Where Roses Grow Wild (ISBN 0312964897)

An Enjoyable Read:
This is the second Cabot book that I've read. While I enjoyed it, Pegeen at times irrated me. She was a little to self-righteous. I mean after the second time she reponse to a kiss from Edward you woudl she would get off her soap box. This is the only real criticism I have of the book. I liked Jeremy, he reminds me of my brother and nephew (probably boys in general). I also like that Edward wasn't a so greedy as to take the title of himself. It showed alot of character that Pegeen always seems to overlook. I think most romance readers would enjoy this book.

better than the sequel.....:
I've read the sequel to Where Roses grow Wild, Portrait Of My Heart, and was very disappointed with it. So I was a bit trepidatious to read this book. The story was surprisingly good, if not with a few minor faults. This Victorian romance features a moderately dissolute Earl, Edward, searching for his dead brothers son-whom he never knew about for 10 years, to take his rightful place as Duke of Rawlings. What he finds, besides the 10 year old Jeremy (who is the hero in the sequel), is the child's maiden Aunt, Pegeen. Pegeen is a refreshingly independent, clever, and spirited heroine. A "liberal" who doesn't mind voicing her opinions on the inequalities of class and sex, she proves herself to be a intellectual match for Edward, who is a bit backwards in his thoughts on "womens lib" as most of his dealings with women have been either lightskirts, doxies or mistresses. While I enjoyed the book, I did take exception with the author having the heroine repeatedly slap the hero in the face. Besides the Earl not realistically putting up with it after the first time, what was more disturbing was that this is somehow "OK" because the woman is hitting the man. Abuse is abuse, and I think the heroine should have been seen at the very least apologizing for hitting the hero. All in all though, an enjoyable, sensuous Victorian Romance that's worth reading. Not the best I've read but much better than the sequel. 3.5 stars

Playful humor. 3.5 Stars.:
This is a good story. Patricia Cabot allows easy humor to flicker through the pages, and this infectious sparkle saves the novel. Pegeen MacDougal is the maternal aunt of the Duke of Rawlings, a ten-year boy. His father is dead and his mother is missing, and now the spirited young lad is living with "his Pegeen". Lord Edgar Rawlings, is the second son of a deceased duke and does not want the available duchy; thus, he begins his search for his nephew -- the misplaced Jeremy. Let the games begin . . . The bantering, back and forth, is lighthearted. Though these two people are usually at odds with one and other, they never get down and dirty. This is uplifting. Cabot pulls out the humor and she charms the reader. The cast of secondary players lends strength to the storyline. Subsequently, a grave reading disappointment surfaces with the writer's treatment of Edgar's loyal friend, Alistair Cartwright. Cabot relinquished Alistair's amour to a brief skim held during the final pages -- a shame. The author could have pleased her readers, immensely, with a personal Alistair Cartwright novel. Jeremy Rawlings, the young, vivacious duke, is a lively little boy. I relished the scenes in which he appeared. He was delightful in his attempts to act grown up. My compliments, Patricia Cabot, the intrigue for his story is well done. I will track down "Portrait of My Heart" to find out what happens to Jeremy Rawlings. What was wrong with this novel? Pegeen's dark secret she hides from the world; the drawn out deferral, belonging to this mystery, cause the story to drag. Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.

Humor that was not overdone (3.5):
I liked the subtle, but witty, humor in this book. It just skirted the four star mark, because after a great beginning the middle drags, but then it picks up again. This is the story of Edward and Pegeen. There relationship is tumultuous and sexy, but I didn't like the fact that Pegeen was so dead set against letting her nephew Jeremy take advantage of his dukedom, instead she would have rather let them both starve the coming winter. Thankfully though this didn't go on long in the story and she relents. One thing that stayed with me throughout the book was when Edward carries her into his home for the first time someone mistakes her for a girl named Maggie. It didn't seem like much to me until I read later in the book that this Maggie was a five year old girl. I sincerely hope that the author didn't catch herself writing like that. I don't like to think of the heroine being compared to a five year old girl in looks. I did enjoy the book to an extent. I liked that Pegeen smacked Edward a couple of times after he took liberties with her. It was nice to see a heroine who wasn't afraid to unsheathe her claws. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series about Pegeen's nephew Jeremy, the Duke, and the little girl that we were never introduced to, Maggie. I hope that it's a little better than this one was.

Delicious!:
Before Meg Cabot and the Princess Diaries, Cabot was a romance author, and her debut obviously sowed the seeds of the marvelous writer she continues to be this day. For the best rendering of the Victorian era(1860s), this book is perfect. Cabot gets the nuances correct without losing the importance of the romance between the witty and wonderfully drawn Edward and Pegeen. While the plot falls occasionally into standard romance fare, Cabot's delightful prose more than makes up for any defenciency or inconsistency. In this current market of tepid and bland, and most importantly, inaccurate, historical romances, reading Where Roses Grow Wild is refreshing and causes me to wonder what happened to books like these?