Book
Rose House
Author
Tina Ann Forkner
The Review
Focus. Zoom. Pan. Click. Click. Click. Shift lens. Refocus. Click. One shot at a time, the author tells us what she sees through the lens of a camera and snaps photo after photo to introduce us to the beginning of this novel. It’s a novel (if you’ll pardon the pun) way to start a story and capture our interest. As a photographer, I personally loved how the author used this technique to show us so many different views of what was happening at the same time without revealing any more than she had to. She led us into the storyline bit by bit and enticed us to keep reading page after page.
Lillian Diamon’s life has been the tale of one trauma after another—from the death of her parents and two brothers in a house fire when she was just a child to the tragic deaths of her husband and her two young children four years ago. Only this time was very different. While Lillian and her sister Geena were there for each other as a support system when their other immediate family members died and grew closer together as a result of that tragedy, Geena wasn’t there for Lillian this time around. In fact, Lillian strongly suspects Geena had something to do with the death of her husband and children—especially since she disappeared immediately after the “accident” and she hasn’t seen her since.
Lillian is doing her best to heal from this tragedy and move forward with her life, but at the same time she is beginning to really understand that the life she thought she had with her husband before the “accident” did not really exist at all. Most of the life she thought she had was a lie—a facade—an illusion. What she thought was real wasn’t real at all. It was all an act, and she was just being played—by some of the people she loved the most.
Readers are introduced to Lillian when she travels to the rose cottage where she once poured out her grief after the tragedy and then discovers a piece of artwork that changes her life. What would you do if you came across a beautiful painting rendered by an anonymous artist that just happened to showcase a woman who looks exactly like you during an intensely personal moment? What if, in looking at that painting, you felt like someone had been watching you during such a moment in order to capture that image and you felt as though all your personal secrets and pain were laid bare for the world to see? Wouldn’t you want to know who had done the painting and where and why? Such is the dilemma in which Lillian finds herself as she tries to put the few remaining pieces of her life back together again in the aftermath of tragedy.
The Rose House is a novel rich with symbolism, suspense, mystery, discovery, and healing. It is also a story of love and renewal. I liked that the bulk of this story was about Lillian working through her grief and moving forward rather than dwelling on the tragedy she experienced. I also loved the unique approaches Ms. Forkner used in her writing and how she tied the rose symbolism together so well and utilized multiple elements to tie together a very satisfying ending.
I also especially loved the takeaway I garnered from this novel—that it is possible to love again and there is comfort in even our deepest sorrow when we know our loved ones are safe in the loving arms of Jesus. I highly recommend the Rose House!
Order Rose House
Today!Disclosure: The reviewer received a complimentary copy of the book to review.
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This post was sponsored by The Dabbling Mum.
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