Set in Whitechapel in 1888, The Tea Rose is a tale of a love lost and won, of a family's destruction, of murder and revenge -- and one young woman's quest to escape the poverty of her childhood and make her fortune in the tea trade. Fiona Finnegan is the spirited, ambitious daughter of an Irish dock worker. She longs to break free from the squalid lanes and alleys of Whitechapel, where she has a job in a tea factory. With the love of her life, Joe Bristow, she dreams of escaping the poverty and opening her own tea shop. But one by one her dreams fall apart as her father is killed in a dock accident, Joe is seduced by another woman, and her mother is viciously murdered - a suspected victim of Jack the Ripper. Devastated, her life in tatters, Fiona flees to New York where she sets up home with her alcoholic uncle. Slowly she builds his small grocery shop into a thriving tea house, and her new life flourishes. After years of hard work, she establishes herself as the head of her own powerful tea empire. But she cannot forget London - or Joe. Convinced that her father was murdered by his brutal employer, Fiona vows to seek revenge and ruin him once and for all. Making her way back to the streets of her impoverished childhood, Fiona must start her fight again. From the bleak poverty and filthy back streets of London to the glossy sophistication of Fifth Avenue, from East End dock workers to New York socialites, The Tea Rose is a charming, heart warming and ultimately life-affirming novel.

This is a wonderful beginning to a multi book saga. The characters are so well developed. The story is beautiful, tragic, and inspiring. You want to hate Joe for what he does to Fiona but you can't. I could not put this book down and it's a must read. One of my all time favorite books, though the Winter Rose is a bit better than Tea Rose. They both are so superbly written. Why can't there be more books like this.

Really did enjoy this compelling story. I love to read books that I just can't put down. Loved Tea Rose so much that I rushed out and bought the sequel, Winter Rose, and found it to be even better.

I loved this book. It made me cry, laugh, get all excited, and stay up the whole night. If you like historical fiction with a bit of romance, this is a must!!!!

This is the last time I buy a book based on good reviews. I had so many issues with this book. I don't even know where to start. I hated this book from page one until the end. Part one was a complete and utter bore. I wasn't feeling this wonderful love between Fiona and Joe. I think that's a big reason why this book did nothing for me. All they do is talk about their stupid shop they dream of having some day.

The Jack the Ripper murders were just stupid. When a main character was killed by him, I couldn't have cared less. In fact, I didn't care about any of the characters, well except for Nick, but the author managed to muck that up too by killing him off. He was the only interesting part of the book, but he was just a prop so Fiona could finally get even with her arch enemy, William Burton. His death conveniently solved all of her problems. Poor Nick, used and abused, by the author and Fiona.

One of the main things that disturbed me about this book is when a character tells another character that an unborn child who died was better off dead because his mother was just a horrible person. No matter how horrible a person might be, no child deserves to die. Also, how could you ever forgive someone you have loved all your life who had sex with someone else and got them pregnant? I would never forgive my husband for it, and I certainly don't forgive Joe Bristow. I just can't believe Fiona pines away for this loser the ENTIRE book!

The end of the book was the worst part for me. Fiona has sex with Joe, who she thinks has a wife and child. Yet, she has no qualms about doing the nasty with him, even after he cheated on her and left her to rot. Sick!

I also found the part about Fiona ditching her guards at the end of the book ridiculous. Here are these guards who are payed to protect her from someone who is trying to kill her, yet they leave her alone in a cemetary so she could do some gardening for an hour or two. Then, she totally ditches them and goes for a stroll around London and ends up taking a dip in the Thames. Yeah, that's exactly what I would do if someone was out to kill me. What an airhead!

The very last pages of the book were most ridiculous. Someone who you thought died at the beginning of the book is somehow alive. His absence is explained by amnesia. I kid you not. This book was total rubbish. I don't know HOW it got so many 5 star reviews. If I never see another novel by Jennifer Donnelly, it will be too soon.

"The Tea Rose"

By Jennifer Donnelly

This heartwarming tale begins working-class London where our main character Fiona lives and works. Born into a hard working Irish family, Fiona works long hard hours packing tea at Burton Tea, a major company that her father also works for as a dock worker. The Finnegans are hard working honest folk who are just trying to scrape by in life, but Fiona and her beau Joe dream of bigger and better things for themselves. Determined to open their own shop together and marry, they save every penny they can to get the money to finance their dream life together.

Life takes a turn for the worse however when Fiona's father Paddy joins the Tea Union. Disaster befalls the Finnegans when an "accident" changes their lives forever. Now struggling to make ends meet Fiona and her family are suddenly thrust into poverty, and to make matters worse Joe makes a horrible mistake that causes him to have to leave Fiona forever.

Distraught by grief, Fiona goes to Mr. Burton, the owner of the company she works for to plead for some money to help her family. While at the factory however, she overhears a conversation that she shouldn't have...a conversation that could cost her her life.

Desperate, Fiona grabs up her little brother and heads for America and her Uncle's shop in New York City. She's in for a shock when she gets there however, her Uncle's shop is going up for auction in a few short months. Determined to pursue her dream, Fiona reopens her Uncle's shop and seeks her fortune. But the ghosts of her past still haunt her and are slowly pulling her back to London to seek revenge...

"The Tea Rose" kept me riveted from the very first page. "The Tea Rose" is full of vivid historical fiction from two different countries, England and the U.S. Donnelly creates a vivid picture of two very separate worlds: The working poor, and the elite society.

I felt a deep connection with the main character of Fiona. I felt pain when she did, cried with joy with her, and wanted to leap from my chair when she triumphed. Admittedly this book would be classified as a "chick book." A deep-seeded romance is the true heart of this book, and though irksome at times really brought all of the characters together and kept the story moving at a good pace.

I honestly have no complaints about "The Tea Rose." I loved everything about this book and I didn't want it to end. All lovers of historical fiction have to read "The Tea Rose!" If you don't you are truly missing out. I will definitely be reading more of Jennifer Donnelly in the future!

Five Stars!