“The novel has it all: a wide cast of characters, pitch-perfect period detail, romance, plenty of drama, and skeletons in the closet (literally). Saga fans will be swooning.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“It has everything any reader could want in a book…epic storytelling that plunges the reader headfirst into the plot…[Meacham] is a titan herself.”
—Huffington Post
“Emotionally resounding…Texas has never seemed grander…Meacham’s easy-to-read prose helps to maintain a pace that you won’t be able to quit, pushing through from chapter to chapter to find the next important nugget of this dramatic family tale. It is best savored over a great steak with a glass of wine and evenings to yourself.”
—BookReporter
“Bestselling author Meacham is back with a prequel to Roses that stands on its own as a sweeping historical saga, spanning the nineteenth century…[Fans] and new readers alike will find themselves absorbed in the family saga that Meacham has proven—once again—talented in telling.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Entertaining…Meacham skillfully weaves colorful history into her lively tale…Somerset has its charms.”
—Dallas Morning News
“Slavery, westward expansion, abolition, the Civil War, love, marriage, friendship, tragedy, and triumph—all the ingredients (and much more) that made so many love Roses so much—are here in abundance.”
—San Antonio Express-News
“A story you do not want to miss…[Recommended] to readers of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help or Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind. Somerset has everything a compelling historical epic calls for: love and war, friendship and betrayal, opportunity and loss, and everything in between.”
—BookPage
“4½ stars! This prequel to Roses is as addictive as any soap opera…As sprawling and big as Texas itself, Meacham’s epic saga is perfect for readers who long for the ‘big books’ of the past. There are enough adventure, tears, and laughter alongside colorful history to keep readers engrossed and satisfied.”
—RT Book Reviews
“[An] expansive generational saga…Fans of Friday Night Lights will enjoy a return to the land where high school football boys are kings.”
—Chicago Tribune
“Meacham scores a touchdown…You will laugh, cry, and cheer to a plot so thick and a conclusion so surprising, it will leave you wishing for more. Yes, Meacham is really that good. And Tumbleweeds is more than entertaining, it’s addictive.”
—Examiner.com
“If you’re going to a beach this summer, or better yet, a windswept prairie, this is definitely a book you’ll want to pack.”
—Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, PA)
“[A] sprawling novel as large as Texas itself.”
—Library Journal
“Once again, Meacham has proven to be a master storyteller…The pages fly by as the reader becomes engrossed in the tale.”
—Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (TX)
“Like Gone with the Wind, as gloriously entertaining as it is vast…Roses transports.”
—People
“Meacham’s sweeping, century-encompassing, multigenerational epic is reminiscent of the film Giant, and as large, romantic, and American a tale as Texas itself.”
—Booklist
“Enthralling.”
—Better Homes and Gardens
“The story of East Texas families in the kind of dynastic gymnastics we all know and love.”
—Liz Smith
“Larger-than-life protagonists and a fast-paced, engaging plot…Meacham has succeeded in creating an indelible heroine.”
—Dallas Morning News
“[An] enthralling stunner, a good, old-fashioned read.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A thrilling journey…a treasure…a must-read. Warning: Once you begin reading, you won’t be able to put the book down.”
—Examiner.com
“[A] sprawling novel of passion and revenge. Highly recommended…It’s been almost thirty years since the heyday of giant epics in the grand tradition of Edna Ferber and Barbara Taylor Bradford, but Meacham’s debut might bring them back.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“A high-end Thorn Birds.”
—TheDailyBeast.com
“I ate this multigenerational tale of two families warring it up across Texas history with the same alacrity with which I would gobble chocolate.”
—Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of
gods in Alabama and Backseat Saints
“A Southern epic in the most cinematic sense—plot-heavy and historical, filled with archaic Southern dialect and formality, with love, marriage, war, and death over three generations.”
—Caroline Dworin, “The Book Bench,” NewYorker.com
“This sweeping epic of love, sacrifice, and struggle reads like Gone with the Wind with all the passions and family politics of the South.”
—Midwest Book Review
“The kind of book you can lose yourself in, from beginning to end.”
—Huffington Post
“Fast-paced and full of passions…This panoramic drama proves evocative and lush. The plot is intricate and gives back as much as the reader can take…Stunning and original, Roses is a must-read.”
—TheReviewBroads.com
“May herald the overdue return of those delicious doorstop epics from such writers as Barbara Taylor Bradford and Colleen McCullough…a refreshingly nostalgic bouquet of family angst, undying love, and ‘if only’s.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Superbly written…a rating of ten out of ten. I simply loved this book.”
—A Novel Menagerie