January 2021 - Rose/s on the cover/in the title

[Sarah]

If the two chosen books are not to your liking, you can read another book that fits this month's theme of 'rose/s on the cover or in the title'.

In order to receive a badge you must:
1. have read the book before or during January 2021.
2. discussed it in this thread. Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read. Please elaborate on your thoughts on at least 5 of the following topics:
- Setting
- Characters
- Writing style
- Genre
- How the book made you feel
- Which parts stood out
- Did you/will you read more by the author
- Anything else related to the book you find worth mentioning

This can be done in one post after finishing the book, but preferably in a few posts while reading. Please refer to our group spoiler policy for further information.
3. Report that you have read AND discussed the book in the reporting thread (include a brief summary of what you thought of the book).

General Rules:
1. Please mark your spoilers with the spoiler tags along with mentioning what stage of the book you are at so other's don't get a nasty shock. Chapter numbers/titles are generally best as they are the same across all formats and editions. See our spoiler policy
2. The book may be combined with the Year Long Challenge, Topplers, and Monthly Challenges.

Happy reading!

[Marnie]

Now that I’ve stopped looking for books with roses on the cover (which I had difficulty finding,)I’m seeing roses everywhere. I’m going to read The Once and Future Witches for the theme read. It’s due back at the library soon so I’ll start it this week.

[Jayme, Moderator]

I plan on reading Spring House for the challenge. Not sure when I will get to it this month since all my holds just popped up from the library. :)

[Kristie, Moderator]

I am going to read The Good Sister

[Janice, Moderator]

My goal this year (again) is to try to whittle down my tbr. I intend to read books I already own for challenges and group themed reads as much as possible, And here I said I don't do New Year's Resolutions.

I will read LaRose for the themed read. It may be a week before I can get to it though.

[Marnie]

I’m reading two books right now with roses on the cover and both of them have themes of oppression.

The Once and Future Witches is set in 1893 New Salem at the start of suffragette movement. This book has a couple things that are typically good reading signs for me. The first is the mix of historical fiction and fantasy, both genres I enjoy, and secondly the chapters are told from each sister’s viewpoint. I like getting different points of view to the same incident.

[Christina ❤️M❤️]

I plan on reading Black Rose this month if I get to it, but I will definitely be reading for the group read Blackberry & Wild Rose as soon as I get the book from the library.

[[deleted user]]

Janice wrote: "My goal this year (again) is to try to whittle down my tbr. I intend to read books I already own for challenges and group themed reads as much as possible, And here I said I don't do New Year's Res..."

I am doing the same Janice.

[[deleted user]]

My plan is to read A Court of Thorns and Roses for this theme.

[Janice, Moderator]

Anna's Reading Life wrote: "I am doing the same Janice.."

I didn't do so well last year with the same intention. The stats at the end of the year showed that my total books owned were 2 less for my print books but 44 more for my audiobooks. That was a gain of 42 books.

[Sarah]

Marnie wrote: "I’m reading two books right now with roses on the cover and both of them have themes of oppression.

The Once and Future Witches is set in 1893 New Salem at the start of suffragett..."

I just bought this. I didn't realise there were roses on the cover. Not sure I'll fit it in this month otherwise I would have joined you. I've heard a lot of good things about it.

[Marnie]

Sarah wrote: "Marnie wrote:

I picked it up from the library and was like “ Heyyyyyy roses.” I’m enjoying it so far. I’ll watch your updates when you get to it.

[[deleted user]]

Janice wrote: "Anna's Reading Life wrote: "I am doing the same Janice.."

I didn't do so well last year with the same intention. The stats at the end of the year showed that my total books owned were 2 less for m..."

It is so hard! This is the first year I am going to make an effort and keep track. Scared, is not the word for it lol.

[Marnie]

Anna's Reading Life wrote: "My plan is to read A Court of Thorns and Roses for this theme."

I’ve had that on my TBR for a while now. I’m curious to read how you get on with it. I look forward to your impressions.

[Jannene]

I plan on reading for this one.

[Ayacchi]

Want to ask, is that rose on the top of the cover?

[Janice, Moderator]

Ayacchi wrote: "Want to ask, is that rose on the top of the cover? "

They look like roses to me.

[Ayacchi]

Janice wrote: "Ayacchi wrote: "Want to ask, is that rose on the top of the cover? "

They look like roses to me."

Thanks, Janice! I'll change my book and read this instead

[Roz]

I'm planning to read Darling Rose Gold for this one. I can combine it with the Museum Challenge, multitasking.

[Marnie]

Roz wrote: "I'm planning to read Darling Rose Gold for this one. I can combine it with the Museum Challenge, multitasking."

The cover is so pretty. Hope it’s a good read.

[Marnie]

I thought I better include my final thoughts about my read before I forget them.

