by Karen Ann Hopkins
Genre: young adult contemporary romance
Expected publication date: June 26 2012
Pages: 383 (paperback)
Source: Advanced Review Copy from publisher
Format: paperback
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BLURB: Your heart misleads you. That's what my friends and family say. But I love Noah. And he loves me. We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each other's arms. It should be ROSE & NOAH forever, easy. But it won't be. Because he's Amish. And I'm not.
The summary made me want to read the book right away. Star-crossed romance? Yes please! Suffice to say, I started reading the book as soon as I received it and finished it in four hours.
When Noah's family stops by the new neighbors' house to welcome them to town, Noah sees the most beautiful girl that he has ever seen. Right then and there, Noah finds himself smitten with the confident and headstrong Rose. If someone told Rose that she would have a massive crush on a guy who wears suspenders on a daily basis, she would have had a laughing fit. But when she moves next door to an Amish family, Rose starts fancying their son Noah. No matter how hard they try to ignore their feelings, fate takes it's turn and the two finds themselves defying their families and their culture in order to be together.
It was very difficult for me to like the characters. Rose was made to be a strong and independent lady, but I hated that she acted like a complete dimwit whenever Noah was concerned. And Noah? Noah acted like a little boy and it seemed like Rose was a toy that he could never have, so he would obsess forever on figuring out ways on how to obtain her.
The differences between Noah and Rose were made quite evident in the story. Rose is a dancer and dancing is her life, but the Amish disapprove of dancing and music and everything of the sort. Noah is a bit of a sexist, even if it wasn't officially mentioned, and Rose hates the way Amish men act towards the women in the community. The only thing they have in common is their teeny tiny love for horseback riding. And that's just weird.
I'm quite a fan of forbidden romance and the whole 'two people from different worlds fall in love' cliche, but I wasn't too much of a fan of this book. Let me rephrase that, I loved the idea of the plot and everything, but the characters didn't grow on me. They were very weak, and there wasn't a change in them at all. They had this huge problem that they had to solve and their 'love' depended on it, but they acted like little children. Rose's older brother Sam always had great advice for her, but she wouldn't listen because "their love would definitely make it through the rain.' It annoyed the crap out of me.
In a technical point of view, the book was close to perfection. Karen Hopkins' writing was beautiful and was part of the reason why I was so engrossed in the story. The story-line flowed well and the voices of the characters came through. The book was told in both Rose and Noah's point of views, so it was a very interesting experience.
I wasn't too thrilled about the ending, but I liked that Rose had a sort of turning point where she doubted her resolution. I hope that I would enjoy the second book more, because the story has great potential. Fingers crossed!
THE NUB AND GIST: 3.5 STARS
