Amandasaved read and liked Allison's review of The Winter Rose (The Tea Rose, #2):

"Jennifer Donnelly does it again! She is definitely at the top of my favorite authors list.

One of the main things that kept me from being 100% in love with Tea Rose was Joe Bristow. His character was very well portrayed, don't get me wrong...more Jennifer Donnelly does it again! She is definitely at the top of my favorite authors list.

One of the main things that kept me from being 100% in love with Tea Rose was Joe Bristow. His character was very well portrayed, don't get me wrong--I just didn't have much use for the guy. He did a couple of things in this book that really pissed me off. Then I finally realized...Donnelly is just so bloody brilliant with characterization that Joe was just being a man! Stupid, bull-headed and...wrong! He could have been a real person. Once I made that revelation, I liked him better, not his fault after all :) Plus...he did a couple of really cool things in this book. He decided to run for Parliament and he didn't even think he had a shot at winning-he just wanted to corner his opposition into making promises to help the poor that Joe was dead set on making sure they followed through with post-election. I thought that was so amazing and selfless.

"Sid" was the tortured hero. Here again is Donnelly's talent shining through. Normally, these types of characters have to be taken with a grain of salt. Not Sid. She takes you straight into his head and you see what he is going through. We saw him in the background of Tea Rose, and he comes forward in this and steals the show. He is one of the most truly portrayed characters I have ever read about. Every single thought she puts in his head was a MILLION percent dead-on.

The plots of these books are very edge-of-your-seat/hard to read at times/beautiful on their own...but when you put in her gorgeous lyrical writing and unparalleled talent for creating real and magnificent characters...she can't be beat.(less) "

Amandasaved read and liked Misfit's review of The Winter Rose (The Tea Rose, #2):

"I think I lost more sleep over this one than The Tea Rose! What an awesome sequel, I think it's better than The Tea Rose. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing more of Joe and Fiona, their children and of course Seamie. Lots of love, laughter, adventure, heart...more I think I lost more sleep over this one than The Tea Rose! What an awesome sequel, I think it's better than The Tea Rose. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing more of Joe and Fiona, their children and of course Seamie. Lots of love, laughter, adventure, heartbreak, tears and more tears. I don't want to say much about the plot, because one of the two main characters in this book is a surprise return at the end of TTR and I don't want to give it away to those who haven't read the first book. This story will take you from London and Whitechapel to the plains of Africa and the top of Mount Kilamanjaro. Be warned, many chapters in this book contain nail biting cliffhangers, and the author leaves you hanging for several chapters afterwards until you know what happened, and you will be on the edge of your seat waiting for that answer!

All in all a pretty perfect read, finishing with one of the sweetest endings I can recall coming across in a long time. I shed a few tears at that one. Highly highly recommended, I will read this one again and again over the years.(less) "