The Poppy & the Rose sounds on paper like an intriguing historical mystery with appeal to fans of Downton Abbey and other Edwardian-era dramas. Which describes me exactly. Unfortunately, the appeal and intrigue don’t translate to the book itself. The writing style is awkward and stilted, reading rather younger than the YA audience it’s intended for; the plot feels overstuffed with too many ideas as well as the kind of heavy-handed wink-wink detail that can ruin historical fiction; and worst of all, the characters feel lifeless and devoid of agency. They make some truly ridiculous decisions that are clearly based on the demands of the plot rather than coming from who they are as people, and never develop beyond this level. On the whole, while I like the atmosphere, the intertwined timelines, and the central theme of the ways in which memories and stories of the past continue to linger and haunt the years that follow...this book just fell utterly flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Owl Hollow Press for the advance review copy!

The Poppy & the Rose is a young adult historical fiction/ mystery that’s set partly in the modern days and partly aboard the Titanic. Ava is a young heiress embarking on an adventure with her father to visit the United States and study photography. In 2010, Taylor visits Oxford for a summer journalism program. Both young women are soon struggling to uncover their own family’s mysteries.

Honestly, I would have loved this book if it would have focused solely on the story of Ava and her trip onboard the Titanic. I couldn’t connect to Taylor and her chapters. She was off galavanting around the UK and it felt very immature and too far fetched for me.

I did enjoy how the author weaved true events and characters into the story.

I’m rating this one three and a half stars- rounded up to four!

Thank you to Netgalley and Owl Hollow Press for the ARC in return for my honest review. This one releases October 6, 2020.

When I started reading this on my kindle I had forgotten the plot blurb from NetGalley and had to go back for it - because I was so lost. The book is trying to accomplish a lot at once, and it only worked sometimes.

I like multigenerational stories, but they're hard to do. Often one plot line ends up being interesting and important, and the other feels like filler. That's definitely the case here - the best parts of the book are the Titanic scenes and the spiritualism aspects. The modern-day story is dull filler by comparison.

Readers who crave Titanic stories will find a lot of familiar scenes here - a wealthy girl intrigued by a poor sailor, exploration of class differences, the panic of passengers, the musicians who play as the ship goes down, etc. Ashlee Cowles is particularly good at the sentence level, and as the ship (quickly) sinks on the page, the writing is evocative and emotional.

But the plots (in both timelines) fall pretty flat. The pieces of the mystery don't come together in a satisfying way, with too many convenient devices and a ludicrous series of events that center the protagonists in a way that doesn't make any sense.

Younger readers hungry for Titanic content might enjoy this book, but it's one of the weaker releases I've read this year.

Thanks to NetGalley and Owl Hollow Press for the advanced review copy!

I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone!

I very much enjoyed this book. The two stories of Ava and Taylor parallel each other jumping back and forth between modern day and the ill fated voyage of the Titanic. The two lives of these women are intertwined throughout the story and the duel-POV lends to a very fast paced read that I gobbled up.

I really enjoyed this one! The different time periods and different POVs was something I really enjoyed. I love the way they all intertwined in a way. This is one that I will recommend to friends!

The cover was the biggest thing that drew me in and it was worth it!

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I love this story , I was so sad when it ended I need more of Ava! This book is so captivating , it sucks your right in. I love how the story is told from the past to the present and how little by little the truth is unraveled and the connection of the characters is slowly revealed .I enjoy historical stories about the titanic , I was transported back in time as Ava detailed her experience aboard the ships and it fated demise .
This novel is beautifully written, almost poetic . It a story of lost, and the beauty that can be found in the midst of pain. A story of family and the complexities that’s involved with loving imperfect people .
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This story is told through Taylor Romano , a journalism student at oxford, who came in contact with Lady Mae knight , a old woman who hold answers to her question. Lady Mae passing brings Taylor in contact with the Dairy of Maes sister who was a passenger on the Titanic . Taylor is transported into a whole new world of mystery , spiritualism and secret society . The past of the knight family is spread open and new discoveries are made with how her family is tightly enter-twine in their history .

I received this book as a digital arc from Netgalley. The cover of The Poppy and the Rose is what initially drew me in, with its stunning art and bright pops of color. However, I was truly intrigued when I read the description and was even more eager to read the book.
Sadly, it wasn’t a favorite of mine. This book is a three-star read – a wonderful idea, not quite executed to the degree I’d hoped. Having multiple points of view sometimes made the story feel disjointed and awkward, and it made me less keen to read. That being said, I flew through this book. I want to attribute that to great writing, but it truthfully has more to do with the book reading a bit middle grade when it came to word choice.

