The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

Title: The Wild Rose
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Type: Novel
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: Yes, first The Tea Rose, second The Winter Rose
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Hyperion
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads
London, 1914. World War I is looming on the horizon, women are fighting for the right to vote, and global explorers are pushing the limits of endurance at the Poles and in the deserts. Into this volatile time, Jennifer Donnelly places her vivid and memorable characters:
 
Willa Alden, a passionate mountain climber who lost her leg while climbing Kilimanjaro with Seamus Finnegan, and who will never forgive him for saving her life;
 
Seamus Finnegan, a polar explorer who tries to forget Willa as he marries a beautiful young woman back home in England;
 
Max von Brandt, a handsome sophisticate who courts high society women, but who has a secret agenda in wartime London;
The Wild Rose is a part of the sweeping, multi-generational saga that began with The Tea Rose and continued with The Winter Rose. Many beloved characters from The Winter Rose continue their adventures in The Wild Rose. With myriad twists and turns, thrilling cliffhangers, and a fabulous period detail and atmosphere, The Wild Rose provides a highly satisfying conclusion to an unforgettable trilogy.

Feelings:
I thought that this was a pretty good ending to the trilogy. The book is divided into three parts and each of the parts stops rather abruptly and I didn't really feel like some of those cliffhangers were resolved. They were sort of resolved but not in a way that answered all of the questions that they brought up. So I have to admit that this seemed a little bit like it was trying to hard to make everything work out when it really shouldn't have.

As for the story itself it followed a similar pattern to the other books in that the couple is separated and can't have each other. I was alright with the predictability of the plot it was the loose ends regarding the historical side that bothered me a little bit.

Seamie and Willa are the main characters in this story although there are many more characters that are followed throughout the story as well but the focus is on them. Their passion for adventure drives the story.

Untethered and alone, trekking across the pristine snows of the glacier, she felt as wild and free as a falcon circling, a winter fox loping across the snow, a wold howling at the moon. As she approached the lower foothills of Everest, the trek became a climb, but still she went on over an ice field, across some jagged moraine. The terrain became more challenging, and her artificial leg more of a hindrance, but she could not stop. Everest, souring high above the glacier, was glorious. It pulled at her, cast its spell upon her, and she was powerless to resist it. (p.45)

The draw of what is wild and what one cannot have drives Willa to stay away from Seamie after her accident climbing Kilimanjaro where she lost her leg. Seamie's guilt over Willa loosing her leg on that climb keeps him from trying to find her. This part of the story is rather predictable. It is the war story that keeps things interesting and different.

World War One has started and many characters in the story including Seamie and Willa are drawn into the struggle. I wouldn't say that this is the most historically correct version of events but I found it interesting.

I would recommend this book to those that liked the first two in the trilogy and to those who like historical fiction.