Falling Roses by Rosemarie Piemonte Professional Reviews

Ireland, Falling Roses, Fast Track
"Rosemarie Piemonte pens an exciting romantic thriller with her first novel, Falling Roses. A teenager gets hit by a car and spends two months in a coma. A rock star visits the hospital to visit sick children and becomes enamored with this comatose beauty. The fairytale comes true, albeit with some deadly twists and turns. Roses characters have depth, warmth, charm, and plenty of rock and roll. If it weren't for the doings of the evil Bernadette and her wacko half brother, Johnny and Gabrielle could live happily ever after. You'll have to read the book to find out more! Enjoy the journey..." — Cynthia Brian, Media Coach, Writer, Author, Speaker, TV/Radio Personality, Spokesperson

Fallen Angel Reviews
5 Angel Review + Recommended Read

Falling Roses

Struggling to wake up to a familiar voice, Gabrielle Newtonendie could not remember what had happened to her. As bits and pieces of her memory emerge, mainly lights and a car hitting her as she was trying to run away, she realizes that she has heard that voice many times before, singing. Unbelievably, Johnny Ravolie, lead singer of her favorite group Ra’vole, is sitting near her bed, encouraging her to wake up. With a breathing tube inserted, the only way she can communicate is by moving her finger. Strangely enough, they build a relationship and when Johnny is called away, he asks her to wait for him and tells her that he loves her. How can Gabrielle and Johnny be together and find happiness with his ex-girlfriend always in the background?

Reluctantly visiting a young coma victim at her parents’ request, Johnny Ravolie is enchanted by Gabrielle. Although he’s not sure she can hear him, he talks, sings and finally falls in love with her. Finally Johnny feels her moving her fingers to try and talk to him. Gabrielle was waking up. On the road to recovery, Johnny knows he must protect her from his ex-girlfriend Bernadette. Will taking her to his home on Long Island be enough? How will they overcome all the obstacles in their path to happiness?

Rosemarie Piemonte has written a wonderful story filled with love, romance, and drama. Falling Roses will hook you from the very beginning and you will want to find out what happens before you put the book down. It is a fast paced and very moving read. The characters are so vibrant and loving. They take you with them on their journey throughout the story. In addition, the suspense will keep you glued to the pages and hoping and praying that Johnny and Gabrielle will be able to get rid of Bernadette and be able to have a life together. There are certain aspects of the story that will really have you questioning your beliefs, especially concerning the age difference between them as well as Johnny’s decisions in regard to that age difference. It will really make you think about the love between these two. Ms. Piemonte, this is a wonderful book and this reviewer will remember the love that Falling Roses has in it. Thank you for a wonderful book. I will be looking for more of your books to read in the future.

Reviewed by: Moonluster

Gotta Write Network
Falling Roses
By Rosemarie Piemonte
Author House
Romantic Thriller
June 2005
ISBN: 1-4208-3852-0

A drunk driver nearly claims the life of 14-year-old Gabrielle "Bobbie" Newtonendie. She awakens from a coma to find Johnny Ravolie, lead singer from her favorite band Ra'vole at her bedside. His girlfriend Bernadette rudely announces in the hallway that it was all part of a rigged publicity stunt to show Johnny's continued support for young burn victims in the hospital rather than his concern for Bobbie. Yet, Johnny isn't backing away and is determined to help her with or without Bernadette's approval.

Shortly after being discharged from the hospital Bobbie learns that she has been launched into celebrity status because of Johnny's interest in her. She also finds support in a new friend, Nina, a Goth-like girl her age who was also a patient at the hospital.

Through persuasion, Johnny convinces Bobbie's parents that he'll pay for her college education if they allow him to be her legal guardian when she moves with him to New York. They agree and soon Bobbie is thrust out of her innocent life and into a rock 'n roll existence complete with parties, learning the production and promotional end of the industry and finding friends who would put their lives on the line to protect her. Why? Because Bernadette isn’t really Johnny's girlfriend. She's a dangerous stalker bent on controlling every element of his life. Now that Johnny is falling hard for Bobbie, Bernadette has one thing in mind and it literally affects the lives of everyone who care for both Bobbie and Johnny.

FALLING ROSES is not a fantasy existence dreamed up by a young girl deeply in love. It’s a nightmare reality of what happens when a stalker becomes a parasite and has the means to achieve her goals. The storyline leads the reader on a roller coaster ride where every twist and turn in Johnny and Bobbie's life leads to danger. And one asks, will it ever end? Will they find peace?

Four and a half explosives out of five
©Denise Fleischer, gottawritenetwork.com
September 4, 2006

Reviewed by Audrey Hauser for Reader Views (08/06)

What happens when a young teen is thrown into the world in rock stars, sex, crime, and drugs? In the book, “Falling Roses”, Gabrielle/Bobbie, is seriously injured when struck by a car while walking home in Chicago. Lying in a coma, she does hear and feel what is going on around her but is unable to respond. Her fear is that the doctors are going to give up on her and she will die. Enter Johnny Ravolie, her favorite rock star. Johnny is in the hospital to visit children in the burn unit as part of a publicity promotion and he is asked to look in on Bobbie. This is where the story takes a fairy tale turn.

