What do readers think of Her Name Is Rose by Christine Breen? Write your own review.

A sweet book about two talented women who are too dependent on others for their self esteem and happiness. The story develops as they impulsively make changes in their lives. The chance encounters that moved the story forward were a little unbelievable-- but overall I thought the writing was lovely. I do wish that Rose's birth father has played a larger part. Women who like sweet romantic books with happy endings will enjoy this book.

Her Name is Rose is a charming, easy read. Perhaps it is meant for a young adult reader as the only challenge is to figure out why such beautiful, talented, charming women, Iris and Rose, are so impulsive. Of course in the end they come out well. They seem to drift along from decision to indecision with Conor and Hector pulling them along and creating the happily ever-after. The garden references are nice but they really didn't add much to to story and could have been shells, books, coins etc. This is certainly not a book about strong women in difficult circumstances. The author has to do a lot of work to make it all come out in the end.

When Rose's adoptive mother Iris Bowen faces a breast cancer scare, she decides she needs to fulfill a promise to her dying husband: she goes looking for Rose's birth mother.The search leads her from Ireland to Boston and back again, while Rose, a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London, undergoes some soul searching of her own. This is a sweet story, but it is not very surprising, abounding in coincidences that mostly resolve in a good way, with everything wrapping up positively in the end. The writing is not bad, and the characters are interesting, but the outcome is a little too pat for my taste. Also, I felt like Rowan was just dropped into the story in a very awkward way - aside from passing on a good luck charm he and his story had very little connection to the rest of the tale.

"Her Name Is Rose" is an engaging novel with a cast of interesting characters. The author writes very well; her descriptions of flowers and gardening are particularly lovely, as are her descriptions of the Irish countryside. And I found the main character, Iris, to be very appealing. But I felt that the novel never quite reached its full potential. The plot relies much too heavily on coincidence, and the various plotlines are resolved too neatly at the end. Still, it is an enjoyable read if the reader suspends disbelief and embraces coincidence as a plot device. If I could give half stars, I would rate this book as a 3.5 rather than a 3.

I tried to like this book but had a hard time identifying with any of the characters who all seemed to be impetuous in their decision-making. Also I felt manipulated throughout - way too many chance occurrences.

I finished this book in one afternoon so it did hold my attention, and I wanted to see how it ended. I was very glad that the book did not follow a traditional- search for adoptive mother, tearful, heartfelt reunion track and had an interesting twist. However, I felt the author waited too long to introduce Rowan's character and the late introduction make the book feel a bit disjointed. I also felt the 2 "love stories" were unnecessary and far-fetched. Maybe one would have worked but two felt contrived.

That being said, I would recommend this book as a quick easy read, but nothing that thought provoking.