LOVED this one. We get old timey ages. We get the Titanic. We get a little bit of a love affair. It's all awesome. And then there's the story, which is awesome too. I wasn't sure if this was something I was going to like, and ended up requesting it on a whim. So glad I did. This was a fast-paced, easy, and enjoyable read.

“When Taylor Romano arrives in Oxford for a summer journalism program, she learns secrets about family’s past and must use some historical sleuthing to uncover her link to a Titanic survivor named Ava Knight, a young English aristocrat, who boarded the Titanic and met three people who changed her life forever.”

An ARC was given to me by NetGalley.

I enjoyed this book! It ties in historical fiction with modern times and follows the journey of two women who are looking for answers. Author Ashlee Cowles does a fantastic job of weaving the stories together and throws multiple red herrings so that you’re thrown off the scent as soon as you think you’re close to putting the pieces together.

I always love it when a book makes me feel connected to the characters, and Ava’s story is so well-written, that I felt her sorrow and struggles. Cowles clearly did her research about the Titanic and sometimes it felt more like an actual biography rather than a work of historical fiction. As a reader, I was on the ship with her and just let the story take me wherever it wanted.

While the mystery aspect was a major part of the plot, it felt soft in comparison to the struggles that Ava and Taylor face. The mystery almost didn’t feel like the most important takeaway from the story. Overcoming obstacles and discovering the truth about family was my main takeaway. What Ava and Taylor found out about themselves and who they are was far more important than any “whodunnit.”

This was really fun if you like multiple POV novels that go back and forth in time. I enjoy this particular type of story, because it's always fun trying to figure out how the stories in the different time periods are related in the end. This reminded me a bit of a YA Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White.

This was one of those books that although classed as YA can be read and enjoyed by all ages. The story is told in dual point of view and both characters are well written and fully formed.

We begin with Taylor who is struggling to deal with the loss of her father and when a photograph of him with another woman surfaces she fears that he wasn't the man she thought he was. Her mother has remarried and Taylor travels to Oxford for a summer journalism course she's determined to uncover the truth which is done through reading the memoir of Ava Knight which has been given to her by the mysterious Mae Knight who claims to know her father.

The second point of view is told from Ava Knight a young English lady onboard the Titanic. Ava's story is a powerful one and the journey onboard Titanic with its cast of characters is vividly told bring this even to life on the pages.

When Mae mysteriously dies and her will vanishes Taylor must uncover the link between Ava's past and her father.

This story had me hooked from the very start with powerful depictions and descriptions of how death can strip those we love away from us but it cannot remove the memories that keep them alive in our hearts. The author's writing is exquisite and the story flowed so well that I didn't want to put it down. I loved both characters and felt myself drawn into a story that spanned across time to come full circle in a conclusion I didn't see coming.

This is another 5 star release from Owl Hollow Press and I look forward to reading more from Ashlee Cowles.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Poppy & the Rose was a huge letdown, in comparison to what I hoped it would be. And that is largely due to it being dual perspective without the text having the strength to carry both with equal weight.

The historical Titanic bits are great, although not particularly enlightening as someone who knows a decent amount about the real tragedy. I was reasonably drawn to Ava’s story, and I like that there was a lot going on. However, there is a lot of name-dropping and hand-holding, so I definitely feel like this part wasn’t really for me as a major history buff, and even with the inaccuracies, you can probably glean as much about the event from watching the James Cameron film or picking up some other YA books (both fiction and nonfiction) on the topic that convey the information much better.

I found the “Taylor” sections increasingly annoying, as I felt like there was no real reason for her to be there. She’s looking for answers, yes, but I never got a real sense of her beyond that. There are kernels of a promising mystery connected to Ava’s journal and the historical events, but I found them unmemorable, as I couldn’t stand Taylor’s POV and increasingly began skipping them.

This is mostly a case of reader-book mismatch. I think a younger reader who knows less about the history would connect to the historical bits more, and maybe even the contemporary bits.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book. Al of the opinions expressed in the review are my own.

I loved it! Normally I hate books that switch back and fourth between people/time periods, but this one was well worth the read!

The cover is nice. Simple but still very cute.

This story was captivating! The mysteries drew me in immediately. The dual timelines were crafted expertly, with perfect balance between the two narrators. It was a wonderful escape for a fall afternoon.

From Owl Hollow Press: "Death can take a lot of things, but it can’t take your memories.

1912: Ava Knight, a young English aristocrat, boards the Titanic and meets three people who will change her life forever.

2010: Taylor Romano arrives in Oxford for a summer journalism program and is invited to tea at an old manor with a cursed history.

When Taylor discovers that the Lady of the house knows an uncanny amount about Taylor and her family’s secrets, she knows something isn’t right. But before she can find answers, the old woman dies suspiciously, leaving Taylor with a single clue: the story of a Titanic survivor named Ava.

