My interest in young adult historical fiction is what drew my attention towards this novel. I also appreciate a good book with rich characters and a strong storyline and this novel did not disappoint in either of these areas. I thoroughly enjoyed the intertwining of Ava's and Taylor's lives and the mystery aspect of the book was most intriguing. A great Titanic inspired story, told by dual narrators, that was a joy to read.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and was immediately stricken by the beautiful cover and the captivating title.
The Poppy & the Rose is a short, quick, enjoyable read - I read it in a matter of days because I wanted to see how this story of the Titanic was different than what I already knew of the horrific tragedy. This is a YA/ historic fiction / Gothic mystery, so it’s got a lot going on, but honestly, I enjoyed the story and learned quite a bit!
We follow Taylor as she arrives in Oxford for a summer journalism program, but the real reason why she’s in England is to find out more about her late father and the secrets he kept. Before she’s had the time to unpack her suitcase, she is invited to tea with Lady Mae Knight, who claims to have the answers she seeks. However, when the old lady is found dead, Taylor is left with a single clue: the story of what really happened aboard the Titanic as told by Ava, a 17-year-old socialite.
The Poppy and the Rose is the first novel of Cowles that I have read and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Wow! This book blew me away. Cowles writes beautifully and is a world-class storyteller. I had so much fun reading about Lady Ava and her journey on the Titanic and about Taylor and her sleuthing adventures. The structure, historical accuracy, main character arcs, and secondary characters of the novel are developed, brilliant, and imaginative. I felt swept away as I read, staying up way past my bedtime to finish the book because I was so invested. Cowles delivers wisdom and teaches history without the reader’s full awareness because the story is that good. This would be a great read for learners of any age.
Frankly, I think The Poppy and the Rose occupies a space of perfectly average. It attempts to ask lofty questions about life, love, and the intertwined nature of fate and time, but it forgets to create characters worth investing in and presents a mediocre plot. As a light read for historical fiction fans that go in with the bar set low, maybe this will be worth the time. Going in with high expectations of any sort, however, will likely ruin the experience.
My biggest problem with the book was actually the historical, factual information. I like to think I know more than the average about Europe in the early twentieth century, and I still struggled to follow along. Didn’t deter me from the story per se, but I also just had to push through the information overload. I also thought some of the present-day events were a bit farfetched, but it’s a book and I tried to not think too much into it!
Thanks to Owl Hollow Press and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. This does not influence my thoughts and opinions.

As soon as I saw that this was a retelling of the Titanic I was sold - and it really did deliver on the Titanic front. This didn't really feel like anything new to me; however, I did fall in love with the atmosphere and aesthetic of the surroundings.

Where this book lost it for me was in the dual perspectives. I usually love dual POV books for the opportunities to see the story and hear it from multiple points of view... but this one was lacking. It felt as though one of the perspectives added nothing to the actually overarching story that took place. The murder mystery wasn't very engaging and just felt very meh. I had hoped for more.

I found myself drawn to the premise but I did not enjoy the book as much as I thought I would. The joint perspectives were choppy at times and I wanted to like that aspect more. The premise was excellent but I wish it had been different.

I love the idea of historical fiction however, I don’t pick it up enough and I’m not really sure why. The Poppy & the Rose not only brought me back to the Titanic (something I’m always fascinated with) but also gave me one of my novel weaknesses: duel timelines.

I’m not going to recap what this book is about, that’s what the summary is for. Though it is hard to remember not to for like word count reasons.

Whatever, anyway, we’re placed in London by Taylor who somehow ended up there just to figure out who some lady in a photo with her father was. Her father passed away btw, and while I get it… I mean I have a ton of questions for my own father who recently passed away; she could had easily I don’t know? Asked a family member? A friend of her dad’s? Like you really went and hopped the pond for that? I’m adventurous but I don’t think I would had went to THAT much of an extreme.

Our second timeline we’re boarding the Titanic with Ava and her father who seems to also be hiding shit from his daughter. See a theme here? Daughters with daddy’s who keep secrets. Daddy’s, DO NOT KEEP SECRETS FROM YOUR DAUGHTER. You think their mama is bad? She ain’t got shit on a curious daughter let me tell you. Parents who don’t provide full transparency get on my nerves; ya’ll always the ones messing up some shit!

Of the two timeline’s I gotta admit, Ava’s was the one I was most invested in. I felt like Taylor’s entire trip just didn’t make sense. She meets up randomly with an older woman named Lady Knight who ends up passing away the day that Taylor is set to have afternoon tea with her. Some of her servants blame Ava… somehow… even though she just met the lady WHO ASKED HER TO COME OVER IN THE FIRST PLACE and she didn’t even know where this manor even was before that day.

So you spend the book wondering who killed Lady Knight? Who IS Lady Knight? And does Lady Knight know Taylor’s dang daddy or not? And how the hell does this have anything to do with Ava? Well it does. But when all of this is revealed, you should had seen how flat my face fell. Like that’s it? That’s the big secret? It wasn’t the big reveal I was hoping for, or that I had assumed it was going in the direction of, but it definitely reminded me that even though I think MY family has problems (both sides are obsessed with money and so on and so on), there are some families who are just manipulative for fun.

