If Eight Couisins was great, Rose In Bloom is classic! I left the child-hood friends in great anticipation of meeting them again as adults. At the same time, however, I felt an ominous sense of foreboding. . . Would Charlie and Mac ruin their friendship in vieing for their sweet cousin's hand? I could not imagine Mac striving with anyone over anything. So . . . what then? Would the romantic and debonair Charlie simply sweep Rose off her feet, while Mac stands in the background and sighs with dissapiontment? No. That didn't seem to fit, either. As it turned out, the good and noble Mac did win Rose's heart over his hansome and undiciplined cousin. I - like Rose - first fell in love with "the Prince". And like her, I came to see, through tragic circumstances, what true love really means. . . finding someone you can look up to, instead of lift up.

Eight Cousins and it's sequel are on my all-time, absolute favorite, read over-and-over again book list! I read Eight Cousins before Little Women, and personally don't understand why one is so much more popular. Come on girls, isn't it almost unanimous? Jo should have married Laurie!!! Anyway, it amazes me that while there are half a dozen Little Women movies, we haven't seen the Eight Cousins on film.
Quick synopsis:
Rose Campbell, whom you meet in Eight Cousins, returns home from a long trip abroad. All the cousins are grown up now, and their childish friendships and failings have grown too. Little vices are now bad habits, and some friendships have turned to love. As Rose transitions from girl to womanhood, there are many lessons she must learn. And the reader gets to share them every step of the way!
From the shy 13 year old who is terrified of boys, to the strong, compassionate woman, Rose Campbell is one of my dearest friends in fiction. Unlike an earlier reviewer, I was relieved that she didn't marry Charlie. I was almost afraid that she would, and ruin the entire story. For those who've only read Eight Cousins, believe me, this isn't another Laurie. Everything bad about Charlie in the first book is magnified. He's lazy, spineless, a flirt, and not really good at anything but being romantic. If you still like him in spite of everything, better have a box of tissues handy. Even I needed them.
As for Mac and Rose, read the book for yourself and decide. Me, I always keep a soft spot in my heart for geeks.
While I'd give Eight Cousins a full five stars, Rose in Bloom scores a tiny bit lower. I agree with other reviewers that Alcott dropped her development of certain characters. That's ok though since it's a sequel. The main focus is on Rose, Charlie, and Mac. Archie and Phoebe recieve some attention, but I don't find that part of the story quite satisfactory. However, I still love the book, and rate it at 4.5-5 stars

Like usual, Louisa May Alcott spins the story with a touch of elegance, wittiness and sentimentality. And like usual, fans of her 'sequels' (Good Wives, anyone?) get extremely frustrated at the outcome of the story. Laurie ending up with Amy was one of my favourite parts in Good Wives, but somehow the magic did not work on me for the second time for Rose and Mac.

Although the author had liberally repeated that Charlie is a scoundrel and Mac remains as lovable as ever, yet as the story progresses you find yourself getting more fond of the former, despite harsh comments such as 'fast', and 'expelled' and 'drunk'. Mac was delightfully interesting before he fell in love with Rose, which after that made him... just ordinary. On the other hand, the more passionate Charlie became, the better a person he becomes.

I really thought that Rose and Mac should have fallen in love much earlier, so that a real love triangle could be formed. In that fashion people will be more attracted to Rose/Mac and not get too hopeful of a possible Rose/Charlie relationship.

Louisa May Alcott feeds us Charlie/Rose tidbits till the end, until she drops us a bomb the size of Antartica with the surprising 'tragedy'. Charlie was described so gorgeously, so beautifully; my heart ached when I read that scene. I couldn't bear to read the remaining chapters for a few days, still being in a state of shock and disbelief.

Of course, Louisa immediately dove into lengthy explainations and comparisons to justify what she did, and I find myself reluctantly preferring Rose/Mac after that.

But there were so many Rose and Mac interactions that had the potential to be romantic; the pre-ball scene, the talk by the fireplace, the chat under the tree... Instead Mac decides to fall in love with Rose AFTER the 'tragedy', which romance compared to the dramatic climax of the book, is almost bland and predictable.

I recommend this book to anyone, for its lovely antics and a beautifully written story. But I'll warn you NOT to fall in love with Charlie. It'll just get really depressing if you do. Sigh...

I love Rose In Bloom. Whenever I'm in a romantic mood, I pick up this book and reread all of the sentimental parts. Although Rose is a bit too perfect to be real, most of the other characters are wonderful (especially Mac). I first read this book when I was around 15, and am still reading it 10 years later :).