I originally got very excited when I heard this movie was coming out. I'm a huge Julie Garwood fan, and this movie was to be based on her bestseller, 'For the Roses'. Five minutes into the show, I realized that the only thing the book and movie had in common were the names of Mary Rose and her brothers, and the place they live, Rose Hill. I was very disappointed that the movie was so far away from the book, because the book is a wonderful love story. If you haven't read it, do!But once I realized how different it was going to be, I was able to look at it as a movie with similarities. That way, I could enjoy the movie unto itself, and not keep comparing it to the book. The movie is a nice way to kill a couple of hours, with your crochet or knitting in hand, but I wouldn't recommend it if you loved the book! Mary Rose, in the movie, is a spoiled, self-centered little twit who finally comes to self-realization and becomes a better person. Nice, but in the book, she already IS a wonderful person, and would never have looked twice at someone who killed one of her beloved brothers. And in the book, if I'm remembering correctly, none of the brothers die, which is good, since they're all terrific, as well. As a matter of fact, several books were released later, detailing the love stories for the brothers, as well, including Adam, the oldest. Rent Rose Hill if you want a mindless, though entertaining time-killer. But if you want a terrific story, go get the book "For the Roses", instead. You wont' be sorry!

If you've read the book, don't watch this movie.And if you're thinking about watching the movie, read the book instead.I was completely disappointed in this adaptation, which seems to have retained only the names of the characters and the fact that Mary Rose was found as a baby by the brothers (although the more specific details of this have been altered as well). All I could think while watching this travesty was, a) Apparently the screenplay writer read the back copy of the novel and not Garwood's actual book and b) Thank god for Jennifer Garner and Justin Chambers (the only apparent acting talent in the movie), otherwise I'd shoot myself right now.By the end of the movie, I was trying to figure out how Julie Garwood even allowed her name to be anywhere in the same universe as this film. I would probably have felt about ten thousand times better if this was done independent of the book, since it has practically nothing in common. And I would have been much less freaked out when Cole and Adam die (uh, yeah, in Julie Garwood world they get their own novels) and waaaaaay less weirded out when Harrison, Mary Rose's boyfriend/husband in the book shows up as her brother in the movie.Okay, really, the message here is just read the freaking book. Pretend the movie never happened.

I watched this movie against my own better judgement. When some friends wanted to watch it, they explained the plot to me. I thought it sounded so incredibly lame. How interesting does a movie about a bunch of homeless teenage cowboys finding and raising a child sound? I was forced to watch it against my will, but I didn't think it was that awful, in fact I found it rather entertaining. Parts of it are ridiculous. The girl at points can be annoying, especially when her brother is dying and she's hitting on the guy who shot him. However despite it's many drawbacks I did manage to enjoy it.I definitely wouldn't recommend this movie to a guy who can't stand to watch chick flicks, but to guys who can tolerate them, the movie isn't completely insufferable. For a woman who likes sap movies, like the ones who made me watch this movie, this is a must see.When explaining the movie it sounds like it's about a bunch of gay cowboy's raising a child, I was surprised.

Rose Hill, which was adapted to screen "loosely" based on Julie Garwood's novel "For the Roses" by Earl Wallace (who also wrote "The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch"), is a good story in itself. If I had not read the book first, I might have enjoyed it a whole lot more. In the movie, the characters' names remained the same as in the book, however their personalities, IQ's and roles in Mary Rose's life were altered greatly.