Back to Ava; there were so many different characters and stories and potential endings… I wanted to know where Ava ended up later. I mean it’s lightly covered but I wanted to know KNOW what her life after the Titanic looked like. There was a huge twist I didn’t see coming when it came to Ava and it had something to do with the bigger part of what drove her. My heart broke when her dad decided to slap her with reality. Loss is hard for everyone but I think her dad was 100% selfish.

If Ava ever gets a spin off novel or if we get a peak inside the life of Lady Knight after Titanic, I’m so here for it all.

This was a lovely book with writing that envelopes the reader! This was a dual timeline story with such a wonderful plot! I loved the characters and the location! I would recommend this for anyone that enjoys mystery, the titanic, and British characters.

I found the premise incredibly interesting, as I quite enjoy hearing stories told across time. But I found it hard to become interested in Taylor or Ava's narration which made the story incredibly uninteresting for me.
It felt like I was pulling teeth, as I slogged through this book.

This was an intriguing story with notes of historical fiction, intrigue, and a little bit of fantasy. For anyone who is a fan of historical or period dramas, or historical mysteries, this book will be of particular interest!

Honestly, mention the Titanic in YA fiction, and then tack on Oxford, and you have my attention! Ava and Taylor's stories intertwine in the most unique way, and I absolutely loved the poetic prose of the book. The only thing I wish was that there was a little more romance, but I may be in the minority there.

All in all, a solid YA read going in to 2021, and one that history buffs should have on their TBRs!

I thought in my opinion was beautifully written. It had me at Titanic. I love anything about the Titanic. So reading this story was so much fun. I adored the characters.

It is my first historical fiction book, and above all dealing with the Titanic, that enigmatic ship that to date remains a mystery (what happened already at sea) and the events that led to that event.
Without a doubt, the premise hooks from the first moment, even those of us who are not of this genre.
In this book we have 2 characters, Ava and Taylor, both characters perform their actions and shape the story, which at first was very difficult to read since I did not connect with any character, they all went well, but not there was a spark; on the other hand, Ava could not say that I sympathize nor her love story; In the end, you realize all the mystery that Taylor is looking for and conclude the work, the end I felt was good in general.

I'm having a hard time writing the review, at 33% into the book there is just something that is bothering me and I can't quite put my finger on what it is. It could be that I'm not not finding either Taylor or Ava very likeable or maybe I just currently have a bad attitude. So I'm going to give this a neutral review for now and try reading it again at another time when I'm in a better mood to deal with characters that I need to stick out to see if they grow at all because right now, meh.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review. All spelling and grammar errors are totally my own.

3.5 stars. I'm not the biggest historical fiction reader but the premise really intrigued me so I decided to give it a shot and I was pleasantly surprised. This story is about two characters: Ava and Taylor.
1912: Ava Knight boards the Titanic to escape the shadow of her unstable mother and to fulfill her dream of becoming a photographer in New York. 2010: Taylor Romano arrives in Oxford for a summer journalism program but also to investigate a photograph of her father with a mysterious woman.

I had never read any of this authors previous works but I really enjoyed the writing and the pacing of the novel. I was immediately hooked within the first few pages. At first I was not as interested in Ava's story because she came off as a bratty, spoiled, rich girl who's only on this boat because she has to be. As I kept reading I was sucked into the story of the Titanic and all the other cast of characters aboard this ship. I grew to enjoy Ava's chapters but her character did do certain things that annoyed me throughout the novel and I was not fond of the way she treated certain characters at certain times. I'm sure the author wrote her character this way to show how rich people thought of themselves and how they treated others back in those times, and if that's the case then she did an excellent job.
Taylor's chapters were shorter than Ava's but I felt that they could have been a bit longer and maybe could have let us in in what Taylor was thinking while reading and experiencing Ava's story and how it connected to her own search for answers. In the end we find out everything and I'm not sure if I liked the way it wrapped up. I enjoyed Taylor and Nathaniel's relationship but I felt that they became a "couple" way too quickly considering they've only known each other a few days.
All in all I enjoyed the book! I would recommend if you're a fan of historical fiction and the Titanic and enjoy some mystery.

I read this over the weekend and I really enjoyed it! It’s a dual timeline YA mystery novel that I was drawn to because I love pretty much any novel about the titanic (I have no idea why). I was drawn in very easily to the mystery. I loved how unique the mystery was and how the dual timelines came together in the end. I never would’ve guessed exactly how they related and I thought it was very clever. Plus the plot twist came out of NOWHERE!! I was seriously stunned. 


The plotting of this novel was great, but I do wish there was a little more exploration of each of the main characters. I also wasn’t a fan of the present day timeline romance subplot at all. I didn’t really see any chemistry between the two involved, but I wouldn’t let this dissuade you from reading since it was a sub subplot (if that makes sense). 


I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to read a unique dual timeline mystery. It talks about the psychology movement of the early twentieth century and has a theme of family, both of which were very intriguing. Big thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for the review copy!

