While I reread this many times as a child, and loved it dearly, a recent reread left me a little cold. Rose's morals seem impossibly high to meet, and while the spirit behind them is still sweet, I now find her annoying and preachy. Only nostalgia stops me from changing my rating from five stars to three.
I'd only give the first books to a die hard Little Woman fan. ( )

http://unabridgedopinions.com/2009/03... ( )

The sequel to Eight Cousins finds Rose Campbell a grown woman of fortune. Will she find true love?

Does anyone else think that Louisa May Alcott seems to write the most sentimental love scenes ever written? That's one of the only things that I don't like about her books - otherwise, they're good stories.

Rose In Bloom, however, was disappointing. The idea of cousins marrying one another is .... strange! (To me, at least. ) I guess I was expecting a different ending for Charlie, and the last chapter made me roll my eyes and shake my head. The first book (Eight Couins) is much happier and less serious. ( )

A favorite of mine. Rose in Bloom examines society expectations and the "fate" of nineteenth century gentle women in both the upper and working class. The high moral expectations from both family and society, the prejudices, customs and the lack of opportunity for even educated women is evident on every page. Drawing from personal experience, Louisa creates a bittersweet picture of life in New England in the mid eighteen hundreds. ( )