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157th out of 748 books
—
742 voters
Winter Rose
by
Rachel A. Marks (Goodreads Author)
A dark and haunting tale of a young girl trapped in Winter, longing to be free. When Rose and her sister are left to fend for themselves and an ailing mother, they must fight both nature and the darkness of the soul to survive. And perhaps, along the way, they will find the strength to love.
Kindle Edition
Published
November 24th 2011
by Shadow of the Wood
(first published November 21st 2011)
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Great freebie read! I love it when a novella reads more like a full size story, and the writing is so good you can't help but get sucked in. This was NOT a fluffy cowboy romance. It was an emotionally charged, gritty American-historical romance that painted a vivid landscape of the hard-times faced during the deep winter months of late 1800's America.
Did I mention that the writing was seriously GOOD?! Ms Marks is an author-to-watch. I'll need to check her out. Written in first-person POV (point...more
Did I mention that the writing was seriously GOOD?! Ms Marks is an author-to-watch. I'll need to check her out. Written in first-person POV (point...more
The cover is really Pretty,its what caught my eye when i was browsing Amazons Free Books.the Story sounded like it would be a short good read.
so i spent New Years Eve with my sisters watching Movies around 1am i decide to read a bit this just happens to be the book i choose because its short and we are taking a break between movies.
this was a Bone Chilling down to the grit story of a young girl and her family.
i was Completely engrossed in the book from the moment i started reading.i was in shoc...more
so i spent New Years Eve with my sisters watching Movies around 1am i decide to read a bit this just happens to be the book i choose because its short and we are taking a break between movies.
this was a Bone Chilling down to the grit story of a young girl and her family.
i was Completely engrossed in the book from the moment i started reading.i was in shoc...more
I was taken aback by this piece. It was beautifully written, the rhythm and language of the author's word choice was something akin to a stake being pounded into your heart. And yet through the pain, you love it. At first I was bothered by the predictable storyline, the superficial bad guys, the heavy personal conflicts that didn't change...but then the writing swept me in and I forgot all the other similar stories I've read because as I was reading, there was only this story. These characters....more
4 likes · like · see review
May 06, 2012
Kathleen Valentine
added it
I'm not going to rate this because I didn't finish it. I found it so relentlessly depressing and bleak that I just couldn't keep reading. It starts off with violence, abuse ("when he tore into my clothes, called me names I can't even bare [sic] to think of")and incest, progresses to rape and forced sexual slavery, goes on to murder with an ax... I am hoping it got better but I couldn't keep going.
To be fair the writer is skillful but if the first 25% of a book is nothing but misery I am not incl...more
To be fair the writer is skillful but if the first 25% of a book is nothing but misery I am not incl...more
It was a short story that was well written. Loved it and thought it was very easy to read. Really good story line, really scary, not in a monster go boo thing, but scary. Great story!!!! Must read and recommended!!!!
I adored this short story! The prose style is lyrical without getting in the way, meaning that it pulls you into the story instead of throwing you out of it. Though the plot doesn't twist, the characters build enough tention that it's an emotionally satisfying resolution. It's a read-in-one-sitting, can't-put-it-down sort of book, so don't pick it up unless you have an hour or two available!
Rose and her sister, through rough circumstances, find themselves alone and vulnerable to abuse from the m...more
Rose and her sister, through rough circumstances, find themselves alone and vulnerable to abuse from the m...more
There are some tales told that finish up too sugar coated for their own good, and there are stories like Winter Rose that have you fixed on every word and every sentence by its powerful yet gritty writing.
The tale of Rose, her sister Becca and their mother is chilling, raw and bitter. Just like the cold winter on the mountain where they live in a cabin to fend for themselves after their drunken father abandons them. Both daughters have harrowing histories with their father, they hope he doesn't...more
The tale of Rose, her sister Becca and their mother is chilling, raw and bitter. Just like the cold winter on the mountain where they live in a cabin to fend for themselves after their drunken father abandons them. Both daughters have harrowing histories with their father, they hope he doesn't...more
With a beginning as heart rending as its ending is heart warming, Winter Rose, is a must read. Though its very nature (a novella) makes it a quick read, it is not light on content.
Rose has had to face many traumatic events, but there's an inner strength to her that refuses to give up. Her mother's illness, her father's abuse and abandonment, and her sister's subsequent prostitution to feed their family have all culminated into a rage that drives Rose to the brink of destruction. Rose is eventual...more
Rose has had to face many traumatic events, but there's an inner strength to her that refuses to give up. Her mother's illness, her father's abuse and abandonment, and her sister's subsequent prostitution to feed their family have all culminated into a rage that drives Rose to the brink of destruction. Rose is eventual...more
I can't say the plot is terribly unique, but the writing truly makes that not matter. Rachel Marks has voice. And her writing is smooth. I had a complete grasp of the setting and main character from the first paragraphs and the characterization only got stronger as the story continued. I'm very much looking forward to reading a full novel by Marks and seeing what she's capable of when given the space to write an even deeper story.
This was a short book. Finished it in one day. It was ok. It didn't come across as a completed story. 2 sisters abandoned on a snowy mountain top by their father, who sends miners to them to trade their bodies for supplies they need to survive. He wins the worst dad of the year award. But despite their struggles, it does have a happy ending (sort of) Don't recommend this book unless you just want something to take up a few hours.
