THE GOLD ROSE
by
Jodi Lea Stewart
Historical Fiction / WWII / Action & Drama / International Mystery
Publisher: Progressive Rising Phoenix Press
Date of Publication: February 21, 2023
Number of Pages: 372 pages
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Since the early 1940s, THE GOLD ROSE, a secret rescue agency with Asian origins, has used unique systems to ferret out and save victims in every corner of the world. Charlotte Hunt-Basse has faced dangerous and often deadly challenges in her decade as an agent with the agency, not the least of which was the past rescues of two of her assignments, Pinkie and Babe.
Two-year-old Pinkie is discovered abandoned on a dirt road during a violent storm. She is whisked off to Mexico by oil heir Clint Sutton and his girlfriend, Angelina, as they attempt to escape the lies of Clint’s father’s second wife. Three years later, Pinkie is stolen away to Argentina by an aging Romani. Pinkie suffers from the malice of her captor but wins the fatherly love of a Buenos Aires circus owner and his fiance. Shortly after landing in the crosshairs of THE GOLD ROSE, Pinkie’s life takes two more shocking twists. When the agency locates Pinkie again, Agent Charlotte must throw all caution to the wind to rescue her.
Babe, the child of Texas-based missionaries, is hidden by two Chinese families during the Japanese invasion and ensuing Communist takeover of China. She is forced by the second family to live incognito as a “boy” for several years to save her from soldiers invading China from the North. Martial arts are banned, but the grandfather of the family teaches Babe Yǒng Chūn in deepest secrecy. The civil war escalates, and Babe finds herself on a dangerous quest for survival as she journeys alone through enemy territory toward the faintest hope of rescue.
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Jodi Lea Stewart is a fiction author who centers her themes around the triumph of overcoming adversity through grit, humor, and hard-rock tenacity. Born in Texas and growing up in Arizona smelling cedar berries and cow pens on a large cattle ranch wedged between the Navajo Nation and the White Mountain Apache Tribe, most of her friends were Native American and Hispanic, with a few Anglos thrown in for good measure. On the ranch, she climbed petroglyph-etched boulders, sang to chickens, bounced two feet in the air in the backend of pickups wrestling through washed-out terracotta roads, and rode horseback on the winds of her imagination through the arroyos and mountains of the Arizona high country. Later, she left her studies at the University of Arizona in Tucson to move to San Francisco, where she learned about peace, love, and exactly what she didn’t want to do with her life.
Moving back to her native Texas, Jodi graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Business Management, raised three+ children, worked as an electro-mechanical drafter, penned humor columns for a college periodical, wrote regional western articles, and served as managing editor of a Fortune 500 corporate newsletter. Her lifelong friendship with all shades of folks, cowpunchers, southern belles, intellectuals, and “outlaws” propels Jodi into writing comfortably about the Southwest, the South, and far beyond. She currently resides in Arizona with her husband, two wild and crazy Standard poodles, one rescue cat, her fun-loving ninety-plus-year-old mom, a never-be-still-four-year-old tornado, and numerous bossy houseplants.
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ONE WINNER:
Signed copy of The Gold Rose plus a custom Gold Rose laptop carrying case
(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 4/21/23)
Rating 5 out of 5 Stars
Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review from Lone Star Literary.
The story begins from the perspective of Charlotte Hunt- Base. An agent working for the ROSE International agency. A hidden rescue agency that has worked to rescue people over the years. Charlotte has a long history with the agency and the story begins with her reflecting on her life thus far. The novel continues as she looks back on her time with the agency and we journey through her life, highlighting various moments that have impacted her. The story continues with diving into her rescue of Pinkie and Babe. Pinkie, a young girl taken from her loving family and tossed into a world of trauma. Babe, a daughter separated from her parents who finds herself in danger during a takeover. These two come from different traumatic backgrounds that lead them both to Charlotte. Two separate stories both intertwined by one person and agency. What lengths has Charlotte gone to in an attempt to rescue these two? Why does their stories standout from all the other moments?
The Gold Rose is a historical fiction novel written in a multi viewpoint style with the year ranging from 1937 to 1959. The author Jodi Lea Stewart does a wonderful job with the development of each character and the unraveling of the eventful history of Charlotte, Babe, and Pinkie. The author has a unique skill with writing such an engaging, enthralling, and captivating novel. I have degree in history and it is such a treat to come across a well written historical fiction novel. When people think history, they often think of the boring and not so exciting parts. However, the author brings in some of the most exciting parts by highlighting the thrilling danger lurking around the corner moments in history that often get lost in historical fiction. My attention was captured from the beginning as I got a chance to get to know each character by getting to dig deeper into their lives and the dire circumstances they overcame. You can tell the author did extensive research when trying to provide readers with a glimpse of what life would have been like during the communist takeover in China. She uses such thoughtful language when describing brutal moments and when highlighting the strength of the female characters. Lastly, I enjoyed how the author took me on an action packed rescue adventure around the globe.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in historical fiction novels.
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