Red Lily by Nora Roberts

The third and final book in the In the Garden trilogy following on from on from Blue Dahlia and Black Rose.

Three women learn that the heart of their historic home holds a mystery of years gone by, as number-one bestselling author Nora Roberts brings her In the Garden trilogy to a captivating conclusion, following Blue Dahlia and Black Rose.

A Harper has always lived at Harper House, the centuries-old mansion just outside of Memphis. And for as long as anyone alive remembers, the ghostly Harper Bride has walked the halls, singing lullabies at night...

Hayley Phillips came to Memphis hoping for a new start, for herself and her unborn child. She wasn't looking for a handout from her distant cousin Roz, just a job at her thriving In the Garden nursery. What she found was a home surrounded by beauty and the best friends she's ever had-including Roz's son Harper. To Hayley's delight, her new daughter Lily has really taken to him. To Hayley's chagrin, she has begun to dream about Harper-as much more than a friend...

If Hayley gives in to her desire, she's afraid the foundation she's built with Harper will come tumbling down. Especially since she's begun to suspect that her feelings are no longer completely her own. Flashes of the past and erratic behavior make Hayley believe that the Harper Bride has found a way inside of her mind and body. It's time to put the Bride to rest once and for all, so Hayley can know her own heart again-and whether she's willing to risk it...

It is 3.50am, my eyes are falling out of my head, but it was so worth it to wrap up this trilogy from Nora Roberts. I love it when a book does that to you, when it is so good that you just can't put it down!



Later...so staying up until 4am to finish a book probably isn't the smartest thing given that you still have to function later in the day! LOL!!

As this trilogy has progressed the story of the Harper Bride has become stronger and stronger, and in this book for me it was definitely the highlight. That doesn't mean to say that I didn't enjoy Harper and Hayley as a couple, but that my anticipation as to the discovery as to what actually happened to the ghost, Amelia, had been sufficiently tempted so that I just HAD to keep reading.

The interesting thing is that in relation to the ghost, her presence in the books, including how she manifested herself to the characters also grew as everyone got closer to the truth of her identity, and her role in the Harper family history, and I found her truly scary in this one. During this book she manifests herself by possessing Hayley, and the scenes where this happened were so well written - they were seamless, but you could feel the slide from where Hayley would be talking, to where it was Amelia talking so clearly - quite skillful, especially seeing as sometimes this change of viewpoint happened halfway during a sentence!

As for Hayley, I completely understand her concerns about undertaking a relationship with a man who she not only worked with, but she was friends with his mother, and living in his family home. I got the feeling though, especially throughout the last couple of books, that Harper had been the one who recognised very early on that he was developing feelings for Hayley, so it was something of a shorter build up in my opinion for Hayley.

Can I just say that I wouldn't mind a guy like Harper! Good with his hands, and knows how to treat a lady. Of course, it would be handy to not have to worry about the garden as well!!!

I did wonder though if things moved too fast for Hayley and Harper. Yes, in book time they had known each other for a couple of years, but once they did get together everything moved at break neck speed.

By finishing this book, I feel that I am saying goodbye to people that I have come to know, and in a way it is sad, but I am definitely looking forward to getting hold of Roberts' next trilogy. I guess you could say that I am rapidly becoming a fan, although because she has such a huge backlist it could take me a while to get through them all!!

Overall, an satisfying conclusion to a really good trilogy!

Rating 4/5

Black Rose by Nora Roberts

The second book in the In the Garden trilogy. The first book in the trilogy was Blue Dahlia. Please beware...there are spoilers for Blue Dahlia in this review.

Three women meet at a crossroads in their lives, each searching for new ways to grow-and find in each other the courage to take chances and embrace the future.

Roz is a woman of independent means who thought love was behind her, but when romance takes her by surprise; she won't allow anything to keep her from her second chance at happiness.

Black Rose takes up a couple of months after the events of Blue Dahlia. Stella and the kids are still living at Harper House with Roz, although with the wedding between Stella and Logan is coming up shortly so they will be moving out. Hayley is also still living at Harper House, getting used to life as a single mum to little Lily and so is the resident ghost, known only as the Harper Bride. In Blue Dahlia, Roz started the process of trying to find out who the Harper Bride was, and what happened to her, by contacting Dr Mitch Carnagie, a genealogist.

At the beginning of this book, Mitch is available to start his investigation, and so we have our two main characters for this novel. The main difference between this and most other romances is that our two central characters are both, shall we say mature adults. Both are in their forties, with grown children, and with marriages behind them. Mitch has been divorced once, and Roz both widowed and divorced in her previous two marriages. What having a hero and heroine of this age does mean is that there is no possibility of a sappy epilogue where there are three lovely little children running around and another one on the way. I guess that that doesn't happen as regularly in contemporaries as it does in historicals, but it wasn't an option at all here which makes a nice change.

