“Powerful novel of healing and hope.” –Carrie Booth Schmidt, ReadingIsMySuperPower.org “…a relentless, unmerited love; the kind of love that willingly endures heartache for the sake of another…” –Katie Donovan, Fiction AficionadoThe dark places in life have taught her this much—some things simply cannot be forgiven.Cheryl Thompson learned over a decade ago to guard her shattered heart with … learned over a decade ago to guard her shattered heart with a veil of cold indifference. Life since that day has been an endless cycle of detachment and loneliness, followed by superficial relationships. Break up, rinse, and repeat. Until something in her snaps. This life…she can’t do it anymore. She returns to her childhood home in the Colorado Rockies to help her nana, only to discover a man capable of thawing her iced-over emotions—a man she knows she doesn’t deserve, so she pushes him away. But he keeps coming back.
Brock Kelly lived high as King of the Slopes in the world of snowboard cross racing. Medals. Money. Fame. But after a visit to an orphanage in Mexico, he gave up his adrenaline-packed lifestyle to follow a calling from God he didn’t know he had—helping kids who’d been damaged emotionally. When his best friend’s baby sister returns to town, he recognizes the hollow look in her eyes and sees the pain beneath her icy armor. It seems God has issued new call on his life. One he is not prepared for.
Falling in love with a woman who keeps secrets is dangerous all on its own. But when Cheryl finally tells Brock what she’s never told anyone else…no wonder she is the way she is. It would take a miracle to heal that wound, and a love bigger than Brock had ever imagined to walk with her through the process.
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Cheryl is haunted by a decision she made ten years ago. She needed to know that she could be forgiven. C.f.
This book had you feel Cheryl’s pain. I felt like I was truly along for the healing and breaking process.
This is one of the most powerful books I have ever read and I am old and have read a lot. The author may become my favorite author. Her way of sharing the hurts of abortion and the power of God’s Word is awesome.
The author deals with tough issues yet manages to do so while crafting an inspirational story of God’s love and the healing power of forgiveness.
Cheryl and Brock are the main characters. Cheryl has had a hard life and has become shut off from kindness. She has become cold and tough. This is a great Christian book showing God’s love and forgiveness. It shows the difficulty of believing you can be forgiven for what you feel is unforgivable. Brock helps Cheryl through to see who God really is. It is a good read. Was longer than I anticipated but very good. It
I decided to continue to read this series after I just finished the first book. I’ve had these books for a long time and thought I should just keep going. I’m glad I did because it kept the stories alive and I could connect to the first book without any issues.
Wow, the author, Jennifer Rodewald sure tackles heavy issues and isn’t afraid to show the struggles and pain that can come from choices people make.
In this book, my heart was so moved. I could really feel the pain Cheryl was feeling even though I’ve never gone through what she has. I love seeing the deep conviction that God placed on Brock’s heart and how Brock stayed the course.
This is truly a story of healing and forgiveness, as well as a story of undying love and acceptance. Just like what God has for all of us!
I’m going to continue and read the next book in the series now. I know I will be touched.
I highly recommend you pick this book up to read. It touched my heart and I hope it does yours.
A powerful story of redeeming love
When an author creates a character who says and does things that would normally cause me to dislike them and yet shows me their motivation so strongly that I have compassion for them instead, I know this is great writing. Jennifer Rodewald has certainly done this in Red Rose Bouquet with Cheryl’s character.
While I was uncomfortable with her as the story began to unfold, I didn’t dislike her completely. It was obvious that she had a deep secret pain that caused her to shut herself off from others. To create a shield that would protect her from more pain. Not many were able to see beyond that and some of the characters, including her brother, referred to her as the Ice Queen. Ouch!
I liked that Brock didn’t like Cheryl at first. It would have been unreasonable with the way she behaved to have him fall in love immediately. While he had given up a life of fame and fortune to help needy kids, he wasn’t perfect, though he seemed a little like he was at first.
Here are some things I loved about the story:
Brock’s compassionate heart and the way he saw Cheryl’s brokenness and sought to help
Brock’s willingness to listen to God even when He told Brock to do things he didn’t want to do
The roses and the significance behind them
The way the author made me care about Cheryl and see past her ugly persona. I felt like I understood her in a unique way
The message of healing and hope
There were some things I didn’t like as well:
Cheryl, at first. This was by design yet it doesn’t change the fact
There were sections at the beginning of the chapters that sounded like poetry perhaps from Cheryl’s journal. It was never explained what they were.
The story seemed to have a rough start. Perhaps because I didn’t care for Cheryl and partly because of the ugliness I could tell was coming
While I don’t often read other reviews before writing mine, there were some things I wanted other’s thoughts on. I did see some reviewers question Brock’s interpretation of the Lord’s urging to love Cheryl, saying he shouldn’t have interpreted it as romantic love. Some commented on the fact that Brock was attracted to her and kissed her even when she wasn’t walking with the Lord. Um. While it shouldn’t be encouraged, it isn’t something that doesn’t happen in real life. Brock is human (well, in the story he is!) and does make mistakes. While reading this, the story of Hosea came to mind, how the Lord commanded him to marry a woman he knew would be unfaithful to him. So Brock’s interpretation wasn’t necessarily out of place.
While I have enjoyed other books by Jennifer Rodewald more than Red Rose Bouquet and while there are some hard and ugly things Cheryl and Brock both had to deal with, they were handled with compassion and tact. The subject matter is mature yet without being graphic or describing things that it “shouldn’t”. I don’t recommend it for teenagers though, but do recommend it for women who are looking for a story of hope and redemption.
Read my review of Red Rose Bouquet by Jen Rodewald at AmongTheReads.net
Graceful handling of tough topic woven into a heartwarming tale with characters that you would like to be friends with in real life.
It was definitely thought provoking and challlenging. The spiritual truths flowed naturally as an essential aspect of the story.
I gained in sight and was blessed by this story
This book hurt my heart. So much sorrow & pain. So glad for the last chapter of the healing. Well written & glad there was forgiveness.
Avery, very well written book
This was a good book about letting go of the past and moving forward.
A hard topic for an author of historical fiction as we know little to nothing of the culture of Noah’s time. Though there is romance, it isn’t primary. I think this would be a great read for a man or woman. Thought provoking to say the least.
Thoroughly enjoyed it!
A nice light read. I enjoyed it immensely.
Great story that speaks to need of healing from trauma of post abortion – a silent pain too rarely embraced in Christian ministry when there is, in fact, true hope and redemption.
I loved this book! It was an original story but I would put it on the same platform as. The beloved and acclaimed Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Beautiful story of pursuit & Grace.
Story was good but got a little long and drawn out with her secret and trying to heal. Not just a romance but about God’s love and healing.
I was amazed with the red roses and what they mean to others. Enjoyed this book and how the characters interrelated
3 stars for this book.
I loved reading this book and couldn’t put it down!