Wow...just WOW!! This was an AMAZEBALLS novella!! The writing is breathtakingly beautiful with it's lyrical figurative style and aching quality. I felt transported right into the harsh winter of Rose's life.
The story itself at times had me gripping my kindle tighter and tighter as I feared for Rose, wept with her, and my heart broke for her and her sister.
Luke...oh man, what do I say about Luke? He can be my hero and protector anyday...but what I loved the most is how unconventional their meet...more
The story itself at times had me gripping my kindle tighter and tighter as I feared for Rose, wept with her, and my heart broke for her and her sister.
Luke...oh man, what do I say about Luke? He can be my hero and protector anyday...but what I loved the most is how unconventional their meet...more
I enjoyed this book because the character's seemed to get so much deeper as the story went on, you hated the Miners and when one finally showed that the wasn't scum of the earth you flat out loved him and rooted for the two to get together and really be together, it's just a sad ending.
Beautiful and haunting. The way Rachel Marks weaves her world and characters makes any writer jealous!! A story of strength, perseverance, and love!! Who could ask for anything more...except for it to be made into a full novel!!
Really enjoyed this story. I buzzed through it in about an hour - it was fast-paced and really drew me in. Wonderful descriptions of setting made me feel like I was there.
Loved this story so much! So much well done emotion. There was terror, hearthache, fear, revulsion, and at the heart a hopefulness and love. Really a great read!
This is not a happy story but extremely intriguing. You are hit you with deep felt emotions when the characters faced such desperate times.
A short 80 page read about 2 sisters abandoned by their father in the depths of winter and their struggle to survive
I picked this up as a freebie off Amazon earlier this year.
This was a great novella. There was a lot packed in a small space. I did cry... Twice... Which is usually unheard of, for me.
This was a great novella. There was a lot packed in a small space. I did cry... Twice... Which is usually unheard of, for me.
Dark but really good. I loved the imagery and feeling in the book :)
My only complaint....it ended too soon!!
A solid little story. Quick read.
A well written novella!
Absolutely beautiful!
2 likes · like · see review
A rather depressing short story but it grabbed me in. It starts with a father walking out on his two daughters and sick wife, taking all their food, leaving them in a shack on a snow covered mountain and it gets worse. The little romance between Rose and Luke is near the end.
Quick read, I wasn't sure at first if I would like it but it was good.
Loved this one!!!!!
(Doesn't count towards my goal of 200 books).
![Michelle [Helen Geek]](http://d.gr-assets.com/users/1350347351p2/5557851.jpg)
Free on Amazon 05/06/2012.
May 10, 2013
Kinsley Gottfried
marked it as to-read
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Book Giveaways: eBook and Artwork Giveaway! | 1 | 6 | Jan 25, 2012 03:55pm | |
| Creative Reviews: Need Reviews for YA romance/fantasy | 19 | 39 | Jan 01, 2012 06:14pm |
Rachel A. Marks is an award-winning author and professional artist, a surfer and dirt-bike rider, chocolate lover and keeper of faerie secrets. She was voted: Most Likely to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse, but hopes she'll never have to test the theory.
More about Rachel A. Marks...
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“I drag the body out into the snowdrifts, as far away from our shack as I can muster. I put her in a thicket of trees, where the green seems to still have a voice in the branches, and try not to think about the beasts that’ll soon be gathering. There’s no way of burying her; the ground is a solid rock of ice beneath us.
I kneel beside her and want desperately to weep. My throat tightens and my head aches. Everything hurts inside. But I have no way of releasing it. I’m locked up and hard as stone.
“I’m sorry, Mamma,” I whisper to the shell in front of me. I take her hand. It could belong to a glass doll. There’s no life there anymore.
So I gather rocks, one by one, and set them over her, trying my best to protect her from the birds, the beasts, keep her safe as much as I can now. I pile the dark stones gently on her stomach, her arms, and over her face, until she becomes one with the mountain.
I stand and study my work, feeling like the rocks are on me instead, then I leave the body for the forest and ice.”
—
3 people liked it
I kneel beside her and want desperately to weep. My throat tightens and my head aches. Everything hurts inside. But I have no way of releasing it. I’m locked up and hard as stone.
“I’m sorry, Mamma,” I whisper to the shell in front of me. I take her hand. It could belong to a glass doll. There’s no life there anymore.
So I gather rocks, one by one, and set them over her, trying my best to protect her from the birds, the beasts, keep her safe as much as I can now. I pile the dark stones gently on her stomach, her arms, and over her face, until she becomes one with the mountain.
I stand and study my work, feeling like the rocks are on me instead, then I leave the body for the forest and ice.”
“The men stop coming after Hunt goes missing. We learned from the last brave soul to visit that they whispered all sorts of stories to answer his disappearance. My favorite is that we ate him. We cooked him up with our whore-earned corn, a dozen rats’ eyes, and a bat wing.
Even I couldn’t have thought of anything more perfect.”
—
2 people liked it
More quotes…
Even I couldn’t have thought of anything more perfect.”
Jan 31, 2012 06:55pm
Jan 31, 2012 07:52pm