The other thing is that Mitch and Roz are both well established and successful in their chosen careers, and have a strong sense of their own identities. Whilst they are both immediately attracted to each other, and are both interested in a relationship, you also get the feeling that it is the icing on the cake for them...not their entire focus in life. There is also no need for any conflict between the two of them...something that seems to be standard romance fodder. Instead the conflict finds the two of them and it is something that they work through together. The first source of this conflict is from the Harper Bride, the second is from Roz's slimy ex-husband Bryce.

As Mitch and Roz get closer and closer to each other, the Harper Bride makes her opposition known, including in a couple of really dangerous incidents. I loved that Roz, who was willing to let anyone know what she thought about things, was strong enough to even stand up to the Harper Bride. This whole section of the trilogy is building nicely to a climax in the final book in the trilogy.

I loved that from the very first scene in the book, the sense of Roz's strength and personality shown through very consistently, including her strong sense of family, which now includes both her boys, and her friends. A perfect example of her strength are the scenes involving her ex husband. As he tries to destroy Roz's reputation in the community, she is prepared to let things go, until he takes things a step too far, at which point she stands up for herself in a very funny scene where she humiliates him in front of his friends and colleagues at the country club. I also loved Mitch's ability to recognise his own weaknesses and strengths, and thought the relationship he had with his son was lovely. I did wonder where the author was going with the storyline when she started to introduce some of the details about Mitch's own demons. Where it would have been easy to take things a step too far and have Mitch wallowing in his past, instead it was presented, dealt with, and it was clear that Mitch was a man who was now comfortable in his own skin, whilst still being aware of his limitations.

One thing I did wonder about was the character of Jane that was introduced in this book. It will be interesting to see what role she has to play in the culmination of this story. Jane is a relative who was working for Roz's cranky old aunt. As Roz assists Jane to escape from the crotchety old lady, it would seem that there is more to come for this character.

As usual, this is a well written romance, featuring well drawn and likeable characters. I can't wait to get Red Lily and read the culmination of both the mystery surrounding the Harper Bride as well as what appears to be a budding relationship between Hayley and Roz's son Harper.

Rating 4/5

Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts

Trying to escape the ghosts of the past, young widow Stella Rothschild, along with her two energetic little boys, has moved back to her roots in southern Tennessee-and into her new life at Harper House and In the Garden nursery. She isn't intimidated by the house-nor its mistress, local legend Roz Harper. Despite a reputation for being difficult, Roz has been nothing but kind to Stella, offering her a comfortable new place to live and a challenging new job as manager of the flourishing nursery. As Stella settles comfortably into her new life, she finds a nurturing friendship with Roz and with expectant mother Hayley. And she discovers a fierce attraction with ruggedly handsome landscaper Logan Kitridge

But someone isn't happy about the budding romance...the Harper Bride. As the women dig into the history of Harper House, they discover that grief and rage have kept the Bride's spirit alive long past her death. And now, she will do anything to destroy the passion that Logan and Stella share...

After a couple of years of being by herself after the death of her husband, Stella decides to move to Tennessee so that she can be closer to her father and her stepmother. Having made the big move, the book opens with her attending an interview with Roz Harper, who is the owner of the In the Garden nursery. As an added bonus, Stella and her family get to live in magnificent Harper House, a home that has been in the Harper family for generations. Of course, there are stories that are hidden within the house, but one of the biggest one is the identity of the Harper Bride ghost. Over the years, the Harper Bride has been almost a guard over the family that have lived in the house, particularly the children. When Stella starts to fall in love with Logan Kitridge, the ghost starts to behave in strange ways...the question is why?

I haven't read that many Nora Roberts books yet (especially considering how many she has written), but of the ones that I have read I have come to realise that what she seems to do best, is to take normal people, in normal situations and then bring them together and write very touching and real romances, and this story is no exception. Stella is a woman who is passionate about her family and her career, who is strong and determined and who wants to do the right thing by those around her. The sparks and the tension between Stella and Logan was very well written and realistic (even if he did go on about her hair a bit too much).

Also very much in evidence in this book is the dynamic between the three main female characters, and it is clear that their friendship will be one of the ties that binds this trilogy together.

With a good romance, just a hint of the supernatural, and a great friendship storyline, this book manages to not only have different threads to it, but Nora Roberts has managed to do it without any one part of the book feeling less polished or less developed than the others.

I am really looking forward to reading the other books in this series, and have already been to the library to pick up Black Rose.

Rating 4.5/5

Other Bloggers Thoughts:

The Bookworm - Naida