Roses in Winter

by Leslie D. Stuart

AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY OF LOVE!

Riley Rosemont loved Savannah Graystone from the moment she was born. He vowed that "Forever isn't Long Enough for how much I love You!" Life in the icy northern Montana mountains is hard. But promises for a lifetime of love made him strong. Riley always swore that someday he'd marry that beautiful talented woman.

But God had other plans for Savannah.

God blessed her with a gift for music, pure inspiration flowing from her heart to the piano keys. Driven to share that music with the world, Savannah changed her name and ran away to New York City. She became a star.

But Savannah stole something very precious from Riley and kept it a secret. She took what she could from Montana and followed her destiny.

She was pregnant with their son.

Seven years later, on a quiet road in upstate New York, Savannah and Ryan are in a devastating car accident. In two precious minutes she loses everything. Broken in body and spirit, one icy winter day Savannah returns home to Montana. Snow is falling fast, bitter and cold from the oncoming October storm. Her hand is on the door to Graystone Heights, her childhood home. The giant ski lodge has been deserted for years.

But behind her a dog growls.
She isn't alone...

Graystone is Riley's home now. He hates her for leaving. But he hates Savannah even more for stealing away his son. Ryan wasn't a secret, after all. Riley knew the truth. And he loved Ryan with all his broken heart.

They need a miracle.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Second Chance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Leslie D. Stuart is a romantic suspense Author, the Executive Editor for Destiny Rose Editorial Services at www.DestinyRose-Reads.com and the Creative Director for Destiny Whispers Publishing, LLC www.DestinyNovels.com

She is also the graphic art designer for all marketing materials and book covers as CleverKat with CleverKatCreations.com and is the website creator for all three companies.

Books are her world, her passion. Reading, writing, editing and graphic art design keep Leslie very busy.

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Reviews

[Dellani Oakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arianna Hartwell has a secret from the world. Her real name is Savannah Greystone and she's from a small town in Montana. To the world, she's a superstar, but to Riley Rosemont, she's his "Savage".
After a terrible accident that nearly kills her, Savannah returns to Montana to find that Riley is living in her family home. He's not happy to see her.

Savannah's body and soul need to heal. She's come wanting to die, but needing to find redemption. Her shattered heart still holds four words to be true, "Forever Isn't Long Enough." Riley's hot and cold attitude alternately helps and hinders her recovery.

Riley Rosemont is a Montana Man—quiet, unassuming, stoic. His love for Savannah can overcome anything, except the fact she left him, pregnant with his son, to go to NYC for fame and fortune. He's a man who holds his anger and frustration in, occasionally lashing out at the woman he still loves. Deeply hurt by Savannah's desertion, he finds it hard to put aside these baser feelings and open his heart to love.

Forced into seclusion by an early season blizzard, the time has come for both of them to put the past behind them and move on. Relying on one another seems the only way to do that.

"Roses in Winter is a beautifully crafted, well paced novel of love, loss and rebirth. The characters are wonderfully depicted, true to their nature and three dimensional. Leslie weaves a story that makes the reader laugh, cry and want to yell (at Riley) sometimes simultaneously. I highly recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys a good laugh, a great cry and a wonderful love story.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roses in Winter
by
Leslie D. Stuart
I have fallen absolutely in love with this wonderful masterpiece by Leslie Stuart! Roses in Winter takes you on a journey between two people who were destined to be together since birth. The day Savannah was born, Riley knew he was going to marry her, being a few years older than her. Their journey is not an easy one, filled with love, passion, grief, anger, and inner soul turmoil each feeling blame for different things that have happened in their lives. But fate works in mysterious ways, and when all is said and done, fate and destiny usually win over all obstacles life can put in your path.
It was very hard to put this book down and I truly enjoyed putting myself into the story as a third person, standing in the shadows, just out of sight as their lives played out. I could feel the pain and anguish they dealt with in light of a tragedy they both had to live and deal with in their own way.
I hope to be able to read more work by Leslie and I highly recommend this book and give it five stars *****
Reviewed by
Nora Chipley Barteau
http://norachipleybarteau.blogspot.com/

[Lea ★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books you either like or hate.
I had it on my TBR for more than two years and finally picked it up yesterday.

I liked the story line, but it took me some time to get used to author's writing style.
I found many grammar mistakes but I usually try not to pay attention to it.
Just to be clear, this book is sad... from the very beginning.
It's angsty, painful and heartbreaking.
If you usually like romance books with secret pregnancies, second chance love and grief, than this one is for you. Most certainly, it's not for everyone.

[Joann Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roses in Winter captured my heart from the very first page. I really felt the heartache of the characters and couldn't put it down. I loved Savage. She had an amazing spirit and so much love for everything around her. Tiley made me laugh and the ending gave me a smile.

