Blue Dahlia (In the Garden)

Rating:
Summary: ... Is Roberts in a rut, or what?
Review: Blue Dahlia started off okay, I suppose, when the death of Stella's husband, Kevin, left her a young widow alone in Michigan with two young sons to raise. After making her way to Memphis to start over, she luckily lands a job working as a manager for Roz Harper, owner of a flourishing garden and landscaping business. Roz wants Stella to bring her sons and live on the premises, which ends up being a wonderful idea. However, Roz didn't bother to tell Stella about the ghost in Harper House that's been there for years. Stella finds out about the visiting ghost on her own. In the meantime, she meets up with the handsome hunk, Logan Kitridge, who just happens to work as Roz's main man in the landscape designing end of the business. The relationship gets off to a rough start between Stella and Luke, but he finally asks her to go to Graceland with him, and their relationship takes on a new meaning from there. In the meantime, a long-distant relative, Haley, arrives on the scene. The girl is pregnant, unmarried, and alone after the death of her father. Roz takes Haley in and gives her a job too. The story just sort of fizzled out at the end, or else I was expecting a lot more than what I got. This isn't one of the best romance novels that has Nora Roberts stamped all over it, but it's a sweet and fast read, even though I felt like the vast description of all the flowers was a little too much, but then again, to each their own when it comes to writing a novel. The characters were strong, but that's about it for me. This is the first book of IN THE GARDEN trilogy. The book was a holiday gift to me for which I'm always thankful to be remembered this way, and I'm glad I read it but I wouldn't brag about this book to anyone else. Hope the second book is better than the first.


Rating:
Summary: Blue Dahlia
Review: I 'read' this book with an unabridged audio tape. It is one of the best Nora Roberts books I have read - and I have read just about all of her books. Not the J D Robb books, but I'm not into detective books. The story was fascinating from the very beginning. In some of Ms. Roberts' books, I find myself paging through descriptions but this one kept my attention through all 8 tapes. The story of Stella and Logan is totally enjoyable. And, I must admit, I am looking forward to Hailey and Harper's story as well as Roz and Mitchell's story. I hope I don't have to wait too long.

Rating:
Summary: A Blooming Hit!
Review: I just adored this book. It was very refreshing, fun and had just the right amount of romance and suspense. If you love gardening and beautiful old houses, babies, dogs and good romantic relationships you will really enjoy this story. I am not sure it needed the ghost and am hoping it "fades out fast" It presented some interesting scenes in the story but also some weirdness that made me a bit uncomfortable. The Blue Dahlia trilogy is sure to be a hit for Ms. Roberts.

Rating:
Summary: Gardening 101
Review: I love my garden, such as it is but the beginning of this book was a boring primer on gardening. But... I am happy I stuck with Nora's 1st installment of her new trilogy.

Stella was a fascinating case. So efficient and she didnt cave easily to Logan's brusqueness. She was a wonderful mother to two delightful little boys. She carried on bravely after her cherished husband died suddenly.

Hayley is a single mother and her backgroud is still somewhat in the shadows. You will cry at the new baby scene.

Roz is the gem in this deal. And she has just met a man to give her a run for her money. Maybe next book.

Logan is the typical Nora-hunk. Wonderful with Stella's boys.

Having said all that. If this book were not a Nora Roberts book, I never would have bought it. There was no umph in the book altho the near final scene with the Harper ghost made me sit up straight.

I'll read it because it is Nora and it is a paperback. But I am awaiting Nora's ".In Death" next installment coming out in February. There's were the sparks fly!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Right on Par
Review: I LOVED this book and was surprised to read reviews suggesting the novel wasn't up to usual NR standards. The characters were extremely interesting and there is room to expand upon both characters and story lines with books 2 and 3. The background of the nursery and the woman-owned business was nice and the mysterious ghost is a nice touch too. My only complaint is that NR could have expanded on these topics - but then again this is only the first of the trilogy. It was a fast read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Rating:
Summary: Good Beginning!
Review: I loved this book, and I can hardly wait for the rest of the trilogy! I thought the ghost story was really fun and set up nicely for the following books.

Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable
Review: I really like this book. I always like strong female characters and this book is filled with them. This is just the beginning and I'm already hooked. The only part a really didn't like was the Harper ghost but a good story. Red Lily is the one I can't wait for. I know I'm going to enjoy that one because I love Hayley's character and Harper is going to be a great character to dive into!

Rating:
Summary: Just lovely! A great beggining to the trilogy...
Review: I truly enjoyed this first book, and have already pre-ordered the sequels. I loved the setting, and the plot. I thought that the characters possessed a depth of psyche that very few authors today are able to accomplish. The sub-plots were interesting enough to add depth to the novel. I especially liked the suspense and thrill that the ghost story provided. The relationship between Stella and Logan goes from irritation- when they first meet, to attraction and lust, to unexpected love. The transition is captivating and realistic. Love happens when you least expect it.

I place this book among my favorites, and disagree with anyone who claims that NR has lost her spark. To those I say, maybe you're bored with your reading material should consider diversifying your reading. Try the "In Death" series by JD Robb :-)

Rating:
Summary: Best dialogue of any Nora book
Review: Of all the Nora trilogies I have read, this one had the snappiest dialogue. Nora's characters always have distinctive dialogue, but I thought this book had the most interesting conversations. The little boys and stepmother Jolene are so charming!

Great story and characters. I would only ask that Nora put more descriptive detail in. The Key trilogy was very lacking in this regard, which made the story harder to read, although I imagine this was done to make the story easier to read. For the right amount of descriptive detail, I like Nora's Irish trilogies. It gives the story more "oomph".

Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: This book had me from the get go, fast paced,I couldn't put it down. I can't wait for the next one!!!