Book Review

I was contacted a few months ago to do a book review on Jennifer Chiaverini's newest book, 'Sonoma Rose'.   You may know her as the author of the 'Elm Creek' series.   Her books are based around a quilt or quilters and the story continues from there.  

I will admit up front that I loved the Elm Creek series and have yet to find another book(s) that captured my heart when it came to a well written book that included my love for quilting.  

Having said all of that, I was delighted with the story of 'Sonoma Rose'.  I know nothing about Prohibition or wine making or what life was like back then.   This story told of all of that and unraveled the story of a young woman and her life.   Ms. Chiaverini did it in such a way as you were often taken back to the past, so essentially you got two stories told to you.   But trust me when I say this, it was not done in a way that made you get lost in what time frame you were in.  So often I have seen writers try and do this and they fail miserably.  I was delighted that this author did it in a manner that only heightened the character's traits.

Here is what is stated on Jennifer Chiaverini's website:

As the nation grapples with the strictures of Prohibition, Rosa Diaz Barclay lives on a Southern California rye farm with her volatile husband, John, who has lately found another source of income far outside the Federal purview.

Mother to eight children, Rosa mourns the loss of four who succumbed to the mysterious wasting disease currently afflicting young Ana and Miguel. Two daughters born of another father are in perfect health. When an act of violence shatters Rosa’s resolve to maintain her increasingly dangerous existence, she flees with the children and her precious heirloom quilts to the mesa where she last saw her beloved mother alive.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a wonderful story involving quilting that is set in Prohibition times and how life for a woman revolved back then, this is your book.   I give it two thumbs up!