This is a story about love and healing.When the main character, Savannah has a car accident and loses Ryan, she wanted to die. Little did she know she was about embark on the next phase in her life and she didn't know it would be with the man she always loved. Can love break down walls and forgiveness come through, yes...Leslie's story shows that no matter what happens, love can conquer all. I think my fave horse in this was Hitler...loved his spunk!!

I don't usually read romance, but I'm glad I didn't miss this one!!

[Ashley Fontainne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely wonderful. Leslie's words flowed effortlessly from page to page!

With Montana in the winter as the backdrop (one of my favorite places in the world) and characters that are so real you feel like you know what they will say before the words appear on the pages, I found myself drawn into their heartache.

And rooting for their love to conquer all.

Leslie crafted a beautiful love story that readers will truly enjoy!

[Beth Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and formost, you will cry at some point in time while reading this book. The death of her son, God I was in tears :( There is also some parts that will have you laughind :D This is a wonderful love story. I don't blame him for being upset about her leaving him while she was pregnant with their son, but at some points in the story I want to smack him -.- Wonderful characters, great love story, a must read. :D

♥♥♥♥♥

[Anna Gomez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was all choked up for most of the parts of this story. Surprisingly well written and I loved both characters!

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it,... it's a journey of love. Heavily laden with romance, with a Christian standpoint but not overly preachy. Also,.. did I mention the animals,....? nope,.. not yet ,.... but I love a book with heroes that are animals. This one has a dog, cat, and horses aplenty that are characters themselves in the book.

I loved it,... it's about healing and loving again.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story, very well written, characters and setting are vivid and brought to life. Very talented author, must read!

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved, loved, loved this book! I downloaded this book when it was offered as a free book for Kindle. It looked somewhat interesting, so I added it to my "to be read at somepoint list." As soon as I started reading it, I could not put it down! I will definitely be waiting for more books from Leslie, whether they are free, or to be purchased. Leslie, when will you have more? I can't wait!

[Scarlet Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked Ms. Stuart's writing style. The writing flowed very well. The story was heartbreaking at some points and very poignant. I liked it very much.

[Dawn Ireland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a die-hard romantic. Loved the book.

[Samantha]

Let me begin this by saying I'm not even the type of person to critique a book. Usually, I simply rate a book with stars but for this failed attempt of a romance I had to voice my opinion. I decided to read this book after noticing its high ratings. After the first few pages I already knew I was going to loathe this book, but again because of its high ratings I decided to continue to suffer through it. I just can't take it anymore. Not only is This book is unrealistic but the plot is for lack of a better word retarded. Needless to say I've decided to spare myself the torture ad have stopped reading this book. I just wanted to prevent others from wasting valuable minutes of their life by reading this book. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!Roses in Winter

[Stephanie Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to start by saying this isn't the romance kind of books i normally read...i basically read smut. This book made me feel things emotions i am not sure i was ready for. From the start, i am consumed with grief. Then anger took griefs spot. I was grateful for the sprinkling of humor, and bits of lusty comments only because it made me invested I desperately wanted the characters to fall in love and be happy. Leslie writes like a poet to me i feel that Aryanna was really a musician, and her switch to Savannah fell in line with her Montana horse ranch, but it was all poetic. I needed complete silence while reading because every word held description and feeling. I was emotional but didn't cry told myself i would stop reading if i did, but then i was simply to curious to find out how it would end. :) great poetic read for me. I am inspired and am left with a great book hang over.

[Lillie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is a variation on the secret baby plot so popular in romance. The writing struck me as "purple prose"--filled with lyrical descriptions and overblown emotions. The heroine became a world-renowned musician almost overnight, and she can tame any animal; the heroine manages a horse breeding operation and a vast estate with no help. In spite of the purple prose, however, the story eventually touches the readers' emotions.

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

It pains me to not finish a book so I will finish this one. The 4.5 star rating sucked me in as well as a need for a sweet love story. The story itself feels a little claustrophobic seeing as it's primarily written in one place and never ventures far, and the constant repetition of certain sentences by the main characters are frustrating. Not one to be a quitter, I will persevere.

[Molly Sargen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great idea and the plot had a great base, but there were too many times when things added that didn't add anything to the book. I fail to see how those scenes are enjoyable to read at all and found myself missing important dialect in my efforts to avoid them. Thus said, it was still mostly a good book.

[Cheryal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I skimmed the entire last 10%. I felt like I was reading a book written by a 13yr. old, horse loving, hormonal teenager who loved the word growl. How many dang times can you ask the question "Do you love me?" Seriously? Dumb book.

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring and predictable...wished the story had more meat than bones.

[Dee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read approx 15% of the book before DNF'ing - I hate the secret baby trope but thought since the rest of the book sounded intriguing that I would try to get past it, but i just couldn't.

[Sarah Peralta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I loved these characters. I wish it had been edited before being published.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts with the greatest sadness and takes you on a trip towards healing.

[Viktoriya · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Forever isn’t long enough, not for how much I love you.”