The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

Title/Author: The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley
Publisher/Date published: Sourcebooks Landmark, October 4th 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "When Eva's film star sister Katrina dies, she leaves California and returns to Cornwall, where they spent their childhood summers, to scatter Katrina's ashes and in doing so return her to the place where she belongs. But Eva must also confront the ghosts from her own past, as well as those from a time long before her own. For the house where she so often stayed as a child is home not only to her old friends the Halletts, but also to the people who had lived there in the eighteenth century. When Eva finally accepts that she is able to slip between centuries and see and talk to the inhabitants from hundreds of years ago, she soon finds herself falling for Daniel Butler, a man who lived - and died - long before she herself was born. Eva begins to question her place in the present, and in laying her sister to rest, comes to realise that she too must decide where she really belongs, choosing between the life she knows and the past she feels so drawn towards."

This book went BEYOND my expectations! Seriously, on starting it, I thought I would enjoy this book. Instead, I ended up LOVING it! It was so amazing, so prepare for a gushing review :)

This is a time travel story and this makes it a historical romance mixed with a contemporary romance novel and I really enjoyed this part of it! I loved how there's such an emphasis on the importance of the house, to the point it almost felt like a character itself. I also loved that Eva had such a connection to it from her childhood!

Eva as a main character is wonderful! I'm all about the strong family bonds, mostly with close family (parents, siblings) and Eva genuinely loved her sister very much. Her sister was a famous actress and I didn't sensed only a little jealousy because of this, which I can totally understand. She is sensitive and strong and I loved how this balanced out for her.

And I loved the guy! Daniel is SO amazing! If I was transported back in time and met him, I would totally fall for him! Because really, who in their right mind wouldn't? He's understanding and generous, not to mention HANDSOME and charming! *sigh* I loved the chemistry between them and I was just going AAAH! KISS ALREADY! So yeah, good romance :)

I also loved some of the other characters, which is always a huge bonus! And I love how everytime tied together in the end and how I kept thinking 'OH, so THAT's why that detail was mentioned before!' I love it when that happens and seriously!

This story left me feeling a mix of happy and sad at the ending, happy because the ending was SO FREAKING GOOD and sad because it ended. I didn't want it to stop yet and this for me is the sign of a good book!

My rating: 5+ stars