Bobbie is 14 years old and Johnny is in his 20s. He brings her back to life, i.e.: the real world, and tells her he is in love with her. Bobbie expresses her love for him. Because of the age difference they cannot make a public announcement of their love. When Bobbie goes home from the hospital she thinks Johnny has forgotten her. But he finds her and somehow convinces her strict parents to allow him to be Bobbie’s guardian and as well as for her to go to New York to live with him. What ensues is a growing relationship, supposedly hidden from the world. There is a former lover in Johnny’s life who is a psychopath and will stop at nothing to get rid of Bobbie and get Johnny back.

Throughout the course of the story, Bobbie and Johnny seem to maintain a private illicit relationship. Bobby is introduced to a world she had never dreamed of. Having been a brilliant student and, in her parents eyes, capable of being a great doctor or lawyer, Bobbie found she wanted neither of those things. Rather, she wanted to belong in the world of rock music at Johnny’s side. During this time she goes through 2 kidnappings, a pregnancy, and a reunion with Johnny.

I feel this story does introduce us to what might happen if a young girl is thrown into a world for which she in not ready, but the realism of the happenings in the book is a little far fetched. The author has vividly described the events for us and made it easy to picture what is happening, though as a reader I had a hard time believing the story. My own personal experience of being a 15 year old in love with a 23 year old gives me the right to say this probably isn’t the way it would be. I did in time marry this man, but the years leading up to it were nothing like what Bobbie went through. It’s true I was not in a coma and my hero was not a rock star, but I did have the distinction of graduating valedictorian of my class. I made the choice at the young age of 18 that I wanted to marry rather than go to college. Bobbie had already made this decision when she was 15. She and Johnny were simply waiting until her 18th birthday. Would strict parents of an intelligent young 15 year old girl just turn over her guardianship to a rock star? I don’t think that would happen. I feel the genre is teens and young twenties for this book and the story might be misleading to this group as to the realities faced in a similar situation.

While Rosemarie Piemonte has good writing skills, I would like to see a story line that embraces more plausible situations.

Rating: [3 of 5 Stars!]

Falling Roses by Rosemarie Piemonte tells the story of Gabrielle “Bobbie” Newtonendie, a 14-year-old accident victim who is in a coma. Twenty-year-old Johnny Ravolie, who just happens to be her favorite rock star, visits her in the hospital. Her recovery and ensuing romance with the rock star makes up the main premise of the story.

Bobbie’s two-month stay in the hospital was told in great detail. It is every girls dream come true to wake up with her favorite star by her bedside. For Bobbie, the dream became a reality. To a skeptical reader like myself though, I couldn’t help but wonder if she was only dreaming that Johnny had visited her in the hospital.

Bobbie’s romance with Johnny was very romantic and well written. However, as a skeptic, I began to wonder if Johnny truly loved Bobbie or if he was simply using her to get back at Bernadette. The constant obstacles that are thrown in the mix strain the relationship between Johnny and Bobbie, but it also seems to make their love stronger.

The constant conflicts in this story make for excellent reading. Although the book started off a little slow, after the first five chapters, it became so exciting that I found it hard to put down. Falling Roses by Rosemarie Piemonte is so intriguing that I would highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys suspense-filled, riveting story lines. This book was so good that I read it a second time. I am anxiously awaiting Ms. Piemonte’s next book.

Katherine Grimes Bostick

writer, newspaper columnist

FALLING ROSES

ROSEMARIE PIEMONTE
ISBN# (10) 1420838520/(13) 978-1420838527
January 2007
Author House Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200, Bloomington, IN 47403
Paperback
$20.75
372 Pages
Romantic Thriller
Rating: 4 Cups

A car injury sends fourteen-year-old, Gabrielle/Bobbie Newtonendie into a coma where she can still hear and sense things around her. Something tells her the doctors are giving up on her, but her favorite rock star makes an appearance giving her some hope.

Johnny Ravolie, rock star, is visiting the pediatric burn victims at the hospital when he visits Bobbie. After spending time with her, the twenty-year-old falls in love.

Johnny loves Bobbie, regardless of their age differences. His continuing visits end up giving her life again but with their ages, it is best to not boast a public announcement of their impending love. Once Bobbie returns home, she does not hear much from Johnny and fears he has deserted her. Bobbie’s overly strict parents are very protective of her but Johnny appears and encourages them to permit Bobbie to move to New York and live with him. Bobbie’s parents agree, not realizing that the love the two young people share only grows more intense with each passing day. Unfortunately, someone from Johnny’s past does not share the same enthusiasm for his feelings for Bobbie and plans on severing the ties between the two.

Falling Roses is a stirring read that carries the reader down through years as Bobbie and Johnny grow together in their relationship. Johnny’s and Bobbie’s range of lifestyle is diverse, only making their love more genuine. Throughout their time together, she faces many painful traumas that tend to make her stronger. Rosemarie Piemonte allows the reader to be captured into the ambience of the story while getting a good visual of the personal experiences of the characters. She instills conflict, romance and a touch of enigma, making the reader wonder will their love be strong enough to face any obstacle in this poignant tale.

A quirky sense of humor and the unpredictable journey pulls you into the passion of her writings. She encourages you to dream of a different world.