Roses by Leila Meacham

My mom was reading this book last Thanksgiving and I was immediately intrigued. First off...Look at that gorgeous cover. And the story teaser totally looped me in. So when I kept asking to borrow it and she kept me off, I was a little distraught. But luckily, she had a trick up her sleeve...she gave me the book for a Christmas present.

This is the story of the three founding families of Howbutker, TX. The DuMont's are the mercantile family, the Warwick's are the lumber family and the Toliver's are the cotton family. As they moved west and decided to settle in East Texas, they had hard set rules for their families and how they would live together. First, no family would bail out the other. "A lender nor a borrower be" was their motto. Second, they would use their ancestors "War of the Roses" past to ask for forgiveness. A red rose meant "I'm sorry" and a white rose meant "You are forgiven". A pink rose, however, was never ever to be given as it meant forgiveness was being withheld and would never be given.

In the early 1900's, the Toliver family experiences the loss of their patriarch. In his will, he leaves the cotton plantation, Somerset, to his youngest child, Mary. Leaving his son and wife pretty out of the will. Mary's story is one of heartache, stubbornness, and lost love. She is tied to the land that is her heritage and she sacrifices her happiness and that of her family and friends for the land. But when she is old and dying, she writes a codicil to her will that surprises everyone. Her great niece who has been groomed to take over Somerset is not given the land and it is in learning Mary's story and how the land has cursed the Toliver family, that you learn why she has done what she has.

I felt like a fly on the wall in the lives of these characters. The character development and storyline are so intricately written that I felt like I living in East Texas. I loved the story, but I was so sad to see it end. It was one of those books, that when I got close to the end, I slowed down, so it wouldn't be over. This one is definitely on my favorites list and I know it will be a treasure that I will read more than once.

My description of the book has done it little justice, as there is just so much to it, there is now way I can explain it without just telling the whole story. So, please take my word for it, this book is wonderful and worth the time.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the small east Texas town of Howbutker is run by two families. The Tolivers preside over the massive cotton plantation of Somerset, while the Warwicks possess acres upon acres of timber. The children of the families, pretty and stubborn Mary Toliver and suave, strong Percy Warwick, are like water and oil. Percy insists that Mary will eventually marry him, and Mary is adamant that she will never have room in her heart for anything but Somerset, yet their undeniable attraction pulls them together. Through a trick of fate, Percy and Mary are forced apart. The consequences of their separation vibrate throughout the years, giving rise to lies, deceit, secrets, and tragedies that their families must suffer through, until, ultimately, they just have to leave it to Percy, Mary, and plain fate to see if they can make things right in the end.