, fight, and eventually just can’t be without each other kind of story. It would be an insult to even try to put it into the same category as those types of romances. Not only do the main characters have depth but so do the supporting characters. This book has multiple little stories that run alongside the main story, without impeding the overall plot or being too much packed in. The author let this book run its course without fear of the page count as well, which just makes it perfect.Another aspect I thoroughly enjoyed were the letters at the end of each chapter, providing yet another, and rather unique, look into the Claybornes’ lives.I will forever recommend this book.

Other reviewers have mentioned the Hallmark made for TV movie, Rose Hill, which was inspired by this novel. It's been criticized by hardcore Julie Garwood fans for not being at all like the novel and, while I agree that the movie is highly flawed in several areas, I find myself wishing that the novel had been more of a drama.The uniqueness of the Clayborne family, particularly in such a time as the mid to late 19th century, is what drew me in as a kid and which still appeals to me as an adult: four street rats (one of whom is a runaway slave) band together for survival and find an abandoned baby girl whom they decide to raise and, in doing so, are transformed into intelligent, respectable, honorable individuals, men they would never have become had they not united around this baby. Each of the family members are characterized somewhat well, with special attention being given to the elected patriarch, Adam, the family's heart, Mary Rose, and Cole, who for some reason takes precedence over the other two brothers, Douglas and Travis, who are not as well-drawn as their siblings. There is an added poignancy to this family in the fact that they come to regard Adam's mother, Mama Rose (the only living biological mother of any of the siblings), as their matriarch despite none but Adam, of course, ever having met her. Through letters sent over the span of 20 years, each child establishes a meaningful relationship with Mama Rose, who wields incredible influence and stability over her adopted children.This is too unique a storyline to play second fiddle to a stereotypical romance, especially when padded out by the letters. Because I'm an adopted child in an interracial family, I would very much like to see this unconventional story of the ties that bind explored in a different genre, a genre in which priority doesn't have to be given to things so frivolous as fluffy dialogue, vain and horny protagonists, and other trivial, worn out romantic tropes when a much more interesting plot line could be developed. The Hallmark movie's de-emphasis on the romance aspect in deference to the elevation of the family dynamic is why I favor it, though I think the movie's depiction of the family dynamic is not nearly as intricate or revealing as it could have been, given the well-described relationships in the novel.The romance is unconvincing, in my opinion, but I didn't particularly care for the male protagonist or Mary Rose, when she was with him. I also disliked his odd, wildly inappropriate announcement to the brothers that he intended to sleep with Mary Rose, before they were married. That was incredibly jarring to read, particularly after having spent hundreds of pages (by then) understanding that the Clayborne brothers are predictably overprotective when it comes to Mary Rose. Their blase reactions to this primal sex announcement were thoroughly unconvincing, especially Adam's. As a romance novel, this book is too long. There is way too much inane chatter between characters; it's a bit of a headache to read chapter after chapter that's 90% dialogue. There are also annoying moments in the narrative when characters are musing inwardly and swear phrases such as "Lord/God/Heavens, but so and so was this", "Lord/God/Heaven help him/her", "For Heaven's/God's sake" crop up repeatedly, sometimes within the same page.For Kindle readers, be aware that there are typos; however, they are not distracting, mostly having to do with punctuation rather than misspelling.

I have read this story several times since discovering J.Garwood. Hearing this story with the Scottish accent was excellent. The adventures of the Claybornes how they came to be ,I just love a really good story. And this one is...really very good. So is her book Secret.

This is one of my most favorite books. I think it would make a fun movie too! My husband even got caught up in the story when I told him about it. I have read it many times and purchased it as a program where you pass along your favorite book and you get someone else's.

When I first read this book I gave it a 4- rating probably due to the way the book ends and because it is so long. It's close to 600 pages and I usually look for books under 300. I just finished reading it for the second time and it is such an enjoyable read. The first half of the book is quite humorous. I like Julie Garwood's sense of humor. Most of her books are light entertainment that puts a smile on my face. This book and The Wedding are two of her books that I've liked even better the second time through. I've read The Wedding 3 or 4 times and look forward to reading it again, it makes me laugh just thinking about that story. After reading several books that I didn't really like it's always nice to come back to reread one of Garwood's books. The only negative thing about this book is I would have liked a longer HEA for the H & h. I haven't read the books about the 4 brothers. Maybe they'll have a little more in them about how Harrison & Mary Rose are doing.

As always Julie Garwood presents a family that has solved problems and continues to bond as they face new challenges.

Julie Garwood is one my favorite authors. I always reading her books.

The overall plot is quite good and I usually like this author so I was surprised by quite how bad this was. All the scenes in England and involving English/Scottish characters were clearly written by someone who doesn't know anything about either the country or the period - the idea that 19th century aristocracy would have practised as lawyers is simply absurd and the behaviour of the servants and the relatives would have been inconceivable in that era. All the legal details in the Court are incorrect- a criminal case would never have proceeded in that manner (either on the 19th C or now). Oh, and Mary Rose is a really annoying character.

What a wonderful story, Mary Rose was very lucky to have such brothers love her so much it had lots going on and I just loved all her brothers characters oh and not forgetting Harrison the letters to mama Rose were an added bonus. The story at the end I thought ended abruptly for me there were still loose ends and mama Rose had not returned to them. Even so I thoroughly enjoyed the story and loved the residence of bluebell and hope to meet all the characters again in the next book

Bought for my mother

Great, as usual

good book