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A review by unabridgedchick
The Rose of Sebastopol by Katharine McMahon

5.0

Title: The Rose of Sebastopol
Author: Katharine McMahon

Genre: Historical Fiction

Love/Hate?: Love, ohmygod, love.
Rating: 5/5
Did you finish?: Yes. I couldn't stop reading!

One-sentence summary: Proper English woman, Mariella, goes to Crimea in search of her missing cousin Rosa.

Why did you get this book?: Frankly, because it was available in e-book form from the library at a moment when I was between books.

Do you like the cover?: Yes, the cover just grabs me.

First line from book: We arrived in Narni late on a Sunday evening.

Review: This is going to be another breathless, sputtering review as I literally finished this book minutes ago. I'm teary, all caught up in the emotion of the story and my love for the characters, which is the sign of a fantastic book.

I knew absolutely nothing about this book when I got it which meant I had no idea even of the plot, so it was a real delight to try to guess where the story was going. McMahon is a talented writer: she conveys the sense of the Crimean War without bogging the reader down in too much exposition or narrative about the war, and I found all the characters gripping. Her technique of flashing between the present to Mariella and Rosa's childhood years was lovely -- I found myself as in love with Mariella and Rosa as they were with each other.

The ending of the book was pitch perfect, even though I would have loved an Epilogue that neatly wrapped up the story for the characters (especially Mariella and Max). This is the kind of historical novel I adore and I can't rave about it enough.

Tropes?: Beautiful reckless girl that everyone is obsessed with, scoundrel soldiers