With the help of a brooding chauffeur and some historical sleuthing, Taylor must uncover the link between Ava’s past and her own before her most cherished memories are tarnished forever.

Told across time, The Poppy and The Rose is an atmospheric tale of family secrets, intertwined destinies, and the power of memory."

CW: death of a parent, forced separation of child and parent, large-scale traumatic event (sinking of the Titanic)

The book was interesting enough, while a lot of this reads like other similar books I wouldn’t call it memorable. However it was a pleasant and entertaining read on it’s own. The dialogue was fine and characters themselves were likable to an extent.

The language in The Poppy and The Rose was very eloquent and poetic. It made reading the novel very pleasant because it was not overly descriptive or repetitive, but it did feel substantial and worth paying attention to every word. The way in which the dual narrative was handled also felt very directorial and unique. Being that half the book was historical fiction and the other half was a modern mystery, I knew right of the bat that one narrative was going to be more engaging than the other. This is something that is fairly unavoidable when a novel has two distinct narrative voices and plot lines. However, the fact that the modern protagonist, Taylor, was just as engaged with reading about Ava, the Titanic survivor and historical narrator, endeared me more to Taylor and therefor ensured that I was not trying to rush through the modern mystery sections of the novel.
The one major issue I had with The Poppy and The Rose has to do with how information was conveyed. It is very obvious that this book was very well-researched. However, the constant historical name dropping and complete references to historical events in the inner monologue and the dialogue was way too intrusive. I say "complete references" because, rather than a subtle hint at a historical event for context, there was instead entire sentences detailing an event, who was involved, and how everything panned out. These references and names would often come out of nowhere, and have little to no real impact on either plot line. As such, they read more as a textbook entry and would break the immersion of the story

Disclaimer: This is an arc I received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own! Taylor is the protagonist and she is in London for an exchange program. It is split between modern-day Ava and Taylor to how their stories are parallel to each other. Except Ava ends up being a spy. It's an interesting dynamic and fans of Titanic or Downtown Abbey will love this!

I received this book as an ARC via the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

When Taylor Romano ends up at Oxford for a summer program and met by the odd old lady Mae Knight a series of random events leads to her discovering more about her family and it’s history than she ever imagined .

I really enjoyed this book. The author has a strong voice and I loved how deeply researched the book was as it dipped between history and present day. It was fast paced and included some of my favorite themes- historical events, mystery, England and not everything appearing as it seems.

I would definitely recommend this book!

<i>The Poppy and the Rose</i> is an enchanting split time novel based in 2010 with an embedded first-person narrative of the voyage of the <i>Titanic</i>. Mysteries in both time settings ultimately intertwine as two 17-year-old girls struggle to understand their fathers, the nature of love and relationships, and themselves.

Taylor, a 17-year-old US high school student is still reeling from the death of her father in the Afghanistan war when she sets off for a summer journalism program at Oxford, hoping to learn more about the affair her father hid so well from her and her mother. Before she can even join the program, she is intercepted by a handsome young driver named Nathaniel who implores her to meet with his employer, Lady Maebeline Knight, for tea. While Taylor is more than a little suspicious of this stranger accosting her within her first few moments in a foreign country, the Lady offers her a teaser of a story she hopes to share with her and encourages her to just read it before making a final decision.

As Taylor begins the story of Ava, a 17-year-old heiress on the doomed <i>Titanic</i>, she is immediately entranced by the young woman's entrenchment in solving a mystery that can only be hoped to prevent the Great War, hints of which are only just emerging at the time. As Ava races against time to collect the evidence she needs and get off the ship, Taylor can only hope that each new step of Ava's quest can shed some light on her own.

I, on the other hand, found Ava's story to start very slow, although I was drawn in by the end. She was absolutely insufferable most of the time, and her overly judgmental attitude toward almost all characters except the Serbian lieutenant was very distracting and off-putting to me. It felt like she was wandering through side plots and I had trouble getting a sense of where her narrative was going. I was much more quickly invested in Taylor's story, although I also found her annoying at times.

The magical realism piece seemed a bit underdone to me. There were hints from the beginning that there was something odd with the timeline or linear conception of events and characters that only <i>kind of</i> got expounded upon. I would have liked to see it carried through into both time settings and/or more explicitly explored in relation to the cemetery at Meadowbrook. For all of the teasing of that aspect, little came of it and I felt a bit let down.

The ending felt very rushed, with too many loose threads to tie up. While they did all come together, it wasn't done neatly and some of it felt like a real stretch.

Overall, a quick and compelling read. The story is enticing and the YA romance isn't overdone. I'd definitely recommend it to teens who enjoy mysteries and/or historical fiction.

Much thanks to Owl Hollow Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for this review.