I’m glad I read The Once and Future Witches it was a great escape read for me.
(view spoiler)[ my favorite parts were the relationships between the sisters. Sisters can be complicated and this was expressed well in the book. I enjoyed the hidden spells in plain sight- finding them in nursery rhymes and on needlework signs. It gave it a sense of realism. Should I reread them and give it a try lol? I also enjoyed the idea that you could fight back against things in a society you wanted to change. (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

I started my pick for the themed read, LaRose.


This is going to be a hard impacting book. It starts out with the accidental death of a 5 year old boy. While hunting, Landreaux shoots at a deer, but discovers as the deer bounds away, that he's shot and killed the boy. In compensation, and according to old Indian tradition, Landreaux gives his own 5 year old son to the parents. The book blurb mentions all this, so it is not a spoiler.

These two families are very close. The two wives are half sisters. This event tears them all apart. I can't imagine the grief of losing a child. I can't imagine the grief and guilt of being responsible for the death. And I can't imagine the bewilderment of LaRose, being given away. Heartbreaking!

Louise Erdrich is such a great writer. I've read a few of her books and this one promises to be another great one.

[Christina ❤️M❤️]

Janice wrote: "I started my pick for the themed read, LaRose.


This is going to be a hard impacting book. It starts out with the accidental death of a 5 year old boy. W..."

I am looking forward to reading it. I plan to start right after I finish Blackberry & Wild Rose. My copy doesn't have the roses, but I will be checking back to see what you thought.

[Janice, Moderator]

I think the themed read is a little more lenient about the cover, Christina. Sarah may weigh in on that. I'd love to get others' comments on this book. I think there'll be lots to discuss in it.

[Cherie]

I’ve added it to my TBR list. I’m watching the remarks.

[Janice, Moderator]

One of the things that I muse about when I'm reading this book is that the consequences of our actions are often borne by others. (view spoiler)[The one that I feel the most strongly about is LaRose. He's 5 years old and he's been given away by his parents as some type of atonement for his father. He doesn't really understand that his cousin is even dead. All he knows is that he misses his family as he cries himself to sleep. Is he being punished for his father's error? "The sins of the fathers..."

And how can you replace the dead child with another? I wonder what the emotional impact is going to be on everyone involved. (hide spoiler)]

[Amanda]

I started my book for this month's theme a few days ago. I'm reading . I've had so many people recommend this author to me that I thought it was about time to read something by her.

I'm about 20% through. It's fast paced, but I'm having a little bit of a hard time caring about the characters so far. I hope it gets better as I keep reading.

[Janice, Moderator]

Amanda wrote: "I started my book for this month's theme a few days ago. I'm reading . I've had so many people recommend this author to me that I thought it was about time to read some..."

I read that one a couple of years ago and gave it 4 stars. I love the cover! LOL!

[Kristie, Moderator]

I also read Uprooted, I think not too long after it was published. I gave it 3 stars. I don't think I loved it as much as everyone else did. Still a decent book though.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I'm finally planning to start my rose book tomorrow. Reading The Good Sister. Hoping for a quick, engaging read.

[Janice, Moderator]

I had completely forgotten about the Y2K bug! LaRose starts out in 1999 and it is discussed in the story. (view spoiler)[Peter (the father of the boy who died), was so obsessed by the bug, maxing out his credit cards to buy supplies and provisions. He wasn't overly worried about his credit cards. Afterall, the Y2K bug might put things into such disarray that it would be a non-issue. Crazy! (hide spoiler)]

Nola, the mother, (view spoiler)[is really struggling with the loss of her child. I can't imagine the pain and grief in losing a child, and in such a horrific way. She seems to be in serious trouble of losing touch with reality. What's with threatening the priest with impropriety as a means of getting her way?

Peter seems to be the only person to realize the impact being felt by LaRose. He is a surrogate for a dead boy, and seemingly abandoned by his real parents. I'm glad for all involved that they've worked out a way of sharing him. Nola is terrified that his parents will want him back. (hide spoiler)]

There's a parallel story going on, a flashback to an earlier generation. I'm not sure what it's all about and how it will tie in with the overall story. It's the story of Mink's daughter, whoever Mink is.

It's interesting that each generation has a LaRose of either gender. It was a bit confusing when they were talking to LaRose, and it wasn't the boy, but the grandmother.

[Amanda]

Janice wrote: "I read that one a couple of years ago and gave it 4 stars. I love the cover! LOL!"

The cover is so pretty! I chose the book because the cover grabbed my attention more than her other novels. I know, I know, don't judge a book by the cover, but...

[Janice, Moderator]

Sometimes I have to read a book just because the cover is so amazing. And sometimes the adage "don't judge a book by its cover" rings true.

