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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A clear five-out-of-five, to me, this book was absolutely perfect and *exactly* what I needed.
Honestly, this review will probably come out very jumbled, as I am completely falling over myself with how much I loved it. First of all, Nora Roberts is the queen of banter. There, I said it - the quips, the reparte, satisfying, precious, hilarious, and perfect. And what is banter if it comes from flat characters? Nothing! If I'm being perfectly candid, I was surprised at how much I adored literally every single one of these characters. They had depth, but were just simply *likeable*; so much so that at about 75% of the way through it dawned on me that I was genuinely going to miss them once the book was over.
The paranormal element was perfectly sprinkled throughout the novel; it did come secondary to the character development, the mental and life hurdles, and the romance, but because of the way it was handled that felt not only okay, but completely natural. I guess what I mean to say is, the balance was just right.
I was pleasantly surprised and relieved by the conflict in this book. Roberts didn't resort to anything like the misunderstanding or miscommunication tropes (which are totally fine in moderation, but I personally am getting very sick of them), or the "you're better off without me" tropes. Instead, she went with very real, very understandable and relatable inner conflict as her plot's main antagonist, which was like a breath of fresh air to me - especially since said inner conflict was almost always handled in a way that was satisying (either because it was resolved or because it was simply so realistic that I had nothing to complain about!)
Some of the content of the book was a little outdated, but the message behind the main plot and resolution was beautiful and uplifting, I thought. A quick word of warning, though: the beginning of the book deals with, and is really quite sad, but how it's dealt with throughout the rest of the book was truly beautiful, in my opinion.
The end was satisfying, but made you feel like the world was still going to go on after you closed the book, which was very nice. The characters were precious and a true delight, the story was interesting, the depth of conflict was relatable and important, both the internal and external dialogues were realistic and enjoyable, and - of course - the entire thing was masterfully written. An absolute delight to read!
Honestly, this review will probably come out very jumbled, as I am completely falling over myself with how much I loved it. First of all, Nora Roberts is the queen of banter. There, I said it - the quips, the reparte, satisfying, precious, hilarious, and perfect. And what is banter if it comes from flat characters? Nothing! If I'm being perfectly candid, I was surprised at how much I adored literally every single one of these characters. They had depth, but were just simply *likeable*; so much so that at about 75% of the way through it dawned on me that I was genuinely going to miss them once the book was over.
The paranormal element was perfectly sprinkled throughout the novel; it did come secondary to the character development, the mental and life hurdles, and the romance, but because of the way it was handled that felt not only okay, but completely natural. I guess what I mean to say is, the balance was just right.
I was pleasantly surprised and relieved by the conflict in this book. Roberts didn't resort to anything like the misunderstanding or miscommunication tropes (which are totally fine in moderation, but I personally am getting very sick of them), or the "you're better off without me" tropes. Instead, she went with very real, very understandable and relatable inner conflict as her plot's main antagonist, which was like a breath of fresh air to me - especially since said inner conflict was almost always handled in a way that was satisying (either because it was resolved or because it was simply so realistic that I had nothing to complain about!)
Some of the content of the book was a little outdated, but the message behind the main plot and resolution was beautiful and uplifting, I thought. A quick word of warning, though: the beginning of the book deals with
Spoiler
spousal deathThe end was satisfying, but made you feel like the world was still going to go on after you closed the book, which was very nice. The characters were precious and a true delight, the story was interesting, the depth of conflict was relatable and important, both the internal and external dialogues were realistic and enjoyable, and - of course - the entire thing was masterfully written. An absolute delight to read!
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was excellent! Roberts took longer than usual to provide the background story of our heroine before she meets the man she is meant to be with, and I think that added a lot of depth to the book. Stella is a 33-year old widow who has two young children. After two years of the death of her husband, she decides to move back to Memphis so her children can be closer to their grandparents, Stella's father and stepmother. There she gets a job as manager of In the Garden, a nursery owned by Roz Harper, who becomes close friends with her new employee. One of the requirements of the job is for Stella and her boys to live in Harper House with Roz, but soon Stella finds out that the house is haunted by the Harper Bride, the ghost of the lover of one of Roz's ancestors from the 19th century. Things get even more complicated when Logan comes into the picture, the landscaper that works with Roz. Although they are complete opposites (Stella being anal and organized, Logan liking chaos and spontaneity), their irritation toward each other soon becomes attraction, then affection, then love. But the Harper Bride is not happy about this match, and she will make this clear in a very spooky way.
Roberts also seeds in this book the beginning of two relationships I see being developed in the following books in this trilogy. First, the relationship of Roz, the 45-year old widow who runs In the Garden and is owner of Harper House, with Mitch, a genealogist she hires so they can figure out who the Harper Bride was. Second, the relationship of Hayley, a 24-year old woman who is a distant relative of Roz and who comes to lives in Roz's house a few weeks after Stella arrives, and Harper, the firstborn son of Roz who works with her at In the Garden and lives close to Harper House. I must say I was so caught up in the development of the relationship between Stella and Logan that I was a bit annoyed when I got chapters about these other relationships, but now I am glad that Roberts started developing them in "Blue Dahlia" so I can see how they progress in the following books.
I can already tell this will be my favorite book of the "In the Garden" trilogy. There is just something about a novel about a young mother trying to manage a new love life with her motherly duties and a career. I think Roberts always makes a good job of making this type of novels both romantic and sweet as they are as much about building a new family as about finding love.
This book is well-writte, well-developed, and has great characters. A good read for any time.
Roberts also seeds in this book the beginning of two relationships I see being developed in the following books in this trilogy. First, the relationship of Roz, the 45-year old widow who runs In the Garden and is owner of Harper House, with Mitch, a genealogist she hires so they can figure out who the Harper Bride was. Second, the relationship of Hayley, a 24-year old woman who is a distant relative of Roz and who comes to lives in Roz's house a few weeks after Stella arrives, and Harper, the firstborn son of Roz who works with her at In the Garden and lives close to Harper House. I must say I was so caught up in the development of the relationship between Stella and Logan that I was a bit annoyed when I got chapters about these other relationships, but now I am glad that Roberts started developing them in "Blue Dahlia" so I can see how they progress in the following books.
I can already tell this will be my favorite book of the "In the Garden" trilogy. There is just something about a novel about a young mother trying to manage a new love life with her motherly duties and a career. I think Roberts always makes a good job of making this type of novels both romantic and sweet as they are as much about building a new family as about finding love.
This book is well-writte, well-developed, and has great characters. A good read for any time.
Beautiful heart-wrenching. I loved this book, I cried I laughed I yearned. It was wonderfully written, and I can not wait for the next two in this series. Even with out the aspect of the ghost, this book would have been wonderful. Nora Roberts has such a talent, that I will never be tired of reading her books. I want to live inside of a world created by Nora Roberts, I want her to pen my life, and make it so enchanting that I would care if I were a character in a book, or living it in real life. Amazing!