Red on a Rose by Patricia Jones Review

I really wanted to love Red on a Rose, but it just ended up being an average reading experience for me. The premise is fantastic, the dilemma realistic but I think the actions stemming from the delimma were not. Lila comes off as self centered, a bit whiny, and I had a hard time feeling any real empathy for her. Everything seemed to be about how it effects her instead of her trying to understand the perspective of others. Lila should have had much more understanding for Jack or at least been more direct with him. Although Jack's actions did have a direct effect on the way that Lila viewed him, all of the things that made him the man that she loved should have been a bigger factor. It just really bothered me that everything was about Lila. 

There's also lots of inner dialogue which isn't a favorite of mine, so that could also play a part as to why I didn't thoroughly enjoy this one. I appreciate the attempt of incorporating social commentary in a practical and personal way for the main couple, I just had a hard time connecting and staying engaged. My disappointment and frustration with the current political climate here in America with the election of a man to the presidency that I can't believe even qualifies to hold any elected office, could also have been a reason that I didn't relate well to  Lila. Maybe I am not in the right frame of mind to feel deep compassion in the face of disgustingly racist behaviors. 

This was my first book by Patricia Jones and the writing was fluid and I did feel compelled to finish the book. I think that I will giver her first book Passing a try at some point, just not right now. I'm afraid that my own sour attitude would negatively affect the way that I experience the story. I need to wait until I find a better and more positive outlook to pick up that one. 

Happy Reading!

Monica

Amazon

In a captivating voice that wafts around you like a rose's rich fragrance, Patricia ]ones peels back the petals of emotion that blanket a woman's soul and, in this poignant and wise novel, tells a powerful story of love and redemption.

Lila Giles Calloway has come a long way since she stepped out from under her stepmother's controlling thumb. Happily married to cardiac surgeon Jack Calloway and living in her beloved hometown of Baltimore, Lila splits her time among visiting with Jack's elderly patients, directing her own on-line reading program for children, and contemplating the possibility of motherhood. But all this comes to a screeching halt when, one typical Saturday afternoon, Lila is confronted with a situation that challenges the very core of her moral fiber. In a split second, the idyllic life lack and Lila have built together is threatened, and suddenly she must reconcile the truth that there's a bit of evil in all of us with her love for her husband and her faith in her life's purpose.