Book Review - Desert Rose

Desert Rose
J. Arlene Culiner
November 2018

A secret life is the best protection against love… Men love Rose Badger, and if the other inhabitants of dead-end Blake’s Folly, Nevada, don’t approve, she couldn’t care less. With a disastrous marriage far behind her, settling down is the last thing she intends to do. Isn’t life for fun? Doesn’t a stable relationship always mean predictability and boredom? Well… perhaps things might be different with Jonah Livingstone, but he is off limits for anything other than friendship. Even though he’s started a slow burning fire inside her, he’s still entangled in a complicated past relationship. And Rose has another secret life—one that she’ll never give up for any man. The last person geologist Jonah Livingstone expected to meet in a semi-ghost town is Rose Badger. She’s easy-going, delightfully spontaneous, and Jonah is certain their attraction is mutual. But Rose is always surrounded by a crowd of admirers and doesn’t seem inclined to choose a favorite. Though Jonah has also suffered a failed marriage, he can’t help being drawn to Rose—and he dares to hope she may feel the same for him. But is Jonah too independent to settle into a permanent relationship again? He’s leading his own very private life, as well…and secrets are an excellent protection against love. Will he do what it takes to hold on to his Desert Rose? 

Between The Pages 
A fun story with a small town setting. Rose and Jonah have an immediate connection and it’s interesting to watch them through their journey to discover their love for each other. At times, I found Rose a bit too carefree with enjoying the attention of too many men. Even after wanting more of a relationship with Jonah, she tries to entice Lance. Thankfully, Lance was a gentleman and ignored her advances. Rose and Jonah have secrets and when they reveal them to each other is where the story gets stronger and ups the emotion and tension. The addition of Noodle, the dog, was enjoyable. The cast of secondary characters were interesting and living in the quaint town of Blake’s Folly, many of them could hold a story of their own, especially Lance, the veterinarian. The cover is beautiful with the mountains, the dog, and Rose, giving a peek at the setting of a good weekend read.

Rating 
3.5 Stars