This book was good, but it took me a while to finish. The different timelines were hard to keep up with at first, but eventually settled into a rhythm. I was unable to identify with the characters, which always a bummer for me when reading.

*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*

If I see that a book revolves around the Titanic, I am pretty much immediately on board. In addition to the absolutely beautiful cover, the plot synopsis was what drew me to this book. I have been a giant Titanic nerd since I was a very young child (before the movie came out, by the way. I am a Titanic nerd of the highest order ;) ). I get inordinately excited when I discover any new fiction revolving around the tragedy.

The dual timeline in this novel was quite intriguing. At first, I really had no idea how the two tied together. This is fairly unusual in historical fiction, in my experience. It took a while, but the storylines gradually wove together in such a way that was quite gripping and which I ended up enjoying.

Something that surprised me about this novel was that I was more interested in the modern storyline at the beginning of the book. Taylor's investigation into the reasons why Lady Knight wanted to speak with her before her untimely demise drew me in more than Ava's story. I think part of this was because, at the beginning of the book, Ava was quite the entitled brat. It really turned me off to be quite honest. I was a bit concerned that this would carry on throughout the novel, but I am glad to say that her character had quite a bit of growth as the story carried on.

I enjoyed learning more about the various historical figures and historical movements that Cowles talks about in the novel. I had never heard of the Black Hand (a Serbian military society), and knew very little about the spiritualism movement that was popular in the early 1900s. The addition of these elements gave the story some extra layers beyond your traditional Titanic historical fiction novel.

The romances that colored each storyline added just enough warmth to the story. I liked that they were not the main focus. Each of the main characters went on a journey of self-discovery, finding out who they were and what was most important in their lives. The romances were a side note that just brought a bit of color to a somber set of events.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a fun historical mystery. The eventual tying together of ends was very satisfying. I had a bit of a hard time liking one of the main characters, which is what brought my rating down a bit. Despite this, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical mysteries, especially about the Titanic.

I gave The Poppy and the Rose 3.5 STARS!

(I will come back to add the link when this is posted on my blog on 12/14/2020)

The Poppy & the Rose by Ashlee Cowles is a young adult historical fiction and mystery novel set in World War II times with the element of Titanic and mystery behind it. I did not know what to expect from this book when I started reading it, but as the story went by I was fully engrossed in the mystery in the characters.

We see two timelines - 1912 & 2010.
1912: Ava Knight, a teen heiress, boards the Titanic to escape the shadow of her unstable mother and to fulfill her dream of becoming a photographer in New York. During the journey she meets three people who will change her life: a handsome sailor, a soldier in the secret Black Hand society that will trigger World War I, and a woman with clairvoyant abilities. When disaster strikes the ship, family betrayals come to light.

2010: When Taylor Romano arrives in Oxford for a summer journalism program, something feels off. Not only is she greeted by a young, Rolls Royce-driving chauffeur, but he invites her to tea with Lady Mae Knight of Meadowbrook Manor, an old house with a cursed history going back to the days of Henry VIII. Lady Knight seems to know a strange amount about Taylor and her family problems, but before Taylor can learn more, the elderly woman dies, leaving as the only clue an old diary.

How are these two characters linked to each other? We see a lot of layers unfold in this book but all of them are done at the perfect timing and that's what brings beauty to this book. A lot of family dynamics are explained in this book, along with some hint of royal British England rich families and their secrets.

I liked the concept in which Titanic is used in this book. Titanic was the reason I picked up this book and it truly did not disappoint. I liked how the story progresses and we see step by step solving of puzzles. I liked the character of Taylor Romano as well as the concept of that Lady Knight's house. All these small small things bought the perfect vibe as well as took be back to that era.
_______

Thank You to NetGalley and Publisher - Owl Hollow for sending me an eARC in exchange for a honest opinion.

I mainly requested this book due to the main character and I sharing the same name and the Titanic mentioned. I really ended up enjoying this.

This book seemed to have an interesting plot; a mystery, historical fiction that also takes place on the Titanic? Sign me up. But I feel like the plot kind of fell through for me. Most of the plot twists I was able to guess, which happens sometimes when I read a mystery novel and usually this is okay as long as the plot is also exciting but that was not the case for this book. I was a fan of the dual timeline, it reminded me of Truly Devious . In terms of the plot, I feel like a whole lot of nothing was happening at the beginning and near the end is where the pace picked up. Overall, I gave this book a 2 stars out of 5 because although the description of the plot first caught my eye, it didn't live up to my expectations.

As much as I wanted to like this book, I eventually DNF'ed after trying multiple times. I could not connect with the characters and was unpleasantly surprised by their attitudes.
1/5
Due to the fact that I did not finish, I will not be posting on my blog.

I received this book from NetGalley as an eARC in exchange for a review.

The Poppy and the Rose follows two timelines, one set on the titanic and one in modern day.

I found this book to be way more interesting than I originally anticipated on rereading the summary. I am not normally a HUGE fan of historical fiction but I like mystery, so it did a good mix of including both to keep me hooked.