[Marnie]

A great cover will definitely get my attention. May not always read it but I’ll at least read the back cover. It’s an underused marketing tool in my opinion.

[Marnie]

Goodreads should add a Best Cover category. I always enjoyed high school superlatives lol.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I've definitely gotten sucked in by a good cover many times.

[Cherie]

I created a shelf called “love-the-cover-to-read”.

[Janice, Moderator]

Cherie wrote: "I created a shelf called “love-the-cover-to-read”."

I've got one called "love the cover" and another "love the title"

[Janice, Moderator]

I'm slowly starting to see a connection with the parallel story. Both stories involve residential schools. I just briefly googled residential schools. In Canada, the last school was closed in 1996. Apparently, there are still 4 boarding schools off reservation in the US.

(view spoiler)[In the parallel story, Mink's daughter finally has a name - LaRose. She's the first LaRose. Landreaux, saw her name scratched under the bus benches in several places. (hide spoiler)]

[Ayacchi]

I'm reading my Sense and Sensibility. It's a slow start for me and as usual, I tried to recall the movie adaptation, to picture the setting and how the story goes. Luckily, I don't remember much so I still can enjoy the book and curious what's going to happen next. By reading the book I also finally knew how the story began or how many details I missed due to my poor English. My latest Austen's book, Pride and Prejudice, had worn me out with its poetic words that I found hard to understand. But this one, is much easier, and I like it.

As for the characters, I don't have anyone I like so far, but quite a few to be disliked, lol. (view spoiler)[Typically Austen, there's a disagree-able woman from the start and I wonder if there'll be more as the story goes (there must be!). I also don't really like how she pictures Marriane, with her full of spirit and prejudice tendency. And how she reacts after being rescued by a young man! Seems like she wants to marry him right away to me, lol. That's a bit scary. Reminds me of a quote from Pride and Prejudice, "it's universally acknowledged, that a single man in a possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Do they? Is that why it looks like marriage (and finding a perfect match) is the only thing matter for young women that era? (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

LaRose seems to hit all the issues facing Native Americans, and that's fine. I think to tell their story, you need to. According to Google, 8,000 children out of 100,000 died of TB in residential schools in Canada!

[Marnie]

That is a harrowing stat, Janice. I’ve only read one Louise Erdrich book but I’ve been meaning to get to another one.

It’s a sign of a good book if you are curious enough to Google.

[Janice, Moderator]

I quite like her books. It took me a bit to get into this particular book, but it's thought provoking. So yes, that does make for a good bood.

[Amanda]

Ayacchi wrote: "I'm reading my Sense and Sensibility. It's a slow start for me and as usual, I tried to recall the movie adaptation, to picture the setting and how the story goes. Luckily, I don't ..."

I have yet to read any of Austen's novels or see the movie adaptations, and I really should fix that! Maybe I'll start with Sense and Sensibility.

[Amanda]

So after a slow start to Uprooted, the story really grabbed me and I finished 3/4 of it in one sitting! Agneishka was a very strong character who grew a lot through the book. I have often found myself not liking shorter fantasy works because the world building feels flat and undone (epic fantasy that takes thousands of pages to tell the story has a lot more room for world building), but the world of the book felt very real. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.

[Janice, Moderator]

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Amanda. I was glad that it was a standalone. That seems to be the rare option these days.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I've started The Good Sister and I'm about 30% in. So far it's a really good story and I'm finding it engaging. I am expecting to find out that not everything I believe to be true is really true though. It's marketed as a mystery thriller type book and the blurb certainly sounds like I can expect at least a couple of twists. I'm really curious to see where it goes.

[Cherie]

Amanda wrote: "So after a slow start to Uprooted, the story really grabbed me and I finished 3/4 of it in one sitting! Agneishka was a very strong character who grew a lot through the book. I have..."

I read the book last summer, and felt the same way about the slow start, Amanda. I almost stopped reading it at one time, but after it took off, it was hard to put down and I enjoyed it a lot. I think I have read almost all of Novik's books. I like her style and characters.

[Cherie]

Janice wrote: "LaRose seems to hit all the issues facing Native Americans, and that's fine. I think to tell their story, you need to. According to Google, 8,000 children out of 100,000 died of TB ..."

I have been reading your spoilers - mostly because I am curious and you always have good observations. I have the book on my TBR list and will read it one day, but I just could not make up my mind for what to read this month. I have even had a hard time deciding on what to start for my yearly challenge. I own a huge list of books, but none of them had roses on the cover or title. I like Erdrich very much but did not try to get LaRose from my library and the list is looong.

[Janice, Moderator]

If you're like me Cherie, you won't remember the spoilers by the time you get to the book.

Currently, the part of the book that I'm in is filling in the backstory of various characters. I'm enjoying that more than the main story.