Book Review: The Brevity of Roses – by Linda Cassidy Lewis

Book: The Brevity of Roses

I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my! When I finished reading The Brevity of Roses I felt as if I had spent an enjoyable afternoon viewing a delectable movie! Even yet, several days later, I woke one morning with that sense of having just been there.

This story pulled me in from the beginning and held me till the end. Linda Cassidy Lewis’ characters come across as genuine with their human struggles – emotional pain, loss, fear, tenderness, misunderstanding, desire, avoidance, family strife, anger, hope, love, and I may have missed mentioning a few. The romantic scenes are well-written, not explicit or over the top. There is some cursing in the story, mostly the ‘f’ word, but it was not out-of-place as you get to know the characters, and I could get past it after the first couple of times. It is not excessive and did not detract from the story at all.

There are three main characters: Meredith I liked, even though the turn of events surrounding her shocked and disappointed/saddened me. Jalal I grew to like; I wanted to follow him closely throughout the book because he was intriguing, although I wanted him to stop being stubborn about his relationship with his father and be mature about it so he could gain perspective for his life. Renee I didn’t appreciate at first – when she showed up where it seemed she shouldn’t be – but then the situation is clarified and she grew on me.

The other characters intertwining around the main ones add so much to the story and help make it well-rounded, believable, down-to-earth. Conversations are natural and easily understood, as if the reader is standing in the room listening in.

A lovely strength in The Brevity of Roses is the importance of family, food, and traditions, with cultural differences finding their place, their blend, in the preparation of meals and recipes – whether for two or twenty.

There is so much that makes this fiction seem like the true story of a few people, but I cannot say more about it or I will give too much away. If you enjoy romance novels that are not x-rated, and real-to-life women’s fiction, you will probably really enjoy this one.

Linda Cassidy Lewis delivered a debut novel that satisfies and also left this reader-reviewer hoping for more from this talented author.

You can find The Brevity of Roses listed on my BUY THE BOOK! page.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings!